What are the benefits and drawbacks to retro-fitting a car to run on propane or natural gas?

Question

How much would it cost to install? Where do you fuel up? Do you lose power, or gain mileage? How does the fuel cost per mile compare to gas? Is it environmentally friendly or just an alternative to gas?

As you can see, I have a lot of questions about this. Any help is appreciated. If you have done this I would really like to hear from you!

Answer 1

If you do the conversion your self and are willing to tinker then its more of a cost thing and time.  

I personally would not want to deal with having to adjust my carborator every time I get a new batch of propane or natural gas.

Enviromentally you are burning cleaner fuel but you are still using the resource that I would think your trying to get away from.

In the end I do not believe that it would be a beniffet to much.

SORRY

Answer 2

1.)It costs about 6,000 to 10,000 to convert your car to CNG (compressed natural gas) and about half of that for propane.

2.)There are a few CNG fueling stations in the united states, most of them being in utah. There are many more propane fueling stations in the U.S. I live in Alabama, and there are 52 propane fueling stations. You can also get an at home CNG fueling system, so when you are sleeping at night, your car is beng fueled with natural gas. These are usuially anywhere from 4,500 to 20,000.

3.)You usually do not lose power with either fuel because the octane is greater than that of gasoline. Natural gas has an octane rating of 130, compared to the 87, 89 or 93 you buy at a gas station. You often do lose some mileage with both fuels. With CNG, you will get about 200 to 250 miles a tank before filling up. With propane you can get anywhere from 300 to 400 miles before filling up.

4.)CNG costs about $1.00 a gge (gasoline gallon equivalent) and Propane costs about $2.50 or $3.00 a gge.

5.) CNG is one of the most environmentally friendly alternative fuels out there because it burns almost completely clean. The Honda Civic GX, a CNG car, was named the most environmentally friendly car on the planet. Propane also is environmentally friendly, not as much so as CNG, but much more so than gasoline.

Answer 3

I've been looking into this so I'm catching a ride on your question.  Thanks