propane....is it worth the switch

5.7yjuggy · Mar 28, 2011

i currently have a 5.7 vortec im debating switching to propane and just thought id see what everyone thought..i need info on this because in wv ive only seen 1 buggy on propane and it had a toyota 22r in it...any thought on cost, efficiency, hp loss, and is it cheaper to build your own propane kit? if so what all would i need?

COLT · Mar 28, 2011

5.7yjuggy said:
i currently have a 5.7 vortec im debating switching to propane and just thought id see what everyone thought..i need info on this because in wv ive only seen 1 buggy on propane and it had a toyota 22r in it...any thought on cost, efficiency, hp loss, and is it cheaper to build your own propane kit? if so what all would i need?

I would never switch from a throttle body to propane IMO.. (you have a vortec with tbi I assume)???

onetoncrawler · Mar 28, 2011

propane is aggrevating to get filled, causes power loss (unless you build a motor specifically with propane in mind), and the kits are fairly high, then you have to buy a couple of tanks

look at the EOR/Crawl KOH buggy. thats a good example of a motor they built to run propane and switched to fuel injection

fuel injection is the way to go

BamaTJ · Mar 28, 2011

That is a pretty mild motor in stock form, why would you want to switch to propone if it already has injection? The injecton is not costing you any power, it is good in stock form to at least 400 hp or more.

Willymutt · Mar 28, 2011

The only time I'd switch is if I had a carb and wanted to not mess with FI. That is what I did and it works out ok but my next one will be FI.

5.7yjuggy · Mar 28, 2011

i have a 97 vortec (spider injection), comp 501 cam, and plan to have it tuned as soon as everything gets together.. i was just curious to the upside vs downsides of it looks like ill prolly stick to fuel injection

zukiscott · Mar 28, 2011

The ONLY reason to switch is if you have a CARB,.......wich you DO NOT ....STAY WITH THE FUEL INJECTION DUDE .......I M O ;D

kennyWayne · Mar 28, 2011

COLT said:
I would never switch from a throttle body to propane IMO.. (you have a vortec with tbi I assume)???

i AGREE with colt ,give me a month and ill sell ya all my propain and propain acceseries with 3 tanks .

Hotrod · Mar 28, 2011

Heck no, propane sucks. Stay with fuel inj.

tbacon38 · Mar 29, 2011

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VG4o69CD2c#ws]Bubba Bacon on the new creek hill at Lewis Chapel]
Bubba Bacon on the new creek hill at Lewis Chapel [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D21rOqhRyiU#ws]Wes Kean wins Hawk Pride Hill Climb]Wes Kean wins Hawk Pride Hill Climb
I think propane does pretty good.

tbacon38 · Mar 29, 2011

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2KUFH0hvnc#ws]Bubba Bacon on Tub Rock]Bubba Bacon on Tub Rock

Propane don't suck by no means. Have you ever seen 49's smoke like this?

tbs · Mar 29, 2011

i have a 5.7 on propain and i love it. i ran the ecors race and ran down a 6.0 on gas

EOR MFG · Mar 29, 2011

Propane is great and has its place it will always be easier to maintain and diagnose, but it will always cost you power due to lower btu value of the fuel. IE more fuel for same amount of power. They run well but the current propane mixers are not designed for the amount of fuel delivery necessary. If the motor is built to take advantage of the higher octane rating it will make this less noticable, but the same motor would still run better on a gasoline based fuel.
I am a fan of propane, I just would not replace a fuel injection system with it.

-Jimmy

zukiscott · Apr 1, 2011

HELL........the amount of "POWER" you loose on propane is NOT that significant anyway, unless you are running a damn OUTLAW DRAG CAR .

Besides.....FREAKIN ENGINE DYNOS and RTI RAMPS aint good for nothing but giving TEENAGERS SOMETHING TO BRAG ABOUT ANYWAY ;D

Hell 15 more "HORSEPOWER" aint gonna make a rig climb **** ANY better.

KyTrash · Apr 3, 2011

Bubba's buggy ain't short horsepower and Fat Rat's buggy ain't either. But fuel injection is simple,nice and easy. I think that I would just stay with the F.I.

extremetownie · Apr 3, 2011

i have been running propane for 11 years. the only reason is im to cheap to get efi.i would never take an efi set up off and put propane on.

tbacon38 · May 19, 2011

I just swapped my motor over to propane it runs great :flipoff1:

to any efi out there i will be running pane on mine for life.

454tbacon · May 19, 2011

Only thing is when you have 7 or 8 hundred horse power your not going to miss a few ponies on the trail.

gomer pyle · May 20, 2011

are ya'll running a 450 unit or two 425s? i tried two 425s and could never get them tuned right, i then ran just one 425 and my motor was sick as crap. i went to efi and no joke i bet i gained 100hp.