[JRD]

Originally Posted by kmadhok

Wondering did you think of this reading that Honda will start supporting CNG'fied cars in the near future?.

ya i heard something about this from a dealer. not sure about the civic though. I heard the brio and city are probably going to get factory fitted cng options.

[dipen]

Originally Posted by JRD

ya i heard something about this from a dealer. not sure about the civic though. I heard the brio and city are probably going to get factory fitted cng options.

Premium cars will not have CNG so soon. People would prefer a diesel over CNG. I believe Toyota at one stage had started supporting CNG for Corolla, which seems to be now discontinued. Honda will pause Civic and come back only when they have a saleable product to fight the competition.

[frankmehta]

Guys, I have done my research and am going to see (and possibly buy) a Civic for the second time. It's done 43 k and the engine and other mechanicals are in great shape. If I go for it, I shall get delivery on Saturday (dad's birthday on Sunday) and give it for service on Monday. Mostly giving it to Arya Honda where I know the service floor manager.
Tuesday the car will be driven to Mulund to Green Globe to fit an Emer Sequential Advanced kit and if all things go as planned, the car will be back from it's interior and exterior detailing by Friday. I intend to drive the car without modifications for a few days before I start messing around. If I feel that the car is driving well WITHOUT mods, then I shall defer tinkering around much. But I doubt that..
More updates soon.

[pranavt]

Skip the exhaust. Just do a catcon delete. That will free up enough power. You don't get the benefit of aftermarket headers on that engine, so you'll be paying money on just piping. How many cats does the Civic come with, 2?

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by forester

Sir, since you need a soft riding decent handler with an automatic transmission & low running costs, then why not go in for a New Verna Diesel AT?

Cons of a converted vehicle- (coming from a cng user)

-The first noticeable diff over petrol: The EPS of the car would behave in a very unpredictable way. Sometimes it would run smooth & sometimes it would become hard.

-The car would run as if it was disconnected to the suspension. You can notice a phenomenal diff in handling & ride quality when running on cng & on petrol.

Verna has lousy steering. It's not a car, it's a boat.
I test drove it and I am still scared.

And I am curious - the first con of converted vehicle you mention is again unpredictable steering and floating suspension!!! If this is from your first hand experience, may I ask which car is this? And are you really sure CNG conversion spoiled the steering and handling which was perfect while running on petrol?

[frankmehta]

I think the whole 'addition of weight to boot for audio equipment and CNG tank stuff affecting the handling etc' is totally overrated, overdiscussed stuff. It'll add as much weight as having one extra passenger. We never do mad cornering with 4 people on board, anyway. Having 100 odd kilos at the back will not drastically affect any dynamics of the car. In fact, the additional weight at the rear might allow the car to stay more planted (ok, now THAT is not a fact, just penning my thought)

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by frankmehta

I think the whole 'addition of weight to boot for audio equipment and CNG tank stuff affecting the handling etc' is totally overrated, overdiscussed stuff. It'll add as much weight as having one extra passenger. We never do mad cornering with 4 people on board, anyway. Having 100 odd kilos at the back will not drastically affect any dynamics of the car. In fact, the additional weight at the rear might allow the car to stay more planted (ok, now THAT is not a fact, just penning my thought)

C'mon man.
front wheel drive with weight at the back?
But, yeah, I cant comment on the CNG can in the back, but I drove around for about 4 weeks while moving house, shuttling about 70-100 kgs of stuff in the boot of my car, and I can tell you that 70-100 kgs in the boot affecting handling....not overrated.
Not at all.

For starters, the steering got all jittery during turns, and I had to reduce speeds by as much as 20-30% compared to my usual speeds.
Otherwise it felt like understeer. Didnt go as far as HAVING actual understeer, but could feel the front letting go.
Also, the usual starts had to be dialled in. It was the first time I heard squealing rubber on the red lights.

[frankmehta]

Technically the same as having 1-2 passengers in the rear seat man. Anyway, everyone has their own opinions on this.
IN other news, we have finalized a decent Civic and taking delivery on Dad's birthday on Sunday. Also, we shall be sending it to Four Seasons workshop for service first, after which the car will be wheeled into Green Globe for an Emer Squential Advanced CNG conversion. After that the car will be sent to Four Seasons Audio again for ICE installation, and THEN the car will go for interior and exterior detailing (she needs a fair bit of detailing since the body is clean but the previous owner has not taken very good care of the exteriors so paint is slightly flat and the sheen is missing. Panel wise, the car is in very good condition)

SO well, here was the update. Keeping you people informed about any other goings-on soon.

[mmmjgm]

Hey Frank, Any update ? The CNG civic sounds interesting, if all goes well, most probably it will be tempting to go down the same route.

Do let me know what were the costs from purchase to the install (minus the ICE please) :-)

Regards
M

[frankmehta]

The Civic deal got cancelled due to it being a Kalyan registration car and we didn't want to go in for MH05 as advised by our broker due to personal reasons.
Drove a Corollla Auto today for the first time. Hated it. The response from the auto box is very delayed, even though shifts are seamless. There was a loud whine from the torque converter and the car felt very low on power. Mind you, this was a well kept example! BUT, it did feel like it was built to last. Toyotas are known to last for decades, but honestly, I have not reached that age group where reliabliity and a staid image take precedence over looks and driving pleasure.
The car feels a whole 2-3 generations behind the much smoother, better driving Civic auto.
It's back to square one as of now, as we are looking for a good Civic Auto again.

[danlalan]

Originally Posted by frankmehta

It's back to square one as of now, as we are looking for a good Civic Auto again.

On my hunt forva clean civic i did come across good dealers. Let me check if they have something in stock. By the way bhp classifieds are also helpful.

So bothvof us have travelled the road from ford to honda.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by frankmehta

Technically the same as having 1-2 passengers in the rear seat man. Anyway, everyone has their own opinions on this.

I don't have any opinions on the handling because my driving has almost fully been city driving since I installed CNG in my Swift. At least I haven't felt a diff. However, the extra weight causes a tiny problem for me. As you said, it's actually like carrying an extra adult passenger in the back. After the fitting, if there are 5 people in the car (driver + 4 - very rare for me), because it's like 6 people - my underside scrapes some speed breakers which never used to happen earlier. So I totally avoid 5 people in the car.

[Sn1p3r]

W.r.t the discussion on front vs back weight distribution. You aren't driving a sports car in city. It's a commuter.
I had a CNG kit car for about 8 months and the only adjustment you need to make is with tyre pressure at front being a bit less and at back a bit more to counter the extra weight.

Cheers!

[carboy]

Originally Posted by Sn1p3r

W.r.t the discussion on front vs back weight distribution. You aren't driving a sports car in city. It's a commuter.
I had a CNG kit car for about 8 months and the only adjustment you need to make is with tyre pressure at front being a bit less and at back a bit more to counter the extra weight.

Cheers!

What car do you own? And how much exactly is bit less and bit more?

70% of the time I drive alone. 25% with my wife. Less than 5% with another person in the car. Do I need to make changes in air pressure? Right now I have been filling the standard 33 pressure in all 4 sides recommended by the Swift manual.

[Sn1p3r]

Originally Posted by carboy

What car do you own? And how much exactly is bit less and bit more?

70% of the time I drive alone. 25% with my wife. Less than 5% with another person in the car. Do I need to make changes in air pressure? Right now I have been filling the standard 33 pressure in all 4 sides recommended by the Swift manual.

Hi Carboy, I had a M800 converted for kicks and that too in 2001. I kept the car for about 8 months and moved on to Diesel as my commute route didn't have many CNG stations. Maruti Dealership at that time installed the kit and if I remember correctly 1 psi loss for front and 2 enhanced for rear. The weight of the cylinder at complete load was 32 kgs of gas. I always drove solo in the car. It was my test mule of sorts 33 in all four might be a bit more for your front reduce it to 31 and see if you like it.