acetone for better MPG!!!

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Old Sep 21, 2005 | 02:44 PM
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acetone for better MPG!!!

There is a topic that I have seen on several other fourms about using 3 oz. of 100% pure acetone to every 10 gallons of gasoline. all of the responces back have been 15% - 20% increase in gas mileage. Just wondered what your thoughts were.

info: http://pesn.com/2005/03/17/6900069_Acetone/

more info: http://www.lubedev.com/smartgas/additive.htm
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Old Sep 21, 2005 | 02:57 PM
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Heard that a while ago but we are all afraid to try it. Anyone wants to be a guinea pig?
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Old Sep 21, 2005 | 03:00 PM
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haha i heard of something similar to this, same chemical forumal found in "lime-away" a chemical cleaning agent....yeah my boss was telling me this awhile back how he would put it in his 89 VW golf...said it actually worked, idk "burned cleaner" or something...
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Old Sep 21, 2005 | 03:04 PM
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Originally Posted by fedor corolla
haha i heard of something similar to this, same chemical forumal found in "lime-away" a chemical cleaning agent....yeah my boss was telling me this awhile back how he would put it in his 89 VW golf...said it actually worked, idk "burned cleaner" or something...

Yeah, it's supposed to make the engine burn cleaner (no black soot on exhaust tips), Idle smoother, Run better all around. Someone has to try it. Maybe one of the 1st Gen CL's.....just kidding!!!
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Old Sep 21, 2005 | 03:20 PM
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I'll try this in my Accord and let you know. It's out of commission right now waiting on a new clutch master cylinder but once I fix that I'll try the Acetone thing. Sounds interesting...
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Old Sep 21, 2005 | 03:25 PM
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I'd assume this would increase the octane value?
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Old Sep 21, 2005 | 03:25 PM
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BTW, BlueCL, that's a badass car you got there!!
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Old Sep 21, 2005 | 03:41 PM
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i will try that out this weekend on my brother's car.
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Old Sep 21, 2005 | 03:47 PM
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i heard people mention using lower octane in our cars,though it hurts performance, makes sense that you might get MPG, timing pulled to the limit of detonation, but a more complet burn of the easier to ignite fuel.
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Old Sep 21, 2005 | 03:58 PM
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can not be good for your piston rings...

same shit in fuel treatment cleaner and you do nto run that on every full tank of gas...



not going to be the hater.... but good luck in the long run.
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Old Sep 21, 2005 | 04:19 PM
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Originally Posted by Smitty
can not be good for your piston rings...

same shit in fuel treatment cleaner and you do nto run that on every full tank of gas...



not going to be the hater.... but good luck in the long run.

There was a test that was done where two different people soaked a fuel pump, injectors, rubber seals, fuel lines etc... in 2%, 3%, 5%, and 10% acetone for 1 year and the only thing that happend was the rubber seals expanded, I forget what they miked at but it wasn't enough to notice.
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Old Sep 21, 2005 | 05:44 PM
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Originally Posted by typeR
i heard people mention using lower octane in our cars,though it hurts performance, makes sense that you might get MPG, timing pulled to the limit of detonation, but a more complet burn of the easier to ignite fuel.
i too notice a lotta people on this board were experimenting with lower octane gas, but that when gas prices started rising. stupid excuse to do so from my perspective.
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Old Sep 21, 2005 | 05:51 PM
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Originally Posted by brianlin87
i too notice a lotta people on this board were experimenting with lower octane gas, but that when gas prices started rising. stupid excuse to do so from my perspective.
not so sure...with the knock sensor there's not alot to worry about and if youre fimiliar with the accord 7th gen they rate at 240 with 87 oct and temple did a test where they got like 10 hp from going to 93... so the car pulls timing to prevent det. but maximizes the burn therefore better gas milage ..speculation but i think i got less than 93 when the hurricane hit new orleans the night i filled up got a couple CELs flashing ,shortly they went away..never got a hard code...ended up with 300 miles on the tank whereas 240-270 is normal for me and more often the 240
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Old Sep 21, 2005 | 06:05 PM
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I think this might be somehow relevant to the thread. Look at what Acura has to say about high octane fuel.

http://www.downtownacura.com/dcm/sho...rvicetips-fuel
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Old Sep 21, 2005 | 07:57 PM
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Originally Posted by typeR
not so sure...with the knock sensor there's not alot to worry about and if youre fimiliar with the accord 7th gen they rate at 240 with 87 oct and temple did a test where they got like 10 hp from going to 93... so the car pulls timing to prevent det. but maximizes the burn therefore better gas milage ..speculation but i think i got less than 93 when the hurricane hit new orleans the night i filled up got a couple CELs flashing ,shortly they went away..never got a hard code...ended up with 300 miles on the tank whereas 240-270 is normal for me and more often the 240
really... that's kinda interesting. here in california, we only get 91 octane out here, so I might not have that drastic of an improvement switching from 91 to 87 in comparison.

But to stay on topic, I may try this acetone theory on my car, but not until I do it to my brother's car beater car first.
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Old Sep 21, 2005 | 08:35 PM
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Originally Posted by Smitty
can not be good for your piston rings...

same shit in fuel treatment cleaner and you do nto run that on every full tank of gas...



not going to be the hater.... but good luck in the long run.
Acetone is a powerful solvent that will break down oil, so lubricating properties are demished. I used to use it some in my old muscle car, but only once in a while. If I remember correctly it helps clean the fuel system and combustion area as well as reduce detonation. Since I changed my oil regularly at 3,000 miles I never worried about it and put many of miles on that engine without problems.

That said, these cars have tighter tollerances and reducing the lubrication on a 5-20 oil wouldn't be good in the long run . . . IMO. It would be interesting if the impact on synthetics is the same.

Ruf
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Old Sep 21, 2005 | 08:38 PM
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A lot of motorcyclists do this... the gain is minimal but they are there if you plan on going to the track.

The problem is that you have to mix the proper ratio of acetone to gas.

The second problem is that you have to buy PURE ACETONE not some nail polish removing crap with fragrance. Pure acetone is expensive if you keep using it.
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Old Sep 21, 2005 | 08:40 PM
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So don't you go to your local thrift store and pour a bottle of nail polish remover in your car...

You can order pure acetone from companies, they come in 5 gallon cans. Shipping is expensive since it is a flammable.
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Old Sep 21, 2005 | 09:22 PM
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Correct... it is found in fuel treatments and in Octane Booster...

I just suggest that it is not used on every fill up.
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Old Sep 21, 2005 | 10:01 PM
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acetone's available at home depot...just not sure if it's pure...ill look tomorrow
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Old Sep 21, 2005 | 11:20 PM
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sure is available at Home depot and it is pure acetone as well. i use it all the time with computer parts. its not really that expensive.
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Old Sep 22, 2005 | 12:36 AM
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Originally Posted by CleanCL
sure is available at Home depot and it is pure acetone as well. i use it all the time with computer parts. its not really that expensive.
with a car it will add up....
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Old Sep 22, 2005 | 08:03 AM
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If this was a safe and good way to increase gas miliage or clean your car, wouldnt you think that gas companies would be adding it to their gas and increasing their prices to reflect the 20% increase in milage. If everyone could increase their gas milage by 20%, especially today when gas is so expensive, that would be a ground breaking inovation.

I dont think there is enough information out there yet regarding long term effects of pure acetone in your gas. I wouldnt do it.
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Old Sep 22, 2005 | 08:27 AM
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So.... let's see now, acetone in the tank, the Tornado, 50 PSI in the tires, hmmmmm.... what else am I forgeting? I should get at least 50MPG!
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Old Sep 22, 2005 | 08:59 AM
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Will acetone harm my pistons or other engine parts? Gasoline never gets to the pistons with acetone in the right amount because nearly all the fuel evaporates and burns like it is supposed to. Without acetone, fuel will certainly wash the rings and pistons. You see clean tail pipes with acetone. Sooty black tail pipes are the norm without it.


Would acetone melt plastic or neoprene parts like in fuel pumps or fuel hoses? That comes from the oil companies, I believe. There are false rumors we have contradicted over and over. We have dozens of such parts soaking outside for months in various solutions of gasoline with up to 10% acetone which is several hundred times too much. No damage so far.


Can acetone reduce the wax crystals that form in gasoline in cold weather? Yes. Those strings form when cold. They need to be dissolved better in the fuel with acetone. Ice crystals also form and can damage parts but acetone greatly helps with that problem too.


Is acetone harmful to my valves? No. What is harmful is late timing and lean mixtures. But these conditions disappeared when they put in computers to manage your engine settings. This is one of the myths being passed around to naive listeners by Big Oil. No valve has ever been hurt simply by using a tiny bit of acetone in gasoline or diesel fuel. Acetone is good for engines


How much acetone do I put into my fuel? For gasoline we use about three oz. per ten US gallons. Sometimes we use four oz. per ten gal. For diesel we use about two oz. per ten US gallons. That is equal to about 2.5 ml per liter for gasoline and about 1.5 ml per liter for diesel. Any tiny amount is better than none. No engine can deliver good MPG without some acetone


Where do I find 100% pure acetone? From a store such as K-Mart or Menards. We buy a gallon can of 100% pure acetone for about nine bucks. CVS and Walgreens have pure ONYX acetone in 16-oz. plastic bottles for three dollars. The Torco EAL 12-oz. bottle is also good for acetone. These bottles are excellent containers. Save them.
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Old Sep 22, 2005 | 09:05 AM
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This article has some good references:

http://pesn.com/2005/04/12/6900080_Acetone_and_Ester/
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Old Sep 22, 2005 | 10:42 AM
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some very interesting reading
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Old Sep 22, 2005 | 11:03 AM
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it's been a while since there was a thread worth reading
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Old Sep 22, 2005 | 12:18 PM
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This whole thing with acetone is true, I remember when I was drag racing with my turbo Mr2 and I would buy a lot of race gas. Well one day, I stumbled across a website explaining how mixing some chemicals and alcohols with gas will increase the octane. I also read xylene is a good octane booster as well, unfortunately I lost that website. But acetone, xylene, ethenol etc will help in increasing mph and octane in a gasoline engine.
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Old Sep 23, 2005 | 11:29 AM
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One of the products I market is called CENTRON. It is made for the American Energy Group
by Brentag. It is a commercial grade fuel additive with a formulation for gasoline engines and another for deisels. It has been tested for over 200 million miles and is covered by a million dollar liability policy per claim. It is only available in commercial quantities of 55 gallon drums and up. Sells for approx $0.11 per treated gallon. I have users saving over 20% per diesel puller and with diesel at or near $3 per gallon, a 20% savings = $0.60 per gallon for a net of 49 cents per gallon in savings. I also use this product in some of my cars and lawn mower, etc. It does work and is aptented and has all US and CA approvals.
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Old Sep 23, 2005 | 12:16 PM
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KXM, I live in poway. hook me up.
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Old Sep 23, 2005 | 02:48 PM
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let it flow, KXM
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Old Sep 23, 2005 | 03:06 PM
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iono but at my work i use alot of commercial grade acetone and from personal experiance it will litterally melt plastic so....... did i hear someone say RUBBER ring???
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Old Sep 23, 2005 | 03:45 PM
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Great read.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...hlight=acetone

I had brought up this question in TSX 3 weeks ago, but some good insight here helps complete the big picture. I'll experiment with it and try and give a feedback pretty soon (I drive a lot).

to fellow CL'ers.
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Old Sep 24, 2005 | 08:57 PM
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I did it!

OK, intrigued as I am by this posting I decided to go ahead and do it, but not in my CL-S yet. Instead I volunteered my 83 Honda Nighthawk 650. It onyl had about 2 gals in it so I added just under an ounce. I will say that it does feel better all around, especially at low revs. In fact, I can easily motor away in 2nd gear and I could never do that before. It pulls very smoothly and strong. The flat spot it had in acceleration under part throttle and mid revs is gone. Next, I'm going to try it in my 280z.
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Old Sep 25, 2005 | 12:20 AM
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where did you buy the acetone?
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Old Sep 25, 2005 | 12:32 AM
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Wasn't this topic brought up in Ramblings like 6 months ago? I can't find the thread in there, but everyone shot it down because if this was in fact true. EVERYONE would be doing it because of how bad gas prices are.
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Old Sep 25, 2005 | 05:44 PM
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added 5 oz. to 3/4 tank will report the results
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Old Sep 26, 2005 | 06:57 AM
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Lets take gasoline from a chemsitry standpoint and how gasoline is converted to energy to move the car.

1) Gasoline is basically made of "Hydrocarbon" = a chemical compound made only of Carbon and Hydrogen atoms, thye are chains of "Carbon" atoms linked together.
2) Gasoline is used as a source of energy by breaking the Carbon to Carbon atom bonds. As it requires energy to create/make a covalent bond...breaking a convalent bond will release energy. So the more bonds you break the more energy is released.
3) Gasoline is injected into the cylinders and is ignited where the gasoline will combust and release it's energy in the form of heat and pressure.
4) The gasoline has to be precisely ignited by the spark plug. Gasoline can be "pre-ignited or pre-detonated" due to high temps or high pressure (like being compressed in the cylinder at a high ratio)
5) This is why certain cars require different octane gas. The "Octane Rating" of gasoline at the pumps is an average of two numbers...basically the "octane rating" tells you how well it resist "pre detonation".
6) Why is higher Octane Rating more expensive then lower Octane Rating gas? Back to the chemistry... the first compound with only 1 Carbon atom and the rest Hydrogen atom is Methane, 2Carbon = Ethane, 3Carbon = Propane, 4Carbon = Buthane, 5Carbon = Pentane, 6 Carbon = Hexane, 7Carbone = Heptane, 8Carbon= OCTANE...etc A Higher Octane Rated gas contains a higher percentage of the "more expensive chemical", a longer hydrocarbon chain chemical. So you can consider an Octane Rating of 87 as 87% Octane and 13% Heptane, and Octane Rating of 92 as 92% Octane and 8% Heptane.
7) Why doesn't Octane 92 pre-detonate compared to a Octane 87 (Relatively speaking)? 92 grade octane contain hydrocarbons with a LONGER Carbon-Carbon chain...to break the bonds of the Octane chain requires more "energy" then it would take to break the bonds of a shorter Carbon-Carbon chain of Propane. Think about the "energy" in terms of heat and pressure. Consider a V8 with 87 gas...there is enough heat and pressure in the cylinder to pre detonate the 87 gas before the piston is fully compressed...with 92 gas and its longer hydrocarbons, it will require more heat and more pressure to pre detonate the gas...but the V8 doesn't produce enough heat or enough pressure to pre-detonate the gas.
8)So what are Octane Booster? Basically various carbon compounds amongst other things...like Tolune, Aromatic Rings (a ring of Single, Double, and Hybrid Carbon-Carbon bonds) which require MUCH MUCH MORE Heat and Pressure to pre-detonate. Alcohols CAN be used a Octane boosters, but they don't work that well. Alcohol compounds have a -OH group attached to it (a Oxygen-Hydrogen), without going into too much chemistry, the Oxygen has electrons it wants to share with another compound..mix with gas, it shares it with a hydrocarbon creating a bond....this Oxygen-Carbon bond isn't as strong as a Carbon-Carbon bond.
9)So does adding Acetone help with MPG? In theory, I would say yeah. Is it a significant difference...I don't think so, My MPG always fluxtuates (+)(-) 5%, so a total of 10% ... so it's hard to measure without a controlled enviroment. In theory, the Tornado seems to prove a good point...with some people says it works and other people says it doesn't...who knows.

There are probably many things you can add to gas to get MPG...but there is always a trade off of some sort...like leaded gas
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Old Sep 26, 2005 | 10:25 AM
  #40  
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Originally Posted by zoltanh
If this was a safe and good way to increase gas miliage or clean your car, wouldnt you think that gas companies would be adding it to their gas and increasing their prices to reflect the 20% increase in milage. If everyone could increase their gas milage by 20%, especially today when gas is so expensive, that would be a ground breaking inovation.

I dont think there is enough information out there yet regarding long term effects of pure acetone in your gas. I wouldnt do it.
If you think about it, why would a fuel company want you to get better millage? If you do, you'll buy less fuel. They aren't going to run out of it any time soon so ultimately, they don't care about your fuel millage.
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