Experience of PALIO 1.2 on CNG

I got CNG kit fitted in my Palio in Aug'06. After running the car on CNG for 3 months & 3000 kms in Delhi traffic I can share my experiences : - There is power loss of 10 to 15% which requires adjustment. -The filling of gas is a function of presure in the Gas station. If pressure is good (220 psi)still not more than 65% gas comes in the cylinder i.e. in my case not more than 7 to 8 kg gas comes in 12 KG cylinder. Thus the range is limited to 115 to 120 kms per filling. CNG Requires frequent trips to gas station. Low pressure (as in most of the smaller station)requires more frequent filling. Plus it takes more time to fill gas as compared to petrol. min-10 to 15 minutes. - Car becomes sluggish with AC. - Overtaking becomes risky. - The space in hatch is gone. - The dynamics of car changes due to the wt of cylinder (65 KGs) in hatch. However one becomes use to it. The only advantage is the economy. My car is giving a avg of Rs. 1.25 per KMs as it runs nearly 15-16 kms per Kg of gas. CNG in delhi costs Rs. 19.20 per Kg. V. S. Bisht

Dear Mr. Bisht,

Its not a question rather its an experience but since it would be useful to  people, we are publishing it here only. Thanks for writing in.


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I am planning to put cng kit on my palio, i liked your expereince, please share how is the over all performance of the vehicle after few months of use. did u need to go to the mechanic for re adjustments? any jerks in the car?

Dear Nimish,

Initially the CNG kit required fine tuning as the car was not at all picking up with AC-however that was in the very begining i.e. at the time of installation of the kit, after that I have not gone to the CNG shop. After driving the car for 12000 kms following are my experiences:

- One should go for CNG kit only if the car is driven for atleast 40 to 50 Kms per day. Otherwise paying for the high cost of kit, downgrading of car performance and frequent visit (each visit consuming 20 to 30 minutes) for filling CNG  is not worth it. At low rpm the performance of the car is really pathetic and requires shutdown of AC. Further, after 1 year my car suspension has started making lot of noises which I assume is due to the wt of the cylinder strapped at the hatch. I am also expecting rapid wear of clutch due to excessive use for increasing the rpm. In short, go for CNG only if you drive a lot for business.

-Although there are no jerks but the engine does not appears to be as smooth as in petrol.

V.S.Bisht

 

Dear Vijay,

That is a very useful information and experience that you have shared. We look forward to a more active participation from you as it will give a first-hand and accurate info about the very same car and will prove beneficial to users who are looking to buy the Palio.

guys CNG is sluggish becuase of the enthalpy rate of petrol and CNG differs. in more common terms petrol burns with very high pressure and cNG burns with low pressure.. To increase its performance i would suggest that you can replace your spark plugs to iridium and change your exhaust to a titanium one which might be a bit expensive but worth fitting it. And you can also change your air filter to an K&N. Its a poly urithine one and gives more air intake on engines and will be much usefull on overtaking..there might be a small amount of milaege decrease due to the differences in the timing and so on. But there are some CNG MPFI kits available from Lovato which can make some difference..