Honda Civic -- able to convert to bio-diesal?

Hi, I'm new to this group. I have an old (96) Honda Civic LX. I just got
another car, and I was thinking that I would convert my Civic into a
hybrid/alt-fuel/bio-diesel car. Anyone know if this is possible? And if so,
how much it would cost? Is there some sort of converter that you can
install? I've been hunting the Web sites, but I'm not finding much.

Thanks for any help.

 

Unless that civic was a diesel, and I have never heard of any diesel Hondas,
then the answer is no you cannot convert..

 

Unless that civic was a diesel, and I have never heard of any diesel Hondas,
then the answer is no you cannot convert..

 

If you put in a diesel engine from another car then you can run bio diesel
in it.

 

If you put in a diesel engine from another car then you can run bio diesel
in it.

 

What about any other type of alt-fuel? Propane? Natural gas? Or is this just
swimming up a creek? Thanks for the quick reply.

 

What about any other type of alt-fuel? Propane? Natural gas? Or is this just
swimming up a creek? Thanks for the quick reply.

 

Unless you are rich, don't even try it. The expense involved would be
really high. I advise you to trade the 96 Honda Civic in on a vehicle that
runs the type of fuel that you want to use.

 

Unless you are rich, don't even try it. The expense involved would be
really high. I advise you to trade the 96 Honda Civic in on a vehicle that
runs the type of fuel that you want to use.

 

Yes, a Honda Civic could be converted to run on natural gas, but it
would be a whole lot easier, cheaper, and more reliable to buy one
that's configured at the factory to run on it.

See here:
http://www.hondacars.com/models/civic_gx_bonus.asp

Or if you want to buy one used, there are several websites that sell
used natural gas vehicles.


Todd.

 

Yes, a Honda Civic could be converted to run on natural gas, but it
would be a whole lot easier, cheaper, and more reliable to buy one
that's configured at the factory to run on it.

See here:
http://www.hondacars.com/models/civic_gx_bonus.asp

Or if you want to buy one used, there are several websites that sell
used natural gas vehicles.


Todd.

 

The real question, hmc, is what do you want to accomplish? Unless you
are a formal or amateur student of mechanical engineering who wants a
project, converting this car to run on anything other than gasoline
probably doesn't make sense. Unless you drive a lot of miles, your
cheapest route is just to keep driving you old car. If you are
concerned about the environment, bio diesel may not be the best
choice. It is unlikely to be as clean as a Honda ULEV engine and we
may soon reach capacity from french fry oil in which case it may end
up burning mostly petro-diesel.

For the price of converting your eight year old car you could buy a
brand new Prius or Civic Hybrid. OTOH if you are just cheap and drive
a lot of miles and have a convenient source of free veggie oil, buy
the used diesel VW and go for it. Beware though that some people find
VW ownership to be incompatible with frugality.

 

The real question, hmc, is what do you want to accomplish? Unless you
are a formal or amateur student of mechanical engineering who wants a
project, converting this car to run on anything other than gasoline
probably doesn't make sense. Unless you drive a lot of miles, your
cheapest route is just to keep driving you old car. If you are
concerned about the environment, bio diesel may not be the best
choice. It is unlikely to be as clean as a Honda ULEV engine and we
may soon reach capacity from french fry oil in which case it may end
up burning mostly petro-diesel.

For the price of converting your eight year old car you could buy a
brand new Prius or Civic Hybrid. OTOH if you are just cheap and drive
a lot of miles and have a convenient source of free veggie oil, buy
the used diesel VW and go for it. Beware though that some people find
VW ownership to be incompatible with frugality.

 

Why would you want to do that? If it's as an interesting engineering
project exercise, it's been done umpteen times in the .edu world. If it's
to satisfy some "green" urge, forget it - alternate bio-fuels are just
another political fraud.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

Why would you want to do that? If it's as an interesting engineering
project exercise, it's been done umpteen times in the .edu world. If it's
to satisfy some "green" urge, forget it - alternate bio-fuels are just
another political fraud.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

French-fry oil is a perfectly valid fuel. No fraud about that.

 

French-fry oil is a perfectly valid fuel. No fraud about that.

 

You would be well advised to start with a diesel engine car if you want to
run bio-diesel.

As far as DIY alternative fuel conversions ..... the state of the art is not
up to anything you would call competititve with as built automobiles.

John

 

You would be well advised to start with a diesel engine car if you want to
run bio-diesel.

As far as DIY alternative fuel conversions ..... the state of the art is not
up to anything you would call competititve with as built automobiles.

John

 

tell that to the guy that runs his car off old fry oil from fast food
joints. its legit, but the tinkering and crap involved to me wouldnt be
worth it.

btw- best bet would be to sell the civic, and get an old diesel rabbit.
theyre a dime a dozen, junkyards are full of em, and it would be the
ideal candidate for the tinkering, since its already designed to burn oil.

newer VWs burn oil regardless