MikeV8SE

MikeV8SE

New Member
It's just a very distant idea at present, but I am enjoying driving the RR more and more and the BMW is getting used less and less.

It has therefore occured to me that I could sell both the BMW and RRC, purchase a very smart P38 and pocket the change.

If I were to do this I would almost certainly be looking for a V8 with a decent multi-point LPG system. As an only car, I think the DSE would be too sluggish and I would regret not getting a V8, and with a decent LPG system my fuel costs shouldn't be far off the 28mpg and 24mpg (equivalent) I currently get from the BMW and RRC resectively.

My question then is this: if I were to get a P38 V8 with LPG, am I better looking for a 4.0 or 4.6? My understanding is the 4.6's have more issues with overheating and the like, and given cars run hotter on LPG, is this wise? Obviously I'd rather the extra performance the 4.6 has to offer, so if they work well with LPG I'd like to go for that, but reliability is far more important.

Ideally I'd love to pick up a Holland & Holland, Westminster, Bordeaux or Anniversary model, something a bit special (maybe a Linley? yeah, right!), but a good, reliable car will take preference.

Cheers all! :)
 
They only run hot if its a crap system or badly set up.The 4.0 is a nicer engine,the 4.6 is more ragged in use.(Only my opinion and I come from barcelona):)
 
I read somewhere that the 4.6's were given the better blocks from the production line, although that's not saying much.

4.6s are slightly more powerful and actually more economical that 4.0s

Fundamentally they're the same engine though - ie both prone to die expensively.

You'd be better off looking for one that's had a properly rebuilt engine put in it. Or go for an lpg'd L322 V8...
 
kooky_guy said:
Fundamentally they're the same engine though - ie both prone to die expensively
Click to expand...

Hahaha! :D:D:D Honest, if nothing else!

I dunno, it's only an idea at present. I could get an L322 on LPG, but would be looking at spending £12k for a decent one. Can get a top notch P38 for half that, an I would argue it isn't half the car!
 
Hi Mike, I run a 4.6 hse on a single point system and average between 29 and 36 mpg equivalent. Mine is a 96 car with the earlier engine, a friend runs a 4.0 with the thor engine and gets 36 mpg. I do enjoy the extra poke of the bigger engine, and oddly mine (at 180k mile) is ultra reliable-tempting fate and his blows gaskets on a regular basis. For your 12k budget, I'd go for an L322. Oh good it's just started snowing! I prefer the looks of a P38 and the comparative lack of technology. Hope this helps. Just seen your vehicle list-buy older p38, get Triumph Street tripleR, have stupid amount of fun, don't bother with gas, buy more bikes!
 
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Thanks dave. I test rode the Street and Speed Triples before buying the GSX-R, but neither had quite enough poke for trackdays IMO :)

An equivalent 36mpg is outstanding, is that correct? That would mean getting an average 18mpg or so on gas, I would have thought it a struggle to do that on petrol!

Out of interest, which are the more reliable engines, the earlier or later cars?

As for budget, I do not have a budget as such - I could go and blow £30k on an RR Sport but I don't like having too much money tied up in cars, I think £10k is the most I ever spent on one (the beemer) and really I don't think there's ever a need to spend any more than that these days, there's so many great cars available for less than that!
 
I have a Gems 4.6 on single point LPG. I get equivalent of about 26/28mpg on a run, less when towing my caravan as you would expect. It never gets hot even when towing up hills.4.6 engines do have the better grade blocks when new, but years of poor maintance etc kills both engines. 4.6 engined ones normaly have the higher/better spec,but if your getting a limited edition one then i guess that my not be an issue.
 
I adore my P38 (DSE) I adored my two previous 4.6's....

But, heres the kick, The Classic I had more fun with as I knew if it broke down I had half a chance of fixing it, whereas the P38, whislt mechanically I could give it a go, but the multitude of Electrickery, leaves me always sitting there saying 'What If ir breaksdown and needs expensive diagnostics etc ....'

Whilst the market has become easier with home user Diagnostic gear, I still drive my lovely P38, with one eye on the gauges, one ear on odd sounds, one nostril on odd smells, one hand on strange vibrations etc.....

As I said in a previous post, I would have a P38 for daily use, and a Classic to play in....less hassle, easier and cheaper to fix.

If your Classic is sound, stick with it.....
 
I would echo the wise words of 8, the 4.0 is generally regarded as a sweeter engine and stories of lpg motors running hot may be true of old poorly adjusted systems but is quite unlikely these days where the lpg ecu and engine ecu work together to keep the fuelling spot on.
 
Hmmm, reading between the lines here I'm thinking either go all out and get a decent LPG'd L322 OR stick with the BMW/RRC combo I've currently got. Fair enough!
 
Mike

mine is a late 4.6 thor currently on nearly 90K miles. I made sure that before I had mine converted (by a indie LR garage) that the engine was sweet, used almost no oil and had no coolant loss or overheating.

I had a multi injector BRC system fitted to mine, it wasn't cheap but as I do approx 18,000 miles per year including at least 2 trips to France or Spain towing the caravan I wanted piece of mind.Although they do run a little hotter on LPG, provided the oil & cooling systems are in good order they should be fine

According to my on board I'm getting between 19 & 23 mpg which, at petrol prices roughtly equates to high 30's which I'm well happy with. Mine has a 95 ltr tank (filled to only 80% = 76 lts and she does about 280 miles on that

In my opinion the P38 is nicer looking than the L322 and if you are going down the V8 route, bigger is always better - mine runs smooth as silk

best of luck
 
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Thanks for your post Hawaii. I don't really do enough miles to warrant doing a conversion myself, which means buying an already converted car which brings with it it's own risks.

Having said that, if I were to go for one with a decent multi-point system (e.g. BRC) fitted chances are it has been well maintained as a cheapskate owner would probably have chosen a budget single point system.

At the moment it's all a bit fanciful anyway, I'm enjoying both the BMW and the RRC, but I find myself wanting to use the RR more and more so I'm wondering if it's time to leave the world of RWD behind...

...I say that, remembering the wet roundabout I exited sideways this morning in the BMW, loving every minute of it! Blast.
 
For what it's worth Mike ,I'd stick to the classic if the chassis, sills, door posts etc are good. I love my p38 but so far I think I've been bloody lucky with the car. If you still fancy the P38 route, I'd say try and find a jap re-import, mine is and it doesn't look 5 years old and the underside is nearly as good as new, you get great spec and (on mine) everything works. Agree with the track day comment, but I've a 900 Daytona-lot of 2-up work, poor on track!
 
davef2901 said:
For what it's worth Mike ,I'd stick to the classic if the chassis, sills, door posts etc are good. I love my p38 but so far I think I've been bloody lucky with the car. If you still fancy the P38 route, I'd say try and find a jap re-import, mine is and it doesn't look 5 years old and the underside is nearly as good as new, you get great spec and (on mine) everything works. Agree with the track day comment, but I've a 900 Daytona-lot of 2-up work, poor on track!
Click to expand...

That's the thing - it's the most solid RRC I've ever seen, the chassis doesn't have a hint of corrosion anywhere. The lower tailgate and rear 3.4 (where the lights mount) need a respray, but other than that the car is spot-on really!
 
I'd stick with it then. Mine was great until the rear of the chassis vanished-the MOT book said excessive corrosion of rear crossmember, it wasn't excessive, it wasn't there! Neither were the rear body mounts so it went for parts on fleabay
 
Hawaii said:
Mike

mine is a late 4.6 thor currently on nearly 90K miles. I made sure that before I had mine converted (by a indie LR garage) that the engine was sweet, used almost no oil and had no coolant loss or overheating.

I had a multi injector BRC system fitted to mine, it wasn't cheap but as I do approx 18,000 miles per year including at least 2 trips to France or Spain towing the caravan I wanted piece of mind.Although they do run a little hotter on LPG, provided the oil & cooling systems are in good order they should be fine

According to my on board I'm getting between 19 & 23 mpg which, at petrol prices roughtly equates to high 30's which I'm well happy with. Mine has a 95 ltr tank (filled to only 80% = 76 lts and she does about 280 miles on that

In my opinion the P38 is nicer looking than the L322 and if you are going down the V8 route, bigger is always better - mine runs smooth as silk

best of luck
Click to expand...
76lts = 16.7 gallons. 280miles~16.7= 16.8mpg. Given that lpg is more than half the price of petrol (77p for lpg and 135p for unleaded here in Dover anyway) surley that equates to low 30s? Could be wrong though, maths not my strong point.
 
I have the 4.6 Thor engine runing a Stag system. The RR had lots of work done prior to me getting my hands on it so the head gasgets have been replaced and she uses no fluids (apart from screen wash.....lol). I also have the 95lt tank and a fill up is approx £50 and i average 260 miles ove very smooth an quiet running :)

Very very happy with the whole package.
 
MikeV8SE said:
Thanks for your post Hawaii. I don't really do enough miles to warrant doing a conversion myself, which means buying an already converted car which brings with it it's own risks.

Having said that, if I were to go for one with a decent multi-point system (e.g. BRC) fitted chances are it has been well maintained as a cheapskate owner would probably have chosen a budget single point system.

At the moment it's all a bit fanciful anyway, I'm enjoying both the BMW and the RRC, but I find myself wanting to use the RR more and more so I'm wondering if it's time to leave the world of RWD behind...

...I say that, remembering the wet roundabout I exited sideways this morning in the BMW, loving every minute of it! Blast.
Click to expand...

That's not necessarily so mike. The price has come down considerably in recent times. My last quote was £1200 and that wasn't a 1 day special. That was using Bigas (Italian) gear which has a good reputation. DIY with Prins or BRC would probably cost you more. Doesn't take long to recoup your out lay at that price and you know its a well fitted up to date system.

The only reason I haven't had it done is the misses thinks its time to go back to a 7 seater (Grand Kids) so we are looking at Disco 2's at the moment. V8 of course, not many good gassed ones around though and they are a bit pricier to convert because of the tank lay out.

I'm not a million miles away from you (Rickmansworth) so you are more than welcome to take our P38 4.6 Vogue out for a blast to see how they perform. You might even fall in love with it and make me an offer lol.
 
v8hotrodboy said:
76lts = 16.7 gallons. 280miles~16.7= 16.8mpg. Given that lpg is more than half the price of petrol (77p for lpg and 135p for unleaded here in Dover anyway) surley that equates to low 30s? Could be wrong though, maths not my strong point.
Click to expand...

As a comparison, I topped mine up the other day. Had covered 133 miles and it took 43 litres of LPG @ 69.9p /litre = £30.16. This gives a real world figure of 14mpg, on mixed use - round town and running round country lanes, so not too bad.

However, if I had covered the same distance on the same amount of petrol @ 130.9p /litre, it actually gives me an equivalent figure of 26mpg running on LPG - not too shabby I guess!
 
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