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  #46  
Old 05-16-2006, 06:37 AM
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Quite a few interesting perspectives and opinions on this topic. I'm not sure if I'd be willing to try it out myself (even with my piss-poor gas mileage, 13-16 city) but congrats to those brave enough to experiment. One concern I do have is the way the acetone may attack certain rubber components in the system (as mentioned earlier). I know it's going to be dilluted, but there's always the chance it won't mix fully. I work with acetone daily and have seen what it can do to various rubber items and let tell you it's not pretty.
Another thing to point out to people who decide to buy it in bulk. Please be careful what you choose to store it in. I know acetone will attack certain plastics and melt them causing a now contaminated fluid. If you do need to use a vessel to transport it, try to use glass or metal. Also, be careful not to get it on your skin, inhale it or get any in your eyes. Acetone carries many safety hazards.
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  #47  
Old 05-16-2006, 06:58 AM
Cappy Cappy is offline
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Speed Channel Tests Acetone

I was flipping thru the channels two nights ago, and saw that the Speed channel was doing a test on using acetone, as part of their "myths and facts" section. They explained all the theories & stuff, but to make a long story short, they actually bench tested the stuff (I don't remember the exact ratio, but it was similar to what Budfreak said), and found their mileage went DOWN about 10%. At first I thought "I won't ever use THAT stuff again", but then when I got to thinking about it, how could 4 oz of anything combustable DECREASE gas mileage? So although they say it doesn't do any good, I say, "to each his own". I plan on testing it again sometime soon myself. I swear, the last time I used the stuff I noticed a performance improvement over 4 tanks full (but no mileage increase).

I actually like the BP 93 myself. It's the old AMOCO PREMIUM here in my part of Ohio (says so right on the pump).
Cappy
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  #48  
Old 05-17-2006, 04:42 PM
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Well, cheap vodka is also combustible - why not try that as well? Don't you think it will lower the mpg?

And for those that just have to put premium in cars that don't require it, why not use Chivas instead? You'll get to blow even more money on something that will also adversely affect the mpg.

Big duhhhh

The doc has me on a low-fat diet. Why shouldn't I just drink more beer to accomplish the same result? Alcohol is a solvent and would dissolve the fatty stuff in my blood and all that extra water would keep it flushed out. Learn from politicians, upper management and CBS News: statistics and facts can be manipulated to convince almost anyone of anything.
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  #49  
Old 05-17-2006, 04:58 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Beav
Well, cheap vodka is also combustible - why not try that as well? Don't you think it will lower the mpg?

And for those that just have to put premium in cars that don't require it, why not use Chivas instead? You'll get to blow even more money on something that will also adversely affect the mpg.

Big duhhhh

The doc has me on a low-fat diet. Why shouldn't I just drink more beer to accomplish the same result? Alcohol is a solvent and would dissolve the fatty stuff in my blood and all that extra water would keep it flushed out. Learn from politicians, upper management and CBS News: statistics and facts can be manipulated to convince almost anyone of anything.
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  #50  
Old 05-17-2006, 08:21 PM
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Beav I hope you are right in saying that this can only be detrimental to mileage, because I am on my way to setting a personal best for city mpg.
So far I have driven roughly 102-103 miles and the needle has barely dipped below the first line, and Monday I chauffeured my friends around town looking for a video card, all the while dreading how quickly the needle had fallen on just 20 miles.
I think if I hadn't taken them around, I'd be hitting that line at 110 miles.
-----
On an unrelated note, I think my crank pulley is going to join budfreak's and detonate.
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  #51  
Old 05-18-2006, 07:55 AM
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Oh Crap, next thing I'll be reading is that Acetone causes premature crank pulley failures.
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  #52  
Old 05-18-2006, 11:19 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NikFu S.
-----
On an unrelated note, I think my crank pulley is going to join budfreak's and detonate.
If you are using Acetone, it's probably caused a premature crank pulley failure.
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  #53  
Old 05-18-2006, 01:53 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Electrophil
If you are using Acetone, it's probably caused a premature crank pulley failure.
Ok, that's enough info for me, I just replaced the crank pulley on my Ebony. There's no way that stuff is coming near my SVXi!!!
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  #54  
Old 05-18-2006, 04:48 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cappy
Oh Crap, next thing I'll be reading is that Acetone causes premature crank pulley failures.
It sure will if it is OM and some gets on it. Woopee the belts.
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  #55  
Old 05-19-2006, 08:29 AM
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First Tank Results

Interesting how this topic spurs so much conversation. As I said in the first post, I am not going to take a stance either way; I just want to see what it does to my car. I filled up a few days ago and put in 15.3 gallons of Marathon 87 ($42.67) and my trip meter read 313.9 miles. Doing the math gives me 20.5 mpg.

This is on the high end of what I normally get in the spring/summer (19.5-20.5 mpg) with my driving pattern so I am going to say it is probably statistically insignificant. My driving pattern during the test was the same as it has been in the past--20 miles to/from work a day with about 50-100 miles on the weekend. The only atypical thing during the past two weeks is that the air has been very humid as it has rained about every day in May so far.

Being the risk taker I am, I dumped in another 4.5 ounces to test a second tank.

My other observations are that the car does seem to idle smoother/quieter and the cold engine acceleration hesitation that has been there for years seems to have died down a bit (but it has come and gone in the past). My guess is the acetone may be cleaning the injectors as I have used cheap-as-I-can-find 87 for years and rarely have used injector cleaner.

So I guess if I can conclude anything from the first tank, it would be that if your unmodified car is getting way below 19-20 mpg, you may want to try it out (3 oz acetone per 10 gallons) along with any other possible things (replace oxygen sensors, patch exhaust leaks, clean intake manifold). At worse, the 0.234% acetone mixture will eat all your plastic or blow up your car (couldn't resist that jab) and at best you might see an increase in mpg due to some cleaning of the injectors.

On an unrelated note, I found an oil leaking rocker/valve cover bolt low on the cover and swapped it with one higher up. This fixed my last oil leak from doing my rocker/valve cover gaskets and I got to remove the 'car diaper' from the garage floor as I have no other leaks right now

Next to do are the timing belt, water pump, and front seals as I can see a bit of oil seeping out (no drips yet, she knows better than to drip) from the dust seal/gasket around the plastic front covers and a bit of coolant from around the water pump

I will post the results of the second tank in a few weeks.
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  #56  
Old 05-19-2006, 09:22 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NeedForSpeed
Well,

What about improvement in emissions testing? If that works, I'm interested. And if the emissions do change for the better, could that reason for that translate into slightly improved economy or performance?

Here ya go.

http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/showthread.php?t=32964

Last edited by elninoalex; 05-19-2006 at 09:26 AM.
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  #57  
Old 05-19-2006, 12:09 PM
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"patch exhaust leaks"

Exhaust leaks cause bad mileage?
I have exhaust leaks and have terrible mileage. Around 275 miles per tank with 90% highway driving. I dont see how the exhaust leaks could affect mileage though.
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  #58  
Old 05-19-2006, 12:55 PM
SVXer95 SVXer95 is offline
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I have some tips if you want to increase your gas mileage without adding chemicals that will hurt your fuel system.

1-Drive slower. Or don't drive at all.
2-Put in the right kind of fuel. Why are you using 87 octane? The car is designed to run on premium. Your car will knock on 87 and the ECU will try to compensate. If you are seeing improvements from acetone, it may just be increasing the octane. Much like the effect of toluene or xylene.
3-Buy a HonDuh. Why are you driving a car that gets poor mileage if you can't afford it?
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  #59  
Old 05-19-2006, 12:58 PM
SVXer95 SVXer95 is offline
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Just food for thought, but I drive my car like I stole it. I accelerate quickly, brake late, rarely take it on the highway. I rarely get below 19 mpg. I don't use acetone, or anything else, and my car is in good running order.

If you really try, your should be able to get around 25mpg around town and 30mpg on the highway. So why screw around with fuel additives?
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  #60  
Old 05-19-2006, 01:00 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by evanmerz
"patch exhaust leaks"

Exhaust leaks cause bad mileage?
I have exhaust leaks and have terrible mileage. Around 275 miles per tank with 90% highway driving. I dont see how the exhaust leaks could affect mileage though.
well it depends where they are they can cause poor engine performance which in turn can cause bad gas mileage
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