Almost 286K miles on the odo, and still looks almost new

"boredalways" (boredalway666)
08/09/2018 at 08:26 • Filed to: Needless window shopping, Honda, Civiv, GX, CNG

2008 Honda Civic GX. Runs on CNG.

Anyone experienced in driving a CNG vehicle?

Because I’m wondering if this car can do another 100-200k miles.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Link Kinja’d see comments

DISCUSSION (17)

pip bip - choose Corrour > boredalways
08/09/2018 at 08:35

can you get CNG everywhere in the states?

Ash78, voting early and often > pip bip - choose Corrour
08/09/2018 at 08:41

Not even close. I think I’ve seen CNG at a consumer pump maybe 3-4 times in my life, whereas traveling in Europe it’s at every other station or so. I’ve heard it’s pretty common down your way, too.

However, if you have a connection with a fleet operator who has his own tanks, it’s very possible to do and reasonably cheap (same with LPG).

I had always heard the reason for the shortage here is that the regulators won’t approve CNG cars for on-road use unless either the manufacturer builds it and pays for the certification (like this Civic — I’ve seen a few of them) or a fleet operator converts, say, 50 trucks and gets a certificate that way. So an individual trying to do it to their own car is prohibitively expensive to do it legally. And the lack of readily available kits means it’s also very expensive even to do it illegally.

The best candidates for conversion are usually old pickup trucks with simpler fuel systems. Modern vehicles require a lot of electronic trickery which is why it’s best left to the manufacturers.

/may not still be 100% accurate, but I had once researched this for years

pip bip - choose Corrour > Ash78, voting early and often
08/09/2018 at 08:45

LPG is popular here.

interesting that CNG conversions by private people are illegal though.

LOREM IPSUM > pip bip - choose Corrour
08/09/2018 at 09:01

Hard to get that gasoline tax money their so addicted to if people are allowed to go powering their cars with whatever they please.

Also, the whole Pinto fiasco still has exploding cars stuck in everyones mind. Nevermind that it ran on gasoline. A lot of people are just standoffish when it comes to lpg/ ng, refusing to so much as light a propane BBQ, or allow gas fired appliances in their homes.

LPG conversions were really popular here in Canada years ago, but then the lpg prices spiked and it began to make less sense, so they now seem to be few and far between. Also, drawbacks such as not being alowed to park in many parkades for fear of leaks and explosion make it a little less appealing. There was a time however that it seemed like most every gas station had a propane pump, but in the past decade or so it seems like those numbers have dwindled significantly.

CNG powered f leet vehicles, like trucks and busses however are fairly prevalent . Not that I’d have even the vaguest idea of where to fill one off the top of my head.

pip bip - choose Corrour > LOREM IPSUM
08/09/2018 at 09:03

just tax other forms of propulsion the same way. whether it’s a liquid or as a gas substance, if it powers a car, tax it.

boredalways > boredalways
08/09/2018 at 09:04

Not really. They are positioned closest to interstates

https://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/natural_gas_locations.html#/find/nearest?fuel=CNG

getFuckedHerb > boredalways
08/09/2018 at 09:05

Back in the day my local gas company was leasing “Fill at home” compressors that would fill your car up... overnight. I thought that was hilarious until I realized the gas line coming to my house was between 1/4 and 1/2 PSI and fueling stations are running at 3000->3600 PSI.

LOREM IPSUM > pip bip - choose Corrour
08/09/2018 at 09:05

Lets not go giving them any ideas. They get enough already.

Think this guy might have the right idea:

pip bip - choose Corrour > boredalways
08/09/2018 at 09:19

more than i expected to be honest.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Ash78, voting early and often
08/09/2018 at 09:42

Yeah, CNG is very rare for consumers. I think most of my hometown’s buses are CNG though?

Regardless, I’ve seen more Kerosene pumps at stations than CNG.

BigBlock440 > pip bip - choose Corrour
08/09/2018 at 09:53

You just plug it in at home and let it recharge overnight, just like an electric. Otherwise, no, fueling stations aren’t common.

Edit:

http://www.cngprices.com/station_map.php

They are surprisingly more populated than I thought.

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > boredalways
08/09/2018 at 10:08

Man, there’s a CNG filling station right around the corner from my house and another that I could make on my way home from work. I would love to give a CNG vehicle a go, so fascinated.

boredalways > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney
08/09/2018 at 10:15

It's tempting because it's so cheap. And a clean Carfax.

Ash78, voting early and often > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
08/09/2018 at 10:16

Same -- CNG is in a lot of municipal fleets, especially for bigger vehicles where they can mount the tanks on the roof for safety and better packaging. I think our CNG buses outnumber the diesels, and that’s in a city with HORRIBLE mass transit. Probably heavily subsidized.

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > boredalways
08/09/2018 at 11:34

Can you tell if it was a fleet vehicle? Normally that might put me off some, but if so I bet it was a gentle-use parks and recreation vehicle or something that was well maintained and not beat on, which would be great.

boredalways > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney
08/10/2018 at 09:49

https://www.indyautoimports.com/2008-Honda-Civic/Used-Car/Carmel-IN/10971532/Details.aspx

boredalways > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney
08/10/2018 at 09:49

Looks like it's a 1-owner car for personal use