One more trip down acetone alley.
 

After browsing the acetone discussion thread ad nauseum, I decided to put the stamp of approval, or disapproval on the controversy once & for all. That's right, I decided to be the guinea pig in a semi-scientific experiment. I figured since my daily commutes, & shopping trips tend to be pretty repeticious, & my driving stye is mostly conservative (geezerly) that I'd be the poifect subject to put the acetone controversy to rest. We all know bumble bees can fly, despite what them aeronautical engineers argue, right?

So....here's what I did. For a comparison, on a tankfull prior to injecting acetone into the sacrifcial lamb, the '93 Nissan 240SX with 250K+ on it, I drove in an extremely conservative manner. This means I seldom reved past 3000 RPM before shifting into the next higher gear, & used 4th & 5th whenever possible on level roads. I keep the tires inflated 4 lbs. above spec. Instead of cruising at 70-80, I cut back to 60-70 max. The only time I leaned on the pedal was to merge into freeway traffic lest I be mashed by an 18 wheeler. I had filled up with my usual 87 octane at my favorite "cheapie" station, the Wawa in Millersville, MD. The daily temps were in the 65 - 80 degree range. I refrained from using the A/C. Upon fill-up at the same pump after the three-week trial period, the odometer read 357 miles, & took 12.140 gallons. The math says I attained 29.47 mpg.
I'll call this my best & final before the "A" test. I didn't start the test on this tankfull because I knew I'd be changing driving style, as I'd be taking an 85 mile open road trip at an average of 75-80 mph followed by let-it-all hang out day at the auto-cross. After this combo of mixed driving, I got 25.54 mpg, after a 6.28 gallon fill-up after an 8 run auto-X session.

A week or so later, when almost empty again, I went back to the same Wawa station & pump, poured in 4 oz. (30 cents worth) of acetone (the tank holds just under 15 gallons), filled up to the auto-off click as before, and began the same driving style as the trial tankfull. Checked tire pressure - OK. This was on June 5th. Temps were averaging 5 to 10 degrees higher, but I suffered, in the interest of good science, & didn't use the A/C. On June 19th, after pretty much duplicating my extra-conservative putting about town, I went back to the Wawa, same pump, & held my breath. At 378 miles of driving, the blue beast swallowed 12.78 gallons - thats, Holy Crap!! 49 miles per gallon!!!!!! No...wait - hit the wrong calc' button. Hmmm....re-do....uh...that's more like 29.57 mpg, vs. the 29.47 on "straight" gas. Aw, shucks. That barely covers the extra 30 cents.

Conclusion - Snake oil, but not as tasty.

Ron. (gotta try that tornado thingy next!):D

myth....busted!

I was reading somewhere that you had to try it like 3 times before it started to work though.. Could you try it 2 more times for us and check the 3rd reading?

3 times? doesn't make sense, if it works the way they claim it should take effect immediatly. Yes the myth is busted. (as if I had any doubt):rolleyes: :D :D

dont bother with the tornado consumer reports already busted that myth

I think he was making fun of James Scott's mothballs. :D

Dan

I agree. If there was anything to be gained by mixing acetone with your gasoline, you'd see the effect on the first tank. It's not like it takes three tanks for the acetone to make it to the engine.

Not like I have to agree - it just plain doesn't work whether I agree or not. :p

I think a 10*F rise in temp would have netted more than .1mpg. It does for me.
Every 10* gets me about .5mpg.
[edit: scratch that. math was off by a decimal. Dunno what my gains are for every 10*]

In my test I concluded acetone drops mileage. This point was posited by someone in that thread and I found it to be true.

Ron,
I thought you got a 49mpg :eek: before I read the whole story.

You want an Instant 40mpg cheap beater? :p Get something like year 93 1.5 Honda Civic with 5 spd. My friend has one. I can't believe he constantly gets about 40mpg crusing on the hilly I-68 to Jersey. He has a 4dr sdn. If you want to beat him, get a 2dr hatchback from the same version of engine and gearbox. :D

You may miss the power from your 240sx after that. :D

My personal experiences on my cars is, everytime after I do my oil changes, for the first or second tank of gas, I always get 2 or 3 miles better per gallon. After third or fourth tank, it will get to the usual...maybe the oil gets dirtier... :rolleyes:

I always love reading your posts...Ron the Entertainer! :D

The only thing I have ever mixed with my gas that made an improvemrnt in anything, is a gallon of k-1 kero in a tank of gas on my old stuff that is used to eating LEAD!!

My 61 Ford gets 15 more MPH on a really big hill that I pull my camper over, and seems to gain about 5 mpg per tank of 87 octain.
I am 'assuming' that since the lead was added as a top cylender lubricant, and gasoline has NO lubricating value, that the difference is because of reduced friction, and some 2 stroke oil would have the same effect.

This would result in the DEATH of a cat converter, and should only be tried with NON- cat cars!!!

sage advise from an old guy that has tried most things!!