How to Boost Your Gas Mileage with Acetone

234 comments to "How to Boost Your Gas Mileage with Acetone"

1. James says:

   Oh, come on.

   The energy to increase fuel economy 25% comes from somewhere The two places I can see are: 1. increasing the carnot cycle efficiency, but that would require a hotter engine, or 2. better burning unburned fuel, as the article implies. Is this saying that 20% of your gasoline goes unburned in the engine?

   January 30th, 2006 at 8:44 am

2. G. Anderson says:

   I have read this before on the internet. I bought some acetone at the hardware store and added some to my gas tank. I tried this in a 1990 Geo Tracker and a 1992 Dodge Dakota pickup. I did not notice any change at all in performance or gas mileage.
   G. Anderson

   January 30th, 2006 at 8:47 am

3. Alice says:

   That’s what it sounds like, but this topic is out of my league. Any know if we can trust this?

   “That excess fuel was formerly wasted past the rings or sent out the tailpipe but when mixed with acetone it gets burned, though the engine still thinks it is running straight gas.”

   January 30th, 2006 at 8:48 am

4. tyler says:

   interesting.

   January 30th, 2006 at 8:52 am

5. Topher says:

   Those “Cheap plastic innerds” he was mentioning generally include the tube that you would have to pour the acetone through to reach your gas tank. oh and the paint on the outside of your car as well.

   Not Recommended.

   January 30th, 2006 at 8:54 am

6. Mitch says:

   I’ll take the bait, I’ll try it. I plan to run it on an old gasoline-powered lawnmower with a 1/2 gallon fuel tank. First fill it with pure gasoline, time how long it takes to “fuel-out” and then try with the acetone mixture. If all goes well, the acetone mixture will last longer. I’ll probally be able to test performance and heat at the same time, but will be qualitative, being I don’t have an accurate way to measure performance other than cutting grass

   January 30th, 2006 at 8:55 am

7. Troy says:

   We found this on a forum last year when gas prices were above $3.00/gal. I ran this in my F150, and my two co-workers in their 2002 Rav 4 and Subaru Outback. All three of us noticed gains in gas mileage and performance. The biggest difference was in my F150 (5.4L V8 4×4). I went from 16mpg (city/highway) to 18mpg over the course of 4 weeks. Right now i average about 19.5 with my driving to work which is about 25%city and 75% highway. My co-workers also saw gains of 10% - 20% in mpg for their 4cycl.

   If we stop using it, which we all tested mpg went back down. We also found it was true if you use too much acetone, it has an adverse affect. My truck fell to 12mpg with 8:10. I have been running it in my truck for almost 9 months now and i have no leaks from degrading plastic, etc.

   January 30th, 2006 at 8:55 am

8. Troy says:

   We found this on a forum last year when gas prices were above $3.00/gal. I ran this in my F150, and my two co-workers in their 2002 Rav 4 and Subaru Outback. All three of us noticed gains in gas mileage and performance. The biggest difference was in my F150 (5.4L V8 4×4). I went from 16mpg (city/highway) to 18mpg over the course of 4 weeks. Right now i average about 19.5 with my driving to work which is about 25%city and 75% highway. My co-workers also saw gains of 10% - 20% in mpg for their 4cycl.

   If we stop using it, which we all tested mpg went back down. We also found it was true if you use too much acetone, it has an adverse affect. My truck fell to 12mpg with 8:10. I have been running it in my truck for almost 9 months now and i have no leaks from degrading plastic, etc.

   January 30th, 2006 at 8:57 am

9. Brett says:

   We have tried this over a 2500 mile road trip, Fuel efficiency was increased ~15% with no fine tuning of the amount added. Acetone was added to empty Fuel additive bottles and mixed with gas. Mixture was then added to fuel tank

   January 30th, 2006 at 9:00 am

10. David Johnston says:

    It seems like the biggest things to watch out for using acetone are using too much in your mixture and, of course, its tendency to eat up plastics (and the paint on your car). Other than that, this sounds like a pretty neat idea. I’d be interested in trying it at some point.

    January 30th, 2006 at 9:03 am

11. trak says:

    Ludicrous…

    If you follow the “reference” articles (all written by Louis LaPoint) all the way back to their source you’ll find the site (also by LaPoint) chock full of total BS.

    This is the standard “I’ve discovered a miracle but a vast conspiracy is keeping me down” sort of thing (see: UFO, bigfoot, 100mpg carboureter, cancer cure, etc.}

    In fact if you use the Turbonater, Tornado, and acetone your car will actually make gas!!

    January 30th, 2006 at 9:06 am

12. Surfrock66 says:

    I did it, I have a spreadsheet documenting my experiments, I got at least 25% increase with the acetone. My research showed me 2 types of information: people who try it and swear it works, and people who say it won’t work so they won’t try it. I suggest running 2 or 3 tanks without it to get baseline mileage per tank first, record both the miles and the gallons at the pump, then use the acetone, 3 oz per 10 gal. It works!

    January 30th, 2006 at 9:14 am

13. Godbear839 says:

    Ran it in my F-150 over the past four months am noticing roughly 50-70 miles more per tankful. also noticed better idle and no hesitation of my gas pedal when I mash it down. If your still unsure about how well it works try it in your lawn mower. That is where we started using it to make sure it doesn’t hurt anything. Also any container that can handle gasoline should be able to handle the acetone. And don’t mind the people like trak they are too afraid to try something new.

    January 30th, 2006 at 9:16 am

14. geck says:

    I’ll wait until I it goes through the Mythbusters filter

    January 30th, 2006 at 9:18 am

15. Paul says:

    I have been using acetone (2oz/10 US Gal)in my 97 Ford Escort for about a year and it works well in my car. My latest results: driving from Toronto to Ottawa: 4.5 hours travel time at around 60mph (100kph). My car experienced 40 miles per gallon! A similar trip the year before to Windsor (Detroit), I got 31 miles per gallon without acetone.

    In town, my car revs lower, has improved acceleration and the last emmissions test was cut in half compared to the same test done two years ago.

    As for the comment #1: there is no magic here. Energy is not being created. The article explains why: an improved burn due to smaller droplet size. Gasd that would normally be wasted, isn’t.

    It’s winter right now and usually I get 1 week out of a tank of gas. I’m into (but not completed) my second week.

    Measure it correctly when you tank up! 2 to 3oz per 10 US gallons is good. As we’re metric, I use 20 to 23 ml per 10 litres. I put it in the tank before I fill up so the acetone mixes better.

    Look at http://addacetone.com/ for more information.

    January 30th, 2006 at 9:22 am

16. Jdogg says:

    I use 3oz added to the tank WITH A LONG NECK FUNNEL after I fill my 95LX Escort. I get approx. 310 miles per tank (10gal) with acetone, and 280 miles per tank without. A gallon of acetone costs approx $7 to $10. Im still on my first gallon.

    Yes I think its worth using have done so since last summer with no problems.

    January 30th, 2006 at 9:23 am

17. Alan says:

    Is that fluid ounce? or weight? Don’t you love the English measurement system?

    January 30th, 2006 at 9:34 am

18. Don Mynack says:

    Given the fact that modern engines burn 98% of fuel, not 80%, and the other rather dubious claims that LaPointe makes, I would have serious doubt as to whether this actually does anything.

    Rather thorough debunking here: http://www.fuelsaving.info/acetone.htm

    January 30th, 2006 at 9:41 am

19. Alice says:

    Thanks Don- Let’s read that piece and see what it has to say.

    January 30th, 2006 at 9:45 am

20. Laura says:

    . . . so does that mean I can put nail polish remover in my car?

    January 30th, 2006 at 9:45 am

21. Less Cynical than YOU says:

    Ok, so you’re a cynic, that’s obvious. The thing is, you obviously don’t know or rarely leave the small world of your microcube. The Real World does, indeed, have other interests at play which would in fact be adversely impacted by improved fuel efficiency. My dad worked for 35 years as a General Motors engineer, and one of his primary project focuses was fuel economy systems, including exhaust systems. Even then, years ago, the automakers are aware that several high efficiency motors and other fuel economy devices exist, and now they hold the patents to them. I suspect we’ll begin to see them in the upcoming years as Peak Oil becomes a more relevant factor. Point is, my dad tested a carbuerator in 1973 that achieved in excess of 45 MPG then, which would translate to about 60-70 mpg now with the fuel additives which seek to do exactly what acetone supposedly does. It was deemed ‘not conducive to profit stability’ at that time, and propmtly shelved, along with the manufacturing process and design specifics. My father was not allowed to see the interior components of the device, and it had it’s own specific technicians to adjust and tune it. My dad always felt he and his team were being used as observers so there could be a rubber stamp on the closure of the inquiry. They apparently bought the design from a private inventor for a very tidy sum.

    It IS true that the majority of combustion engines operate on an extremly flexible margin of efficiency, which is highly dependent on many factors. Included among those is the (relative) grade of the gasoline, efficiency of the firing system, proper lubrication and efficient waste removal. Also relevant is the method of fuel injection into the pistons for firing in the first place.
    Chemically, as a hydrocarbon, Gasoline does tend to glob together, which is why most FI ports are designed to spray the gasoline evenly along the (hot) sides of the piston, where contact with the sides furthers the evaporation and vaporization process, thereby allowing a greater fuel-*air* mixing to occur. It stands to reason that if the surface tension of the substance, which admittedly I’ve not chemically tested, were to be reduced, the vaporization tempurature and rate would radically increase, thereby improving burn efficiency. This would produce a greater bang for the buck, at the least, but how that affected fuel economy is another matter dependent on the other factors mentioned, and also taking account that simply having proper inflation of your tires can improve your fuel economy, maybe as much as 1-3 miles per 2 gallons, but it all adds up.
    Yes, there is a significant waste of fuel from piston action, somewhere between 4-18% depending on the vehicle, it’s performance, and the efficiency of the engine. You have perhaps noticed that, in an ideal combustion engine using all the fuel it was burning, the end result SHOULD be Water and Carbon Dioxide. In practice, that is no where near the case, and thus the reason for many exhaust components, including catalytic converters, etc, to rectify some of the ‘excess’ to make it ‘environmentally friendly’ and etc.

    I did try this, using a baseline 1:3 addition in my older Cutlass Supreme, 1979. I used this because it’s a big V8 engine, and was quite the guzzler. I was averaging about 15-16 MPG city, and maybe 20-22 Hwy prior to this, and I did notice after the second tank an increase of approximately, well. Here’s the numbers. I have a 12 gallon after market plastic tank. I installed this myself. I filled it with regular, with as low a content of alcohol as I could find, which happened to be a Citgo product. (Don’t buy premium, you’re just buying additives) To that I added 4 ounces Acetone, bought at K-Mart. I pumped in 4 gallons, added the acetone, then filled up to mix it thoroughly, and that has become my routine. Before I did this, I got on average about 235-250 miles to the tank. That remained only slightly different on the first tank full, although the majority of that week was city driving, so that was noticable improvement in just thhat. The second tank saw more improvement, and I ended up getting almost 290 highway miles to the gallon. (286 before I started sputtering, to be exact). To be absolutely certain I was nearing the bottom of my tank, I was carrying a half gallon of gas in a seperate tank, for just this purpose. I didn’t end up using it, but I have to say I remain pleased. I still average around 285-300 a tankful, when I drive that car.

    I must also post that I did notice an increase in output, really. It was particularly apparent when passing, or otherwise rapidly accelerating, and seems to have peaked out after the third tank full.

    I’m not saying this is a panacea for the gas woes, but I trusted this on my baby, and I’m now using it on my 525, for 3 months and with no ill effects. My auto tech knew about this, and was even more skeptical about what I was going to do. He does this with his truck and cars now, and will probably continue to do so, although he won’t advise others to do so which is reasonable.

    About using a lawn mower to test it, I don’t think a two-cycle engine would really see appreciable benefits to the use, although a motorcycle or other sport vehicle might. I’ll think about that for this coming summer. Don’t know if I want to test my Hog on this yet.

    Take these words as you please, but if you’re not sure, buy a beater, learn how to do something other than complain, tune it up, and run about 5 tanks through it. If you can’t find someplace far enough away you’d drive there 5x you’re pretty sad. Do the first two with regular gasoline, purchased from a vendor available at both ends and along the way, then do the third and onward for the last 3 with the acetone mix. If you want to really test how efficient it is, remember to fill up fully, carry a spare tank of ‘reserve’ gasoline to get you to station to fill again, and keep a log every time you drive, and what type of driving it is.

    I’m pretty happy, which is what prompted me to write this. You can take it or leave it

    Oh, and I no affiliation with Louis LaPoint. I actually hadn’t really checked into him very much, just tried it on a car I had planned on selling anyway. Now, however, it’s more useful to drive, and I’ve rediscovered the joy of riding a big steel car again.

    January 30th, 2006 at 9:50 am

22. bob says:

    I tried this in my chevette and i got 250 MPG!!!

    January 30th, 2006 at 9:52 am

23. bob says:

    I tried this in my chevette and i got 250 MPG!!!

    January 30th, 2006 at 9:53 am

24. Less Cynical than YOU says:

    Ok, so you’re a cynic, that’s obvious. The thing is, you obviously don’t know or rarely leave the small world of your microcube. The Real World does, indeed, have other interests at play which would in fact be adversely impacted by improved fuel efficiency. My dad worked for 35 years as a General Motors engineer, and one of his primary project focuses was fuel economy systems, including exhaust systems. Even then, years ago, the automakers are aware that several high efficiency motors and other fuel economy devices exist, and now they hold the patents to them. I suspect we’ll begin to see them in the upcoming years as Peak Oil becomes a more relevant factor. Point is, my dad tested a carbuerator in 1973 that achieved in excess of 45 MPG then, which would translate to about 60-70 mpg now with the fuel additives which seek to do exactly what acetone supposedly does. It was deemed ‘not conducive to profit stability’ at that time, and propmtly shelved, along with the manufacturing process and design specifics. My father was not allowed to see the interior components of the device, and it had it’s own specific technicians to adjust and tune it. My dad always felt he and his team were being used as observers so there could be a rubber stamp on the closure of the inquiry. They apparently bought the design from a private inventor for a very tidy sum.

    It IS true that the majority of combustion engines operate on an extremly flexible margin of efficiency, which is highly dependent on many factors. Included among those is the (relative) grade of the gasoline, efficiency of the firing system, proper lubrication and efficient waste removal. Also relevant is the method of fuel injection into the pistons for firing in the first place.
    Chemically, as a hydrocarbon, Gasoline does tend to glob together, which is why most FI ports are designed to spray the gasoline evenly along the (hot) sides of the piston, where contact with the sides furthers the evaporation and vaporization process, thereby allowing a greater fuel-*air* mixing to occur. It stands to reason that if the surface tension of the substance, which admittedly I’ve not chemically tested, were to be reduced, the vaporization tempurature and rate would radically increase, thereby improving burn efficiency. This would produce a greater bang for the buck, at the least, but how that affected fuel economy is another matter dependent on the other factors mentioned, and also taking account that simply having proper inflation of your tires can improve your fuel economy, maybe as much as 1-3 miles per 2 gallons, but it all adds up.
    Yes, there is a significant waste of fuel from piston action, somewhere between 4-18% depending on the vehicle, it’s performance, and the efficiency of the engine. You have perhaps noticed that, in an ideal combustion engine using all the fuel it was burning, the end result SHOULD be Water and Carbon Dioxide. In practice, that is no where near the case, and thus the reason for many exhaust components, including catalytic converters, etc, to rectify some of the ‘excess’ to make it ‘environmentally friendly’ and etc.

    I did try this, using a baseline 1:3 addition in my older Cutlass Supreme, 1979. I used this because it’s a big V8 engine, and was quite the guzzler. I was averaging about 15-16 MPG city, and maybe 20-22 Hwy prior to this, and I did notice after the second tank an increase of approximately, well. Here’s the numbers. I have a 12 gallon after market plastic tank. I installed this myself. I filled it with regular, with as low a content of alcohol as I could find, which happened to be a Citgo product. (Don’t buy premium, you’re just buying additives) To that I added 4 ounces Acetone, bought at K-Mart. I pumped in 4 gallons, added the acetone, then filled up to mix it thoroughly, and that has become my routine. Before I did this, I got on average about 235-250 miles to the tank. That remained only slightly different on the first tank full, although the majority of that week was city driving, so that was noticable improvement in just thhat. The second tank saw more improvement, and I ended up getting almost 290 highway miles to the gallon. (286 before I started sputtering, to be exact). To be absolutely certain I was nearing the bottom of my tank, I was carrying a half gallon of gas in a seperate tank, for just this purpose. I didn’t end up using it, but I have to say I remain pleased. I still average around 285-300 a tankful, when I drive that car.

    I must also post that I did notice an increase in output, really. It was particularly apparent when passing, or otherwise rapidly accelerating, and seems to have peaked out after the third tank full.

    I’m not saying this is a panacea for the gas woes, but I trusted this on my baby, and I’m now using it on my 525, for 3 months and with no ill effects. My auto tech knew about this, and was even more skeptical about what I was going to do. He does this with his truck and cars now, and will probably continue to do so, although he won’t advise others to do so which is reasonable.

    About using a lawn mower to test it, I don’t think a two-cycle engine would really see appreciable benefits to the use, although a motorcycle or other sport vehicle might. I’ll think about that for this coming summer. Don’t know if I want to test my Hog on this yet.

    Take these words as you please, but if you’re not sure, buy a beater, learn how to do something other than complain, tune it up, and run about 5 tanks through it. If you can’t find someplace far enough away you’d drive there 5x you’re pretty sad. Do the first two with regular gasoline, purchased from a vendor available at both ends and along the way, then do the third and onward for the last 3 with the acetone mix. If you want to really test how efficient it is, remember to fill up fully, carry a spare tank of ‘reserve’ gasoline to get you to station to fill again, and keep a log every time you drive, and what type of driving it is.

    I’m pretty happy, which is what prompted me to write this. You can take it or leave it

    Oh, and I no affiliation with Louis LaPoint. I actually hadn’t really checked into him very much, just tried it on a car I had planned on selling anyway. Now, however, it’s more useful to drive, and I’ve rediscovered the joy of riding a big steel car again.

    January 30th, 2006 at 9:58 am

25. bob says:

    It works because the acetone helps me produce the 1.21 jigawatts of electricity i need for my flux capacitor!!! Good things because those Libyan nationalists almost caught me!!!

    January 30th, 2006 at 10:09 am

26. Andrew Carroll says:

    I’m not doubting that some people are seeing gains, but as with the other miracle cures (tornado, electric supercharger, etc) the gains are mostly perception. For someone going from 31 mpg to 40 mpg on the same trip, I would have to see what other factors such as temperature, speed, wind, traffic, etc, before I would believe you increased your mileage 10 mpg.

    As for the people who say your RPMs stay down around town, don’t you realize that means that you are driving more slowly, or your car is shifting into a higher gear? Once your torque converter locks up (automatic), or your clutch stops slipping (manual) your engine is going to spin at the same RPM at the same speed unless there is another outside factor. Your gear ratio (tranny / differential) and tire size are the only thing that affect RPMs, not your engine. Here’s an example: Let’s say you are going up a hill at 55 mph, and your engine is spinning at 3200 rpm. Your engine is still going to spin at 3200 rpm on level ground at 55 mph (in the same gear), but your injectors are going to be pumping more gas into the cylinders. So, your mileage will vary, but your RPMs won’t.

    But anyways…like the rebunk posted in #18, this really isn’t applicable. I can see there being slight benefits to running acetone through your fuel system and cleaning out varnish and deposits, but the quantity of acetone isn’t sufficient to make any difference. Plus, the downsides (paint, fuel lines, plastics) don’t outweigh the risk.

    January 30th, 2006 at 10:10 am

27. bob says:

    It works because the acetone helps me produce the 1.21 jigawatts of electricity i need for my flux capacitor!!! Good things because those Libyan nationalists almost caught me!!!

    January 30th, 2006 at 10:11 am

28. ben says:

    wow, congratulations guys! You discovered what happens when you want your gas mileage to go up…you don’t accellerate as hard, you don’t brake as hard or often. You drive slower or more consistently in the “sweet spot” of the engine in top gear.

    sure the oil companies are out to get us, but if it were this easy, the oil companies would be selling fuel additives that were acetone and food coloring, and charging 15 bucks a bottle for them.

    January 30th, 2006 at 10:11 am

29. Some Guy says:

    This totally works!!!!1!!!1!!!11

    I added acetone to my 1986 Ford Escort, and I got 83 mpg city/178mpg highway. Also, my Escort broke the land speed record (although someone with a 1993 Geo Prizm loaded with acetone and wood alcohol beat my speed right afterwards). Also, my car has developed sentience and a cool red led panel on the front of the hood. We travel around the country fighting crime, now, and my perm has never looked better.

    Seriously, it all happened, thanks to acetone. Don’t let the capitalist oil-barons fool you, the only reason they don’t add acetone to all fuel is they want you to keep using more gasoline than necessary and paying less per gallon than they could charge for such “enhanced” super-fuel.

    January 30th, 2006 at 10:11 am

30. Comment by Less Cynical than YOU says:

    Ok, so you’re a cynic, that’s obvious. The thing is, you obviously don’t know or rarely leave the small world of your microcube. The Real World does, indeed, have other interests at play which would in fact be adversely impacted by improved fuel efficiency. My dad worked for 35 years as a General Motors engineer, and one of his primary project focuses was fuel economy systems, including exhaust systems. Even then, years ago, the automakers are aware that several high efficiency motors and other fuel economy devices exist, and now they hold the patents to them. I suspect we’ll begin to see them in the upcoming years as Peak Oil becomes a more relevant factor. Point is, my dad tested a carbuerator in 1973 that achieved in excess of 45 MPG then, which would translate to about 60-70 mpg now with the fuel additives which seek to do exactly what acetone supposedly does. It was deemed ‘not conducive to profit stability’ at that time, and propmtly shelved, along with the manufacturing process and design specifics. My father was not allowed to see the interior components of the device, and it had it’s own specific technicians to adjust and tune it. My dad always felt he and his team were being used as observers so there could be a rubber stamp on the closure of the inquiry. They apparently bought the design from a private inventor for a very tidy sum.

    It IS true that the majority of combustion engines operate on an extremly flexible margin of efficiency, which is highly dependent on many factors. Included among those is the (relative) grade of the gasoline, efficiency of the firing system, proper lubrication and efficient waste removal. Also relevant is the method of fuel injection into the pistons for firing in the first place.
    Chemically, as a hydrocarbon, Gasoline does tend to glob together, which is why most FI ports are designed to spray the gasoline evenly along the (hot) sides of the piston, where contact with the sides furthers the evaporation and vaporization process, thereby allowing a greater fuel-*air* mixing to occur. It stands to reason that if the surface tension of the substance, which admittedly I’ve not chemically tested, were to be reduced, the vaporization tempurature and rate would radically increase, thereby improving burn efficiency. This would produce a greater bang for the buck, at the least, but how that affected fuel economy is another matter dependent on the other factors mentioned, and also taking account that simply having proper inflation of your tires can improve your fuel economy, maybe as much as 1-3 miles per 2 gallons, but it all adds up.
    Yes, there is a significant waste of fuel from piston action, somewhere between 4-18% depending on the vehicle, it’s performance, and the efficiency of the engine. You have perhaps noticed that, in an ideal combustion engine using all the fuel it was burning, the end result SHOULD be Water and Carbon Dioxide. In practice, that is no where near the case, and thus the reason for many exhaust components, including catalytic converters, etc, to rectify some of the ‘excess’ to make it ‘environmentally friendly’ and etc.

    I did try this, using a baseline 1:3 addition in my older Cutlass Supreme, 1979. I used this because it’s a big V8 engine, and was quite the guzzler. I was averaging about 15-16 MPG city, and maybe 20-22 Hwy prior to this, and I did notice after the second tank an increase of approximately, well. Here’s the numbers. I have a 12 gallon after market plastic tank. I installed this myself. I filled it with regular, with as low a content of alcohol as I could find, which happened to be a Citgo product. (Don’t buy premium, you’re just buying additives) To that I added 4 ounces Acetone, bought at K-Mart. I pumped in 4 gallons, added the acetone, then filled up to mix it thoroughly, and that has become my routine. Before I did this, I got on average about 235-250 miles to the tank. That remained only slightly different on the first tank full, although the majority of that week was city driving, so that was noticable improvement in just thhat. The second tank saw more improvement, and I ended up getting almost 290 highway miles to the gallon. (286 before I started sputtering, to be exact). To be absolutely certain I was nearing the bottom of my tank, I was carrying a half gallon of gas in a seperate tank, for just this purpose. I didn’t end up using it, but I have to say I remain pleased. I still average around 285-300 a tankful, when I drive that car.

    I must also post that I did notice an increase in output, really. It was particularly apparent when passing, or otherwise rapidly accelerating, and seems to have peaked out after the third tank full.

    I’m not saying this is a panacea for the gas woes, but I trusted this on my baby, and I’m now using it on my 525, for 3 months and with no ill effects. My auto tech knew about this, and was even more skeptical about what I was going to do. He does this with his truck and cars now, and will probably continue to do so, although he won’t advise others to do so which is reasonable.

    About using a lawn mower to test it, I don’t think a two-cycle engine would really see appreciable benefits to the use, although a motorcycle or other sport vehicle might. I’ll think about that for this coming summer. Don’t know if I want to test my Hog on this yet.

    Take these words as you please, but if you’re not sure, buy a beater, learn how to do something other than complain, tune it up, and run about 5 tanks through it. If you can’t find someplace far enough away you’d drive there 5x you’re pretty sad. Do the first two with regular gasoline, purchased from a vendor available at both ends and along the way, then do the third and onward for the last 3 with the acetone mix. If you want to really test how efficient it is, remember to fill up fully, carry a spare tank of ‘reserve’ gasoline to get you to station to fill again, and keep a log every time you drive, and what type of driving it is.

    I’m pretty happy, which is what prompted me to write this. You can take it or leave it

    Oh, and I no affiliation with Louis LaPoint. I actually hadn’t really checked into him very much, just tried it on a car I had planned on selling anyway. Now, however, it’s more useful to drive, and I’ve rediscovered the joy of riding a big steel car again.

    January 30th, 2006 at 10:13 am

31. NASAdude says:

    This isn’t the sort of thing you can accurately measure using your car. Conditions aren’t constant, so you can’t isolate one parameter (ie: inclusion of acetone in different amounts) for proper analysis. Other considerations: 1) double-blind testing if possible, 2) randomized testing order, 3) elimination of human (driver) factors, etc.

    Also, the referenced web site pushes the use of OBD-II meters for live mpg calculations. This data is not very accurate, as it is often based on the air flow sensor (air flow is proportional to fuel consumption).

    I’m not saying it’s not possible that acetone can influence the combustion characteristics of gasoline. However, if any proponent wants to be taken seriously, proper testing should be done on an engine connected to a dynamometer and fuel-flow measurement. One could also do more accurate emissions measurement. This along with cylinder temperature measurements could help describe exactly where the changes is fuel efficiency originate, either in changes to the engine’s thermodynamic characteristics, or more (or less) complete burning of the fuel.

    The wording in the article smacks heavily of pseudo-science, talking about the “energies” of molecules affecting how others behave. It makes for an entertaining read, but doesn’t give evidence of any real science behind it.

    Lastly, giving selected first-person testimonials doesn’t sway me to believe this really works. “Real-world” testing is very imprecise, people easily get the results they want, and only those data that support the argument are provided. It’s like an informercial that says a food supplement helped people to lose 100lbs. Usually those are non-typical results and the supplement wasn’t the only factor. Often it may not even be a contributing factor, rather one that would be determined to be insignificant under proper scientific study.

    Alice: Try to be more careful about posting pseudo-science as *real* tech.

    January 30th, 2006 at 10:16 am

32. Andrew Carroll says:

    How? All a carb does is mixes fuel and air. You know why they don’t make carbs anymore do you?

    It’s called fuel injection. Specific and precise metering and vaporization of fuel as it enters your combustion chamber or intake. They don’t spray on the ‘hot’ part of the cylinder, the whole cylinder is hot and needs the quench of vaporized fuel to avoid hotspots, pinging, and knock.

    Virtually every car today has injectors, because carbs don’t do the job as easily, cheaply, or effectively. They are technology that simply isn’t needed once technology was able to create injectors that can surpass the abilities of carbs. Same reason that nobody uses distributors anymore, just coil packs.

    So, no. I’m not doubting that they had a carb, engine, and car that got 45 mpg. You can go buy a Geo Metro, baby it, and get that mileage out of it without doing anything special. But, a carb that doubles / triples mileage? No way. A gallon of gasoline only has so much energy in it, and while you can get more of that energy to the road by improving drivetrain efficiency, there is a hard limit to how much energy you can get out of it, basically once you have a stoich mix of 14.7:1 air/fuel ratio, then you need to start pumping more air and more fuel into the cylinder to make more power.

    That’s just simple physics and chemestry.

    January 30th, 2006 at 10:21 am

33. bob says:

    If you add red bull to your car it will grow wings and then you get like 987344987320423 miles per gallon!!!!

    January 30th, 2006 at 10:22 am

34. Dean says:

    I’m an analytical chemist so I take this kind of claim with an open skepticism. The Acetone may reduce droplet size, lower vapor pressure and clean out deposits and sludge. However it may also eat into your fuel lines, gaskets and filter meshes so be careful. Toluene and xylene may also give similar performance increases with less risk of damage. I’d like to hear if anyone has tried those two. If I’m not mistaken, formula 1 is gasoline with 20% toluene.

    I wouldn’t risk this on a new engine but if I had a beater I knew would be heading to the yard in a year or two I’d be willing to try this. Correct tire size, balance and tread go just as far to increasing mileage without the potential to damage your car. If boost and get up and go are important, chipping and port polishing are safer. Don’t handle acetone without gloves and ventilation. The flashpoint for acetone is lower then that of gasoline.

    January 30th, 2006 at 10:39 am

35. Jerry says:

    I have not tried this but I did do some research on it this last summer.

    3 ounces of Acetone/10gal will not hurt your car. There are some engine cleaners on the market that use acetone as an ingredient.

    The Berryman Chemicals company list an MSDS for all their additives. You will notice some of these contain quite a bit of acetone as an ingredient. Some of them have over 30% acetone for a 15oz can so that is almost 5 oz to treat up to 15 galons of fuel according to the label.

    http://www.berrymanproducts.com/Default.aspx?tabid=120

    January 30th, 2006 at 10:42 am

36. bob says:

    Well I think you are 2 parts gay to 4 parts full of SH*T…

    January 30th, 2006 at 10:43 am

37. John House says:

    Referencing No. 1, James

    Why do you think your car has a catalytic converter?
    It burns unburned hydrocarbons.

    What are unburned hydrocarbons?
    Otherwise known as gasoline.

    So, the answer to your question is:
    Absolutely.

    Also, I wondered what the strong odor is from my current fuel additive. Now I think I know the answer.

    January 30th, 2006 at 10:46 am

38. Jim Duncan says:

    First, the only scientific method to test this type of claim is on a Dynamometer - a machine that is used to test automotive variances under IDENTICAL circumstances… A dynamometer can be programmed to replicate the exact driving pattern multiple times - allowing for the only difference to be the fuel additive. These tests probably have not been done because there is no scientific basis to support this claim. The claims made here are totally arbitrary, even if true - there are so many variables when driving in the real world that the “claims of improved mileage” may actually have occurred due to other environmental variances.

    People are always looking for “the miracle cure”, “something for nothing” or the “easy buck”. As with most word-of-mouth passed along miracles, this one has no foundation based on science, only claims from “first-person testimonials”. Perhaps if the people who provided the alleged “first-person testimonials” wore their helmets lined with tin foil (like they were told to!) they wouldn’t have had these strange thoughts transmitted to their (alleged) minds!

    January 30th, 2006 at 10:47 am

39. Andy says:

    Have been using acetone on a 2001 chevy suburban.
    to get good numbers I have used a diagnostic port reader called a scan gauge (scangauge.com) (cheapest unit I could find)
    gas used is 89 grade exxon (bought from same station at approximately the same time of day each time)

    5 tank average before acetone with mountain, (I live on a mountain) city, and a little bit of highway driving
    11.2 mpg

    20 tank average with 3 oz acetone per 10 gallons of gas
    13.53 mpg

    numbers break down to 1-2 mpg boost on the mountain and city driving
    2-5 mpg boost on highway driving

    the rules are that if there is ethanol in the gas that this won’t work
    use between 1-4 oz per 10 gallons of gas (every vehicle is different. use a gauge to get precise numbers. average at least 4 tanks on a specific ratio to get more concrete numbers before changing the ratio.
    some vehicles see no change mpg wise
    all newer vehicles use a DuPont product called viton for fuel systems. it is resistant to methanol, ethanol, and a lot of other hard core chemicals so disolving or swelling parts is really not an issue

    January 30th, 2006 at 10:51 am

40. Chuck says:

    Chuck Norris uses acetone as a beer chaser.

    January 30th, 2006 at 11:03 am

41. Eldapper says:

    Tried in a ‘04 VW Passat Diesel. There was an improvement in mileage that was equivalent to my use of a diesel injector cleaner (the STP or Napa injector cleaner that I use contains acetone). It seems more likely that if your fuel injectors are clean and the fuel pattern is correct, your fuel efficiency increases. A fill-up of my tank shows a range of 620 miles. Driving directly onto the interstate, my range will increase to 640 miles and begin decreasing 20 miles for about every 23 miles driven until the tank shows half-full and by then the trip computer has a handle on the situation and shows mileage decreasing mile for mile. Not using an injector cleaner under the exactly identical conditions my fill-up will show the same 620 miles but drop quickly to 585 and decrease mile for mile.
    So, I stick with the injector cleaner. The acetone is simply too much of a hassle to work with except for perhaps only the most dedicated do-it-yourselfers. The potential for saving a few pennies vs. putting my car warrantee in danger and having an established motor additive company stand behind their product and the peace of mind that comes with that performance promise is worth it to me.

    January 30th, 2006 at 11:06 am

42. Paul Stamatiou says:

    I don’t think I will ever put Acetone in my mustang. It already runs 104 octane most of the time to keep the supercharger happy, so Acetone will probably result in overheating and most likely piston knocking. But I can imagine how this will help out in your garden variety Honda Civic where extreme high compression isn’t an issue.

    January 30th, 2006 at 11:33 am

43. Alex says:

    Re #1, way up there:

    Car engines come nowhere near Carnot engine maximum efficiency. Fully efficient engines are very, very slow; you could walk faster than a car using a Carnot engine derivative. Because gas motors don’t even approach the thermodynamic limit for engine efficiency, there’s a lot of areas for improvement.

    January 30th, 2006 at 11:36 am

44. Past Skeptical says:

    Tom & Ray Magliozzi (Click & Clack), at cartalk.com, covered this very bit of BS in a recent column. The upshot: it doesn’t work, and acetone will eat any and all plastic bits in your fuel system.

    Now, if you wanna ACTUALLY increase your mileage, try Toluene or Xylene in the tank.

    January 30th, 2006 at 12:32 pm

45. Joe Mama says:

    I’ve been drinking acetone for the past 6 months in my F-150 and I can swear to the plastic Jesus on my dashboard that my mileage has gone way up!!

    I just swig 3 or 4 huge gulps, hit the pedal, and BAM!
    I go SO fast that I pass out from the G-forces and when I wake up I have gone SO far because of the mileage, I have no idea where I am!

    ITS AMAZING!
    ITS ASTOUNDING!
    BUT ITS
    NO
    BULLSH!T

    January 30th, 2006 at 1:06 pm

46. Guy says:

    Glad that guy talked about doing this on this 1990 Tracker. I have one, and was thinking of possibly trying this. Thanks for letting me know.

    January 30th, 2006 at 1:15 pm

47. Andrew says:

    Ok I tried this - it didn’t work at all. The ones who say it does can say it probably because it cleaned the crud out of their engine - other then that - didn’t work. Tried it on a 97 nissan quest and also a 2000 volkswagen golf.

    January 30th, 2006 at 1:55 pm

48. Andrew says:

    Link to the car talk discussion on acetone

    http://www.cartalk.com/content/columns/Archive/2006/January/08.html

    January 30th, 2006 at 1:57 pm

49. Anders Finn says:

    Ok just a couple things here.

    1) “If I’m not mistaken, formula 1 is gasoline with 20% toluene.” nope, not mistaken. That’s formula 1. They’re working with the same thing here.

    2) This talk from “http://www.fuelsaving.info/acetone.htm” is also a bunch of crap. The author has not spent any time actually researching this topic either. He’s guessing. The 98-99% fuel burn is just that, fuel BURNT. Anyone who knows hydro-carbons knows that burning of hydro-carbons does not mean HC + O2 -> CO2 + H20 . . It means HC + N2 + O2 + H2O + others + -> CO2 + H20 + CO + S02 + NOx + other stuff. So “burning” isn’t exactly a great term to describe how the energy transfer works. To get down to it, our best cars get about 15-25% of the energy stored in hydrocarbons out of them (I’m not even talking about wind, powertrain etc losses here, I’m just saying in the engine). It’s not hard to see how a smaller drop size, thus a more even heat distrabution could boost fuel efficendy. HOWEVER

    3) What doesn’t make sense about this to me is why:
    a) isn’t already added to our fuels, this is something gas companies would love and can’t be patented or copyrighted.
    b) isn’t it sold premade in lil 6oz bottles at every gas station by “super gas” or something like that?

    If it’s such a perfect solution, someone would have picked up and started marketing it. To me I also see problems with your injectors with this. Acetone thining out your fuel mix by breaking the hydrogen bonding of the gas and probably interfering with Van Der Waals forces as well. (I’m sorry, I didn’t go look at it THAT closely) I would assume you’d need finer injectors as well. Back about a year ago I was looking at ethanol and moving my vehicle to E90 (90% ethanol and 10% gas) and eventually to 100% Ethanol like the Brazillians do. I found that the MAIN problems were fuel o-rings as ethanol tends to attack many types of rubber and. . well, I’d need new injectors designed for ethanol. Now, that’s not a big deal here, we’re talking about $200 in parts but we’re also talking about skill and a car/truck you can DO this to. Sure, I think that acetone has possibilites here, but I wouldn’t put it in my 2000+ Car or my 1990+ US built car. I’d go find myself a nice mid-80’s to mid-90’s Honda or VW (like a fox =) or something with that wonderful 1.8L 8v. Those cars are troopers as far as the engine goes and are as simple as can be. I’d pull the full fuel system from the tank fill to the injectors and rebuild it with this fuel mix in mind. Then. . well, heh, you already probably bumped up your fuel efficiency a bit right there maybe 2-5% just by cleaning up those dirty injectors and such so. . don’t forget to take your results with a grain of salt. Personally, I recommend NOT doing this with any EFI car unless you know what you are doing.

    January 30th, 2006 at 2:23 pm

50. Anders Finn says:

    side notes:

    Car talk don’t know crap about this kinda stuff. . Sorry guys, yer great but this is not your area.

    Acetone is a serious corrosive and well, it will clean the piss out of your fuel system. If you put it into an anything but new car (or new fuel system), you’re more than likely to plug your injectors, your fuel distributor (or fuel rail) or/and your fuel filter. If you do do this. after you run a couple tanks through, please go change your fuel filter. Your car will thank you.

    January 30th, 2006 at 2:27 pm

51. Jason says:

    I’ve tryed this in my car. A 86 Pontiac Firebird with a 305 V8 with a 4 barle carb. and a overdrive auto. trans. For those of you that don’t know what all that is. the bigest thing that matters is the carb. the car does not have fule injection. At the time I started useing this I was puting 250 to 300 miles on my car a week. I had to fill up at 250 every week. also my car had got rather slugesh whenever I wanted to pass a car. after the secone day with the acetone in the tank I pulled out to pass a car and the slugishness was gone. but I didn’t notice and gane in gas mileage. but the second tank there was, 50 miles to be exact. I could get 300 miles a tank. on avarage I was geting 25 miles a galion out of a 20 year old sports car. Also Acetone will clean out any bad stough in the fule system. I’ve sence stoped useing Acetone and my millage has droped back down but my car still runs good. I will be useing Acetone again now that I’ve found somewhere to get it buy the galion. And newer cars probly won’t see the big jump in mallage but older cars and those with bigger V8 motors will.

    January 30th, 2006 at 2:30 pm

52. Simon says:

    Sounds like somthing for me to expeiment with in a scientific manor on a test rig petrol engine and too much spare time :p

    January 30th, 2006 at 2:31 pm

53. alacrity says:

    Something else people might keep in mind while trying the acetone is the air delivery system to the engine. If the gasoline is more vaporized with acetone, then the air requirements will be higher for best burn. Maybe the people who are failing to get good results need more air? (or maybe even just a clean filter)

    That also brings up the question of exhaust restriction. If the engine cannot get rid of the burned gases, that would also reduce the performance.

    January 30th, 2006 at 3:12 pm

54. Richard Cheney says:

    I will create an emergency executive order to supress this information at once! How can I make billions and billions if the masses are increasing their gas mileage? SUVs for everyone!

    Dick

    January 30th, 2006 at 4:05 pm

55. Gas Mileage says:

    Simon says I should try it in my expensive BMW 3.0 with injection. Since he said “says” I gotta do it. Right

    January 30th, 2006 at 4:12 pm

56. bandit says:

    Most intake manifolds and some engine blocks are cast aluminum.Aluminum is a corrosive material. Final aluminum and accitone won’t mix.For you people who use it tell us how many times you had to replace these parts.

    January 30th, 2006 at 4:40 pm

57. Justin says:

    One thing that I’ve noticed nobody covering is the FLASH POINT. Lower octane fuels require more “spark” to get the same amount of combustion/compression, thus lower mileage. If it takes less energy and you can create a “hotter” spark (lowering cylinder temperature), then you’re fuel efficiency will increase (that comes back to a clean oil pan. Lubrication is a big factor in combustion engine power.) Think about why all of these street racers use nitrous. They sell nitrous in amounts of HP, from a 3+ HP gain, all the way up to 300+ HP gains, depending on the amount of NOS that is injected into the fuel. NOS doesn’t actually increase your horsepower, instead it lowers the temperature of the fuel being delivered to the cylinder; lower fuel temperatures, along with the same amount of energy to ignite the air/fuel mixture creates a bigger bang (transference of energy). That amounts to MORE POWER, or at lower engine speeds, better fuel economy. I can see how the THEORY behind using it might work, as the flash point of acetone is so much lower than petrol, but the cohesion to gasoline atoms is something that I can’t discuss, because I don’t have a chemists degree. Regardless, proper tire pressure, external forces of nature (wind, rain, temp, humidity), INTERNAL LUBRICATION, transmission and rear end lubrication, and a clean exhaust should be sufficient for most people. I have yet to try this, but I’m willing ot put my car up. It’s a 95 BMW 318ti, with an OBDI computer, over 135,000 miles. It averages 29 MPG with 80% highway and 20% city, with an avg speed (recently, at least) of about 45MPH. I can get 400 miles out of the tank with those numbers, higher avg speed I can get 450 out of a tank, but that’s all highway driving at about 80 mph avg. let me lower the flash point of my engine and see what happens.

    January 30th, 2006 at 4:41 pm

58. martinelli says:

    Let us know 2-3 years down the road what your fuel pump failure rate is and then we’ll start averaging in the cost of a $250-300 dollar device and what acetone does to the insulating enamel on the motor windings. Bosch fuel systems run with the motor flooded to dissipate heat among other things.

    January 30th, 2006 at 5:13 pm

59. troy says:

    I have tried this and it WORKS!!!! I have a 2001 mercedes CLK430. I went from 15.9 to as much as 22.7 on the highway!!! At the very least I avg. 20.0 mpg over the past 7K miles since I started using it. I reset the avg mpg every 1000 miles to keep a running average.I only use 1 oz per 10 gallons.

    January 30th, 2006 at 5:43 pm

60. Justin says:

    Martinelli, I never claimed that it was safe, or without risk, but the Bosch fuel system is limited in the amount of heat that it can dissapate, especially when that heat is trapped INSIDE a cylinder. If you lower your intake temperature, be it by colder air, NOS, or a chemical with a very low flashpoint, it serves the same purpose, some obviously more destructive than others. Hell, if you put too big a NOS shot on, it’ll blow the tops right off the pistons, and/or scour the cylinder walls, but that never stopped anyone that knew the risks. Besides, my BMW is approaching “beater” status.

    January 30th, 2006 at 5:58 pm

61. Dan says:

    Many modern engines have knock sensors that adjust ignition timing depending on the octane rating or knock resistance of the fuel. Using premium will increase power and range because the engine self-adjusts. Acetone just does the same as premium gasoline. You can put your own additives in, or you can buy them at the pump. Of course it helps to be a fuel chemist to know which additives are compatible with the engine components, and it’s nice to have that warranty.

    January 30th, 2006 at 6:55 pm

62. Jim says:

    RE: #42. Honda Civic’s can NOT handle any kind of high compression. Put high performance spark plugs on your civic-SI, and have fun finding a replacement engine head (like a friend of mine did). The head was warped so badly that it could not be repaired (couldn’t handle the extra compression), and SI heads were not to be found at any salvage yard near or far.

    RE: gas mileage. Obviously car companies CAN produce cars that have GREAT mileage. Once Chevy screwed up and made a 1976 Monza: stick-shift, hatchback, rear-wheel-drive, V6 engine. You could squeal the tires in three gears easily and still get 45 (YES FORTY-FIVE) miles to ONE gallon of gas with that car. It may have been a fluke, but if one car can do it by accident, others can too - by design. Consider the forces at play that keep that kind of feul economy out of the consumers hands. It is not a happy thought.

    January 30th, 2006 at 7:02 pm

63. joes' garage says:

    What about driving style. I had a 87 Isuzu truck, and fuel economy could vary from 18 to 48 based on how you drove it. Perhaps we would do well if our realtime MPG was displayed right there in the center of the dash, for all to see. Even put the $$ spent on that last tire squealing start, seems like if you had the choice between getting somewhere fast or going a little bit slower and over the course of a week you have one free lunch, people would drive much nicer.

    January 30th, 2006 at 8:20 pm

64. Chase says:

    Dean,
    I use Toluene regularly as an octane booster (buy it at sherwin williams) makes a huge difference in power but I have a newer modded turbo vehicle so its just about the computer giving me more timing advance because of the octane/lack of knock. Never noticed fuel efficiency increase but when your car runs hot so does your right foot

    January 30th, 2006 at 8:25 pm

65. Sean says:

    Nice try, Jim. No Monza was made with a V6. They came with an I4 or a V8 only throughout the entire model’s life. They certainly didn’t get 45 MPG, either. Where did you get this crap?

    January 31st, 2006 at 1:34 am

66. Jason L. says:

    Yak Yak Yak. REGARDLESS of the “potential energy” per unit of standard Gasoline, OBVIOUSLY you all failed basic math. Not only is the “explosion” casued by the combustion of said gasoline, but HEAT. read. H E A T. You know, that stuff the BIG radiator blows off your engine. HEAT IS ENERGY. there is significant energy lost DIRECTLY in heat. Physics 101.
    Please, DON’T believe ME, a simpleton who could NOT figure out how to do what BMW just did. (Yes, I did in fact ponder and work on a secondary steam engine/heat exchanger but could not figure out how to manage it in a closed-loop system)
    GOOGLE this, and then paint yourself silly. +bmw +turbosteamer

    As for acetone, eh.. haven’t tried it, but I would figure it’s similar to the overpriced “octane boosters”. till then acetone is speculation, but the recovery of energy lost due to excess heat has already given up to 15% or more. Don’t belive me. Read the articles by BMW. +bmw +turbosteamer

    January 31st, 2006 at 2:44 am

67. Chadwick says:

    I would not try it in my current BMW!!! It is not worth any kind of risk to me.

    Back in 1995 When I was much younger (dumber) I decided to run very high octane gas and alcohol in my (stock) 1991 Chevy Z28 before going out drag racing. I did not notice any change except that the exhaust smelled like burnt candy.

    A short time later one third of my fuel system (injectors - fuel rail - fuel regulator) was plugged up with a white chalky powder. Several of my injectors were also leaking. The motor only had about 40,000 miles on it. I don’t know if I pissed some one off and they put something in my gas tank or if it was the alcohol. My friends and I tried to fix the fuel system but it became a big ongoing catastrophe. The car burnt down in the middle of the street one night while I was driving it. What a mess…

    I would try these other things instead; your vehicle will run better, last longer, and get the mileage that was intended.

    Clean and oiled K&N air filter
    New fuel filter every 15,000 miles
    37 PSI in each balanced & rotated tire
    Bounce test your shocks & struts replace if needed
    New properly gapped spark plugs after 60,000 miles
    New plug wires after 60,000 miles
    Change the Oil every 3,000 miles
    Fuel injection system cleaner every 60,000 miles
    Rebuild carburetor every 60,000 miles
    Distributor cap and rotor every 60,000 miles
    Repack or replace the wheel bearings every 100,000 miles
    Check the timing on older cars
    Clean the junk out of your trunk
    De-virginize the back seat regularly and you won’t care about the mileage

    If you don’t do most of the stuff in the list you will most likely be spending more on big repairs in the future. The mileage will seem trivial at that point.

    Good luck and have fun!!!

    P.S. He, who dies with the most toys… Still dies…

    January 31st, 2006 at 4:57 am

68. Fhurst says:

    I’ve used acetone for about 20 years as an octane booster in my older cars. A lot of savy car racers have known about the octane boosting qualities of acetone. I read about it in an old magazine back in the late 80s. It worked very well in high compression engines that were designed to run on leaded fuels. Octanes were designed to slow the fuels burning a little to decrease detonation by spreading the burning cycle out over a longer period of time during the combustion process. It worked great in my el-Camino. But I don’t think I’d try it in a fuel injected car, because I’m not sure about the effects on the o-rings or gaskets. Modern cars have pretty much replaced rubber in the fuel systems with neoprene, but I’m not sure. As far as fuel economy, any time you improve the combustion process you’ll get improvements in fuel economy, but I’m not sure the difference in the costs of the additives will give you any pocket money.

    January 31st, 2006 at 7:44 am

69. monza says:

    Sean they did make a monza V6… just not in 1976 and don’t know about the gas mileage.

    January 31st, 2006 at 8:29 am

70. Mr. Pointy Head says:

    Now my car & I can fly to the moon!

    January 31st, 2006 at 10:49 am

71. William Ramsey says:

    Regarding comments about the danger of handling acetone: It’s a common nail polish remover and cleaner and is easily available in quart or pint cans and smaller bottles, easily poured into a tank.
    Bill R.

    January 31st, 2006 at 11:11 am

72. James Tinsley says:

    I’ve been doing this for over 3 months now, since I found out about it. My 98 Blazer with the 4.0 liter Vortec engine went from 16.9 mpg highway to 22 mpg. In the city I’m getting 19 mpg, which is better than what I used to get on the highway!!! And the performance factor shot way up too, like adding nitrous or something. I buy acetone by the gallon at Wal-Mart for about $12, and it last a long long long time. I have a smaller acetone container that I carry around in the Blazer though. I don’t like the idea of carrying a full gallon of acetone. I’ve worked with that stuff for years and know what it’s capable of….
    I was in the process of trying different amounts to see if lessoning it would make the mileage better, less is more with acetone in the gas. I’m using 3 oz per 10 gal now and was going to go down to 2 oz per 10 gal, but I’ve been pulling a trailer and other things and can’t accurately test it.

    January 31st, 2006 at 5:59 pm

73. James Tinsley says:

    I’ve been doing this for over 3 months now, since I found out about it. My 98 Blazer with the 4.0 liter Vortec engine went from 16.9 mpg highway to 22 mpg. In the city I’m getting 19 mpg, which is better than what I used to get on the highway!!! And the performance factor shot way up too, like adding nitrous or something. I buy acetone by the gallon at Wal-Mart for about $12, and it last a long long long time. I have a smaller acetone container that I carry around in the Blazer though. I don’t like the idea of carrying a full gallon of acetone. I’ve worked with that stuff for years and know what it’s capable of….
    I was in the process of trying different amounts to see if lessoning it would make the mileage better, less is more with acetone in the gas. I’m using 3 oz per 10 gal now and was going to go down to 2 oz per 10 gal, but I’ve been pulling a trailer and other things and can’t accurately test it.

    January 31st, 2006 at 6:00 pm

74. Jim says:

    #65/#69

    Possible I have the year wrong (it was 20 years ago that my friend had this car), but I sure have the car right. I believe it was a Monza-Spider. And don’t tell my about no V6. Six spark plugs = six cylinders, 3 to a side, V-6. I made no claims that this car was advertized to get 45 MPG, I said it DID get 45 MPG (with a powerful V6). Had I been a bit older, I would have bought it from him for the engine alone. I’ve yet to see one like it for performance + mileage.

    January 31st, 2006 at 6:51 pm

75. scott says:

    i just mentioned this to my dad. he runs a large construction company, and said theyve been doing this for a long time with their heavy machinery, and trucks.

    January 31st, 2006 at 7:33 pm

76. blubberknife says:

    Ok, so you’re a cynic, that’s obvious. The thing is… just kidding.

    February 1st, 2006 at 3:50 am

77. Jeremy says:

    And what about the environmental impacts of this? Sure, you can get an extra 1% return in gas milage, but at what cost? If acetone can eat through plastic, just imagine what it will do to your lungs when everyone is burning it in their cars.

    Just my $0.02.

    February 1st, 2006 at 7:45 am

78. Ted's Chatterbox says:

    250+ Miles Per Gallon (MPG)

    Guess what?  I just found out for the 30th time in the past two years that Acetone in your gas tank can drastically improve your gas mileage!  Do you want to know why I hate this?  Because it is bogus, wrong, incorrect, and anyone who tells you othe…

    February 1st, 2006 at 5:41 pm

79. Ted.K says:

    Really, come on now. You can’t really be that gullible to actually try this can you? While you are at it, I have personally tested and have statistical information that proves that adding Bleach, Sugar, & Water to your gas tank will increase your gas mileage by 3000 MPG! Check it out here: http://www.joffs.com

    And if you believe that one…

    Peeling an onion and rubbing the juices in your eyes can get rid of cataracts….

    February 1st, 2006 at 7:59 pm

80. Jeremiah says:

    I wouldn’t dare put this stuff in a diesel. Diesel fuel has lubricants in it that extend the life of the engine. The acetone would thin them and reduce the life expectancy.

    February 1st, 2006 at 8:48 pm

81. Tony says:

    @Anders Finn: In what way exactly is my site ( http://www.fuelsaving.info/acetone.htm ) “a bunch of crap” ? Sure, combustion of fuels in engines is a complex process, but so is pretty much any combustion other than pure hydrogen in pure oxygen. We can still use the word “burn”, though.

    Two facts are absolutely determined by experiments:
    1) The remaining chemical energy in the exhaust of a typical modern engine (the amount you waste due to incomplete combustion) is only 1 or 2% of the chemical energy in the input fuel
    2) If you run an engine on completely vaporised fuel - either pre-vaporised gasoline, or a naturally gaseous fuel such as propane - the improvement in economy is vanishingly small

    From (1) and (2) it is not difficult to conclude that
    a) Acetone almost certainly doesn’t give big mileage gains, and
    b) If it does, it almost certainly doesn’t do it by improving vaporisation

    Critics are welcome to discuss this with me further via the email address on my site

    February 2nd, 2006 at 10:08 am

82. insta says:

    #77, Acetone burns cleaner than gasoline.

    February 2nd, 2006 at 4:16 pm

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    February 4th, 2006 at 11:21 am

84. Mooseman says:

    I have a better solution than using acetone…. why don’t you morons that believe acetone increases your gas mileage put water into your gas tank!?!?!?!?! It is free, non-polluting, won’t eat the paint off your car and it is not explosive! Using the “scientific processes” that you claim show increased mileage after adding acetone to your gas tank, I see no reason that you will not be able to make the same claims of increased mileage after adding water…

    Using your same reasoning, I have another “miracle solution” for all of you morons stupid enough to put acetone in your gas tank - hook up your jumper cables to your car battery, hook the other positive cable end to your left ear. Place the negative cable end on your tongue - it will either raise your I.Q. 20 points, or eliminate the problem! Either way, the world benefits!

    February 4th, 2006 at 5:30 pm

85. TBONE says:

    Mooseman, You do know that gasoline usily does not meet federal standards 10 days after it leaves the refinery! Als that all gasolines conatian additives, That help to stabilize it. Some of the additives are chemiclly similiar to Acetone! (dIDN’T KNOW THAT DID YOU) aND YOU DID NOT TAKE THE TIME TO DO RESEARCH. Before you opened your mouth. I have used Acetone for over 5 yeaqrs in my lawn equipment, starts first pull every time! But I also only use Premium gasoline! How many times do you have to pull on the starter rope of your lawn mower? Assuming you do not use an electric start.

    February 5th, 2006 at 5:59 pm

86. D-Man says:

    I wish this would just die.

    February 7th, 2006 at 6:02 pm

87. Barry m says:

    I’m a little skeptical about the great claims of acetone as most of the volatile hydrocarbon based liquids will produce some sort of ‘favorable’ results if viewed through rose-colored lenses.

    Please refer to comments 67, 81, 84

    Over the years I have used a variety of chemicals in my vehicles. Some of my experiences: i had a ‘80 Corolla from ‘83 to ‘94 and i did have a large container of toluene at my disposal to which I would add about one soup can load (approx. 10 ounces) to the gas tank and the engine would run smoother but be prepared to change out the fuel filter more often, at least at the beginning as it will dissolve and move much of the accumulated ‘crap’ that resides in the fuel system especially on an older car. Kinda like a ‘cleansing’ that some people partake in.

    I also picked up an ‘88 Ford Tempo a few years ago for $600 which some may claim was too much but anyways here is the story. The guy was selling it because his wife didn’t trust it any more as it was getting older and it had a tendency to stall at say the lights with your foot on the brake and in ‘drive’. I learned to slip it into neutral and rev it a bit ’til my turn to go. I tried a few bottles of the standard injector cleaner that you add with each fill-up to no avail. That stuff is just paint brush cleaner anyways. When I went to the automotive shop I noticed that they also had ‘heavy duty’ injector cleaner which sold for $14 (can.) for a 350ml aluminum container. On the back for poison treatment it said ‘Warning: contains Naptha’. Another name for naptha is ‘white gas’ or ‘Coleman Fuel’ which all the older lantern and campstoves use. I used the old standard soupcan load for the next two tankloads and problem resolved. Cost - about $7 for 4 litres. A friend was having similar problems with his injection system and it cured it the same way. I now periodically use it on my past ‘89 and present ‘94 Taurus - both V6 3.0L - which get nearly 40 mpg [ 7L / 100km ] on longer highway drives if you don’t drive like an dumb@ss.

    Again, refer to comments 67, 81, 84

    February 18th, 2006 at 11:39 am

88. Balls says:

    You guys are all retards…give up already

    February 19th, 2006 at 2:36 pm

89. Drink Acetone - Live Longer (or not, we don't care!) says:

    TBONE - see that key on the left side of your keyboard marked “Caps Lock”? Do you know what that key is for? If you press that key, you get Capital Letters EVERYTIME you press a key! Amazing, huh? Obviously, your third grade education has gotten you far!!! Someday (after you save enough money using acetone in your “pull start” lawn equipment), you might be able to afford lawn equipment with an “electric start”! WOW! Until then, I shall do everthing possible to piss off you “rocket scientists” who are conducting research (under the most inconsistant and random circumstances, I might add!) - I am NOT going to use acetone (or any other additive for that matter!). I am going to use only gasoline!!!!!

    If all you “rocket scientists” are so sure this works, why hasn’t anybody PROVEN this with a Dynamometer test? It is very easy to run the same tests with the same car, once with acetone and once without acetone. You haven’t because this test will DISPROVE this myth and you idiots won’t have anything to “brag” about!!

    Not one of the proponents of this myth has provided ANY scientific (or documentable) proof that it improves gas mileage, only “first person testimonials” that are “conducted” under the most uncontrolled, inconsistant fashion possible. They “prove” nothing!! Only that they got “different results” than the last time they checked their gas mileage. There is absolutely NO PROOF offered, only first-person testimonials…. If they expect people to believe it increases gas mileage based on their testimony, why I have several bridges for sale too!! TBONE, are you interested?

    I agree with #38 above - Perhaps if the people who provided the alleged “first-person testimonials” wore their helmets lined with tin foil (like they were told to!) they wouldn’t have had these strange thoughts transmitted to their (alleged) minds!

    I couldn’t have said it better!!!

    However, I do have two more questions… Were you dropped on your head when you were a baby? If so, how many times?

    February 20th, 2006 at 5:21 pm

90. Mr. Auto says:

    Here’s the bottom line:
    does it improve vaporisation? - doesnt matter
    does it improve mileage? - only if your injectors/jets are dirty

    all the stuff about molecular bonding may be true but its just a fuel injector/carb cleaner in this instance. treat it as such.

    if you really want a boost, take out your injectors and soak them in acetone for a few days that’ll really clean em up

    February 21st, 2006 at 6:35 pm

91. Stinky Butt says:

    Hey morons who gives a crap if you get 10 mpg or 15 mpg or 50mpg?
    It hardly matters. Do the math, you’ll be better off spending your time getting a better paying job than the McDonalds you work at, even 25 cents an hour more will get you more net money than saving 175 gallons of gas in a year even if it hits 3 bux a gallon. Sheesh, or at least transfer to the Micky D’s down the street that’s closer.
    Once gas hits 10 bux a gallon you might wanna worry about it, otherwise stop acting like your little dinky SUV is some trucking business that you have to optimize..Your smelly kids and stinky butt wife/life partner do not count as cargo nor the soccer balls you carry around. there’s better things you can do with your time (unless you DO have a trucking business, then i say good job in your ethic)

    February 21st, 2006 at 6:52 pm

92. My butt smells nice, u wanna sniff?? says:

    This is old news. I have invented a matter teleportation device several years ago and I use that for all my travels. I dont even own a car. Well I do but I only use that to mingle with you ‘behind the times’ folks. I really shouldnt be telling you about this gadget, but the truth is, you are all idiots and wouldnt be able to use my device even i gave you one for free.
    Anyways, I say go ahead and put acetone in your gas tank. Or dont. I dont really care, because nothing you do is going to fix your pathetic sheepish lives.
    What you really need to do is think for yourself, instead of reading these comments left by other sheep, for sheep. Baaaah Baaaah

    February 21st, 2006 at 10:43 pm

93. Ina Jo Edwards says:

    Has anyone tried acetone with a 2004 Dodge Neon?
    Would be interested in hearing comments.

    February 22nd, 2006 at 9:39 am

94. Peter Long Schlong says:

    Hiya, I ride a Harley (thats a motorcycle), and let me tell you what! I get pretty bad gas mileage (around 40mpg) until I hit up the bars you see. Then I buy a couple bottles Jack Daniels and get boozed up real good before I hit the interstate. Once I feel like its running outta gas I usually got a take a piss reall bad so I whip it out and its pretty long so I can wiggle it into the gas tank and relieve myself while im running from the law and what not. With a blood alcohol level as high as mine boy oh boy that bike gets up and goes! I gotta be real careful to be sure I remove my weiner from the gas tank before that go-juice stuff makes it to the engine. Keeps me on the road until I run out of fire-water, so I just stops and gets more. RIDE FREE!

    February 22nd, 2006 at 6:28 pm

95. For you my friend, almost free today says:

    Hey Ina Jo - did your mother have any children that lived?

    First, you buy a Neon! Sheesh!!! Second, you are gullible enough to believe these morons that you will actually increase your gas mileage by pouring acetone in your gas tank!!! What’s next, buying the Washington Monument? Or the Lincoln Memorial???

    I sure hope the Telemarketers or Evangelists don’t get your phone number, as their are already enough acetone additive users on Welfare!!!

    Do yourself a favor, keep your car tuned, fluids & filters changed regularly and run a bottle of fuel injector cleaner through your fuel system once a year and you will be getting the best fuel economy that your car can provide.

    If any body is looking for a good deal on some “Pre-owned” National Parks, feel free to check out my Website: I_Am_A_Gullible_Dumbshit.ScamMeNowPlease.com

    February 25th, 2006 at 1:10 pm

96. David says:

    I just tried to go there and got an error message from Google:
    Sorry, no information is available for the URL I_Am_A_Gullible_Dumbshit.ScamMeNowPlease.com

    If the URL is valid, try visiting that web page by clicking on the following link: I_Am_A_Gullible_Dumbshit.ScamMeNowPlease.com
    Find web pages from the site I_Am_A_Gullible_Dumbshit.ScamMeNowPlease.com
    Find web pages that contain the term “I_Am_A_Gullible_Dumbshit.ScamMeNowPlease.com”

    Are you sure you spelled it right? Maybe those underscores were supposed to be hyphens?

    March 5th, 2006 at 5:11 pm

97. David says:

    It works!

    I have been doing the following:
    to Each 10 gallons of gas I add exactly 10 oz. of Acetone pre-mixed with 1 gallon of gas. I have been getting exactly a 10% increase in mileage.

    See my data, including graphs at www.badatwordproblems.com

    March 5th, 2006 at 5:15 pm

98. Yoda says:

    A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… I put 6 oz. of acetone into my Yugo and it turned into the Millennium Falcon!! Did you know that Lightsabers are powered by acetone? But whatever you do, don’t let Obi-Wan Kenobi get his hands on any acetone, he really gets lit up!!!!

    March 6th, 2006 at 6:32 pm

99. Humpty Dumpty says:

    On a serious note folks. I do believe I read at a slightly more technical site than this one that gasoline does contain some acetone as part of the additive package. It’s used as an octane booster.

    March 9th, 2006 at 4:15 pm

100. Don says:

     I have a 1978 Chevy van with a 350ci, 400 trans.I have been carefully monitoring my fuel mileage for the last 6 months. My results are from just about all hwy miles. Before adding acetone, my van was getting 15.7 miles to the gallon. Average in a trip from New Orleans to Houston. I then tried a mixture of 1 oz of acetone per 10 gallons. Monitored this for 3 trips. Milage went to a flat 16mpg. I then tried 2 oz. An increase to 17.3mpg. Then I tried 3 oz, there was a decrease to 14mpg. First I checked plugs, wires, etc.. All were running optimal. I went back to 2 oz mixture. Milage went to 17.5 and has been almost perfectly consistant for the last 12 trips. I think I found my perfect mixture. As far as performance, I noticed no change.
     Next I will try my mixture on my next oil change along with a slightly thinner oil and a quart of Lucas oil stablizer.

     March 9th, 2006 at 9:55 pm

101. Photogabble says:

     Boosting Your Gas Mileage with Acetone

     This looks to be a promissing idea if proven to be true. I just read an article by Alice Hill at realtechnews talking about the apparent advantages of adding Acetone (CH3COCH3) to your petrol. The gains could be as much as 35% under optimal conditions …

     March 11th, 2006 at 10:45 am

102. Beaugrand says:

     The methodlolgy of testing mileage is inherently flawed if you’re running the tank dry. I check my mileage continually, with every fillup, getting a good, clear picture of my average mileage.
     To begin testing you need to start with a FULL fuel tank, and record the odometer reading with the tank FULL. Drive the vehicle normally, until the next time you fill up. Record the odometer again after filling the tank FULL, subtract the old reading from the new to get the actual miles driven, divide this by the amount needed to fill the tank FULL, and you have your mileage. The actual, exact accuracy of the odometer isn’t important (unless the inaccuracy is caused by impending meter failure; in that case, replace it and begin the test all over), because you’re looking for a PERCENT CHANGE in mileage, thus it’s more important to consistently use the SAME odometer and the SAME driving techniques. I do this all the time anyway, because I’m a tightwad.
     You need to do this for several tanks of fuel to establish a “baseline” of fuel economy, then try ONE improvement at a time- increased tire pressure, chassis lube, new shocks (yes, they can affect mileage), fuel additives, whatever.
     I’ve been doing this since I had my first car, in 1968. The best improvement I’ve ever gotten from additives alone was a measly 5% increase in the 1976 Lincoln Town Car I had back in the ’80s (the best overall mileage increase in the Lincoln came from replacing the air and fuel filters, the second came from a combination of installing new tires and new shocks). Some additives, such as gas line antifreeze, actually worsened mileage (not by much, but statistically signifigant).
     Acetone hasn’t worked for me. If it did, I’d use it and keep my mouth shut about it, because I’m a tightwad, and because I’d use that information to invest in companies that produce acetone fuel additive.
     I’m waiting for somebody to rediscover water injection, it actualy works, somewhat.

     March 11th, 2006 at 3:27 pm

103. Douglass says:

     I haven’t tried using acetone or toluene but I always put 4 ounces of Marvel Mystery oil per 10 gals in my airplane engine’s gasoline. I do this to protect the valve guides and keep the pistons clean. I have a old 1983 Ford Ranger 4 cylinder and wanting to improve the gas milage. I recently repaired defects in the emission system including hoses but the gas milage is still not good. I think I’ll try the Acetone or Toluene using 2 oz per 10 gals and see if it works. One more thing, don’t use the additive called Restore. It caused me lots of problems when I added it to one of my engines. I had to flush it out with Marvel Mystery oil or probably would have had engine failure. — Douglass

     March 27th, 2006 at 2:01 pm

104. J. A. Estes says:

     Unlike everyone speculating but not participating, I actually tested this in my ‘93 Honda Accord. Your UNEDUCATED OPINIONS are only wasting everyone elses time. For those interested in the FACTS —- My car without acetone got approx 270-300 miles on a 15 gal tank. WITH ACETONE that number increased to approx 450 miles on the same amount of gasoline. Anyone claiming this doesn’t work is either: A) an executive of the multi-billion dollar oil industry with hopes to keep their profits so obnoxiously high by issuing DISINFORMATION to sway your thinking to save money on their monopoly. OR B) an absolute imbecile. Feel free to mail me and I will give you any help or information you need with this or advice/tips/ways to beat this slave system which wishes to steal our lives. www.tiredofbeingalive.com

     April 2nd, 2006 at 8:58 am

105. Victor Carvis says:

     I am laughing my butt off reading some of the comments here. It’s now quite evident to me that the ‘establishment’ (ie. media controlled by Big oil and ‘Big Brother’) has most of you guys totally brainwashed. I want to give you some FACTS based on personal knowledge.

     I work in Harris County Texas (Houston). Here EPA emissions testing is strict w/ special tests done to pass inspection annually. I have used a .28 oz/gal acetone to gasoline ratio in 3 vehicles for over a year now, and emmissions readings on these vehicles have dropped 50% on average. All vehicles have shown an average increase in MPG around 10%. All have shown noticeable increase in power. The smaller 4-cyls (Toyotas) show the most improvement, but the greatest improvement was on my 140K mile ‘96 Plymouth Voyager V6. I had a ‘Service Engine’ light coming on indicating ‘Cylinder Misfire’… and it stayed on for 6 months w/o me figuring out the problem. I started using the acetone additive and it went off after 2 tanks!

     I work for a major petroleum and chemcical engineering company with over 5,000 employees in Houston alone… 40,000 worldwide. After sharing my info in the Houston office, about a dozen ‘brave’ souls tried it. The results I got back I will note below following my 3 vehicles first. I drive a consistent pattern of hiway and intown traffic equaling 700 miles per week. I buy gas at the same station/same pump/same time weekly for normalization of test data, now 1 year out:

     ‘85 Toyota Camry 4-cyl = 10%+ MPG, better performance
     ‘97 Toyota Camry 4-cyl = 9%+ MPG, MUCH better performance
     ‘96 Plym GR Voyager V6 = 12%+ MPG, Corrected ‘Engine Light’

     ‘94 Chev P/U V8 = 12% MPG, more power, better emissions test
     ‘92 Ford Explorer V6 = 5% MPG, passed after failing emissions
     ‘90 Nissan 280Z V6 = 10% MPG, gets 28MPG hiway @ 75MPH

     ‘97 Jeep Cherokee = Passed emissions test after flunking
     ‘01 Toyota Pathfinder = (Ditto above)… 2 tanks after
     ‘94 Lincoln Cont’l V8 = (Ditto above); 10%+ MPG

     All have been saying roughly 10%+ mpg, but most notably the increased performance. If you aren’t getting the mpg, you should be checking the air filters: requires more air to gain new burn efficiency.

     As for asking oil companies… they aren’t going to tell you this is good for many reasons.
     First, they CANNOT add the additive like others because it is so high end distillate that it won’t remain in storage for very long (it dissipates quickly)… and if they can’t control adding it they don’t want you to gain on their profit loss.
     Second, if everyone did this and gained 10% mpg, the immediate loss of 10% market share w/o ANY profit going to Big Oil is a marketing “No-No” to them.
     Third, the corporate farmers pushing ethanol have too much in the pockets of congress to let you know that something this simple works. They want you to burn ethanol (from corn) that maintains the fuel ‘inefficiency’ and keeps not only Big Oil company profits high, but adds another group to the mix in the corporate farmers of ethanol.

     Lastly, if anything were going to damage an internal engine component, ethanol would at a ratio of 1:10 in your gasoline. Most cars built after ‘94 have compensated w/ updated neoprene, N-Buna, and nylon components to handle the ethanol mixtures. Acetone at the ratio mixes we are talking about is 1:200… so miniscule that it is basically immeasurable as to harmful effects on an engine.

     The overall economic impact now w/ gasoline at $3.00/gal of even a 5% increase in mpg = net savings of $0.25/gal if you are purchasing acetone at $12/gal using it at a .25oz/gal ratio. Relationly, the effect is 5 cents per gallon for every percent increase you gain… and if you gained -0- mpg, you would still get a cleaner engine, prolonged engine oil life (less blow-by gas from cylinder rings into oil), and save the life of your catalytic converter… as well as CLEAN UP THE ENVIRONMENT! (Hey, if you are burning more of the same fuel, less of it is escaping into the air… “DUH!”)

     So, you skeptics keep dumping your garbage out there. Anyone with common sense and a will to be environmentally cleaner will at least test the theory. You can see a noticeable difference in performance at the very least, and know that you are emitting much less hydrocarbons into the air.

     What I have noticed is that Wal-Mart is now having to inventory more acetone on their shelves… just ask the mgr of the paint department. More ‘Joe Public’ is learning the truth than you skeptics!

     Victor

     May 11th, 2006 at 5:57 am

106. Ken says:

     Tried it, 2000 Dodge Caravan, 3.0 engine….Put 4 oz. in while filling her up, and then hit the highway…247 kms each way to be exact…I put the cruise on at 105 kph, and drove off…Filled up when I returned and put no more acetone in, drove that tank out and then filled up again, no acetone, then set off for the same 247 km each way trip, same cruise, bla, bla, bla…The van normally get around 28 mpg on the highway, on the acetone tank, I got just over 32 mpg.. This vehicle has 100,000 kms on it and was only ever estimated to get 33 mpg when it was brand new….Ya I know, must be a fluke right, wrong, I’ve run the test several times now during different seasons and the same results. The best is when I set her up with the acetone in the tank and set her through the DriveClean emissions test. I zeroed out on almost everything, so low in fact that they ran it again later in the day after checking their own machine, and the second run was the same as the first…
     If you honestly set up a test and there isn’t something seriously wrong with your vehicle you should get excellent results as well…..

     May 31st, 2006 at 5:17 pm

107. Dean says:

     Re: #105-I started using acetone [~2oz/10 gals] in my ‘93 Ford Ranger 3.0 X-Cab 4×4 about 1200 miles ago and stop n’ go mileage has increased from hi 15’s to l7.9.

     Warmer weather and my heightened awareness of the fact I’m trying to improve mileage may account for some of that, but it cannot account for the fact that it most definitely starts quicker and runs more smoothly, with idle RPM’s dropping from 800 down to 725-750 range.

     I’m itching to take it on an extended highway cruise to see if I can beat the 24.6 I posted on a trip to Calif. from Montana August before last…

     I’ve noticed the same thing at WalMart, Victor-they ALWAYS had 4 gallons in stock, and now they’re empty for the past 3 weeks…

     June 5th, 2006 at 11:19 pm

108. Lino says:

     1994 Ford Bronco 4X4 with the 5.8 best ever 13 MPG on first tank with 3 OZ per 10 gallons I got 14.25 MPG I am going to continue and will be trying it in my gashog Motorhome

     June 18th, 2006 at 9:06 pm

109. BST says:

     I am going to try this because I have a foster sister that actually works for a big oil company in Houston Tx., and she told me that her boss was not able to let the public know about this because of the lost profits that they would incur if the general public was to become aware of this on a widespread basis. She also told me that a lot of the additives in the higher grades of fuel were made partly of acetone, just not at the ratio of 2-3 oz per every ten gallons,also the additives were not pure acetone and that it was just one of several ingredients, and the pure stuff would surely increase power along with mileage. {She is one of the vice presidents secreaty of Bp oil in TX. So I am going to try it and see what happens.

     June 19th, 2006 at 8:24 pm

110. stephen says:

     well all this is good and makes for interesting read. it may even help in some or many cases.
     my experience is:

     if one wants better performance, mileage and so on a simple change of the cam shaft in the engine (no matter what general consumer gas engine you are running) and you’ll be shocked.

     all of the car mfg have been using the same lift and durations for their big block motors. same cam, same old same old. they won’t change it even just a little because it’ll cost them a couple of bucks and they are indeed working with the oil industry in some manner or another. they are queer for each other i believe.

     ask an automotive engineer, someone with the software to simply check it out. you’ll be surprised what you will find can happen by a simple cam shaft change out. you can get as much as 5 miles or more per gallon of gas.

     with this improvement, we could cut gas consumption by 20% or more if all the new cars were refitted with a different cam and we did the same to the used cars. but, we won’t. we’re pretty wasteful and would rather blame others for our needs.

     stephen

     June 26th, 2006 at 7:33 am

111. Mike Matarazzo says:

     Well Yesterday after several hours of checking and researching about Acetone being added to Fuel. Knowing that there is oil price hike . specially here in the Philippines. I tried it Knowing that if it will harm my engine probably just slow it donw. I don’t think it will harm any major components. . i used my car driving at an average of 50km/h . including traffic. before i normally get 5.5 km/L. this morning I refilling my gas I computed the amount of fuel used per km. hmmmmmmmmmm 7.3 km/L? This is something I gotta tell my friends…… Before I use to drive my car to work earlier where there is less traffic but yesterday the whole day I use it . there was traffic anywhere. Shocking isn’t it

     June 28th, 2006 at 11:26 pm

112. gas motor scooter says:

     gas motor scooter gas motor scooter

     July 29th, 2006 at 12:33 pm

113. NoPayne says:

     Well, many car manufacturers struggle to meet the required MPG factors required by federal law, meaning, the average fuel economy of all vehicles manufactured by each company must meet a certain floor. In over 20 years, manufuacturer gas mileage has increased only 1 MPG, on average. I am surprised that none of them has used this trick to attempt to get an advantage.

     July 29th, 2006 at 3:47 pm

114. Brian Oglow says:

     I have a question… How is it possible to decrease fuel consumption when the fuel pump is set at a fixed flow rate to the engine?
     The way I see it, the only metering devise in the system is ultimately the person’s foot…

     August 5th, 2006 at 8:16 am

115. Plexi50 says:

     It simply works and does so immediatley. I am an automotive machinist and know fact from fiction when it comes to the internal working components of any combustion engine. I am using currently in a 1991 Mercury Grand Marqui. I have used this since 1980 and used it in a Simco Hydraulic well drilling rig for 3 years. Youd better believe the oil companys dont want you to think for yourself. This is a great example of limited knowledge and why the people of the United States elected George W Bush. He doesnt want you to think for yourself either.It must be in the water were drinking to produce people of such limited intelligence. They will put anything you set in front of them down with schepitcism without knowing there azz from a can of gas. Did i spell that right?

     August 5th, 2006 at 1:01 pm

116. Plexi50 says:

     Stephen is most correct in using a smaller lift cam shaft to limit fuel intake to the Valves. That would be the ultimate solution to get much better gas milage period.

     August 5th, 2006 at 1:09 pm

117. Dr. Engine M.D. says:

     I still have an 1986 GMC Jimmy 2.8L … 270,000 miles on a virgin engine. I started to have issues with fouling plugs about every 6 months. I was soon to trash the Jimmy. I started with a 2 OZ regiment for every 10 gallons of fuel. I figured it was a junk truck what could it hurt. After the last 2 years I have