Can Acetone Dramatically Increase Your Gas Mileage?

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Can acetone dramatically increase your gas mileage? Wise Bread reader Kip Kay told us that by adding pure acetone into his gas tank, his car now gets 10 extra miles per gallon.

Take a look at Kip's proof for yourself (jump to 1:07):

Acetone is the active ingredient in nail polish remover. It is relatively cheap and therefore the idea that it can dramatically increase gas efficiency is very appealing. (See also: How to Cut Car Ownership Costs)

However, Tom and Ray of NPR's Car Talk say that claims of acetone increasing gas mileage is completely bogus:

It's worse than useless — it's also harmful. Acetone is the primary ingredient in nail-polish remover. And while it will burn and is a high-octane material, it's also a very powerful solvent. So while it's in your fuel system, it'll be eagerly dissolving all of your rubber components...like gaskets and O-rings.

I generally trust Tom and Ray, but as someone pointed out on the Snopes forum, Tom and Ray were following the advice of an oil industry expert, who could hardly be considered an objective source of information.

Acetone as a Fuel Additive

Acetone has also been repackaged as a fuel additive by various inventors. Do a simple Google Patent search for "acetone fuel efficiency" and see the results for yourself. Here's one example:

Roger Crawford, a businessman and independent researcher in Midland, Tex., takes a different approach to fuel economy. He has just begun marketing a gas additive he calls "XtraMPG." He says it boosts octane, burns cleaner and enables motorists to get better fuel economy and buy less expensive grades of gas — saving 10 to 15 percent overall on gas.

What's in XtraMPG? "Most of us know it as nail polish remover," Crawford says. "It is simple acetone, a nonhazardous organic chemical...rated at 150 octane."

Crawford says he'd be happy if everyone bought acetone and added it to their gas tanks. But since people seem reluctant, he's packaging it as XtraMPG.

The EPA hasn't tested XtraMPG. But the EPA's Chandler warns that consumers need to beware what gadgets and fuel additives they add to their cars — especially with today's computer-controlled fuel-injection systems. "There are other, more practical ways to save fuel," he says.

Source: Washington Post

While I found no conclusive proof that acetone can safely boost your gas mileage, there is abundant evidence that acetone is an active ingredient in many "engine cleaners" and "fuel boosters." If you are the adventurous type you might consider doing further research and try formulating your own acetone-based fuel booster — which is probably smarter than handing your money to people like Roger Crawford.

Kip's video also mentions many other wonderful gas-saving tips besides acetone. Make sure you watch the whole video and also check out our articles on gas efficient driving and other gas saving ideas.

Disclaimer: The links and mentions on this site may be affiliate links. But they do not affect the actual opinions and recommendations of the authors.

Wise Bread is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.


Guest's picture
Dan King

I find it interesting that two of the posters here who said they'd report back in a couple of weeks, namely aviris on 5/4/07, and Gene R. on 7/5/07 have not reported-in. Wonder what the reason for that is? Personally, I would love to see proof regarding fuel milage increases from the addition of a small quantity of acetone (or any other substance). I have my doubts, based on several factors. First of all, I've seen no responces regarding the mixing of acetone into a tank of gasoline. The specific gravity of gasoline is 0.737, while acetone is 0.785. (Remember from your high school chemistry class that the specific gravity of water at 1.000, is the standard by which specific gravity measurement is based. Any substance above 1 will float on water, below 1 the substance would sink). Therefore, if acetone is added to a full tank of gasoline, it would float ON TOP of the gasoline. The motion of driving the vehicle would produce some sort of mixing, but would never result in an even mixture which would show a fuel economy advantage from the entire tank of fuel. Further, acetone evaporates at a rapid rate. Newer cars (from about 1980 on) have captured ventilation fuel systems, which WOULD prevent the acetone from venting out the filler cap. I would love to hear the results from the two posters. But, I also know that when trying to conserve fuel, a driver will conciously drive his vehicle less agressively, thereby swaying the results. A blind test by a large fleet operator, such as the phone company, without the knowledge of the drivers, adding one half of the acetone to an empty (or almost empty) tank, then adding the remainder at about half full, would prove or disprove this theory once and for all.

Guest's picture
LarryMc

Actually, you got it a little backwards, and your theory doesn't have much validity. Water has a specific gravity of 1.0 so substances with a specific gravity GREATER than 1 will SINK in water, and substances with a specific gravity of LESS than 1 will FLOAT on water (think of oil and vinegar in a carafe - when you shake the carafe they mix somewhat, but if you let is sit for a few minutes the oil floats on the vinegar). However, substances with a somewhat similar specific gravity will mix quite readily and stay in suspension for quite a while. Gasoline (0.739) and acetone (0.787) are so close together they will mix readily and stay mixed for a long time. Ethyl alcohol (also 0.787) is mixed with gasoline to make gasahol that is sold in many gas stations and becoming more popular all the time. The alcohol and gasoline don't separate because their specific gravities are very similar. It is quite conceivable that a few ounces of acetone poured into a gas tank before pumping in the gasoline would mix quite readily with the gasoline and stay in suspension for quite a while.

Guest's picture
Engineer

Science does not need to be done in an expensive highly controlled laboratory for it to be sound. Most scientific discoveries happened far from a lab. It is desirable to be able to control all the variables however, it is not always possible. The heart of any experiment is to focus on a point of interest, test it, and then observe the results. The best part of science is when someone does discover something new or provides new insight from experimental observations. The recording of the experiment allows others (peers) to replicate the experiment and observe the results for themselves, either confirming or disproving. It does not matter either way (approve or disprove)... that is the scientific method. Before science accepts new ideas or findings, the subject is usually proved thousands of times. Often initial experiments warrant further investigation and more detailed experiments.

So before you flap your trap (sound like a 'tard) on the subject, document your own experiment, quantify the results and comment.

As an after thought, if you cannot confirm the results claimed, perhaps you should think about why the claimant was successful in their experiment and why yours failed (this is very important, because you may have just discovered why the claim is false or why your experiment failed as well-this usually can be found in the variables).

Guest's picture
Engineer

A few notes about acetone. Acetone is NOT CORROSIVE. Acetone is NOT TOXIC (do not drink it of course). Acetone will not harm good fuel line components and can be stored in HDPE plastics. Anyone worried about acetone in their fuel can do a 30 second Google search for gasoline formulations and you will see Shell's formula allows 0-10% acetone. (I suspect actual product is around 0%).

My observations:

I have kept detailed records of my vehicle's mileage for years. I own an '88 Dodge Dakota, V6, 5spd, 4x4 and typically got around 18mpg city/25 mpg highway. I was satisfied with this economy for this vehicle. I replaced this vehicle with a '97 model with the same powertrain. I was really disappointed when I was only getting 13 mpg city/18mpg highway. This vehicle was 10 yrs newer and was only getting 2/3 of the mileage. I had the truck into the dealer several times to complain of high fuel consumption; each time I was told there is nothing wrong with the truck. I tried replacing filters, o2 sensors, etc: No help. From discussions with many people, the mileage of my '97 truck is typical and within specified ranges (lower at beginning and upper after improvements). So much for technology advancements.

I always felt the engine was running too rich. The exhaust always smelled of unburned fuel. In cold weather it would be hard to start and flood. My thinking on this was that the engine needed more air to lean out the mixture. As such, I modified the air intake to allow more air flow (essentially a ram air set up where vehicle speed will provide positive air pressure to the throttle). This improved my economy (&power) by about 4 mpg (17 city/22 hwy). I ran the vehicle this way for 4 yrs. Record mileage on highway was 23 mpg. Quite happy with the improvement. Results varied little. Documented to prove results.

This year I began looking for other ways to improve mileage as I was still getting less than my old truck. I found the idea of adding acetone to fuel. I was skeptical of the claims (I'm an engineer and I doubt everything until I see it proven). But for $8 I bought a quart of acetone and tried it in the prescribed amount. In the first tankful, I was wowed. I saw a 15% increase in my mileage (up to 20mpg city). I really wanted to get my truck on the highway (driving is less variable than in the city) and try out the mixture. My first tankful on the highway (3rd tank with acetone) I reached a record 26.5 mpg. I've just finished my 9th tank of fuel with acetone and just completed another record of 29.5 mpg on the highway. This is a rate I never expected or could believe possible. My mileage is still increasing with each tankful. I'm curious as to where it will top out. To date acetone added to gasoline has increased my mileage 7+ mpg on highway.

I have also tried acetone in my Jaguar X-type. I observed an improvement from 34 mpg best ever to over 40 mpg in the first tank.

I have other plans to increase mileage, but I have yet to quantify the effects of acetone alone. When I see my mileage stabilize around repeatable numbers, I will try my next experiment.

Other observations with acetone use:
- tailpipe smell seems to have cleared up
- engine does not cough/choke/sputter at low rpm
- better idle
- reduced knock

My conclusions:

I expect you can see mileage improvement up to 30% with acetone use alone (as prescribed) in your gasoline powered car. Most people should expect a 10-15% improvement. You might have to tinker a bit with the mixture to get the best results.

Guest's picture
college student

You know what my good engineer? As a college student who thrives on mountain dew, Taco bell, and any thing that is within my small budget, this sounds sweet. I have a shitty car that is more than up for a better mpg. Your words have convinced me to add pure acetone in to my car. Thanks for the few extra meals!

Guest's picture
tool

Most engineers would notice that the curb weight of the 1997 Dakota is about 500 pounds more than the 1988 version. This alone will affect your mileage.

They also do not have the same powertrain. Notice how the power goes up for the 1997?

Guest's picture
Engineer

@Tool

An engineer also knows that a vehicle keeping a constant speed on a level road the power requirement is independent of weight. This was the base of the majority of my data. Stop and go driving the weight will make a big difference and was recorded as such.

The power rating of the engine was increased 8% between these models. Same displacement, same block, same bore & stroke. The only significant change to the engine was from throttle body fuel injection to multi-port. Identical transmission and same rear end gear ratio and tire size.

I hope that clears your misconceptions.

Guest's picture
Engineer

I have seen several misunderstandings about gasoline written here and in other forums.

Octane rating is a misnomer. It should be called Antiknock rating. The rating number of the gasoline has nothing to do with engine performance, power, or economy. If you buy high octane rated fuel for these reasons you are giving your money away to the oil companies. People have the perception that a higher number equals higher quality or performance. WRONG!!! (I should be in the business of selling 200 octane fuel to all those reading this and thinking I'm stupid).

Read your owners manual. Use the fuel specified. Your engine was designed for that.

Here is what the octane rating means. It is the ability of the gasoline to prevent autoignition (higher flash point). If you are experiencing knock, try one octane rating higher. It should clear up. You can also try colder spark plugs.

The reason to use higher octane rated fuels is for engines with higher combustion temperatures such as higher compression (heavily modified mechanical - crank, rods, pistons, heads) or engines with boost (superchargers & turbochargers). These conditions create higher temperatures at compression and need fuel more resistant to autoignition.

Best fuel economy comes from gasoline that is really close to knocking or pinging in your engine. Higher octane rated fuels actually have LOWER fuel economy and LESS POWER for your car. The reason for this that the higher octane rated fuel is more difficult to burn. It is harder to ignite and more difficult to keep the flame front active. It also results in more unburned fuel leaving your engine.

Some people have asked what F1 uses for fuel. It is a highly guarded secret of course. I have heard once that it is 85% toluene and 15% n-heptane. The n-heptane is used as filler to keep the fuel within IAF rules. I would recommend against using aromatics in your fuel as they are known to be hazardous to your health.

Acetone, as I've been told, has been used as a racing fuel additive for nearly 50 years. Pure it is 150 octane rating (see, there is no octane in acetone, but it has an octane rating). Adding acetone to your fuel should increase the octane rating (although slightly). In observations it represses knock and many people report that they can use one octane rating lower fuel in the same car. So not only does acetone improve mileage, you can buy cheaper fuel. The benefits to the wallet seem obvious.

Guest's picture
Brainchild

Hi Engineer.I wanted to ask you where you got the info about the octane rating of acetone.It's not that I don't believe you,I need to know the octane(or antiknock) rating of one or two other chemicals,as well as the heat value in BTU's/gal.
Thanks.

Guest's picture
cgrey8

I'd just heard about acetone in gas about 2-3 months ago from a Ford EECTuning forum I'm a member of. One of the guys was asking about it to other members there. He as well as others (including myself) are trying it and I have to admit, I see an improvement. Is it bold as 30%? The jury is still out on that one. But I will say my engine runs MUCH smoother at idle and cruising. Another added benefit of being a Do-It-Yourself EEC tuner is I have software I run on my laptop that estimates my MPG similar to the ScanGage. It seems to agree that my MPG has increased. You can read more about all the discussion that's gone on at EECTuning.org and acetone here:
http://eectuning.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8156

Unfortunately, there's a lot of geek-speak about EEC Tuning all throughout that thread that might bore most people. But for those interested in it, read-away...

Guest's picture
Guest

The comments about acetone not having any effects on improving gas mileage are true. But that depends on the gasoline formulation. It's not ethanol in gas that augments the benefits of acetone, it's xylenes, which i suspect being added in Chevron gasoline. In my experience, this brand of fuel gives the worst mpg and can't be improved by adding acetone.

Shell gasoline, on the other hand, gives the best mpg and work well with acetone. I'm using Shell Regular Unleaded and have no info about its formula. But according to Shell Product Information Sheet, Shell V-Power gasoline is guaranteed to be even free of ethanol

http://www.formulastudent.com/TechnicalInfo.htm

Guest's picture
ringside

I have tried the acetone in my tank. I have a 2004 dodge ram 1500. while it did push me from 12 mpg to 17 mpg on my daily commute, I have read that you should be wary. I have read a few different posts where the fuel injectors on some vehicles will fail when using this. Also, honda fuel pumps are effected by acetone and will cause them to fail. anywhere a manufaturer has used cheap parts, acetone will cause a problem. However, it not supposed to. some liquid fuel injector cleaners, they contain as much as 25% acetone.

the results are skewed. some people have used this in thier cars for years. some have had fuel injector problems after 3 tank fulls or fuel pump failure. be carefull.

Guest's picture
Guest

Hello - Ringside commented that there may be issues using acetone specifically in a Honda - If anyone has more information concerning this, that would be appreciated - I have tried several different 100% acetone/Shell gas ratio's in three different cars (2003 Honda Accord 4-cyl, 2001 Suzuki XL-7 6-cyl, and a 1999 Toyota RAV-4 4-cyl). Have not hit the magic ratio on any of the formula's (ranging from 1~3 ounces/10 gallons. Gas mileage and performance remains (for the most part) unchanged. The 2003 Accord with or without acetone achieves only 18 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway. The XL-7 consistently achieves 21 mpg on a mostly expressway commute. Happy with the XL-7 (better than EPA) while the Accord is significantly under pre-2008 EPA mileage estimates. Not giving up on the acetone yet though = )

Guest's picture
Tuan

shut down gas stations that sold it, and ordered the batch of imported gasoline that contains acetone to be sent back to the trader. They claimed that acetone damaged rubber parts in motorcycles fuel system. The only rubber part I can see is the hose from the gas tank down to the carb. But the hose is made of synthetic rubber, aka neoprene, which can withstand acid. Something smells really fishy here.

Pham Ngoc Tran, deputy director of the General Department of Standards and Quality Control, refused to comments about the acceptable amount of acetone in gasoline, saying that there's no such specifications in Vietnamese standards.

“If they don't know yet how much acetone would be acceptable in fuel, they should make it zero percent for the time being.” Vu The Bang, chief administrator for Vietnam National Petroleum Corp., or Petrolimex, said in an interview.

Petrolimex is run by the government.

Guest's picture
Guest

I refuse to beleive that fuel economy has improved over the years. Many 80s cars with worn out pistons and rings still get better mpg than newer models in pristine conditions. What is going on? Anyways, I'm using 4oz of 50/50 acetone and ATF mixture (excelent penetrating oil) per a full tank of gas on my 86 Honda Accord 4 cyl automatic and get 27 mpg in city driving. About 3 mpg increase. That's 36 miles more for a full tank. Not too bad.

Guest's picture
TuRas

First off, to believe that the oil companies would be doing everything they could to increase fuel efficiency is absurd. By making fuel burn more efficient, they'd be losing money because people would be able to go further without filling up, simple as that. Afterall, oil companies aren't exactly known for being caring for the environment.

As for acetone, I don't know if it works, but I seriously doubt that it would destroy gaskets. Think about, we're talking about products here that are made to withstand -30 degree and lower to 200+ degree temperatures, not to mention the fact that all the while they're soaking in gas, and to top it all off, there's the extreme pressure that they have to take. Ultimately, to believe that acetone would where these rubber parts down is pretty absurd as well.

The only thing that people would really need to consider is how clean your vehicle's fuel system is to begin with. Over time, your vehicle's fuel system can get coated with various chemicals. Acetone, being a remover and cleaner can cause you fuel system to get cleaned out, and while this can be a good thing, it can also cause various parts to clog up like pumps, filters, and injectors. As far as I know, that's the biggest thing to be worried about. The only big problem is the fuel pump, the injectors and main filter are pretty easy to replace.

Guest's picture
Denis

Hi everybody, just want to share my experience.
I got very optimistic when first read about using aceton in gas. SO I tried it on my Plymouth Voyager 2000. I was amazed when I noticed that the mileage whent down from 14liters per 100 km to 10,7 liters per 100 km. BUT!
After 3 full tanks like this my fuel pump died. My mechanic said that the filter on the pump got totaly blocked by some black stuff.
So now I am devided between the temptation to continue using aceton and the fear to lose one more fuel pump. Any advices???
I think (rather I want to think) that maybe since my car made 200 000 km and the tank was never washed and accumulated all kinds of dirt, probably the aceton just washed all that stuff off and this blocked the filter and as a consequence killed the pump? So in this case the fault of aceton is relative. Or is it harmful in its nature to the pump?

Guest's picture
Guest

I would try it again if you can remove the fuel filter portion, that way it wouldn't clog up and overload the pump while the cleaning took place, then replace the filter and check it occasionally.

Guest's picture
Vcarvis

I have read all 65 previous posts. It is apparent that most of the latter agree as to some improvement in performance if not mileage increases also. I have used a 2.5oz/gal mixture in 4 autos in the last two years (over 50,000 miles total testing) and can say that there is noticeable improvement in the 4-cyls performance and mileage (about 9% avg increase), marginal mpg increases in the 6-cyls but noticeable idling and starting smoothness, and I'm not sure on the V8's yet.

The most noticeable improvement appears in emissions testing. In Harris County Texas it is required by TDOT and EPA. Results are staggering. I can take a car without a catalytic converter and pass the tests with flying colors. Most emissions results drop by an avg. 40% after just one tank using Acetone. I have gotten 3 different people to use the mixture noted above after flunking the emissions test, and all three have returned and passed the 'tailpipe' test with flying colors.

I am currently 'tweeking' my mixture to a 3:1 mix of Acetone and Xylene... that's 3 parts Acetone to 1 part Xylene... and then using a 4oz/gal ratio that gets me another 3 to 5% on top of straight Acetone.

Rather than explain this, you can get the best source of information by reading Louis LaPointe's article at this site:

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

It is updated regularly and offers just about every answer to all the aquestions I have seen here. It also explains why I am adding small parts of Xylene to my mix.

Victor

Guest's picture
Engineer

I have not experienced any problems running acetone in my three vehicles. Mileages when acetone use began were 75K, 290K, and 345K. The only incite I can offer on fuel pump failure (judging by the black sludge in your pump) is either a: that the pump coincidentally failed, or b: the solvents caused the sludge in your tank to move. Acetone does work to improve mileage. My posts above are based on documented observations.

Guest's picture
OEM Engineer

OK...I'm a fuel systems engineer for an OEM. Add anything to your fuel that is not specifically mentioned in the owner's manual, and you'll void the warranty on your vehicle. Period. Additives like acetone (and many others, including E85 used in systems not specifically designed for that use) will harm plastics and sealing components for the fuel system, but also for the engine. So...when you have an issue, don't blame the manufacturer. The fix will be out of pocket for you. I doubt your savings will make the expense worthwhile.

Guest's picture
Former Dealer Mechanic

"OK...I'm a fuel systems engineer for an OEM. Add anything to your fuel that is not specifically mentioned in the owner's manual, and you'll void the warranty on your vehicle. Period."

I don't think so Mr. OEM engineer. If you are an engineer I'd say you're brand new and have no clue about the warranty system.

The only way that a warranty can be voided is if the cause of the failure is able to be undeniably traceable to what the consumer did or had done.

Also, the only thing that can be voided under that condition is that particular part. Let me educate you. If you lift a truck and the CV boot rips, that would not be covered under warranty but if the window switch failed... guess what, Mr. OEM engineer... it better be or else that dealership is violating federal law.

Guest's picture
Guest

In older cars, E85 will destroy the motor in two months, and E10 will shorten its life significantly. Even if your newer car is designed to run on the so-called "flex-fuel", you'll pay more using gasohole to drive the same distance. Check out the link below. The whole ethanol in gas thing is a fraud!!!

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/byfueltype.htm

So there..

Guest's picture
Guest

I ride a 45-year-old 350cc single-cylinder motorcycle which I rescued from the junkyard. Average mileage: 65mpg
Needless to say, the price of gas is not a factor in my living expenses.(Nor is the price of transportation)
If you folks are seriously interested in improving your fuel economy, park those 4-wheeled dinosours and switch to two wheels. You'll have more fun and the earth will thank you.
Just imagine the kind of mileage you could get on a bike tuned for fuel economy (or one running on an acetone blend)!

Guest's picture
Rusty Corvair

Just watchout for the deer running across the road.

Guest's picture
Guest

I've also heard that side-gapping your spark plugs has been known to increase mileage. I know it's a little off subject, but might be good for those concerned about ruining the inside of their engine? I've been meaning to try this method since I also read that race car drivers have been doing this for years. And, no I'm not a mechanic, so I can't back it up. I'm just offering, maybe, a safer method than adding a solvent that could potentially ruin your paint job. And we all know how much a paint job could cost compared to a set of spark plugs.

Guest's picture
Guest

I burn acetone in two fairly new Toyotas.

Here are the stats:

2006 Toyota Tundra
Engine: V8, 4.7 liter
Vehicle mileage: 20,000 (approx)

Non-acetone mpg, city: 12 to 13
Non-acetone mpg, highway: 15 to 16

Acetone mpg, city: 15 to 16 (23 to 25 percent increase)
Acetone mpg, highway: 20 to 22 (33 to 37 percent increase)

2007 Toyota Avalon XLS
Engine: V6, 3.5 liter

Non-acetone mpg, city: 15 to 16
Non-acetone mpg, highway: 22 to 23

Acetone mpg, city: 19 to 20 (19 to 25 percent increase)
Acetone mpg, highway: 25 to 26 (~13 percent increase)

Mixture ratio acetone/gasoline: 4 fl.oz/10 gal

Conclusion: At the current acetone/gasoline ratio, the Toyota Tundra experienced the most sizeable benefit in terms of percent increase of mpg. I will be adjusting the ratio mix with the Avalon to be lower (2 fl oz/per 10 gal) to observe and measure the effect.

Comments:
I am currently an analyst and statistician for a high-tech company in Silicon Valley. But I have also worked as an auto mechanic for over 10 years. There are so many things that influence fuel efficiency and hence, gas mileage. Certainly fuel type is one of them. As far as damage incurred from acetone – rubbish. Also, if your vehicle is not properly tuned, acetone may or may not have as much of an effect on mpg. A fowled plug is still a fowled plug, not matter what the fuel properties are. Injectors could have a poor spray pattern, fuel filters could be clogged, air filter may need replacement, or fuel injection system could be out of whack. All these things will affect your testing of fuel efficiency. Only by assuring the proper working order of these other components can you trust the results as being consistent.

Guest's picture
J. Nelson

I've been reading about the benefits of acetone for several weeks now and I finally had to go for it. I drive a 98 Honda Accord. I have consistently been getting 29 mpg on my 13 gal tank.
I put in a 2 oz mixture of acetone for a 12.7 gal fill up. Initially I noticed improved power and the knocking stopped when I began accelerating at a stop light.
On the downside with the additional power boost I've been going a little nutty with my driving so I'm sure my gas millage is worse.
Also I used 87 octane Maverick gas, so im sure that does not help the test.
With the noticeable change in power I am definitely going to fill up at my local chevron and continue the test with their blend of 87 so as to reap the benefits from a more pure fuel.
I'll update with new info for end of this tank and the next.

Guest's picture
J. Nelson

Just got the results from my previous test. With 2oz of acetone in comparably poor fuel I got 291.9 miles on 12.4 gallons (23.54)mpg. Mind you this is just one tank, not an average of many.

I figured I would get a drop like that due to my lead foot when first experiencing the boost in hp. I'm trying real hard to clean up my driving, test methods, and record all variations from climate to the amount I use the heater, headlights, radio, etc.

I have chosen the nearest Chevron filling station and will use it for the next several tanks. I Chose to do my first bat of serious testing with Chevron because many articles I have read have mentioned Chevron and Shell to get better results due to increased quality (we shall see). I'm cheap guy and it's not like me to go out of my way to spend 11 cents more per gallon, but I still cannot argue with the performance of my car with the acetone, and if better gas millage will counteract the price at the pump I'm all for it.

Noticed Benefits:
Better horse power
Reduced knocking
Less odor in exhaust (yes I took a big whiff)

Noticed Setbacks:
Millage has not increased from average without acetone(needs more testing)

My millage:
300-330 miles per tank with no acetone. (estimate)

My test vehicle:
1989 Honda Accord LXI 2.0L F/I

My acetone:
1 qt can from Home Depot(does not say 100% pure on it, but no other chemicals mentioned)

My test environment:
Cold and wet, Boise, Id USA

This new tanks mixture is 2.7 oz of acetone with a 12.4 gal of Chevron 87 regular.

I'll check back in two weeks!

Guest's picture
Guest

I have not been able scientifically measure any mpg boost from using 3oz per gal in my autos, but I have made some observations:

I own a 1975 Chevy pickup (350 V8) which always ran rough, especially at low speeds/idling. My mechanic, who has taken many classes & worked on racing, explained that this because todays gas is very different from 1975 gas in that many volatile compounds are no longer present. When I add acetone it produces almost immediate results in that the engine runs much smoother at low speeds. Being an old auto, however, the system is not sealed. It appears as though if it sits for a awhile, the acetone evaporates. If I re-add, it runs smooth again.

My 2001 Crown Vic (4.6 L V8) had a mild roughness when climbing (like a diesel sound) I have never experienced this since I started using acetone. The mileage appears better, but which gasoline I buy has a huge impact. Shell seems to be pretty good. I am stuck with ethanol around here (E Pa).

Guest's picture
Guest

I have not been able scientifically measure any mpg boost from using 3oz per gal in my autos, but I have made some observations:

I own a 1975 Chevy pickup (350 V8) which always ran rough, especially at low speeds/idling. My mechanic, who has taken many classes & worked on racing, explained that this because todays gas is very different from 1975 gas in that many volatile compounds are no longer present. When I add acetone it produces almost immediate results in that the engine runs much smoother at low speeds. Being an old auto, however, the system is not sealed. It appears as though if it sits for a awhile, the acetone evaporates. If I re-add, it runs smooth again.

My 2001 Crown Vic (4.6 L V8) had a mild roughness when climbing (like a diesel sound) I have never experienced this since I started using acetone. The mileage appears better, but which gasoline I buy has a huge impact. Shell seems to be pretty good. I am stuck with ethanol around here (E Pa).

Guest's picture
J. Nelson

Are you using 3oz of acetone per gallon or 3oz for every 10 gallons in your 75 Chevy?

Guest's picture
Guest

I own a 1962 MG Midget, easy as daylight to tune. The engine was around 50,000 and smoking like a bandit due to worn seals and rings. Ran pretty well considering. I started using acetone and the smoke from the tailpipe is no more. I don't know if I stopped burning as much oil, or it just fully burns it or what, but the car runs better, much better. The car runs so much smoother as well.

I did just recently replace that engine with a freshly rebuilt one. Gas mileage isn't really a concern for me since I have a gas card through work, so gas for me is free.

I am going to start testing though on my Toyota, I did test it on a long road trip in a 2005 Ford Expedition towing an enclosed trailer. Mileage improved greatly. The best I got was 13.75 MPG with acetone and just under 10 without. Do the math. The fastest I went was 65, anymore than that and the needle dropped quickly. I can say it works well, very well. I used 3 oz. per 10 gallons.

If I drove an older car, which I do, before using acetone, I would go to either BMW or a local repair shop and buy BMW's fule system cleaner or BG-44k respectively. It's around $15 a can, but if used every 20k miles, it will keep your engine and fuel system cleaner. Don't waste your money on the cheap stuff.

Guest's picture
M.T.F.

I have decided to try acetone as an additive, after reading the information and coming to the conclusion that it was worth a shot.
I have been driving a 92 toyota camry v6, and drive many miles per week for business, and I have figured my mileage over time, in the city, and on the highway.
I just filled up at walmart in Tennessee, thinking that there was no ethanol added, since I read that there was only one station using it, and.... there was no visual indication anywhere posted that they use this in their gas. It turns out, when I spoke to the clerk, He informed me that his supplier, Murphy, has started using E10-- very frustrated!!
But anyway, during fill up, I added 4 1/2 ounces acetone (klean strip) to almost 15 gallons gas...
Will report back very soon with my findings.
Thanks for everyone who has added their input.
Keep up the great search for truth. We will get there as a team!

Guest's picture
Phil

I have been reading up on acetone. I came across the subject 2 months ago. So, I added 2 ounces per 10 gallons to my 1994 saturn (250,000 miles). I immediately noticed that it started easier, idled smoother and had more power. Fuel consumption dropped significantly. I estimate 15% better fuel economy. I'm sold on it. I used the acetone from Lowe's (1 qt. for about $5) located in the paint/solvent section. Anyone out there add it to their diesel vehicles? My truck is a diesel and I am curious as to other's experiences with it.

Guest's picture
Topher

I've started putting acetone in my 1997 Mitsubishi Mirage and like you brave people I do recognize a nice difference in fuel economy. How can you go wrong with a natural high octane solvent additive that's cheaper than all the store additives. I put 2 ounces to every ten gallons in the tank. I've seen a graph that shows fuel economy ratings compared to amounts of acetone you dissolve in your gas and it shows peak improvements at 2-3 ounces per 10 gallons of fuel, but anything past 3 ounces per 10 gallons will start to show negative effects on your mpg rating and overall wellbeing of you car's engine. So it seems to me it's all about how much you put in. A little can be very beneficial, too much and your screwing yourself. Like anything moderation is the key. And to all you non- believers out there. If you didn't know our government is run by a bunch of oil tycoons. Anything that would potentially decrease our dependency on oil is seen as a threat to their lavish lifestyles. God forbid they just change their business to investing in hydrogen fuel cells so we could all have clean running vehicles and save the planet yay! Greed will be our(human race) undoing.

Guest's picture
JR

I have a '95 Chevy S10, V6, 4.3L Super Sport, automatic. I'm currently getting about 17mpg city and 21 highway. I'll add about 2oz to the 10 gal i just put in it today. i have a lot of traveling a week, about 300 miles to and from college. So I'm in need to find a way to get better MPG out of my truck. I normally spend $45 on gas a week. I'll try the acetone in the tank and see if i notice any change. I say it's worth a try. I'll let you all know after a few tries.

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Guest

I have been utterly fascinated by these postings for an awful long time. Why do people want to believe this? Is this the gold nugget found in the yard theory, the idea that there is a massive conspiracy out there and this is sticking it to the man? Clearly the need to believe something like this exceeds the need for it to be effective. So many of the postings are simply and obviously false. The guy who introduced himself as a statistician at a high tech firm in Silicon Valley who went on to tell us how he tested this all in the most scientific method and then evaluated whether or not the acetone would "fowl" engine parts. Yes, thats a bird. And he did that time after time. And those who swore that they were getting huge gas mileage from this. I have no doubt that many believed it when they wrote it. The auto is deeply ingrained in so many people, its marketed as part of the personality and any threat to it is like threatening Mom. And so we have these stories, that go on and on, and we get the lashing out at the evil oil industry who wants us to use more gas...umm why? When we save gas today its just purchased the next week at a higher price. Fuel conservation is GOOD for the oil giants, they will sell it eventually and at higher prices than now. Or that Detroit is in on the conspiracy. Why? I love the quotes from someones Dad who worked for big oil companies who knew of thousands of patents being bought up to keep them from the market. Billions spent to keep an idea from being made public. Has that every worked in history? Why not just buy up all of the acetone and sell it high? Why do people need to believe and why do people need to mislead each other? Its fascinating to watch a mob mentality work. Do more please. I suspect I am next though isn't that how that works?

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Guest

What did you say were the results of your experiment?

Guest's picture
CO Eagle

We are getting ready to move across country and the moving truck has a diesel engine. Anyone know if this would work with diesel as well as unleaded?

Guest's picture
Guest

WORKS GOOD just make it only 1 OUNCE per 10 GALLONS of DIESEL or bio fuel ( actually bio fuel works better as it lubs all parts better )

Guest's picture
Guest

I originally started using acetone, 2.5oz per 10 gal of fuel, in my Cevy Avalanche, with about a 1.5 mpg increase in fuel mileage. In a 14 mpg vehicle, any increase was welcomed. I decided to try it at 2oz per 10 gal of fuel in my 2006 Kawasaki KLR650. I got about a 5 mpg increase in mileage, but the engine ran much hotter. So hot it burned the paint from the exhaust pipe, and would burn my legs too. This motorycyle is carburated, so rejetting the carb to a richer mix could solve the heat problem, don't know, but it was hot enough that I decided to quit using it in the motorycycle. It gets about 54 mpg without the acetone, so still pretty good.

Guest's picture
Duskao

Alright then, I'm also trying it. I'm driving an 02 kia spectra 1.8, 4 cyl, it has 160k on it. I'm not gonna lie, I haven't been getting all that great milage with it so far. I am averaging about 9L/100km, and this is with about 90% highway. Thus the reason that I am looking for better milage. I also plan on buying a new vehicle very soon so if it does damage the kia it's not a huge deal. Today I added 2.5 oz of acetone to my tank before I filled, I then added 40 litres of fuel to my tank (it holds 45 litres). I have driven it about 7 km since I filled it. Of course I cannot say anything about milage at this point since I have only driven 7 km and likely only used up what was left in my fuel lines and a bit. Once I filled and drove away it seemed the exact same as usual, not to my surprize. However once I hit about 5km then all of a sudden I had more pep while driving. I'm not gonna say it threw me back in my seat, I'm driving a kia spectra after all :), but there was a noticable difference. It felt similar to when you change the belts in your car or REALLY need an oil change then finally get one. So I figured I would share this information with you guys for now. I'm going to be putting roughly 460km on my car in the next 3 days to and from work. Once I am done that I will give an update. Just so everyone knows, my daily commute to work is about 77km to work and then 77km from work to home. I have driven this for over a year so I know my average fuel consumption so in my opinion making this a suitable test for me. Oh, and for speeds and what not, I am a light driver, meaning that I am easy on the pedal and don't really care how fast off the line I am, and along with that I am in cruise for the majority of the drive to work as it is on the highway. I generally cruise around 107-108km/h. Alright, I think that is most of the info, if anyone has any comments let me know cause I will be checking back to this on a fairly regular basis. I'm aware that wind and weather can play havok on milage as I drive a smaller vehicle I notice it alot, so if the conditions become bad then I will have to omit this first week of testing. Or perhaps factor in weather (temperature, wind, rain, snow ect.) But generally the weather if fairly dependable this time of year.

Duskao

Guest's picture
Guest Who

Is there any way to counteract the ethanol in pretty much all the gas here in eastern PA, or have Big Oil/Big Government successfully blocked the benefits of Acetone?

Guest's picture
Engineer

Brainchild:

You are asking about the octane rating of Acetone. I do not own a credible source for the 150 rating I posted. I had originally quoted a magazine article on racing fuel compositions. I no longer own the magazine. I have done a lengthy search on the internet for this information and have not found it. If anyone has a credible source please post the link.

I found many references that appear to be regurgitating Lapointe's claims which concur. While I do not want to discount his work, it would be better to have another source.

I did find this article that indicates an octane rating for acetone.
http://www.content4reprint.com/cars-and-trucks/hot-fuels-for-fast-cars.htm

Here is information posted by a race tuner. Read the sections on fuel additives.
http://www.turbofast.com.au/racefuel.html

Be weary that the application is much different than a passenger car and the desired results are also different. power vs. economy. However, you might understand the effects of and how it works better.

Wikipedia provides a chart of the octane ratings of common fuels.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating

Again, Wikipedia can provide you a long list of heating values of common fuels.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_of_combustion

I would give these sources reasonable credibility. However, they are not written by scientists and published in a journal, but by lay men and posted on the internet.

Guest's picture
Guest

Well, Amonia for $1 a quart at Walmart will take dirt and grime off your kitchen floor better than anything you can buy at a big savings over the name brand cleaners. ,,,so why shouldn't this stuff work too?
In the last 5 months of world war II the Germans had no access to oil and relied on German Scholars to find an alternative...They found a way to make artificial gasoline
and diesel from COAL. They ran their trucks, tanks and planes on the stuff. As the Allied Armies advance, engineers from Royal Dutch Pataroleum and Standard Oil were with them and they made sure that formula was destroyed.

Guest's picture
TheDepressingTruth

The Germans plans for synthetic fuels (using Coal and/or Natural Gas) are available thru the archives of the Department of Chemistry at Texas A&M University....and have been since the early 1950's.

In the 70's Mobil worked on a test refinery to make gasoline from natural gas...cost more than refining gasoline from crude oil (Shell is now running ads about their "cleaner burning fuels" that they are bringing to market in Asia made from natural gas)

The Coal to Crude work in South Africa is baised on the Texas A&M plans.

Guest's picture
Guest

Its obvious that the author has no idea about what he is talking about. I have been using Acetone in my 300K dollar motor home for 4 years and it runs like a charm. I also use it in my Range Rover and it works great. I also use it in my Honda Generators and they work great. When I check my engine components they are clean and no problems. I say you should Google more and do your own homework rather than listening to these people. Oh I forgot I also use acetone in my Cessna 185 and it works great and have been for years.

Just wanted to tell you the truth.

Guest's picture
Laura

Acetone will not damage your car, unless you get it on the paint when pouring it in your gas tank. People who are worried about it ruining gaskets or other non-mental parts are the same people who are thinking 'acetone removes nail polish, its going to ruin the gaskets'. Acetone is sold in PLASTIC bottles!
Let me try and put this into perspective for all you people who take your car to Pepboys and call AAA to have a flat tire changed.
I am a female, I get my nails manicured (acrylic and all) every two weeks, my car does not know what mechanic's garage looks like. I do all the work on my car myself: required, recommended, preventative and the because I feel like it kind too. I have a 2000 Honda Accord, and guess what that was Honda's worst year so I have a lot of the 'required' maintenance. I have to clean all the carb out my intake manifold every 20k-40k miles. To remove the crap burning gasoline leaves behind, you have to use carb and choke cleaner (that stuff is also make to spray into and intake manifold or carburetor, and guess what it gets on gaskets). That stuff is worse than acetone. It not only immediately removes nail polish it very quickly eats through acrylic. Oh and did I mention, that its recommended to be used when removing and cleaning fuel injectors.
Brake fluid is nasty, nasty stuff as well. It pretty much does the same to my pretty manicured nails, except it removes nail polish instantaneously. And guess what, brake fluid is sold in plastic bottles, it is stored in a plastic reservoir and delivered to your brakes by hoses made out of the same stuff most of those gaskets are made out of.
The stuff that is required to be put into your car, in order for it to run properly laughs at acetone. When I have my nails removed I soak my hands in pure acetone for 30-45 minutes... Acetone wont damage a thing except for your paint job.
Here's something to think about- gasoline company's are posting record profits, why would they want to improve fuel economy? So those profits are lower. Anybody notice their drastic decrease in fuel economy in the last few months with the drastic increase in fuel prices? I've lost 3 miles to the gallon, yet I'm paying 20 cents more for it. And you still want to question why?

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Guest

I've been using acetone for quite a while now. Works great. Got a '99 Ford Taurus SE with 151k miles. Been using it for about 4 years now. I use 2-3 oz. per 10 gallons of gas. Also have a Ford 150 Econo - only has about 40k miles.

A friend said he thought it, "would burn out the components". I took several rings, etc. and put them in a jar with 100% acetone - nothing else (might as well find out, heh.) I forgot about it for about 6 months. I found the jar and...nothing. No problem.

Acetone is used in nail polish remover. If a woman uses it on her hands DO YOU THINK IT WILL TEAR UP CAR COMPONENTS???

A couple weeks ago my car was running a bit rough. I asked a friend to look at it. He said, nothing wrong, must be just me. Then I remembered I ran out of acetone and hadn't been using it for a while. Ran down and got another can. Guess what? Kicked the car in the as*! Whoa...runs like a champ now.

Think about it. Gas companies sell...GAS! Do you think they want you to know about ANYTHING that will cut into their RECORD profits??? Do you think they want to help YOU save money??? Yeah...that's what I thought.

It won't hurt a girl's hands but it will tear up your car components...Hmmm, might want to think that one over.

Guest's picture
Tim

Would some-knowledgeable-one please pick up on how to counteract the effects of 10% ethanol added gas? All I know is that my performance is deteriorating. Consequently I must use premium in my 6 cyl. motorcycle, my 1976 MB 450sl and my 1979 F100. My '96 Buick still does OK on regular. I'm becoming more suspicious of our Oil companies attacking the good ol USA than I am of terrorist! With record profit years for the oil barons why is our economy slumping and trucking cost rising?

Guest's picture
PRO_TRUCKER

As a professional driver with a very expensive truck, I am careful of what to put in. FIRST of all, if you use ACETONE it has to be PURE ACETONE. Usually from a beauty supply shop like Sally. DO NOT EVER USE ACETONE FROM A HARDWARE STORE. They have additives. Some say 100% pure but if you read the label it has BENZOATE in it, it works against the gains you would have gotten and some actually have WATER in them.

I use a pure acetone from Sally Beauty Supply. I use 2 oz per 10 Gallons of Diesel. I burn 500 Gallons of fuel a week and carefully follow my emmissions and milage. It is my business after all.

On the average load I was getting 5.89 mpg in my 550HP Detroit pulling about 68,000 lbs to 72,000 lbs. Now I am getting 6.14 - 6.28. It is slowly increasing as I increase the amount. I have talked to other truckers who do the same thing and they say 3 oz per 10 gallons is what works most efficiently. My milage has not stopped increasing because the experiment is not completely over but on my last dyno, my overall effective horsepower has gone up 28 HP. My overall emmissions have dropped 27%. I estimate as a road pro, the $15/gallon of acetone that I have been buying has saved me 40 gallons of Diesel per week @ 4.09/gallon is $163 bucks in fuel a week. 160 gallons of fuel a month ($650 in diesel a month)

IT DOES NOT DAMAGE THE RINGS OR HOSES. There is no rubber in a fuel system. neoprene is used or n-buna. They are resistant to chemicals like acetone. I am using 1/5 of 1% acetone. Not enough of a concentration to do anything anyway. I continue to chart my progress and save my money.

"MUDFLAP" ch.17 I-5 corridor CALIF.

Guest's picture
Guest

Well here is the skinny on this subject. Lets say your car is tuned to use 87 octane fuel and you fill up with 93 thinking is will help. well suprize,, it does not, it can damage your plugs and pistons. 93 octane gas contains toluene (114 Octane) and xylene (117 octane) a Benzene also include in regular gas.
Acetone (145 octane) will evaporate quickly so is not used in quantity because of this reason.

Any time you add octane you MUST Advance timing or you are just making the engine hotter hence damaging the combustion components..

Now that being said, I would have no issue adding this to my tank as long as I advance the timing and spark using a ECM programmer. this will allow my car to use the higher octane fuel without damage.

Guest's picture
Guest

Everyone talks about the gas to actone ratio but can you guys start posting what type of gas you're using? What I mean is like here in NY, we have ethanol mixed in (currently 10% ethanol at my local stations). From what I read, acetone will emulsify with ethanol leading to bad things. What bad things? I'm not sure.

Guest's picture
Guest

Everyone talks about the gas to actone ratio but can you guys start posting what type of gas you're using? What I mean is like here in NY, we have ethanol mixed in (currently 10% ethanol at my local stations). From what I read, acetone will emulsify with ethanol leading to bad things. What bad things? I'm not sure.

Guest's picture
Thomie8

I drive 100 miles a day round trip to my engineering job and have been doing so for almost 18 years. I never thought much about gas prices until they hit the $3 level last year. I then switched to Amzoil Synthetic in my 97' Buick Riviera, V-6, Supercharged, Fule-injected Engine. I went from 25 to 27 mpg. Next I slowed down from driving 70 to 57-58 mph. I bumped my milage up to 29 mpg. I increased the air pressure in my tires to 40 psi and experimented with coasting down hills with the transmission in neutral. I got 30 to 31 mpg.

Next I tried the Acetone. I added 1 ounce per 5 gallons of gas.
To my amazement I now get 33 mpg. Its a big car with a fairly big engine.

I would venture to guess that if Acetone were put into gasoline at the refinery, the gasoilne companies would be liable if the few drops of gas that gets spilled onto a cars finish while refueling started to eat the paint away. Somewhere there is a lawyer who would see the deep pockets of the oil companies and start a class-action lawsuit for all the car owners who had their paint jobs ruined, had nightmares about the acetone in gas, were now afraid to drive....etc...

Guest's picture
Thomie8

I drive 100 miles a day round trip to my engineering job and have been doing so for almost 18 years. I never thought much about gas prices until they hit the $3 level last year. I then switched to Amzoil Synthetic in my 97' Buick Riviera, V-6, Supercharged, Fule-injected Engine. I went from 25 to 27 mpg. Next I slowed down from driving 70 to 57-58 mph. I bumped my milage up to 29 mpg. I increased the air pressure in my tires to 40 psi and experimented with coasting down hills with the transmission in neutral. I got 30 to 31 mpg.

Next I tried the Acetone. I added 1 ounce per 5 gallons of gas.
To my amazement I now get 33 mpg. Its a big car with a fairly big engine.

I would venture to guess that if Acetone were put into gasoline at the refinery, the gasoilne companies would be liable if the few drops of gas that gets spilled onto a cars finish while refueling started to eat the paint away. Somewhere there is a lawyer who would see the deep pockets of the oil companies and start a class-action lawsuit for all the car owners who had their paint jobs ruined, had nightmares about the acetone in gas, were now afraid to drive....etc...

Guest's picture
Thomie8

I drive 100 miles a day round trip to my engineering job and have been doing so for almost 18 years. I never thought much about gas prices until they hit the $3 level last year. I then switched to Amzoil Synthetic in my 97' Buick Riviera, V-6, Supercharged, Fule-injected Engine. I went from 25 to 27 mpg. Next I slowed down from driving 70 to 57-58 mph. I bumped my milage up to 29 mpg. I increased the air pressure in my tires to 40 psi and experimented with coasting down hills with the transmission in neutral. I got 30 to 31 mpg.

Next I tried the Acetone. I added 1 ounce per 5 gallons of gas.
To my amazement I now get 33 mpg. Its a big car with a fairly big engine.

I would venture to guess that if Acetone were put into gasoline at the refinery, the gasoilne companies would be liable if the few drops of gas that gets spilled onto a cars finish while refueling started to eat the paint away. Somewhere there is a lawyer who would see the deep pockets of the oil companies and start a class-action lawsuit for all the car owners who had their paint jobs ruined, had nightmares about the acetone in gas, were now afraid to drive....etc...

Guest's picture
Hambone Harry

I yam goink to buy some right now, seenyores. I wheel let you know how eet eez comink along. I yam havink a Meetsubeeshi Lancer. Weeth a 2 leetur engeen. Now I yam geetink about 25 miles per galloon. I yam leadfoot, no?

Wheel bee reportink back soon.

Love,

Harry

Guest's picture
Big-Time Acetone Executive

So who's lying here? Is it the big oil companies? Or is it us? The acetone makers? Are we the ones putting ideas in your head? Or is big oil trying to screw you?

I don't know. I don't have time to answer such questions. Our sales are through the roof. And I'm late for my tee time.

Guest's picture
Fred

I have read this webpage and many others with great interest. I am a retired Pac Bell engineer and do not have to drive to work anymore, but I can symphonize with those that do. I now live near Williamsburg, VA and the only gas available is E10 (10% ethanol) by law. My 96 Olds LSS was never designed to use ethanol and although it runs fair on E10, the mileage is reduced and when it is in overdrive, the engine stumbles a bit before downshifting. My lawnmower is also 10 years old and not designed for ethanol. After reading all I could find, I have concluded that acetone alone works best for straight gasoline with no ethanol. To start, I am using a mix of 2+2+1 (acetone, xylene, and synthetic oil per 10 gal). All purchased at Lowes in gallon cans. Mixing can be tricky, but I use a empty plastic oil container that my Mobile I comes in. It has a window strip on the side that is marked 1-32 oz. The mix seems to have no ill effect on the plastic container. I am assuming that my fuel system is made of even better materials?
The lawnmower runs great although I have no idea if the gas lasts longer.. My olds also seems to have renewed power and NO stumble. It is hard for me to check for increased mileage as most of my driving is city with A/C on & and off. Probably my best test will be a total miles per tank comparison over several tanks. My wife has a 08 Sonata that run flawlessly on E10 although getting only 24 mpg which is less than advertised. I would be a dead man if I experimented with her car. It is probably programmed for E10 as manufactured after the ethanol mandate. I will report back in a few months after results, but just the better drivability will keep me happy. Thanks to all for your input. ....... Fred Warren
..

Guest's picture
Fred W

Since I have posted on #120, I have run quite a few tanks of E-10 through my 96 Olds and 08 Hyundai Sonata V-6. The Olds runs better with smoother acceleration and I consistantly get an additional 50-60 more miles per tank. The Sonata had no improvement over many tanks of gas. Older cars like my Olds seem to do much better. The Sonata must have a computer sensor system that cannot be improved on and is probably designed for E-10. I will continue to add my acetone mix to the Olds as the added mileage is a good savings plus the added performance. I am happy that I tried this experiment.

......Fred W

Guest's picture
Ray Brown

Look up resetting your ECU for better mileage.
Ray

Guest's picture
Guest

most of the negative comments are people who have never tried it. I put 2 oz in a full tank in my old CRX and it gave a 7MPG improvement.

Guest's picture
Thunderbird89

I have an 89 thunderbird with the "awesome" 3.8 injected engine, and an overdrive transmission. Before i used acetone in my gas, i was getting about 19.5 mpg ever time i fill up. I drive to school, home, and work four days a week. 60 miles per day. I had read these kinds of posts and i decided to try it out. Its an 89, so it isnt worth much, so i gave it a go. After my first trial with aceton, i got 21 mpg, same roads, same lead foot. each time i fill up, i get a little better. Now i am up to 22. Not bad for a 4000lb car.
A lot of people seem to think that it helps because acetone acts as a cleaner, but i keep my engine is as good of shape as i can.
It may not be as big of a mileage jump as some have seen, but i am happy with my 3mpg increase.

Guest's picture
robert

couple things here I have to go for it. chevy suburban 14 mpg i'd kill for 24 mpg. if it does not work i have to trade in anyway oh they stoped taking them 4 trades i forgot. Oil comanys making people go a way? i'd do that 4 some free gas.

Guest's picture
PA_Driver

Wow! I just finished reading all 126 comments and I'm ready to give acetone a try! My biggest fear was corrosion. But after 126 posts and probably a dozen posted tests, I haven't heard one NEGATIVE result from people that actually tried acetone.

On another note I'm not really sure I'd trust some of these "anti-acetone" posts... if the oil industry did want to deter people from using acetone, fake posts would be the easiest thing to do, esspecially on a forum like this with no registration needed...

Just do your research. Look at all these posts, there really is truth in numbers. And it appears the truth is that acetone works and shows the greatest results in pure gasoline with 3 ounces per 10 gallons.

Give it a shot, I know I am!

Guest's picture
Duskao

Hey guys, sorry for the long reply back with my info that I found. And I found that it worked really well. I used it at first and I had a problem at first... the weather was sever crap. But to my surprize it improoved my milage about 10 k per tank, which I know isn't much at all, but with the crazy weather it made me notice. So then the weather cleared up I kept using it and noticed a large improovement, it went from an extra 10 km per tank to between 40 - 50 km per tank. I stopped using it and it went back down to my regular milage after a tank or so. Then I started using it again and back up that extra 40-50 km per tank. so I was getting about 450km and now I'm getting about 500km. Oh, and as for the BS about the acetone taking off the paint. Like I said, complete BS. The first time I tried to put acetone into my tank I dribbled all the way down the side of my car and nothing. I then did it again my second time (was trying a different way but didn't work) then even tried rubbing the paint after it happened and nothing. So I wouldn't worry. The only way I could see it being a problem could be with really old paint but then the gasoline should take it off as well, since they are both so similar. Hope everyone tries it cause that could lead to better milage for everyone then lower prices for everyone cause there would be more to go around. Good luck guys.

Duskao

Guest's picture
S_C_B

Acetone was just on the news tonight 6/3/08. I'm gonna try it later this week. In Oklahoma, they just passed a law that requires gas stations to post whether or not they have ethanol in their gasoline. So, we have a choice.

I'll report my findings back to the forum when I get some results.

Wish me luck.

Guest's picture
S_C_B

I can already say that my idle is SO much better just on first start-up.

I had a little gas in the tank, and I filled up with 10 gallons.
I added 2 ounces to the tank before fill-up.

Guest's picture
Cindy Mansu

WE HAVE SEEN A DRAMATIC INCREASE IN OUR GAS MILEAGE SINCE WE STARTED USING ACETONE. IT TRULY DOES WORK. WE BUY IT BY THE GALLON AT THE BEAUTY SUPPLY STORE

Guest's picture
S_C_B

How much acetone did you use in your tank?

Guest's picture
Mike M

These guys really sound like a couple idiots. Really! I have read all of the posts here and you all seem to be real people with honest posts. This other site just sounds dumb. Who are these jerks?I will be getting my acetone today!

http://www.theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=276

Guest's picture
Engineer

In regards to the above link. Contrary to popular belief, the oil companies and automakers are NOT in the business of saving you money. I noticed the author blasts anecdotal evidence as not credible, yet his research is also based on anecdotal and non-scientific quips found on the internet. Neither the author nor any (save 1) of the people posting have actually tried acetone nor have they any data to support their positions.... for or against the use of acetone in fuel. The entire page is in fact rubbish.

Guest's picture
Guest

Just a short note, I have been using acetone in a 92 Crysler Town & Country 7 passenger van loaded to the gill with junk I carry all the time, it has the 3.3 V6 engine, 192,000 miles with automatic O/D. Before acetone, 10 to 11 MPG in town, about 12 to 13 on road driving 65 MPH, with 2.5 oz mixed to 10 gallons of 87 octane gas, it has boosted my mileage to 14 city, 18 road. I believe in it, no damage to my old van.

Guest's picture
toadaly

If it worked, auto makers would provide an acetone tank right next to the gas tank. They have a vested interest in increased fuel efficiency.

Guest's picture
Guest

They have no "vested interest" in fuel efficiency. They simply do what the government mandates and what the market dictates. Trucks and gas hogging suvs used to fly off the lots, they had no interest whatsoever in mpg, now it's all the rage.

Market forces come and go, acetone is forever

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Guest

it works 1987 5.0 mustang car runs 12.4 in the quater car was getting 20 mpg on the highway to work babying it. Now 29 mpg running 80 mph dogging it un real wish i would have know this sooner

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save gas

I also have a 1990 toyota 4 runner 6 cylinder. it gets around 15 mpg average. I will report back with the details. I am also going to build a hydrogen on demand system. This is something that many of you might be interested in. The plans can be found at: run tour car with water.

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save gas

I also have a 1990 toyota 4 runner 6 cylinder. it gets around 15 mpg average. I will report back with the details. I am also going to build a hydrogen on demand system. This is something that many of you might be interested in. The plans can be found at: run your car with water.

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Guest

I have tried acetone in my 08 Hummer H3 with no change in milage w/ E10 or 100% gas. However, my brother-in-law swears by it, and uses it in his 92 Jeep and in his car at work "06 Police Car" which I believe is a Crowne Vic. He reports increased power in both along with better MPG!! I have tried acetone in my 5 year old riding mower and noticed it runs much, much smoother and I have a little more gas left after mowing the yard! 1/8th of a tank more..... So go figure?! Seems to help older vehicles more so than newer ones I guess. Good Luck All, I hope it works well for you!

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S_C_B

Well, I just don't see any change in mileage of my 03 Taurus. I will say that it runs smoother, but that's about it. Best of luck to everyone else!!

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Guest

It beggars belief the utterly selfish and and self centred way you Americans consume the World's Oil. You drive around in vehicles which simply have diabolical fuel economy!! You have vehicles which have V6 and V8 high capacity engine plants for urban driving !!! This is ludicrous!! Why such power required for your cars??

In Europe the average engine capacity is 4 cylinder 1600cc 16v DOHC and will outperform your USA average run around both in performance and fuel economy (capable of 120+mph yet averaging Combined Urban cycle of 40mpg)!!

With UK now paying £5.50 ($11.00) per gallon, diesel cars are now selling big time, a 4 cylinder 2.0 turbo diesel will again manage 120+mph yet return 50mpg !!!

No wonder Bush invaded Iraq....it was for you damn need to waste more oil !!!

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Ned

Wow. Interesting how much you know about all Americans, the cars that they drove, and their driving habits.

What, exactly, does your rant have to do with using additives to obtain better fuel mileage?

Incidentally, I drive a car with a 1600 CC DOHC engine.

And I get an increase when using an Acetone/Marvel Mystery Oil combination.

Is it fair to say that everyone in the UK is Socialist crybabies who call the United States to liberate them when they've been attacked?

Seems to me that you should take care of your own problems before pointing the finger at Americans.

BTW - those generalizations are patently unfair, aren't they?

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Guest

Socialist crybabies? A Wikipedia's quote. "Stalinism is a state in which exploitation is controlled by a ruling caste.... at the expense of the working class." This is the exact opposite of what Marx and Engels were trying to accomplish, and yet is precisely what George W. Bush and the Republicans are working so hard for.

We have NEVER needed the USA to "liberate" us, what utter crap. It's the world that needs liberating from a World where America thinks it's the "big boss". My "ranting" is to pay homage to the mega waste of oil you idiots have done over the past decades and still do (although to a slightly lesser degree now) with your gas guzzlers, and the complete lunacy of paying for fuel additives to make really quite small differences to your fuel economy. Our own problems are mostly having to suffer you lot and rest assured the biggest majority of our global population agree. Our fuel is dearer yes, but we don't pay for our medical bills which are astronomical judging by what I have been told by family living over their, and lets not get started on your right to bear arms.

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Paul

Obviously you are some sort of a$$hole that is jealous of people from the USA.

Go on the US versions of the car manufacturer websites and you will see they have no options for diesel vehicles.

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MI Guest

To the "European" Guest:

I think you also need to take into account that the US is quite big, and that European countries, in comparison, are very small. We tend to benefit from cars that are geared for long highway trips, not so much city driving.

Sure, you list cars that can go 120mph and 50mpg, but I very much doubt that these cars are doing both at the same time. At 75mph, our cars of similar size and class probably get better mileage, even if your cars get better mileage at 25mph.

It's all about the right car for a certain type of driving.

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Andrew

Hi, I read all 146 posts above and many are positive, but few posters mention whether they are running straight gas or E10. That would be very useful info to include with your results. In Central Fla E10 is all we can get now, so not sure if acetone will help me.

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Thump

can ethanol be removed from gasoline?

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Mike M

Hey, I posted above, #133. I have been using acetone since that time. I drive a 2000 Dodge Neon. Now, my torque converter clutch selenoid is bad, the only effect from this is loss of mpg above 45-50 mph. That being said, I have been driving it like that for over a year, mainly because I don't have an extra $400 to fix it. It wasn't a real issue until gas went to $4.
Now I drive 70 miles per day on the interstate doing an average of 70 mph. Before using acetone and given my trans. issue, I was getting 24-26 mpg. This was ok I guess, but after using acetone I am now getting 32-34 mpg. I have a 10 gal. tank so it is easy to figure. I started with 2oz and now use 2.5oz. I see a big difference. My car is peppier too. I go through a tank of gas plus each week. I tested it without acetone and it went back to 24-26.
I now use it in my wifes 2002 Ford escape. She was getting 15-17 mpg and now gets 20-22. That is good considering it is a v6 4wd and she runs the air...always.
My brother-in-law now uses it in his 98 Chevy tahoe. A v8 4wd. I don't know the mileage yet because he is so happy with how it runs. He is telling everyone...I mean everyone. He says it has never run better. It has over 200k miles. He says it has got pep and power. He used to call it the tank...now he drives it everywhere.
I will continue to use it. As far as ethenol vs non-ethenol, I have had to use both because of where I was. I only noticed a small decrease with it, not much at all. I know it smells worse than just gas.
One last note...If acetone was so corrosive, how do women soak their hands in it for 30 mins. to remove fake nails? I wouldn't soak my hands in gas for that long.

Does anyone have that acetone - oil mixture formula?

Oh, And keep your politics on another forum!

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Anna Mae

I have a 1984 Escort. So far I have vented the distributor cap and am burning ozone, made an orgone wrap for my in line fuel filter, beefed up the tire pressure to 40 psi and added the acetone to my gas. I made a 300+ round trip with an mpg of 34.8. The same trip last November with nothing done to the car was 27 mpg. I am on my second tank using acetone and will know more after this tank. The engine is sounding just fine and the performance is better. The burning of ozone brought this about. If you have any other ideas, please post them. I am working on a hydro booster also. Some good diagrams on the internet, Google hydro booster or using water for gas.

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Guest

Can we run our car with water and gas?
Can anybody tell me is the HHO Gas is real working or is another scam?

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Emilya

Can we run our car with water and gas?
Can anybody tell me is the HHO Gas is real working or is another scam?

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ronaldcollins

hi there, I use water to fuel a car as a supplement to gasoline. In fact, very little water is needed, only one quart of water provides over 1800 gallons of HHO gas which can literally last for months and significantly increase your car fuel efficiently, improve emissions quality, and save money. I found the way through this site http://www.runcarsonwater.us i really recommend it to everybody, it's a nice eBook where you can find the instructions on how to do it! take a look.

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Guest
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Guest

A friend tried the acetone thing and mpg in his van went from 17-24

We tried it in our infinity and it went from 17.5 to 24.5. The next fill up mpg went below 17 to 16 before adding the acetone.

Then adding acetone and xylothane the mpg went up to over 26.

I love the controversy on why wouldn't oil companies want it. The answer is either conspiracy or it doesn't work.

What if there was a third option. Oil companies don't want to because it will hurt profits, in numerous ways. Not a conspiracy, just good business.

For instance, consider the fast food hamburger. The makers do not care if you eat it. They only care if you buy it. It costs the same for a burger bun as a complete burger. Why? Conspiracy? No, just business.

With thousands of consumers conditioned to buy gas at ever increasing prices and profits, why would they want to decrease the profits.

The increased cost is fueling a new revolution though. Acetone and HHO are only the tip of the market disruption that is brewing.

Remember the horse and buggy industry. It died overnight. The whale blubber industry died over night. Whats to say the oil industry will not die over night.

And like those who say acetone doesn't work, there were those in the old papers who said cars will never work too. Maybe even blubber lovers who said oil would never work. Besides if everyone went out to do acetone the price would shoot up. On second thought, you know, maybe it does not work.

Go ahead, believe that the acetone doesn't work. Yes, it does affect some cars, damaging them.

For me, getting 10 MPG more is sweet but I could be mistaken on the numbers. This with four passengers and the air on. And we were not hyper-mileing either. We expect it will get even better. At our current driving pattern this will mean $1000 savings a year. No, never mind this data too.

Of course this is not hard science. But the numbers make it worth considering.But what do I know. I am only a non-degreed engineer. I am also a scientist but not in this field.

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Ray Thomas

My 1991 Plymouth Acclaim 4-cylinder automatic is EPA-rated at 26 highway, 21 city, which is about what I was getting. With the addition of 3 ounces of acetone (bought at Lowe's) per full tank (about 14 gallons), my mileage jumped to 30 highway, 25 city. This was a smooth-running car to begin with, and now runs even smoother and has noticeably more power. Impressive!

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When I had my 2002 Saturn Vue 2.2L standard 5 gear I could get 40mpg highway with acetone non-ethanol gas. That is almost double of what it was rated. The dilution ratio is about 1,500 to one and acetone would hardly do any damage at the rate.

Unfortunately that car is gone now and in my blazer I have seen little to no change but now all the gas stations where I live have started selling ethanol.

Oh also my 1991 flhtc Harley (modified with a screaming eagle breather and less restrictive exhaust for more power which also ate more gas than factory) was getting over 60mpg on 2 laner highways, I have not tried it with the ethanol yet.

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