Fuel additive experiments....

[JanGeo]

I have to wonder about the Coleman fuel as it is really just refined gasoline and if the cost is higher than its gain it is not worth it. I figure that the Acetone I purchased on a sale comes out to about $0.25 for 3 oz per 10 gallons and if I get a gain of 1% it pays to use it - I think I get better than that in gains. The 2.5cc Torco is about $0.25 also as I got 500cc/1 Pint for $5.00

[ZugyNA]

Some new info:


http://www.lubedev.com/smartgas/additive.htm

http://www.lubedev.com/smartgas/approach.htm

"Acetone is not the only additive to boost your mileage. Xylene (xylol) and neohexane do the same thing. There are three variations of xylene that depend on how the pair of methyl ions in the benzene ring are distributed. These are the meta, the ortho and the para molecules of xylene. A doctorate student and friends at Clemson University in South Carolina are checking the mileage boost from the four types of xylene. Xylol (the fourth type) is the mix of the first three. So far they have verified that acetone yields 3 or 4 MPG and that o-xylene yields another 3-4 MPG."

"We prefer 2-3 oz. acetone per ten US gallons in gasoline and 2 oz. per ten US gallons in diesel fuel. We place this amount in our cars and suggest friends use the same amount for every tankful.

It has been reported that we only add acetone every other tankful. That was for test purposes only. We normally do the acetone every tankful.

We have a pyrex measuring bowl for all the ingredients to mix before pouring it into the tank. The mix should include a tiny amount of xylene (XYLOL) which is between 2 and 6 oz. per 10 gallons of gasoline. Am currently using 3-4 oz. of xylene per 10 gal. of gas."

"FANTASTIC MPG. The use of XYLENE (or XYLOL) revisited. Long ago I tried xylene off and on for many years without a firm conclusion. There are three types of xylene. Each structure depends on the positioning of the two methyl ions which form the meta, ortho and para. The mix of all three forms is called xylol. But with careful testing recently, we found a frustrating variation in MPG when xylene is used with acetone. We came to doubt the quality of the acetone we bought and found the best place to buy pure acetone is a beauty supply store.

We still use the normal 2-3 oz. acetone (technical grade) per 10 gallons but we add a few oz. of xylene into the gasoline per 10 gallons. The final amount is between 4 and 10 oz. per 10 gal.

We are getting help from a Clemson University student testing the three forms of xylene separately. Thus far ortho looks the best. Do not use xylene in diesel fuel--not yet. Let us try it first. Acetone works wonders in diesel at the rate of 2 oz. per 10 gallons. My 95 Neon has delivered up to 62 MPG with this slow burning fuel combination. That is correct. These additives do not directly enter into combustion but survive combustion to break up fuel fragments halfway down the power stroke. We will let you know very soon what mix works best. My 95 Mazda pickup (same as a Ranger) has reached 33 MPG with this combination. My 96 Olds has achieved 29. A 91 Toyota made it to 43 MPG. Both acetone and xylene are coal tar derivatives.?


NEW MIX? ...per 10 gallons:

2.5 oz acetone

3 oz xylene

.25 oz GP7


IMO...A-B-A testing probably doesn't work so well with fuel additive testing.


Best bet?

* find a test course...ideally a square 10 miles to the side...this factors out wind direction and altitude change. Ambient temps would need to be recorded and kept close to the same for all tests. Also humidity levels.

* establish a baseline with no additive...using a particular gas

* do the same test with the additive...but after using it in regular driving for at least a fuel tank...same gas

Requires a Scangauge.......or do the same testing using a regular test route using full tank refills...

[ZugyNA]

Originally Posted by JanGeo

I have to wonder about the Coleman fuel as it is really just refined gasoline and if the cost is higher than its gain it is not worth it.

Coleman's and a generic version of it can be found at Walmart for $3-4 per gallon. I intend to test the 10 oz per 10 gallon rate at some point.

[95metro]

I have to throw my pessimitic perception into the fray. This article:

http://www.lubedev.com/smartgas/additive.htm

Had a few things I'd like to point out.

We prefer 2-3 oz. acetone per ten US gallons in gasoline and 2 oz. per ten US gallons in diesel fuel.

Acetone in diesel would be bad since it acts as octane, thus increasing the pre-ignition temperature of the fuel. At 2 oz. per 10 gal it would be minimal difference, but diesel is supposed to pre-ignite so adding "knock-ihibitor" to it would not be a good idea.

For example in recent weeks I stopped using acetone in my Neon. At a steady 50 MPH, my MPG delivered 48-52 per my ScanGauge averages. That was the maximum with acetone. Then the next four fills at half empty gradually came down to 43-44, 37-38, 33--34 and 30-31. The last is slightly higher than what the car delivered originally or 27-29. Same gas. The trouble with consistent mileage tests is the cold weather.

This guy supposedly does a "test" by not using acetone for a few tanks (but there would have been acetone still in the last half of his tank at decreasing levels of concentration), but seems to consider his results as conclusive even though he admits that the weather was getting colder. Unfortunately he didn't specify how cold, but temperature is a MAJOR contributor to FE (my Metro's last tank was 50 mpg in spring/summer weather. My worst tank was 33 mpg in freezing winter weather).

He has no baseline to quantify if the acetone really works or not.

EDIT: Plus, look at the mixture ratios: 2-3 ounces per 10 gallons. Those are ratios of 1:640 (2 ounces acetone to 10 gallons gas) and 1:427 (3 ounces acetone to 10 gallons gas). In percentages we are talking 0.15625% and 0.23419% respectively.

Is acetone really so powerful at levels under 1% that people can truly claim benefits up to 35% increase in FE?

I don't think so, but that's just my pessimistic opinion.

[cheapybob]

My current tank I added

3 oz acetone
1 oz gp-7
2 oz fuel system cleaner

Mixed it with 2 gal gas, then added the 2 gal to the tank and bounced the car.

Anyway, I did a 60 mph test run and saw no improvement in scangage mpg. I did notice my spark is advanced to 39 max instead of 37 or 38, so I might be doing a bit better as a result.

[ZugyNA]

Just for kicks...try this mix?

1 quart xylene or xylol (octane boost)
6 oz Amsoil PI (cleaning, UCL)
1 oz Amsoil Gas Fuel Stabilizer
1/2 oz 100:1 2-cycle oil (UCL)

Mix in one gallon metal gas can. Pour in 1/2 full tank, and bounce car. My turbo with K-jet returns unused fuel to the tank so it mixes well.

See what your timing does?

Or try a tank of premium?

[cheapybob]

Originally Posted by ZugyNA

Just for kicks...try this mix?

1 quart xylene or xylol (octane boost)
6 oz Amsoil PI (cleaning, UCL)
1 oz Amsoil Gas Fuel Stabilizer
1/2 oz 100:1 2-cycle oil (UCL)

Mix in one gallon metal gas can. Pour in 1/2 full tank, and bounce car. My turbo with K-jet returns unused fuel to the tank so it mixes well.

See what your timing does?

Or try a tank of premium?

A quart of xylene alone would cost $5.00, let alone the other stuff, so I can't imagine that it would be possible to get a sufficient fuel economy increase to pay for that. My car is about 9.5 to 1 compression and designed to run on 87. My intake air is getting too hot, and that's when it was retarding. At some point here I'll cobble up some method to limit the temperature to 180 or 190f.

[ZugyNA]

Make a spacer to pull the intake back from the exhaust some?

[GasSavers_maxc]

Originally Posted by cheapybob

A quart of xylene alone would cost $5.00, let alone the other stuff, so I can't imagine that it would be possible to get a sufficient fuel economy increase to pay for that. My car is about 9.5 to 1 compression and designed to run on 87. My intake air is getting too hot, and that's when it was retarding. At some point here I'll cobble up some method to limit the temperature to 180 or 190f.

Run the intake air past a seperate heater core too keep it 190F?

[cheapybob]

I'd thought of directing the intake to the back of the rad, but that would mean 10 min to get warm in the winter. The MPG improvement in te winter from the setup was dramatic, so I'd hate to lose it.

I'm leaning towards some sort of setup that uses a bimetallic from a thermostat to trigger a vacum valve that controls a butterfly opening in a second intake tube letting in cold air, and having a second way to open it off the cam that the throttle cable uses to allow it to also open anytime I push the accelerator down hard.