Did you come east and not stop in to say hi?

 

we had our summer pylon racing seminar for the reno air races this fall....btw the offer still stands!

 

cats seem to be fine so now we need to remap the cng with the new larger injectors. No codes are thrown and the low fuel pressure code has been eliminated with some complex plumbing and a solenoid (not my first choice but it works fine) more to come

 

all has been sorted out...no cels at all over the past few weeks....I am doing a real world test right now to assess real world mileage/costs and I am fueling only with cng as needed until my dino fuel tank is empty. I did a partial test and got interesting results that need to be re-verified with $$$ amounts added into the mix. I am working on a full experience article as well.

 

Nice to hear Jet. It would be great, once you get some good data, if you could post a long summary of what was done, were you had it done, how issues were overcome, etc. and mostly if you feel confident enough to recommend to others. It is certainly something that I'd like to do if it reliable and trouble free.

 

Well after months of work I am pulling the plug on this project. It worked pretty well but not to my standards. I think the issue is that the systems do not talk to each other and no matter what you do in the end it has to be fully integrated into the on-board system, an after market add on that doesn't fully interface with an existing system is just to complex to try to work out.
Fuel was 1.50 to 1.90 a gal. and it produced less hydrocarbon which was my goal but the fuel is not widely available. I live in Utah and you can fill up literally anywhere in our state. I drove exclusively on CNG for 6 to 8 weeks before needing any dino gas, mostly in in town driving, but on the road its a different story. There are literally no places to buy CNG between here and Calif. (they CLOSED the station in Reno!)! As I am moving to Calif. (god help me) next year I thought it would work out there as well...surprise surprise! Utah is WAAAY ahead of Calif on the whole lower emissions concept! Where I am moving I would have to drive 150 miles to get CNG. I contacted the DMV etc. (early on when I started this project) in Calif. and they have lots of PLANS to expand but since I started this project I have seen NO expansion from the "planners" at all.
The bottom line is that if you are not a type A driver (AGGRESSIVE) and don't push your car AND have access to the fuel then it may be worth it but for me it just wasn't. There is some residual value in parts from the install but I am out about 6K all in (I am working with the CNG dealer to take back the tanks and mounts). I think its responsible to TRY new concepts, especially having to do with our environment, but you can't be AHEAD of the power curve on this. In 5 years or so MAYBE the infrastructure will be in place to make this viable, but by then the mfg. will be offering this as an option on most cars. I don't think we will ever see fuel costs at over $5.00 per gallon as you can reliably, cost effectively, and profitably produce synthetic fuels that will work fine in 90% of today's cars. (based on today's technology)
The only real flaw that I repeatedly saw was that it could not take full throttle in CNG mode. Changing injector sizes (CNG) would help this but at a certain point it is self defeating, CNG just doesn't have the same BTU energy that gas does. It was no problem but when charging up a hill (and sort of fracturing the speed limit) the car was not happy. All of the other issues CEL's etc. had been worked out but I just wasn't happy with the outcome.
Personally I don't recommend this for HYBRID vehicles. If you have a regular vehicle and room for tanks AND fuel Infrastructure in place it may well be worth the cost, but don't do it to get better mileage. Fuel is less expensive and burns cleaner but the mileage isn't going to change much.

Oh well...I tried anyway.....sorry planet but I gave it my best shot!

MANY THANKS to HILLBILLY HYBRID and others who offered ideas and suggestions I really appreciate the enthusiasm and support you all shared with me!