any honda cng drivers?

mpdd · #1 02-09-2013, 08:29 PM

need to get my gf a new car, she drives so much that a full size awd wagon isn 't really the best vehicle choice here in socal, any of you have the honda cng or the insight, the natural gas vehicle seems ok, but it's slow, it's expensive, there's no room for gear, and the high occupancy vehicle lane privlage expires in 2015

thoughts?

mpdd · #2 02-11-2013, 09:59 AM

well we bought this strange car, it's slow, the stereo is kind of 80's american family car quality, and the trunk can only fit a large bass head and some merch, but the natural gas was only $2.00 a gallon, and the car filled up for 16 dollars for over 200 miles of travel(it costs about 50 bucks to get that kind of distance out of my v6 tundra work truck)

as far as i know there are very few of these on the road that aren't fleet vehicles

**Unprofessional** · #3 02-11-2013, 11:07 AM

I keep saying that my next car is going to be a Honda Civic CNG. A gas station about 13 miles from the house recently added CNG capability.
I'd be interested in knowing some real world data on range. How far can you actually drive on one CNG tank vs. what Honda says you can. This is very important to me because I have a long commute.

mpdd · #4 02-11-2013, 12:00 PM

got 41mpg on the highway yesterday driving non agressively, 200 miles a tank is supposedly a conservative estimate from honda allowing for temperature and lower pressure natural gas, i'll keep everybody informed as more details become known

mpdd · #5 02-17-2013, 10:58 PM

after some recalculation it looks like 30-33, but you've got to remember that my gf is german and is probably driving the car pretty hard

mpdd · #6 03-20-2013, 12:47 PM

up to 37 mixed driving, saving a bunch of cash on trips to the desert

**Unprofessional** · #7 03-20-2013, 03:11 PM

Thanks for the updates. The 200 mile range is a concern for me since I have a ridiculous commute to work. The only workable solution for me, since I would be refueling every night, might be to install a home fill station. I have natural gas service to the house. I heard somewhere that General Electric is working on a much improved home fill unit. We'll see.

mpdd · #8 03-20-2013, 06:24 PM

you can get around 230 safely with the 360 psi stations maybe just a little more, in LA you can fill up at bus depots, airports, and clean energy stations

the home things sounds cool, hopefully ge will have better luck than honda

iamlowsound · #9 03-20-2013, 09:06 PM

Why not buy which ever car you want and do a propane conversion in it? Cheaper than natural gas, you can still use conventional gas if need be and you can have any car on the market.

lowsound

mpdd · #10 03-20-2013, 10:27 PM

not too familiar with propane outside of grilling, interesting

Buslady7803 · #11 03-20-2013, 10:38 PM

Im not a Honda CNG owner but I am the driver of a CNG bus...scout all the locations of stations cos some areas just don't have any yet. In OC you got Irvine(off Sand Canyon), you got a station off at Avery, Arco in Garbage Grove, and one in Santa Ana near MacArthur....prob more but i dont know.
you can't run the engine under certain PSi...(for my bus if it goes under 700psi, it sputters and barely goes.)
its cheap fuel, from $1.60GGE to $2.50GGE depending on who ya buy it from. Gas Company is on the high end.

propane isnt as common as CNG...I know of one station, Riverside City, that has propane. (they even have Hydrogen!)

and there's a limit to how long you can use the tank...i have 15 yr tanks(5 of them lol) ....after they expire you gotta replace them, and its not cheap.
just my 2c.....

MadMan118 · #12 03-20-2013, 11:07 PM

Drove a CNG Ford as a govt fleet car at one time. Slow and the only cng available in the area was in municipal motor pool yards. I was glad to trade it out for a gas Chevy impala later.

**Unprofessional** · #13 03-21-2013, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iamlowsound

Why not buy which ever car you want and do a propane conversion in it? Cheaper than natural gas, you can still use conventional gas if need be and you can have any car on the market. lowsound

I've considered a conversion on one of my existing vehicles. The tinkerer in me wants to try it but I don't anybody I could go to if I have problems.

iamlowsound · #14 03-21-2013, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unprofessional

I've considered a conversion on one of my existing vehicles. The tinkerer in me wants to try it but I don't anybody I could go to if I have problems.

Google it, there is likely a shop around that does it. Many taxis run off of it, so you could ask local taxi services as well.

lowsound

mpdd · #15 03-27-2013, 03:48 PM

the thing that is kind of annoying is that it's an auto transmission, so you might not always be using the higher and more efficient gears you would like to