Spare Tire Carrier

[Guest fefe2004]

Hi to all, I am new to this forum. I have a 1996 SE Pathfinder and wanted to know where could I find an external spare tire carrier (as in some 1997 models). I ve been searching on the web but with no luck.

I am planning to install a LPG gas tank under the trunk, becuase in my country a gallon of gasoline is costing US$ 3.58 compared to US$ 2.03 per gallon of LPG.

What should be the fuel consupmtion for this Pathfidner?

Thanks to all for you help.

Best regards,

Fernando

[vengeful]

What is LPG?? I've never heard of it. :confused:

[k9sar]

liquid petrolium gas (known as propane around here)

[Airrun2002]

Didnt know you could run a pathy on propane i would like to see the writeup on tha one :bow: :cool2: -bounce- -alcohol-

[k9sar]

apparently it's a big thing in the UK. Do a google search on LPG vehicle and you'll find lots of info.

[Mark]

Fernando, and others,

 

I have dual-fuel installed on my truck.

 

This means I still have the ability to run on conventional unleaded (or premium).

 

But I also can run on LPG.

 

LPG is short for Liquified Petroleum Gas. It is made from a 50/50 mix of Propane and Butane.

 

Propane and Butane ar both by-products of gasoline and oil exploration and extraction. Whilst they are used in industry (and in cigarette lighters) they would otherwise be wasted. It's been around for a couple of decades in Europe and Australia / Zew Zealand.

 

Here in Australia I'm currently paying about $1.16 (AUD) per liter for Premium unleaded. :oops:

(That's about $3.20 (USD) per gallon.

 

LPG is costing me about 40c per liter (AUD). That's about $1.05 (USD) per gallon.

 

These calculations are a bit rough but you see the savings.

 

The reason it's so cheap is a combination of oil-company policy (they don't sell enough LPG world-wide to dictate prices) and government policy (in Australia the government don't tax us on LPG as high).

 

There is a trade-off, though. It costs to install. (About 2 grand in Aussie Dollars).

 

It terms of performance, your engine runs in a somewhat different manner on LPG than it does on regular petrol (or gasoline, if you prefer). It runs much cleaner but a bit hotter. Do some serious research before spending on the conversion.

 

Expect a performance drop. You will lose some engine power. This can be avoided if you are running on LPG all the time and you tune the car appropriately. It takes a bit of patience. If you run dual-fuel like I do, you must make a compromise in your tuning in order to run well on both types of fuel. I have done pretty well but I lose about 5 HP when I'm running on LPG.

 

I have my original 79-liter petrol (gasoline) tank and also a 65-liter LPG tank. I have a switch on the dash to change from one to the other. That simple. When I fill both, I can drive about 900-1000 miles between refuelling. (This is a handy ability in Australia).

 

Your engine will chew through, say, f'rinstance, 10 gallons of LPG quicker than 10 gallons of regular petrol (gasoline). The same amount will only take you about 80% as far in distance, but the dollar saving outweighs this.

 

I love mine and my fuel bill has dropped about $50 a week with all of the city commuting I do, here in Sydney. I use LPG for all my city running and premium unleaded offroading, for the extra 5 HP.

Extra servicing costs are negligible once the system is installed.

Once installed, it's not tempramental. It's rugged enough for anything you wanna do. The only trade-off, offroad is that you may lose about half-a-degree of departure angle, due to the tank.

 

Before you go to LPG, consider these points:

 

1. How available is LPG around where you live? How many gas stations sell it?

 

2. Would it be better for you to replace the fuel system with LPG? Or keep the fuel system and add LPG? (I recommend the latter).

 

3. Can you live with a 5 HP (ish) drop in power?

 

4. What's the price difference between LPG and regular where you live?

 

5. What's the installation cost?

 

6. What are the local DMV laws? (ie: Is an engineer certificate required for registration?)

 

7. Where are you going to relocate the spare wheel. The LPG tank goes exactly where the spare wheel is located beneath your truck. (It looks like you're thinking ahead, here. I carry my spare on the roof).

 

Do some searches on the web. There are some very informative sites out there, I'm sure. :gossip:

 

LPG can be very worthwhile, depending on how you use your truck and where you live.

 

PS: And the answer is "No", these tanks don't explode in a crash. (Trust me, someone always asks this question). :secret:

 

I hope that this rather long-winded post is helpful/informative/entertaining to someone, somewhere.

 

Happy Trails,

[Guest fefe2004]

Mark, thanks for the detailed explanation. As you, my idea is to use basically LPG in the city and highway trips (not for off roading), I should save around 45% in terms of US$.

Where did you put your LPG tank, in the trunk or where the spare tire goes (underneath the trunk)

Thanks again,

Fernando

 

PS: the LPG system brands here are BRC and Landi Hartog (both italian companies) Which is your system's brand?

[Airrun2002]

Hey thanks man you answered alot of my questions but i dont think there are many if any gas stations around here that do LPG and i dont really know about the price either its something i would have to check. But i think it would be worth the savings for i town driving.

[Mark]

Where did you put your LPG tank, in the trunk or where the spare tire goes (underneath the trunk)

 

PS: the LPG system brands here are BRC and Landi Hartog (both italian companies) Which is your system's brand?

Fernando,

 

Dude, the LPG tank's outside the vehicle, directly unfer the trunk, where the spare wheel used to live. This is why I carry my spare on my roof. The law here won't let you put the tank inside the trunk of a station wagon-type vehicle, because it's essentially in the cabin.

As a result, my tank occasionally gets knocked when I'm offroad but it came with it's own armor-plate and it's doing well.

 

Like you, I'm on the lookout for a swingaway carrier (my truck's a '96, too), but Nissan never offered them on R50s in Australia.

 

There are other mods on the list first, though... sly

 

I don't know what brand off of the top of my head. I'll take a look and get back to you later.

 

Airrun,

 

Where do ya habitate? Just curious.

[Guest fefe2004]

Hi Mark, I should be installing my LPG system this week. I'll be putting a 19.2gallon tank in my trunk. It dosen't take that much cargo space. I hope everything goes OK.

[Mark]

Fefe,

 

Did you get your system installed?

 

Are you happy with it?

 

BTW: Since you asked, my system's APA - An Australian company.

[Guest fefe2004]

Hi Mark, I am not that happy yet. I am still regulating the gas flow. My first tank gave me about 11 Km/Galon, my second one has gone up to 14.5 Km/Gal. This is in city driving. I have to see how it goes this week, it should go up to 18Km/Gal, I hope so.

A couple of times, while dirving, my Path just died, I had to put Neutral and start it again (once in a curve), just hope this dosen't happen again.

How much do you get per gallon?

Thanks,

Fernando

[Mark]

Bout 19 Kilometers per gallon. City driving. No reliability issues.

[flnl]

In my country many cars can now run with Gas or Ethanol, duel-fuel, you just select the fuel and a chip will do the work. I'd like to do it in my Pathy too, but I'm afraid. The injectors are not cheap to replace if things don't work... I'm still thinking about it.

I don't want to put LPG 'cause I'll lose a lot of cargo space.

 

By the way, Fernando, where are you from?

 

 

Rgds,

Fernando (also)

[Guest fefe2004]

Hi Fernando I live in Lima, Peru.

Obviously according to the company that installed my LPG system there should be no problem with the injectors. What the system does, is start with gasoline and when you pass 1,500rpm it changes automatically to Gas. What I do all mornings is to run about 3km with gasoline and the switch to gas. This is basically to keep the injectors lubricated, becuase gas is too dry.

My cargo space has definately been reduced in about 40%, but I don't carry that much very often, and I will be installing a roof rack.

I just hope my fuel economy starts to get better.....

Bye

[flnl]

Well, I live in Porto Alegre, Brazil. I was curious, based in your name and what you said about LPG, and guessed whether you're from Brazil or another country from LA.

I think LPG we use in Brazil comes from Bolivia, I'm not sure. Most, maybe all, the kits use to be are from Italy, BRC and Landi also.

I won't put LPG on my Pathfinder cause mine is a 94, it has less cargo space than 96+. I saw one like mine parked another day and the LPG tank takes more than 50% of the space...

Many people here are installing a chip to enable their cars to run with gasoline or ethanol.

Here LPG is about US$1.40 per gallon, unleaded gasoline is about US$3.00 per gallon, and ethanol is about US$1.65 per gallon. Ethanol consumption is worst than gasoline, but at the end it will be less $$ per miles... but it's more corrosive. That's my fear.