Hello from Thailand!

[SeanBangkok]

Interesting to see another couple of members living in Thailand - Great - perhaps we should start having our own Aveo meets in Bkk .

Phenomenon, like you suggested, I am also considering an LPG conversion now that my warranty is finished, but after reading JPD's comments I'm not so sure.
I was wondering, is NGV or CNG an option?

[JPD]

Hi, I wonder if we could find enough owners, lol!
I PM'd Phenomenon to enquire about his recommended company, I'm on the verge of paying for an LPG conversion too as my warranty expires in Jan '13. Most places offer both LPG and NGV conversions. Despite my reservations, I'm now leaning towards an LPG conversion with Versus as there are three of four franchises around where I live and they offer interest-free financing. I was paying 31b/litre for E20 just four months ago and now it's 38. The following quote was from a BangkokPost article today (10.4.12)

The panel also raised the levy on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for the transport sector by 0.75 baht per kilogramme or 0.41 baht a litre, increasing retail price of LPG to 11.41 baht per litre.The committee also decided to stop subsidising the price of compressed natural gas (CNG), and the retail price will go up to 10.50 baht a kilogramme, also from April 16. He said the energy-price restructuring, particularly on LPG and CNG, should be finalised by the end of this month after Chulalongkorn University experts had completed its study.

It may be worth waiting to see what direction prices take, but the potential to save on LPG certainly offsets the cost of any engine damage that may occur.
When I decided to buy an Aveo in Jan 2010 I never thought the car market would change so much. There are now eco-cars like the Nissan March and Aveo-sized Almera which achieve 20km/l and Chevrolet released the CNG Aveo; parts of the engine and the rear-suspension are modified and the filling cap is in the correct place, plus it's under Chevy warranty. Getting CNG retrofitted offers none of these benefits; plus a CNG conversion is far more than LPG, around 50,000baht. As for longevity of the engine running CNG you'll notice that while Chevrolet will sell extended Platinum warranties for the E20 Aveo up to 250,000km, no such warranties are offered on the CNG Aveo, and that's with a properly converted engine!

[SeanBangkok]

Some good advice there JPD, thanks.
I also heard yesterday that we are expecting another 1b/l increase next Monday the 16th. We'll in the 40 baht ++ zone soon enough no doubt...

Speaking about new cars already on or coming to the marketplace, I went to the Car Show in Impact last weekend - admittedly, there were some great vehicles there. The new Ford Fiesta boasted an average fuel consumption of 24km/l I believe... Amazing...

[Phenomenon]

Yes, Ford Fiesta has good mileage, but unfortunately i have no money for it

Regarding the LPG conversion kit, I'll share the following information,

I spent 600-800 baht for gasoline a month, everytime i start my engine, i always use gasoline and run another 3km to heat the whole system up before the system change to LPG automatically (the factors that i put on my LPG system are, the radiator's coolant temperature up to 60 degree Celsius, and run at above 1800 rpm).

I drive 100km or more a day, which is a lot, in a month i use roughly 4000-5000 km. If I was to use gasoline like the past, my average consumption is 14km/ltr, so the consumption in pricing/kilometer is 40 baht/14 = 2.86 baht/km.

After i have LPG set up, the LPG consumption is 11.5km/ltr (Usually LPG consume 15% more than gasoline) so it is 12.35 baht/11.5 = 1.07 baht/km.

I save up 1.79 baht/km and if i drive 4500 km monthly,
I saved 8055 - 650(the average gasoline i need to start up monthly) = 7405 baht/month

Currently, my car already run 170000 km on LPG for 5 years, i saved up 304,300 baht.

I have more than enough money to fix up the engine, I have a friend whose timing kit broken while driving, so he has to change 8 intake valves, timing kit, grind and polish the valve seats on the engine cover(i don't know how you name it in english).

Total, the service garage ask from him as follow;

8 intake valves = 240 baht x 8 = 1920 baht
grind the valve seats and the contact surface of the engine cover = 4000 baht (roughly, can be cheaper)
engine cover gasket = 1600 baht
engine cover's valve seal = 550 baht
engine oil = 1200 baht
engine filter = 65 baht

service fee = 5000 baht (yes can be cheaper)

In all it is 13135 baht, and theoretically, I really think my 300000 baht is more than enough to fix the engine. But practically, when you have saved up, u will already start spending on other things hahaha, according to human nature.

And in average, the user who start fixing up his engine that has been damaged by LPG, will have his engine run at least 200000 km.

In all, I really think the LPG system is worth it, the Aveo-club.com webboard already have a lot of member into this bi-fuel system. Initially, everyone, including me, are afraid of installing this conversion kit, but after you have tried, you will simply think that "why shouldn't I install it long time ago ? . Also about the gas leakage, you do not have to worry about the location where the gas-fill-up-pipe is located, the valves that stop the leakage is located right at the tank, not at the end of that pipe, so it is totally safe. Also if you are afraid about explosion, your gasoline tank has higher tendency to explode more than LPG tank storage.

P.S. CNG is totally a crappy fuel, most car run as much as 150000 km only and has their engine broke down, and the conversion equipment is helluva expensive. You can only fill up 120 baht at a time and run only as much as 110 km in town, or 150 km on highway, while my LPG run at least 450 km/tank and run at the average of 1.1 baht/km.

If LPG price going up to 18 baht, i still save up to 1.29 baht/km, when compare at gasoline price of 40 baht/ltr. The gasoline price is deem to rise gradually too anyway.

Just my 2 cents ?

[JPD]

Thank you for taking the trouble to explain everything. It's very helpful to me as this topic is so confusing; Ford and Toyota do sell LPG cars in other countries like Australia, for example, but not in Thailand it's only CNG, isn't it? I don't know what to read into this. So, after the conversion, did you service your Aveo at the Chevrolet dealership or did they want nothing more to do with it?
Thanks.

[SeanBangkok]

Great info there Phenomenon, thanks for that.

JPD, I actually called Chevrolet on Srinakarin Road (a franchised dealer) today with that exact question.
They said, they would still be happy to work on my vehicle after it had been converted, as long as I used one of their "preferred conversions" companies...
But nobody could give me the names of the companies they recommend!

[Phenomenon]

I'm not so sure what they mean by "preferred companies", if your car is still under warrantee, the only thing that the warrantee will be voided after the conversion is the engine and fuel system. The rest of your car is still under warrantee. The newly installed lpg system also usually under 1 year warrantee, at least. Regardless of what branded system u installed, the dealer will have to service ur car as usual, nothing extra. If you need to service the conversion kit, just go back to the company where you get it installed. Personally, for the past 5 years, I have never serviced anything other than changing the LPG gas filter.

Most of the dealers are not servicing our car well, so now I choose to fix my car with private technician, he used to work for srinakarin dealer, a very efficient man he is. People using chevrolet often fix their car up with him. The only problem is that he cannot produce a VAT included bill, which makes the cars that own by companies don't want to fix their cars with him.

[Phenomenon]

Thank you for taking the trouble to explain everything. It's very helpful to me as this topic is so confusing; Ford and Toyota do sell LPG cars in other countries like Australia, for example, but not in Thailand it's only CNG, isn't it? I don't know what to read into this. So, after the conversion, did you service your Aveo at the Chevrolet dealership or did they want nothing more to do with it?
Thanks.

Ok, let's answer your question straight to the point. There is no rules that prevent the dealer from servicing your car, so as long as you pay them, they will have to service your car. Just be careful, as their analysis are sometime inaccurate, if you encounter some problems, pm me and share them with me, i faced many problems before so may be i can help.

[JPD]

Thank you, Phenomenon. Much appreciated!

[SeanBangkok]

Phenomenon,
I am due for my 100,000 km service very soon and I'm interested in using the mechanic you mentioned above.

Would you be able to share his contact details?

Also, do any of you guys know of a modification store / body shop in the Bang Na area of Bangkok or Samut Prakan which specialises in Chev Aveos?

Thanks.