The Hindu Business Line : Fitting A/c in Omni LPG will not be effective

I have purchased a Maruti Omni LPG van (company-fitted option), which runs on dual fuel and features a 50-litre LPG tank and a five-litre petrol tank. I want to know whether the small five-litre petrol tank can be replaced with the 36-litre petrol tank that comes with the regular single fuel Omni. Will this change affect the safety of the vehicle? Can an air-conditioner be fitted to the Omni? The mechanics I referred to say that it is possible and effective, too.

Ragothaman Raji

The Maruti Omni van's factory-fitted LPG option runs on two fuels — petrol and liquefied petroleum gas. The van's already frugal 796cc engine has been teamed with an LPG storage and injection system to offer even higher level of efficiency for lower cost per kilometre.

The Omni LPG comes fitted with a 62.1-litre gas tank (not 50 litres) and a reserve petrol fuel tank of five litres. The vehicle also offers the advantage of being pre-tuned and comes with a factory setting for consistent performance when using either fuel. The engine has also been rated lower at 27 bhp compared to the petrol only Omni variant's 35 bhp.

But more important is the fact that the Omni LPG option is being offered after legislation regarding dual fuel variants requires that the traditional fuel should only be used as a fall back in the event of temporary non-availability of the alternative fuel. So, this effectively means that it may be against the law to replace the factory-fitted reserve petrol tank of five-litres with the larger, regular sized 36-litre tank.

As for safety, the Omni's LPG kit, from Vialle of the Netherlands, features ample protection from any leakage and can also feature an additional metal cage for protection from accidental damage to the valve.

Maruti claims that the Omni LPG is one of the most economical vehicles on the road, when it comes to combined cost of fuel, maintenance, repairs and insurance. But the van's relatively large interior space and smaller engine does not allow the fitment of an air-conditioner with a large compressor.

So, even though fitting an air-conditioner in the Omni is technically possible, it will not be effective in cooling the entire vehicle. Worse, in the LPG variant, , which is less efficient than petrol in terms of energy efficiency and has a lower rated engine, the efficiency of an air-conditioner will be even lower. Maruti used to offer a factory fitted air-conditioner variant of the Omni years ago, but the lower efficiency and relatively poor cooling performance lead to the withdrawal of this version.

I am in the market for a new bike, and after considering the options I have decided to buy the Honda Unicorn. But despite the bike being around for a couple of years, I continue to hear mixed reviews about the Unicorn's unique mono-suspension at the rear. A few of my friends have said that if the pillion rider is heavy, then the mono-suspension does not perform well. Is this true?

Shiva Kumar

It is a mistaken notion that the mono-suspension in the Honda Unicorn has performance limitations and that this is unique to it compared to twin shock absorbers that all other bikes in India feature. All bikes have a payload limitation and overloading in excess of the manufacturer recommended limit will damage to the shock absorber and cause long-term damage to even the chassis.

Given the same pillion riding either the Unicorn or any other bike that features twin shocks at the rear in the same size category, the Unicorn's mono-suspension will probably perform better. Mono-suspension brings a few inherent performance advantages, such as better stability and spring-slide uniformity compared to twin shocks.

In the twin suspension format, the two independent shock absorbers' varying levels of slide can lead to lower stability. Further, as the mono-suspension is mounted to the Unicorn's diamond frame and is close to the centre of gravity of the bike, centralisation of weight is achieved increasing stability and comfort.

Mono-suspension is the choice amongst race bikes and dirt track bikes as the focus is on stability and ruggedness.

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