Putting Acetone in gas tank to increase fuel economy

[Matt Timion]

Originally Posted by tomauto

I did a little test of my own before I came to this website and published it to Honda-Tech. They pretty much said that my trip was too short. (even though it was the same route and I drove the same) - I can show you my report if you want to see it. But they basically said that it would rot the fuel system and that the pumps have a high rate of error.

I still have the same tank of gas right now. I just haven't been driving. Should I fill the tank up now to get a more definate (200 mile) answer? What might have killed the test is one night I got a little throttle happy, so...it might have killed any gains.

The 'rotting the fuel lines' comment is kinda old. I've yet to see any evidence of it really happening.

I've also yet to see much conclusive evidence of acetone working. Lots of anecdotal evidence, but nothing concrete.

I think the best way to test this is to either use a few tanks on the same trip, which takes lots of dedication.

Another possible way would be to use a scangauge or a SuperMID to look for instant fuel savings.

[tomauto]

I dont know if I am ready to buy a scangauge yet. I dont really want to plunk down the money for it. How much cheaper is the SuperMID?

[krousdb]

Originally Posted by tomauto

I dont know if I am ready to buy a scangauge yet. I dont really want to plunk down the money for it. How much cheaper is the SuperMID?

Scanguage it cheaper.

The first 4 tanks in my gaslog are with acetone, 3 oz per 10 gals. The rest are without. One could argue that the acetone had a negative effect. At the very least I would say that it had absolutely no effect.

[JanGeo]

was that with some pure acetone and do you have ethanol in the gas that you are pumping?? Maybe you should try it again and see if it was cleaning out the junk in your fuel system before you write it off.

[cheapybob]

All gas is going to have ethanol from now on so you might as well be sure whatever additives you might use are effective with the new formulation.

[cheapybob]

Originally Posted by n0rt0npr0

Spent this morning re-reading some good sites on acetone and octane...

Acetone is 150 octane, by the way. That explains why my engine knocked to all hell after I did not replace the acetone which I had been using for 6 tanks. I HAD TO reset the ECM to stop the knocking!
...........snip..............

If you do the numbers with 10 gal = 1280 oz x 87 + 1 oz x 150 / 1281 oz total, you'll get the revised octane value.

GM OBD II PCM's automatically reset octane settings anytime the tank is refilled, I read somewhere years ago. I want to say it reset if 8 gal was added. That was for a Firebird or Trans Am. Not sure if thats for all.

[n0rt0npr0]

Wait maybe the right way to calculate that would be to replace 1280 with what would actually fit in the tank after you added acetone. So in your equation it would be 1279oz.

And in my real-world equation it would be 1276oz so: 1276 x 87 = 111012. 4oz x 150 = 600. 600 + 111012 = 111612 / 1280 = 87.2 octane
Guess my engine and OBDI computer is sensitive to slight change of octane and whatever else acetone does...

On the OBDII comment, I remember reading that same thing a while back. I'm looking to have enough money saved for an OBDII vehicle by the end of next year

[cheapybob]

Originally Posted by n0rt0npr0

Wait maybe the right way to calculate that would be to replace 1280 with what would actually fit in the tank after you added acetone. So in your equation it would be 1279oz.

And in my real-world equation it would be 1276oz so: 1276 x 87 = 111012. 4oz x 150 = 600. 600 + 111012 = 111612 / 1280 = 87.2 octane
Guess my engine and OBDI computer is sensitive to slight change of octane and whatever else acetone does...

On the OBDII comment, I remember reading that same thing a while back. I'm looking to have enough money saved for an OBDII vehicle by the end of next year

My guess would be that the octane of the fuel you bought this latest time might have been lower than what you'd bought the previous tankfull. My Trans Am with its 5.7L OBD II LS1 V8 can run on 87 from here in Chicago, Pittsburgh, or Detroit just fine, but when I filled it with 87 up in Canada it FREAKED OUT. Luckily I carried a couple bottles of 104 octane booster with me, and as soon as I dumped them in, it ran fine.

[n0rt0npr0]

Ya I think you may be on to something, that latest tank would have been Citgo. I was testing Acetone with Shell fuels and then when I stopped, Citgo had ten cent lower prices and I filled up. Yucky Citgo.

[cheapybob]

When I'm done with mods I'll try some acetone at 3 oz/10 gal and GP-7 at 3/4 oz/10 gal if I can ever find any GP-7 without needing to pay an arm and leg for it due to shipping, etc. Very few places seem to carry the stuff. I see no point trying toulene as its cheaper to just buy higher octane fuel if all you want octane booster.

I hope you guys don't just pour the additives in the tank. When using additives, I've been told its best to put the additive into a fuel jug, then pump the gas into it and mix it up good, then pour it into the tank so that you are sure it gets mixed in well.