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Very interesting information, I would be worried about how it would effect emission sensors/system and possibly the catalyst converter. Also, why wouldn't the auto industry/government be looking for the oil companies to use it. There must be a reason why it is not used. Then on the other hand it might help with the sulfur smell.

Koz
 
In the 70's we used acetone in racing engines. They had Webber carbs and the acetone broke up the surface tension of gasoline and it atomized better. For endurance racing we got longer runs on a load of fuel (better mileage) and the stuff never hurt anything. We only put the acetone in as we prepared the car for running. Our real interest was in getting the carbs to work better, across the whole range of engine operation. We did get checked in tech inspection for specific gravity of the gasoline, but were never busted for the acetone.

I'm going to try it in my '84 Honda Civic. It would be cost effective at just a few points of improvement. Gas here in Southern California is over $2.50/gal.

The reports are interesting. They are not being made by those selling acetone, which makes them worth looking at.
 
I liked the one suggestion to not use as much when filling up: put styrofoam in the gas tank. Now I don't know what styrofoam would do in there, so maybe just beating the tank with a 3 lb. maul would flatten it out some, and then maybe you'd save a couple gallons.


Seriously, I had a girl in my class say she used less gas when she didn't let her tank go empty. Another girl immediately agreed with her. Maybe we should try that!
 
Today I put 5 oz of acetone in a 12 gal tank on my 84 Honda Civic. I keep track of gas mileage, so after two or three tanks of gas I'll have an idea of what acetone might do. No science, just a try at seeing if there is something to using acetone. After 50 miles the engine is running fine, no problems, so far.
 
hmm, might have to try this is the ol Camaro when emissions are due next year :)

It fails everytime anyways, so worth a try :)
 
Larry, what type of MPG are you seeing in your Civic thus far? I'm sure we'd all like to know your results. The site in question was interesting reading, but I'm leery of doing anything that might damage a $30K SUV...
 
Last five tanks = 37.1 mpg, mostly freeway, not much stop and go. I hate traffic and crowded commutes so I play a game while driving, trying to get the best mileage possible. I let people beat me to red lights, I try to drive a bit ahead of the car so I don't have to use the brake pedal, and sometimes I try so hard that I even drive the speed limit. The 'game' is the only way to survive Southern California traffic, for me in a car that a moped could pass. This car has synthetic oil in the engine and transaxle and the tires aired up to 38 psi (max on sidewall is 40). Because i've been playing this game for a long time (original owner) with this gutless wonder and make the same trips, the next few tanks with acetone might be worth looking at. The car is well maintained and nothing is happening now, that I know of, that would change things. The weather is pretty much the same every day and there is not much else that would interfere with this unscientific experiment. I bought the acetone from Home Depot in a gallon can, but I forgot what I paid. I poured the stuff in the tank just before filling it. So there is nothing to do but drive.
 
I just put in 3.33oz when i filled up with 15.6 gallons in my 98. I get about 17.5-18.5mpg right now. I will update as I fill up more.
 
If you read the previous replys to the oriiginal thread you will see several responses on why not to use Acetone and they are all legit. This is a very aggressive chemical that removes uncured epoxy and polyester resin. It disolves rubber and many plastics. I can't believe anyone would want to use it to save a little gas and run the risk of long term harm to their 4R. Using it would void your warranty on the emission components and it would be very easy to trace. To many of us the increase in gas prices is something we new would eventually happen and the time is here. Did anyone actually believe they would go down? So we now have people trying to save a few $ a month by adding Acetone to their tank.

Also, not all grades of Acetone are the same and you never know what contaminates are in the can you purchase from a Hardware store. To even consider someone doing that just doesn't make sense, logically or financially.
 
we are talking about such a small concentration that it isn't going to affect anything. I belong to another car forum and we had many of us try it and they had nothing but good results, one member was experiencing 30 mpg from his 3.8L V6 Camaro. try before you discern.
 
Larry said:
Last five tanks = 37.1 mpg, mostly freeway, not much stop and go. I hate traffic and crowded commutes so I play a game while driving, trying to get the best mileage possible... The weather is pretty much the same every day and there is not much else that would interfere with this unscientific experiment. I bought the acetone from Home Depot in a gallon can, but I forgot what I paid. I poured the stuff in the tank just before filling it. So there is nothing to do but drive.
Click to expand...
Larry,
How did you make out with this. It's been a few months. Did the Civic blow up yet? Is it getting better than average mileage? Or should I be crying in my beer that I've been disappointed again?
 
20 MPG with V8!

Just got back from a Colorado camping trip pulling our large tent trailer. The V8 did very well over the mountain passes of 10-11k feet - That is, if we backed off on the gas a little & din't feel like we had to race up the mountain. For the whole trip, which included mountains, valleys, back roads, and some flat highway, we averaged between 15-17 on fill-ups. Not bad, and at least as good as my old V6 Pathfinder.

Now for the kicker: We got one partial tank (170 miles) at better than 20 MPG! But this was without the trailer (of course), and a round trip to Crested Butte. The elevation averaged around 8,000 ft., so the thin air theory might be true!

We also used that 85 octane they have up in Colorado with no problems whatsoever!

BTW: Of course this is calculated by hand & checked with GPS. (Add 3% to underreporting odometer; subtract 7% from overreporting trip computer)
 
Starting using top tier fuel

FWIW, I simply started using top tier fuel from the local SHELL station instead of the Diamond Shamrock where I usually gased up. (also went to 87 octane midgrade vs. the 85) On the half tank that I've used so far, I've seen an increase by about 2mpg over what I got before on my 4.0L V6.. I managed to get 140 miles on the trip odometer when the fuel gauge read 3/4 full, tho I'm really skeptical that I'll get 560 miles out of a full tank! But I'll be happy if it goes past 450 miles or anywhere close to 500 miles.

Bottom line though, is that using top tier fuel does make a diff . I chose Shell because the station is near my house. See http://www.toptiergas.com for other top tier brands.
 
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Re: Starting using top tier fuel

bryancos said:
FWIW, I simply started using top tier fuel from the local SHELL station instead of the Diamond Shamrock where I usually gased up. (also went to 87 octane midgrade vs. the 85) On the half tank that I've used so far, I've seen an increase by about 2mpg over what I got before on my 4.0L V6.. I managed to get 140 miles on the trip odometer when the fuel gauge read 3/4 full, tho I'm really skeptical that I'll get 560 miles out of a full tank! But I'll be happy if it goes past 450 miles or anywhere close to 500 miles.

Bottom line though, is that using top tier fuel does make a diff . I chose Shell because the station in near my house. See http://www.toptiergas.com for other top tier brands.
Click to expand...
Keep us posted. However, it will be harder to determine with more than one variable: moving both to Top Tier & higher octane.
 
acetone eats rubber, there are rubber componets in your fuel delivery system- So have it people ruin your rigs to save a couple bucks
 
That's why Larry's Civic is our guinea pig. For some reason I think I'll need a lot of beer to console me that he hasn't seen a 35% gain.:(
 
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