How To Make Your Car Economical?

A Bi-fuel CNG Car Does The Trick
Petrol price hits another new high: Drivers spend £8m a day more than a year ago
Dailymail, UK
Petrol price hiked by Rs 2.96 per litre
India Today
Petrol price hike: from Rs 8 to Rs 56 in 20 years
IBNLIVE.Com

Wow! That’s more than 200% raise in 20 years. But, 20 years seems to be a long time, consider this that the average individual salary rise worldwide in the same period was just over 120%. So, the difference in salary raise and rise in the cost of fuel prices is huge. It would not be wrong if I say that a large chunk of our monthly earning goes in buying the precious gasoline that drives us around. Some of us regularly get routine maintenance like servicing, engine tune-up, tyre pressure check etc to make our car more fuel efficient but how significant it is in terms of fuel economy.
There is another option that vehicle owners all over the world are exploring and that is to get a bi-fuel car. A bi-fuel car has two or more energy source unlike a regular car which is most likely powered by gasoline. There are many options for the second energy source like Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) or simple electricity provided by re-chargeable batteries, most common among them is CNG. A regular car needs a conversion kit to run on CNG, the process involves fitting a gas tank to store CNG, pipes to take the highly pressurised gas to the solenoid valve which then reduces pressure and delivers it to the fuel injectors for combustion inside your car's engine. This combustion or burning of fuel gives the power required to drive your car.
I got my car, a small sedan, installed with a CNG kit at 25,000 kms. I was spending around Rs 11,000 ($243) per month on petrol till that time, after the conversion to CNG the monthly expenditure on running my car came down to Rs 6000 ($132) and I could drive more as the mileage of my car increased from 14-15 kms/litre of petrol to 17-18 kms/kg of CNG At one point of time it cost me Rs 0.80 ($0.017) per kilometre to run my car on CNG. Now, that was economical and easy on my monthly budget.
A car fitted with CNG gets you more value for your hard earned money but, there are some pros and cons that must be kept in mind:
Let’s first discuss the negatives of a CNG fitted car:
> First, let’s accept it, CNG is still not very readily available. So, you have to insure that you know where to find a CNG filling station.
> You can get full tank of gasoline at any fuel station, but a full tank of CNG or any other gas is fully dependent on the pressure the CNG filling station is getting during the re-fill.
> The tank's capacity might be of 12/14 kgs or more, but you will never get a full tank. So, in a 12 kgs CNG tank the most I have ever got filled is 9 kgs.
> The power of the vehicle, while running on CNG, does go down a bit. So, while climbing a flyover you might have to switch to 2nd gear when same could have been done on 3rd or 4th gear if you were running on petrol.
> The car still takes ignition on petrol and gradually switches to CNG when the car gathers speed. The primary fuel is still gasoline.
> The engine and CNG kit has to be serviced more often.
Too much of negatives and you are thinking why should I get my car converted to CNG, but wait till you know the positive side of the story:
> Your car becomes a dual-fuel car so you always have a back-up. So, if a full tank of gasoline takes you, let’s say 340kms, then a tank full of CNG (say 9kgs) can take you approximately 166kms further.
> To switch between power sources you just have to click a button which is mostly fitted within the dashboard consol. And, this can be done when the car is still running.
> CNG is more environmentally friendly than your regular gasoline. CNG produces 90% less polluting agents and it gives off 40% less greenhouse gas emissions.
> Here comes the best part, CNG brings down your monthly car fuel expenditure to about 50%. Now, that is something that can't be ignored after all as they say, it’s all about money...honey!
Another aspect of a bi-fuel car, specially CNG car, that has to be taken into consideration is most companies don't make CNG fitted cars. You have to buy the kit and get it fitted from a professional. Also, please check with your manufacturer as once the kit is fitted the warranty of your vehicle can lapse. Check with authorities as local laws might need you to get your vehicle registration updated.
Taking everything into consideration a bi-fuel car gives you that extra edge over a single-fuel car, it may be fuel economy or environmental concerns or just the power to have something more than average car owners. I can tell you for sure that after having driven more than 66,000 kms mostly on CNG, I have never regretted my decision to install the conversion kit. Finally, whatever you do just remember, to love your car and you can get the best out of it.