CNG Miata...I thought I'd seen it all.

http://tulsa.craigslist.org/cto/4974592488.html

I haven't crunched the financials on it yet, but the funky factor is off the charts.

From the ad: "It is mostly stock aside from a few modifications listed below." "CNG conversion"

I guess on the whole the car is mostly stock. Only modified to run on a new fuel source including using the entire trunk to hold two giant CNG tanks. Lol. Interesting. I wonder what kind of mileage it gets and what the power/performance is.

I recall that CNG being an awesome fuel - but only if the car's set up to take advantage of it. However, like E85, unless it's a turbocharged engine, there won't be much gain from switching to it.

CNG makes sense in vehicles like my Disco that abysmal gas Mileage. CNG is cheaper than premium

CNG converted cars actually lose a bit of power over gasoline, in my experience. The only reason to run it is because its cheaper IMO.

I see they've fixed the problem with excessive Miata trunk space.

Keith Tanner wrote: I see they've fixed the problem with excessive Miata trunk space.

Seems like overkill. In my experience, the spare tire and a duffel bag solves the excessive trunk space problem.

Desmond wrote: CNG converted cars actually lose a bit of power over gasoline, in my experience. The only reason to run it is because its cheaper IMO.

It might make sense for rock crawlers too - no fuel starvation problems at crazy angles!

CNG has an octane equivalent of about 140. It does however have a lower energy level than gas, so unless you are willing to go single fuel, or dual maps, so you can go with high CR's or boost the hell out of it, you aren't using it for it's strengths.

kb58 wrote: I recall that CNG being an awesome fuel - but only if the car's set up to take advantage of it. However, like E85, unless it's a turbocharged engine, there won't be much gain from switching to it.

$.80-1.25 per gallon-equivalent is the biggie.

Those tanks look like MAYBE 5-6 gallon-equivalent at most. 20 takes up a third of a fullsize pickup's bed.

and i was annoyed by the fact my f250 has a cng set up. from my past experience with it ill never use it unless i build a rock crawler. my old chevy felt like it lost alot of power running on propane vs gasoline.

The only way you can tell our shop truck (4.8 Silverado) is running on CNG is if the light on the dash is on.

Of course, this is a proper CNG install, with eight injectors and a piggyback computer.