Keep the V8 or get a 300Tdi??

[steve10]

Hi all

I have a 1990 3.5 carb V8 disco for offroading. Bodywork is a little scratched but mechanicals and chassis are fine (previous owner of 10 years never used it off road).

I have had it for 6 months and it still has MOT until May 2008. I live in Oxfordshire and i have to travel to neighbouring counties to go offroading and the fuel bills are getting a bit hectic so I am thinking of selling it and getting a 300tdi.

I have no idea what my car is worth, £500? I could LPG it but how much would that cost as i would have to pay someone to fit?? I recall reading somewhere they are about £1,200 to supply and fit? If so, i could put this towards a 300tdi which together with proceeds from mine would give me a budget of £1,700 ish. Is that enough? If so, it makes sense to me to go for a diesel particularly as it is likely to be four or five years newer.

Some of you must have been in this position before, does anyone have any advice/pearls of wisdom!

cheers

Steve

[way2deep]

sell it mate ,and get ya self a good 200 tdi  not a 300 tdi ...only my personal choice tho :D

[steve10]

Robbie

Why do you suggest a 200tdi rather than a 300tdi?

[nikmartin9]

I have a 300TDi and found its done everything Ive asked of it so far n ive been pushing it hard over christmas  :lol:

[nikmartin9]

I have a 300TDi and found its done everything Ive asked of it so far n ive been pushing it hard over christmas  :lol:

And I moved to this from a V8 rangie, loved the V8 to bits but not liking water and loving petrol so often made me change, no regrets so far.

[way2deep]

Robbie

Why do you suggest a 200tdi rather than a 300tdi?

as i say it's only my personal opinion.....don't wanna upset the 300 owners  :lol:

but comparing my mates 300 to my old 200 ,the dash in mine was not bulging as his was. and the fuel economy was better on mine too .

[mentalmoshio sophs V8i]

i have a v8  anyday . had mine converted 3 years bad never look back . thing with a diesel your paying 110p compared to 98 per litre on lpg for the same mpg.

underslung tanks r about 11oo quid fitted boot tank would be around 800 fitted

plus with carbs u will never need unleaded again to start it.

as for for v8s hating water never once had any problems.

[electricbluebadger]

i have a v8  anyday . had mine converted 3 years bad never look back . thing with a diesel your paying 110p compared to 98 per litre on lpg for the same mpg.

underslung tanks r about 11oo quid fitted boot tank would be around 800 fitted

plus with carbs u will never need unleaded again to start it.

as for for v8s hating water never once had any problems.

110 a litre?? not when 200s and 300s run happily on veg oil, mine costs me virtually nil running on used oil, even buying the new stuff it is only 50-60p...  and carbon neutral if that is important to you...

diesel reliability is very good as long as you have fuel they usually run, a tuned 300 will happily stay with a normal v8 so will have more than enough power

although I love the sound of a V8 and would happily have one as a toy economics of a diesel make the choice a no brainer in my case.

Cheers Steve

[andygod]

I have an LPG converted V8 with no intention of parting with it, my friends all have diesel powered Landrovers. The diesel crew all seem to get more mpg for the money than me even though my engine and lpg system are in good condition. I love V8's indeed I'm on my 7th V8 powered Landrover. Diesel engines if maintained properly seem to perform as well as the V8. My V8 is good in water and as long as they are well prepared don't give any problems. Suck water into the V8's air inlet and its just a matter of drying out and off you go. Do the same on a diesel and the engines scrap. All this said and done I think that because of the rising cost of fuel the V8 engine is becoming a thing of the past.

[The Electrician]

for what it's worth, here's my opinion....I have a v8i ES model (the heavy one with all the bits), and i can outrun any diesel especially uphill and when towing something (like a large caravan) up a long motorway hill, you won't find a faster or less stressed 4x4.

OK diesels are cheaper to run but over 100 miles it will cost you about £5 more in a v8i (3.9), and you will be able to hear the stereo.
the other things to consider are that a diesel needs servicing more than a v8 and the v8 is the strongest engine.

easy to work on and reliable, the v8's are cheaper to buy, generally have half the mileage, and you don't upset the neighbours when you come home late.

the v8 'rock' can't be beat and most of the parts are cheaper than diesels, and above all the v8 drivers have a saying....."if you can't afford a proper engine, get a tractor"

and finally, what you have is working fine, by the time you sell it and lose money, then buy a diesel with more miles and unknown problems (let's face it if it was that good, they wouldn't be selling it), then you save a couple of quid each day in fuel, how many miles would you need to do just to break even.
do yourself a favor, stick with what you have and save yourself a load of grief.

sorry diesel drivers.........good comprimise, but it will never be as good as a v8.

(that'll stir it up)
Gary. :lol:

[mentalmoshio sophs V8i]

with a V8 u have 2 bank to stand on  in war , diesel just have 1 bank lol

[Chris Putt]

Anyone know what the last post on here is supposed to mean? Im lost? I assume its talking about banks of cylinders? What has war got to do with it? This isnt abuse, just try and make your posts in some way coherent so the rest of us have some chance of understanding what your trying to get at if you are going to take up space on the forum?!

[Guardian.]

can you lot hear yourselves, change a v8 for a derv, please.
just go out to your disco v8 now strike her up and blip the throttle a couple of times, then ask yourself why you posted this!
i know you will then imediately spelt with 1 m, realise you have just had one off those funny mad moments and all will be ok again.

[The Fat Controller]

i have collected a few motors over the last 5 years,3 Range Rover Classics,1 Series 2a,a 300tdi Disco and i look aftera 1975 TACR2.
all the Range Rovers started their lives with V8 engines one got changed as the engine was dieing .the replacement engine was a diesel.i love the V8's,ones on petrol the other on LPG they are both different animals and while the engines are good that's how they'll stay.the diesel conversion was a great idea but hard work in practice.home made conversion plate and engine mountings and then fuel modifications for the 6 cylinder diesel to run.DIESEL is now a good diesel and checked by vosa i did that for piece of mind.
the disco is fine,pulls well and returns good fuel economy,after nearly a years use i must thank SWMBO as i would have spent the £1335 it cost me on another Range Rover.i have auto boxes in the Disco and the LPG Range Rover with 5speed manuals in the other 2 Range Rovers.
this will not help you make a decision but it may make you say "why don't i get a second motor"
thanks for letting me add confusion

[steve10]

Afternoon all

thanks for the responses and sorry for delay in responding, been laid up with the lurgy!

I wasn't expecting that sort of reaction and have to confess i'm still not sure what i shall do  :?

Time for some contemplation :-k

Steve

[davidlandy]

a summary then

if you are going to 'listen' to your discos engine then go for a V8

if you are going to use it , then go a diesel

 ;)

[mentalmoshio sophs V8i]

  er what a mpi conversion with lpg . rover 2l turbo lump in her  :clap:

and  poll plz this is gonna go on and on

[Evilgoat]

I cant really say either, not having had a V8 but another high output petrol and a 200TDi.

I miss the performance and power of the petrol, but then again once you get the 200TDi up to 60, it'll do it all day. Plus running it on veg alters the fuel cost argument a little. Thing is is yes, its only a £5 more over a week but on a tight budget that counts. I've gone from £25 a week fuel to £17 a week. £5 saved a week gets you a years road tax!

Dont forget insurance too, not sure what difference a V8 makes, but will make some.

[Guardian.]

YOURE all going mad, keep burning that luverly petrol, forget the cost, and insuranceis often cheaper wierdly, (on the older stuff).
v8
v8
dont listen to them, they will warp you, turn you into a diesel stinking veg oil burner. :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Range Rover Blues]

Insurance isn't an issue for me, they all cost about the same.  Given the cost of derv though the cheapest option is a 3.9 on LPG at the moment :?

[jjsaul]

v8...all the way!

we've got 4 of em and the only way i'd be persuaded to a diesel is probably a diesel v8 gmc lump lol...even that's pushing it though.

If you're going to do big mileage get lpg, if not don't bother. sit down and work out how many miles you've got to do to pay for the conversion.
A basic single point gas conversion is £300 (kit) or around £600-700 fitted. For a multipoint system expect to pay towards £2000 fitted. You get what you pay for but again it depends how much you're going to use it.

V8's aren't as fussy about water as diesel owners make out...if you really want to go playing in the water just fit rubber 'gloves' on the dizzy and coil and away you go.

On the topic of diesels, all of them sound like tractors. My dad's got a 57 plate vw passat diesel and even that sounds noisy and rattley, compared with the nice burble of a v8 

[davidlandy]

Insurance isn't an issue for me, they all cost about the same.  Given the cost of derv though the cheapest option is a 3.9 on LPG at the moment :?

what even with the cost of the lpg conversion included?

...and what about the deviation mileages that many gas owners have to do to find a station that sells gas.

rather than spend all that money converting it to be as good as a diesel you may as well buy a diesel in the first place. (in my view)

Diesel is the best fuel until fuel cell arrives !!

[mentalmoshio sophs V8i]

the american have v8s landy only i think , diesel pass with something else other than in a landy 

lets face it  a converted v8i 3.9l u ll get for around 1700 quid these days. put this way u have a 145 bhp now u could have 185bhp and 230 torque compared to 111 bhp and 198 torque from a 300 tdi

plus a 3.9 sounds better than a 3.5

[Guardian.]

a 3.9 sounds much beter than a 3.5, w t f are you going on about.

[thermidorthelobster]

Having had 2 V8 and 2 diesel Land Rovers I'm sticking with the diesel.  Although diesel's so expensive now I'm not sure I'm going to end up running either.

[jjsaul]

...and what about the deviation mileages that many gas owners have to do to find a station that sells gas.

This isn't a huge problem really, i rarely have to change my journey to fill up with LPG, more and more places are starting to sell it and there's plenty of 24hr places around as well

[Range Rover Blues]

The £1250 I paid for my multipoint system is less than he premium you'llpay for somehting with a deisel lump in it anyway, it's swings and roundabouts.

[Ja1983]

hmm... its getting to be a "derv Vs Petrol" debate here.. i suspect the basis of the first post is:

Due to travelling more miles, should i spend £1200 on a gas conversion, or sell up and put it towards a diesel? - (correct me if i`m wrong)

personally i would think hard, i`m currently facing a decision, theres a nice v8 with the gas conversion coming up for sale soon, but for me, its a case of is it worth hanging on to the vehicle i know (+ mods) and now trust over the chance on a new one?

cost of fuel is 50/50, gas/veg oil 50pish, petrol cheaper than diesel, but you get a few more miles out of a derv... if your going for a diesel, i`d definatley look for a 200tdi, strong engine, (check gearbox over though!) and cheap as chips as everyone prefers the look of the 300 front end... but i spend more time under or in mine so front end looks are irrelevant really... this wil leave a bit in the kitty for those things that you are bound to get with a new car.. the wear and tear items that didnt look too bad when you first looked at it.. the a frame ball joint, the other "irritating rather than urgent" jobs...

but then theres the route of better the devil you know... i assume yours is in overall good condition? i would love the gurgle of a v8, but prefer the simple nature of a derv, performance wise, its adequate, its  a 4x4, not a track car!

[Range Rover Blues]

What you siad makes sense.  There's a lot of value in knowing you're car is basically reliable and being an older 3.5 would run ok on a much cheaper single point (or even draw through) LPG system, so less than £500 new if you fit it yourself.

So add that to your £500 car and what sort of Disco 200TDi will a grand buy you? and will there be any boot floor left in it ;)

As an alternative school of thought, a RRC Turbo Deisel (VM engine) will be about as worthless as your 3.5 V8, they are not very popular though a reasonable engine when it's working.

[mentalmoshio sophs V8i]

vm diesels oh boy the italian tractor comeing back out . if i remember right dont they only do 24 mpg if ur lucky . going back nearly 10 yrs now when lpg was quite rare to find . how about a gmc 6.5 v8 diesel one.  saw one for sale the other day for around 1600 quid.

put this the 3.6 v8 diesel series 3 range rover has the power and torque to take on the standard v8 one

which makes me wonder why the 3.6  v8 diesel iceburg one at gaydon i mean from the late 70s never made it into production. 8-[