Go LPG! Research

17 S8 4.2 Quattro conversions completed

Audi S8 Quattro 4.2 V8 365 bhp As many know of our success with the A8 we had a lot of enquiries about its more powerful sister S8. We had to wait a while for the chance to convert the S8. The S8 has 60 or so more horses than the A8 and it was fortunate that we got the latest high performance Romano injectors and vaporiser in the same week. The conversion performs perfectly and even we cannot tell which fuel the engine is running on without looking at the switch. The build quality of the S8 is excellent and some of the design strategies are pleasingly useful, sometimes making you grin in an enlightened sort of way. A major difference from most cars is the aluminium bodyshell - Lighter for sure, but presenting its own problems when structural rigidity is required. For the LPG converter, a little forethought is required when mounting heavy items like LPG tanks to aluminium panels. Other things must also be considered - Dissimilar metals bolted together are well known to display the Cathodic effect, where electrolysis may cause erosion of at least one of the two. In the case of the Aluminium that forms the S8 body and ordinary steel nuts and bolts, it is perhaps not surprising that the former metal will be the one to suffer. For a good demonstration of this effect, take a look at the top edge of an older type Range Rover front wing by opening the bonnet and checking the area around the Steel horizontal wing mounting bolts. You'll sometimes find that the Aluminium wing around the bolt head has simply vanished, as if it had evaporated..... Electrolysis did this. Undesirable to say the least! Ways had to be found to avoid the problem on the S8, a lot of thought had already gone into it. Our anti - electrolytic arsenal has three main weapons - Anodised (Aluminium coated) nuts, bolts and washers (putting like to like removes the problem) for tank mountings, high quality industrial strength plastic cable clamps for pipe restraint (zero corrosion issues on either side) and polyurethane adhesives (of the type that bond most windscreens to the car bodies) for mounting boxes of electronics etc. We're quite happy that security of all LPG conversion components has been maintained by these measures, whilst the cathodic gremlin will not make his presence felt in the future. Anyhow, enough, here's an outline of the Audi / Go LPG / Romano S8........ The Audi flagship. OK, it hasn't got any flags on it, it isn't a ship, but we know what they mean..... Its a very high quality car, comparable with the best the world has to offer. Nice examples may be bought at prices that would seriously challenge the judgement of a new Mondeo owner. Go and buy one now! The LPG filler is sited on the lower part of the rear bumper. This position is ergonomic and the bumper is more than strong enough to withstand the forces placed upon it by an LPG filler gun. We like to avoid the use of body mounted fillers wherever possible as one ripple in a dark coloured panel can tarnish the look of the car. There is also something to be said for having the LPG filler placed on the same side as the Petrol filler. Pulling up to the pump on the Petrol side when you wanted to fill with LPG on the opposite side can be a habit that is hard to break! A 90 litre cylinder tank is simply lost in the cavernous boot of the S8. Cylinder tanks are the most efficient in comparison to spare wheel (toroidal) tanks, winning hands down in their use of available space against actual LPG capacity, Also, the plastic spare wheel well is unsuitable for secure tank mountings, requiring a lot of reinforcement. And here's the bit that gives the grunt - Except that it doesn't - Grunt that is! Silky smooth power delivery, heaps of torque everywhere, whooshes up to a ton in no time flat, and guess what? It gives all of that quite happily on nice cheap LPG when we've attended to it. Performance on LPG is practically identical to petrol operation. The experienced S8 underbonnet drooler will no doubt spot our little additions. Writing in 2014, this picture shows the advances we've made in hiding the LPG injectors and associated pipework. This is due to continued refinement of the Romano HD kit and a little R & D on our part. The fuel choice switch is mounted on the top edge of the coin pocket, a good site for visibility and reach but not interfering with your night vision. Here's another filler location choice which works very well whilst conforming to UK LPG reg.s. The detail; We offer the S8 Romano HD system multi point sequential LPG injection conversion (as shown above) with a full 24 months parts and labour warranty. Every conversion comes with a nationally recognised insurance certificate. A 1000 mile 'bedding in' check and final adjustment session is also included in the price. Contact us to arrange the conversion of your vehicle using the latest Romano 'N' multi point injection system (Link is currently available only when using Outlook Express browsers).