Should I convert my Indica Petrol to CNG/LPG ?

[shuvc]

My Indica has been lying relatively unused for about a year. There have been some low offers made for it's purchase (50/60K). Now, in 2007, I would be needing a second car that is cheap to run.

I was considering options. The first was to sell off the Indica and getting an old model Zen with the proceeds - no extra investment. But I'm unable to get a decent price. So the second option was to keep the car and consider a switchover to CNG/LPG and use it as the second car. This way I could reduce some of the cost of running a second petrol car - that too, one which used to give me around 9.5ish mileage.

Seeking advise on the following -
1. Is it possible to convert the LEi to CNG/LPG ?
2. Which is more advisable CNG/LPG and why ?
3. Are there any -ve effects in the long run (3/4 yrs) on the engine ?
4. What would be the expected mileage / cost per km with these fuels ?
5. Do TASC's offer these conversions ?
6. How much do these conversions cost ?

Car details -
Indica 2000 LEi - MPFI petrol
* 2001 registered - 6 years old
* Is not under warranty
* Run 40K kms
* Petrol mileage between 9 and 10kmpl
* Engine has been running fine all this time
* Monthly mileage will be < 1000kms

Drop in power, driveability etc, if any, are not of concern, since it will be primarily driver driven.
All I am looking for is economy - of conversion and running costs.

[tsk1979]

From a technical point of view the mod wont have an impact.
But there are few other concerns.
1. Cost of mod = 40000 approx. Is this cost justified for 1000kms/month of running? You will have a running cost of about 2rs/km as per 4rs/km which you are paying now. So its 2000/month of saving, and your mod cost will be recovered in about 2 years
2. Availability of CNG. Is it widely available in Kolkata? Ditto for LPG, are there auto-LPG filling stations in abundance? Use of domestic LPG is not recommended due to safety and is completely illegal.

[shuvc]

hmmm .. that's quite an expensive proposition. Would it be the same for CNG and LPG ? At 40K extra, I could sell this off at 60 odd and probably get a diesel Indica for 1L ..

I'll have to check on availabilty of CNG/LPG in Kolkata and maybe get a few quotes out here.

While on the economy topic (although OT here) - what options are there to increase the FE of the petrol Indica ? Sacrificing performance is ok, as mentioned earlier.

[finetuning]

Dear shuvc,

If you are looking for increase in FE at no extra cost with reasonable increase in performance then why not try following in your indica.......

1)Adding acetone+Xylene+2T in the ratio of 1.5ml:1.5ml:2ml.........you will definitely get increase in FE at least 10% with increase in power & reduction in emission....

2)You can try ozone treatment......its very effective yet very easy to install......

3)Grooving engine head will impart you yet another boost in FE as well as performance.....

From the above all grooving needs some work ,rest can be easily implemented...

Enjoy....

[mail4ajo]

Originally Posted by finetuning

1)Adding acetone+Xylene+2T in the ratio of 1.5ml:1.5ml:2ml.........you will definitely get increase in FE at least 10% with increase in power & reduction in emission....
2)You can try ozone treatment......its very effective yet very easy to install......
3)Grooving engine head will impart you yet another boost in FE as well as performance.....
Enjoy....

Fine tuning, do we have proven result data on above methods?

I would suggest LPG/CNG conversion as the best bet. You have about 15 LPG bunks in Kolkota.(contact me for a list). LPG conversion costs about 20K and CNG conversion about 40K. Work out the savings based on your running and break even time and decide.

[nispatel]

Let's calculate running cost for 1000 KM

With Petrol:
Petrol required ( 1000 KM / 10 KM avearge) = 100 Liters
Cost of petrol @ 54 Rs. -> 5400 (A)

With LPG:
LPG Required ( 1000 KM / 9 KM average ) = 111.2 Liters
Cost of LPG @ 26 Rs -> 2891.2 (B)

Saving per month by switching to LPG A - B ~= 2500

20000 Rs cost of LPG conversion / 2500 Rs saving per month (i.e. 1000 KM) => 8 Months or 8000 KM in which you could recover cost.

I think it makes sense to go for LPG conversion....

[theMAG]

CNG. The only gaseous fuel intended for automobiles - has a higher calorific value than LPG resulting in better engine performance. Depends on its its available in your city. An LPG/CNG kit should set you back abywhere between 15000-25000 (in BLR, atleast) depending on quality/brand (Lovato etc)

[finetuning]

Originally Posted by mail4ajo

Fine tuning, do we have proven result data on above methods?

I would suggest LPG/CNG conversion as the best bet. You have about 15 LPG bunks in Kolkota.(contact me for a list). LPG conversion costs about 20K and CNG conversion about 40K. Work out the savings based on your running and break even time and decide.

Dear mail4ajo,

Apart from using above in my car I had seen number of people getting benefited......experience of such people cant go wrong.......I know only few people with grooves work but with acetone you can really count on number of participants.....about proven data result do we really count on FE figures published by auto makers?

Enjoy.....

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by nispatel

With Petrol:
Petrol required ( 1000 KM / 10 KM avearge) = 100 Liters

With LPG:
LPG Required ( 1000 KM / 9 KM average ) = 111.2 Liters

Is this a proven fact that CNG/LPG would give a lower mileage than petrol ?

[hrag]

shuvc, given your projected low running, I'd say keep the car running on petrol.

[Mr.Bangalore]

hello all..

i have a question here..
what will be the effect on engine if we use gas/cng for a long term.
will the engine life reduces?

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by hrag

shuvc, given your projected low running, I'd say keep the car running on petrol.

Yes .. I've been considering that looking at the high initial investment involved. If I take that option, I would look at ways of getting max FE from the engine. Wonder what the TASC guys would do if I asked them to increase FE and ditch performance.

[mail4ajo]

Originally Posted by shuvc

Is this a proven fact that CNG/LPG would give a lower mileage than petrol ?

One or two kms lower than what you get on petrol is the usual norm. But you get close to 40% savings.............

[tsk1979]

Your petrol indica should give around 11-12 in city conditions with AC(50%) with a properly tuned engine. I am talking about rush hour traffic. Highway should be a comfortable 15kmpl with AC.
So I guess you go to TASC and ask them to tune for max FE.
For LPG/CNG it will be atleast one year before you can recover investment.
If you running was atleast 2000kms/month then CNG/LPG would have made good economic sense, but not with the current scenario.

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Your petrol indica should give around 11-12 in city conditions with AC(50%) with a properly tuned engine. I am talking about rush hour traffic. Highway should be a comfortable 15kmpl with AC.

I wonder if my low FE has anything to do with the fact that this is the first gen petrol. Weren't Indica 2000's tuned more towards performance than the subsequent V2 versions ? If so what changes would TASC do ?
The max I ever got was 13 - on a highway drive. Otherwise with 50% AC it used to be around 9. Without AC 10+.