Fuel Gas

[christophe]

Hello ,i'me thinking of putting a lpi installation in mi 1.8 .
Is there any one who has done this allready or who nows if it is possible ?

[Brodick]

I don't think it is - best speak to Honda directly or your dealer for advice

[illegalhunter]

Its certainly worth thinking about . You can get a govt grant for this conversion

[civicfan]

Originally Posted by christophe

Hello ,i'me thinking of putting a lpi installation in mi 1.8 .
Is there any one who has done this allready or who nows if it is possible ?

I've had 3 LPG cars in Poland (1 daewoo Lanos and later 2 Citroen Xsaras) with three different types of LPG installation, so maybe I can help out:

1. It is a nice option to save money but only if you are doing reasonable mileage per year: most people make too simple calculations that do not include additional expenses for spark plugs you need more often etc. etc.
2. There are more or less good installations (IMHO the Dutch are generally better built than the Italian made ones) and more or less good workshops. If the guys do not have the TÜV or ISO European norm, head for the hills. Also, the installation must be approved by Honda for your specific engine, or your warranty will be gone.
3. Be prepared to have a cheaper ride and quieter cae, but also 50-100 kg of added weight and less available boot space (the tank must go somewhere after all).


In so many words: caveat emptor!
which does not say it's not worth it, you just need to be careful

[P@tje]

I think the 1.4 engine is more suitable for LPG then the 1.8. ( no VTEC, just 8 valves and due to 8 spark plugs a very good ignition, which is a must for gas converted engines)
Honda itself says today's engines are not gas proof. But IMHO that's politic. (since they have their own Diesel, LPG is not done anymore)
But if you would seriously convert to LPG, only use Prins VSI or Vialle LPi and in both cases please don't forget to use flashlube, as this is a must.
I've have a lot of practical experience with gas converted cars. Done more than 4 hundred thousand of km's on my good old Mazda 626 coupe. (still own)
Maybe in the future my 1.4 will be converted. At this moment I really don't have plans to do this, because my Mazda still does her job well. When this old lady has pasted away and I still own my Civic, than that car will me used for dayly drives. There is a little change that I will buy a Prins Vsi system ( first choice, Vialle second choise )

[christophe]

thanks for the advice ,i think i will ask my dealer what honda themselve think about it .i don't want my 3 yaers of garanty by distroyed.

[czechplastik]

You need to weigh the cost of outlay against the milage and money you could save to decide if its worthwhile.

Before you take into account things such as warranty issues.

It's probably not a good idea to do it on such a new car.

[P@tje]

Originally Posted by christophe

thanks for the advice ,i think i will ask my dealer what honda themselve think about it .i don't want my 3 yaers of garanty by distroyed.

the dealer always says "don't do it" but they have no scientific ground, only political and commercial.

[Tamster's Civic Batmobile]

I recently looked into this and found that there are no more Government grants for anyone converting to LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas).

The average costs of converting to LPG is around £2,000 and as I do around 20,000 miles, I recoup my conversion cost in about 2 yrs based on using the current avergage cost per litre of unleaded petrol vs LPG.

I agree with P@tje - use only approved and tried & tested systems as I found out that the wrong fitted conversion can seriously damagwe the car's resell value.

The best sites I went on are:
Boost LPG - Homepage
LPG Vehicles

I haven't made up my mind if I want to convert but I hope the info posted here are of some help.

[P@tje]

For people who don't know what the risks are when desciding to let the engine run on autogas/flüssiggas/LPG/GPL (what 's in a name these are synonym):
The inside combustion temperature in the cilinder of a combustionengine is a bit higher when LPG is burned. Due too this fact the valves can or will worn quicker then when only petrol is burned. The valves will get hot, as usual, and have to conduct this heat to the valve seats. But they have to be able to conduct the (about 10%) extra of heat.
Two major and important things are important here: which material did the manufacturer use and is the contact surface area big enough to let the heat flow (conduct) away.
Today's engines are not always LPG proof. Many are totally not proof, and a lot of brands don't give warranty when you deside to run on LPG. In some cases because they don't want to burn there fingers, and in those cases, conversion might be possible. In some other cases it's a good advise to forget about conversion!
Well if engines are technically spoken gas proof (no matter what they say) there might be a change that they need some extra attention for the valve tappet clearance. A good idea is the use of a fluid lubricant, Flashlube. This can give a possitive effect in some cases. But not always ( for instance, a Toyota Yaris engine doen't get old when running on LPG, even with FL installed!)
So in case of a not 100% compatible engine, always use at least Flashlube and also take car of extra inspections to the valve tappet clearance!

Remark: no matter which LPG conversion system is used, the technicians can always let the engine run smoothly on gas. Drivabillity will be ok no matter how complex the system is. But the question is "how long" will the engine last.
And there are plenty of gas conversion systems, but the most reliable and technically spoken nice systems (master-slave) are only a few. And they all or at least most of them have there roots in Holland. (over the years here's a nice installed base and a lot of good but also bad experience)
PS: autogas (LPG) is NOT the same as natural gas.

[hhuberla]

I did a lot of investigation to this prior to buying my 1.8.

- Honda don't recommend doing it but has already been mentioned they're jsut trying to cover themselves, it's not based on technical research they have done. They have no research so they wont advise for doing it.

- By law they cannot void your warranty (someone told me on this list and I also researched with various fitters). What Honda can do is void the warranty on any parts which are affected by the upgrade. So, if your injectors give problems Honda can (and probably will) claim it's due to the upgrade.

- I have my car on PCP (lease) and the only thing stopping me from doing the upgrade right now is that I'm not clear on whether this goes against my lease agreement. I spoke to somebody at the leasing company and they said I was not allowed to do it but they didn't give me any confidence that they understood what I was asking.

H