CitroJim's 2.0TCT SEi Auto

[captainhaddock]

Seems more people visit that unpronounceable nice place. You have to be very careful on that promenade, on a beautiful Novembers day last year, my other half got soaked by an unexpected wave, much to the joy of bystanders...it was rather funny I must admit. Good looking car. Any ideas as to where to put LPG in my car somewhere in the UK for a good price, would be very welcome by the way. Yours just had it when you bought it, I suppose?

[CitroJim]

You really must get one of your XMs back on the road Paul. I don't know how you can bear to be without one...

on the sea front there Jim... We were there a couple of months ago and it was sunny..

It is sunny there occasionally You were lucky!

Aber, Robyn tells me, has its own micro-climate and I've seen it for myself. Sunny, warm and dry at Aber and chucking it down like glass stair rods just 18 miles up the road in Machynlleth...

Today I saw very little of Snowdonia. It was quite beautifully swathed in cloud...

You have to be very careful on that promenade, on a beautiful Novembers day last year, my other half got soaked by an unexpected wave

Robyn's student digs are just opposite where the picture of my car was taken Jaap. Lucky girl to live there! She has some incredible pictures of high tides with waves to the very top of the lamp posts The prom is presently covered in pebbles and sand the waves have brought up and deposited. It's not a good idea to leave your car parked there at high tide unless you want it pebble-dashed

LPG is fairly readily available in the UK. The best way to see is websites like this one but prices vary hugely.

What sort of gas connector do you have in Ireland? In the UK the Dutch Bayonet is used and that's used here, in Holland and just about nowhere else apart from Switzerland I believe. The normal European one is the Italian Cup. If you have something other than a Dutch Bayonet you'll need an adaptor.

My car was already converted and a very good quality conversion too. Some I've seen have been a bit rough to say the least. I love LPG

[captainhaddock]

There are easy convertors for UK or IRL or Dutch. Unfortunately is costs a fortune to get a tank proffessionaly installed, more than an average XM would cost. Petty really. What kind of conversion do you have? I love LPG as well! Student digs as in archaeology? I'll be going to Wales next month, just booked the ferry. Rebooked that is.

[CitroJim]

No, she's doing Geography Jaap.. Student digs is her accommodation....

We walked up the beach as far as Constitution Hill and she told me all about it from a technical geological point of view.

She's off to Dublin in April on a geography field trip that includes a trip to the Guinness Brewery Quite what that has to do with geography is a bit lost on me...

The LPG system on mine is Tartarini SGI sequential multipoint. It's considered to be a reasonably good one for which spares supply and support is plentiful.

The conversion is expensive if done professionally. In the UK you can do it yourself but the installation must be inspected and certified. That's not an easy thing to achieve and it's best to get someone qualified to agree to inspect and certify before you begin and work with them on the installation by seeking their advice at regular intervals.

Complete LPG systems from scrap cars often come onto the market at a fair price but again if you go for one of those you have the certification problem and the uncertainty if the system worked when it was removed from the scrapper and is it complete. getting hold of spares for some systems can be tricky as can getting hold of the diagnostic software.

The only downside of LPG is that in the eyes of the insurance companies it becomes a modified car which means they like to charge a higher premium for it

[captainhaddock]

Interesting topic.
I did ask my Irish MOT man, what would happen if I produce my car to him with a LPG system. His answer was that he would test as delivered, meaning running on petrol , than he wouldn't even look closely at the LPG system and would not ask for certification. Not that I would ever risk dodgy LPG sytems, mind you.
Tell your daughter that geology students visit the Twelve Bens every year, as posted a few days ago. They have an unexplainable geological up-side-down-geological layers 'thing' that has been studied for years and years.

[andmcit]

A dry day in Aber Paul - you surely jest?

A Guinness Storehouse visit is a must if you're in Dublin and you
don't need to be partial to the black stuff (although I am!). The
skylounge is great anyway and the 'walk through' very well done
(with a pint included in the entry to be enjoyed at the end up
in the gods) but also more to point the food there is totally and
utterly superb - the stout pie especially...

As for micro climates: I can drive 10 miles from work back towards
the coast from/through a massive downpour full-on cats and dogs
and get home into a place bone dry on the ground and clear and sunny!

Sometimes that doesn't work as it can be a bit wild being full on
in line with the open sea but usually the big stuff blows over and
lands further inland. The Gower peninsula (the mouth of the pig's
head on the Wales map) is a little different in climate to the rest
of the mainland and best gauged as similar to Devon/Cornwall in
the forecasts!

The LPG certification is more about free entry into the congestion
charge area of London really - can't see any point of that elsewhere.
My father's 03 Transit has the pukka fitted new by Ford and is an ex
council vehicle that they ran a fleet of to appear to be all green and
touchy feely! Goes very well for a 2.4i!

[russ92xmsed]

Well Jim, I hope you have a relaxing waft to Abber in the XM tomorrow.

Yes and yes to both Russ

Absolutely fantastic trip to Aberystwyth and back today. Car went lovely. It's so comfy and easy on a trip like that. 420 miles for the day and not an ache or anything and still feeling fresh The comfort of that car is legendary...

Glad the trip was a trouble free & comfortable one Jim. Looks bracing there on the front!

[CitroJim]

Tell your daughter that geology students visit the Twelve Bens every year, as posted a few days ago. They have an unexplainable geological up-side-down-geological layers 'thing' that has been studied for years and years.

I will indeed She was saying there's something similarly interesting in the layers of slate in Constitution Hill in Aberystwyth - they're not upside-down but at a strange angle. Those that study these things have apparently worked out why... I brought a piece back with me as a little souvenir.

The LPG certification is more about free entry into the congestion
charge area of London really - can't see any point of that elsewhere.

Some (most) insurance companies are keen that it's certified otherwise they may refuse insurance I believe.

Well, given everything I'm feeling quite remarkably fresh today and the car has shown no signs of stress from the trip. No fluids consumed and all seems sweet

[CitroJim]

Just renewed my car insurances on Admiral Multicar for another year. Ouch Mine aren't expensive but Sian at 17 on her little Nissan Pixo is but a lot cheaper than some companies. She came in at just over £800 this year which is not bad considering it's in her own name and less than a year driving.

The XM insured fine with them but it's well loaded as a modified car due to the LPG. Funny, the savings you make running on gas are eroded in other ways

Still, at least they are happy to insure and do not need proof of LPG certification.

One downside of running LPG I've found Every time I go to my local BP the location of the LPG pump is such that it has another set pumps just ahead of it. Common courtesy would see you pull forward to these pumps and allow another customer to use the pumps behind.

As I want to get LPG I can't do that and now, every time I cause a car behind me to get initially annoyed thinking I'm being incredibly rude and ignorant by not pulling forward.

I find a gesture with one had on the LPG pump, the other on the car gas fill point and a smile gets the message home beautifully and usually with gushing apologies from the car behind

[CitroJim]

The XM and I did the return trip to Aberystwyth on Sunday. Left here at 4:15PM and I arrived back at 01:30 after a 400 mile round-trip That's 800 miles for the weekend!

Filled up with gas at Telford and that took us to Aberystwyth and back again to Telford, a round trip of just over 200 miles. The gas gauge is a little pessimistic as there's well over 200 miles in that tank and the red light can be on for ages. I still don't know what extreme range is yet...

I was not so good though - hence no posts Yesterday was basically written off. Better today though and I managed to get the front brake pads replaced in the XM as I noted they were just a tad thin and all that Welsh travel saw the brakes being used a lot. I discovered I had an excellent wind-back tool for the calipers and one I never knew I had previously as it's actually a special tool I made for 4HP20 gearboxes

The car got absolutely filthy on the trip, so much so the rear numberplate was illegible A quick wash was given today...

I refilled with gas at our local BP today and the robbing sods have put gas up to 81.9p per litre In Aber it was 70p... Scandalous...