Has anyone here converted their Ranger to CNG?
If so, are you happy with it, how's the performance. Sort of thinking of looking into converting my '00 2.5L.

Thanks,

 

I deal with the problems of CNG, heres the first real biggie.

How much does it cost to convert to CNG? Try $4000 - $6000 to do it right. How many gallons of conventional gasoline can you buy with that? So in short, it would take a lot of driving before you would ever really see a savings. Now sure you can get some perks, depending on where you live, like HOV lane use, government rebates, etc. These are nowhere near the expense of getting said conversion. This is more so on a vehicle that already gets good gas mileage, the savings would be minimal, compared to the savings on a larger gas guzzler.

How long do you go between tune ups on a gasoline engine? Maybe 60K - 100K miles between major tune ups. Did you know that even with platinum spark plugs, you have to change the spark plugs every 30K miles at the most? CNG from what I have seen trashes plugs, valves, valves seats, etc. So not only is it expensive, but it takes its toll on the maintenance of your vehicle. So if you have to drive XXX miles to see a savings in fuel, thats going to be offset by XXX miles more because some of that perceived savings had to be spend on extra maintenance. What if this maintenance is ignored, particularly spark plugs. Well, expensive parts like the catalytic converter are often the first things to fail. In reality, the engine will probably wear out before you ever actually achieve a savings.

Are most conversion kits any good? There are a few well designed conversions out there, mostly for the most popular vehicles to convert, which are the types of vehicles most often used in fleets, namely, 5.4L Econoline vans, 5.4L F series trucks, 5.3L Chevrolet vans, and 5.3L Chevrolet trucks. Pretty much everything else is a marginal. So you are probably only going to find the really good kits on the most popular conversions. Everything else counts as experimental. By experimental, I mean that very few are tuned properly, so maximum savings aren't being realized, most mess with the fuel management of the vehicle in general, even when it runs in gasoline mode, if it is dual fuel equipped. Because the are not tuned properly, the in particular like to destroy the catalytic converters. Its hard to realize a savings if you are just a guinea pig. Part of the problem at the end of the day with most conversions is that CNG has an octane rating of 120. You run that in a vehicle that is designed to run 87 octane gasoline, and maybe you start to realize the problem if you understand how octane ratings work.

I am not a CNG owner, but I work with what happens when CNG goes wrong, which seems to happen often. I have several close friends who have or have had CNG vehicles. Only one was happy with it, and I think he was partially delusional. His was a factory CNG Civic, and even he admits the maintenance is a bit high.

My advise is, don't do it. Your factory setup can already get upwards of mid 20s on the highway if properly tuned and if you drive conservatively. A CNG vehicle gets a lower mileage, though the fuel is generally much cheaper. You need to have a sizable tank to get any descent range, an important thing to consider if CNG is not readily available in your area. Obviously this tank takes up space in your truck bed, reducing its usable cargo space.

 

Thanks for the info. It will give me something else to think about.