I'm reading up on the advantages of CNG as a passenger car fuel. Seems economically viable for my wife's "mom's taxi" routine. I calculate fuel cost savings will cover the cost of conversion in the first year with the current $1.50/gallon premium for gasoline over commercially available CNG in this area, and a projected 15% drop in fuel efficiency. Investing in a home fueling unit will pay for itself in another couple of years. If I swap the SD for a CNG commuter :/ the home fueling unit pays for itself even more quickly.

Has anyone done such a conversion? Does anyone have experience driving a converted passenger car?

Seems like the fuel injector and oxygen sensor simulators are trickier than plumbing the system. Any thoughts on this?

Of course all I need is an affordable Diesel minivan so I don't have to waste my time with this

Thanks,
Sixto
93 300SD 3.0

I have heard that insurance rates go up on CNG converted cars. Something about a 2,900psi gas tank in the trunk.....

There are factory cars that can run it right now, 2007 Honda Civic GX for example.

Interesting. Are the conversions in kit form or done by an installer?

The diesel Odyssey is rumored to be coming soon. Of course "affordable" is a whole 'nother matter.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

Back in the mid-90's my school had the largest CNG conversion educational program in the State. It taught people how to do fleet conversions as well as car conversions so there used to be a lot of CNG vehicles on campus. Director hit his head in a car accident and lost all his knowledge, so we shut the program down.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Canadians have been doing CNG and propane conversions for over 20 years. CNG can be a problem because it usually has to be dual fuel (gasoline and CNG) because of the limited capacity of CNG tanks. That was a long time ago when I was involved in that so things might have changed.

Natural Gas and propane are pretty high octane so they lend themselves well to wild camshafts, turbo chargers and high compression. Those things help to offset the low BTU of the fuel and make them more efficient. Done right propane is nice to run.