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Old 6th June 2011, 22:09   #1
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Alternate fuel on a Cedia

Some months back, I purchased a sparingly used Cedia. It's now almost 3 years old and has covered 15,000Kms.
My daily run is high and Cedia was meant for the occasional weekend, outstation trip. The baleno fitted with CNG and the Punto running on diesel were our workhorses.

What changed ?
1-Suddenly, fuel prices increased and now there's news of another increase on the cards. While it hasn't become unaffordable, I now need to find reasons to take the Cedia out since the Punto and the Baleno are so much cheaper to run.

2- My parents now work at the same institute and hence utilize the same car with my driver driving. Distance to work place is about 50 kms to and fro. We do not require more than two cars.

3- My daily drive too is about 50 odd kms however this is probably only for the next year after which I may or may not be in Delhi.

4- The baleno, it's time for her to go. At 1,26,000, she's served us well and we now wish to retire her.

The Baleno ran on a closed loop system installed by Tara Dutt and worked flawlessly with acceleration and top speed almost being the same as petrol. Whatever power loss existed was negligible. I attributed this to the torquey engine and the good installation. The experience taught me that regular maintenance and 7 to 8 kms on Petrol everday can ensure a very very healthy engine. Even at 1.26, the engine sounds fresh!

The cedia too has a very torquey unit and one that would, in my opinion suit CNG. Unfortunately, there are no reviews for the same available. Endorsement too is a issue but I've found two dealers who have kits available which can be endorsed.

1- Rohan Auto, okhla.
Kit available- BRC, both closed loop and sequential. Cost around 30k and 65k respectively. This is the same company that fitted the BRC lpg kits that were a part of the cedia lpg version in 2007/2008.
http://www.rohanauto.com/

2- Bestpints, ggn.
Kit available- Bestpints closed loop and sequential. Cost around the same as above.

What would you guys recommend ?
which kit would work well with this car and which kit is better overall in terms of quality, durability, efficiency and performance ?

Any reason I should not go in for this install ?

I know that many people here would detest this idea however my experience shows that a good kit and one that is installed well takes away very very little from the performance perspective and provides a very cost effective solution. The baleno ran 85k on CNG and made not more than 2 trips to the installer. One for the TAP fitting and two because a connection had come loose. As stated before, the engine is still in great condition and the car NEVER required any extra expense on account of CNG.

Thanks

Last edited by sukrit7 : 6th June 2011 at 22:15.
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Old 7th June 2011, 20:33   #2
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Re: Alternate fuel on a Cedia

I know very little about CNG and LPG kits in cars. But my friend who has an LPG kit swears by sequential LPG kit (CNG not available in B'lore).

Logically, I would be inclined to go for the kit which were a part of the Cedia LPG version. And sequential one at that since it is supposed to be better. You can be the judge since you have run a closed loop system in your Baleno for quite some time.
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Old 7th June 2011, 21:14   #3
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Thanku so much for replying,Abhinav. I was rather disheartened to see not a single reply.

Your point makes sense and I guess BRC being what was officially used,should be given priority. Getting LPG in Delhi makes little sense now since the price is getting closer to petrol and the average is less.

Is there anyone who is using a BRC kit by Rohan or a bestprins kit ?
I really would like your opinions.
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Old 9th June 2011, 01:01   #4
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Re: Alternate fuel on a Cedia

Only thing I will be a bit reluctuant to do on CNG is revv high, rest, I have seen car in and around family/friends, which have done over 1 lac kms on CNG with out any issue and your baleno too is a testimony for same. Dont know a lot about CNG but a sequential system will work much better. Recently, my friendly mechanic was recommending me CNG as my running is high and soo have been the recent petrol price hikes. I could only argue on performance and safety aspect. Since most CNG cars in delhi do well, I rather couldnt find a reason to justify myself. In case of performance, my mechanic told me that a loop system definitely suffers from poor performace, especially considering my driving style but a sequential system will work much better, with very less lag compared to loop system.

So, there is no specific reason why you should be discourged to install a CNG in cedia. Just make sure that the Kit is good and so is the workmenship. In fact, a friend recently, got one in his camary, he got fed up of 6kmpl .

Another thing, you might want to retain baleno as you may take it along with you if you move within India a year later. 1.26 lac kms, on a well maintained modern car is a JOKE. Sell it only if you get a sum substantial enough. Less wear and tear on cedia (if cng installed and high running) will compensate for the same. Please note, parts of cedia are not easily available and are EXPENSIVE. Baleno will still be a lot cheaper in long run (more than 70-80k kms) being a M/S.

Last edited by gaurav_chopra04 : 9th June 2011 at 01:11.
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Old 10th June 2011, 00:02   #5
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Re: Alternate fuel on a Cedia

But I rev hard pretty often and there's never an issue. I think I'm just exceptionally lucky. What's the harm ?

While it seems evident that the sequential system is better, it is also twice as expensive and involves(as it seems) a slight risk. I just can't be ok with the idea of the manifold being drilled. It freaks me out. In my experience, a good cng closed loop only means less than 10% power loss which is more than acceptable in the city. When you miss the power, just tap the button. I'm certainly getting mine converted and after I do,maybe you can opt for the same.

Nahi,yaar. We just don't require three anymore and maintaining them alone gets irritating. Even my Grandparent's swift is my responsibility. As long as I get a decent price, I think i'll let her go even though the engine is in excellent condition
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Old 10th June 2011, 00:27   #6
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Re: Alternate fuel on a Cedia

Quote:
Originally Posted by sukrit7 View Post
But I rev hard pretty often and there's never an issue. I think I'm just exceptionally lucky. What's the harm ?
its a dry fuel, high revving means excessive wear and tear. You wont have any issue as such, just that an engine re-buit will much sooner .

Quote:
While it seems evident that the sequential system is better, it is also twice as expensive and involves(as it seems) a slight risk. I just can't be ok with the idea of the manifold being drilled. It freaks me out. In my experience, a good cng closed loop only means less than 10% power loss which is more than acceptable in the city. When you miss the power, just tap the button.
As I said, if didnt have any issues with loop system on baleno, you shouldnt have it in Cedia too. Rest, you always have an option to switch to petrol, but I wonder how many people to that apart from every day few kms on petrol run. I remember last year, I was going to a cousin's home in another cousin'd swift (CNG, had it from Maruti suzuki, dont know if it was loop or sequqntial, most probably loop) and I had a crazy PB number civic at my rear. I asked my cousin, if I should switch to petrol and he said "CNG pe hi bhaga". And I was like ok. But I must say, it was not bad at 2 am in the morning. I revved all the up to 6k rpm on 2-3 and in my heart I was like " Its CNG, I hope the block remains intact and I dont have a half connecting rod in my hand ". But all went rather well and I was impressed by the way swift took the abuse on CNG.
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Old 15th November 2011, 18:30   #7
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Re: Alternate fuel on a Cedia

Quote:
Originally Posted by sukrit7 View Post
Any reason I should not go in for this install ?
Thanks
Sukrit, sorry to bump this old thread. I have a Cedia and am fed up with the low FE. Did you go in for the CNG kit? If yes, can you share the feedback?
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Old 15th November 2011, 18:37   #8
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Re: Alternate fuel on a Cedia

Quote:
Originally Posted by cediafan View Post
Sukrit, sorry to bump this old thread. I have a Cedia and am fed up with the low FE. Did you go in for the CNG kit? If yes, can you share the feedback?
Hey. No reason to apologize man.
I didn't go in for the kit primarily because i'm scared of the cost of spares. While my previous experience with CNG has been blissful, I am well aware of the additional risk in using CNG on this car. If anything goes wrong, it's going to cost a huge amount to repair.

I do not know what the alternate fuel scene is like in Pune but if the LPG option is available, I suggest you opt for that. It'll be safe if you opt for the same kit which came with the select LPG variant.
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