There's an old saying about whether the fish are biting or not that I use all the time in other regards and I'll say it here. You don't know if you don't go. Fred asked, otherwise I would've kept quiet. I sure don't give a hoot whether Y'all try it or not. But, On my 91 YJ 4.0 the best mileage check I ever got with mostly Hwy driving was 21 MPG. The worst was 18. I checked the CJ several times since I've owned it and the best I ever got (before adding acetone) was 17mpg. I was relitively happy with that after reading on this forum what others got in their Jeeps. I seem to be getting better milage with the CJ's 258 with acetone than the YJ's 4.0 without. I was pleasently suprised. I intend to add some to the YJ next time I fill it up, it has been pretty consistent on mileage over the last year and since it never goes off road,it will be easier to ge a good "city" check. I may post my "crap" findings here later. Just for fun! It may be a while though 'cause I don't drive it much these days. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

i would love to hear your findings pete, but there must be a downside, no? like eating seals or something? i'm pretty sure that it's not good to run alcohol fuel in an engine designed for gasoline. there's some modification that has to occur within the engine in order to facilitate longevity. i'd love to give it a try, but worry that i'd spend more in the long run than if i just put gas in. i have noticed that different gas stations produce better and worse gas milage. hess gas, for instance, smells like crap when i'm pumping and doesn't get me very far. sunoco on the other hand seems to give me the best bang or my buck. there is a certain amount of impurity that retail gas suppliers are allowd, and i wonder that sunoco as an example might dabble in acetone etc where hess seems to like sulfur.

Lets just say for arguments sake that any given additive provides the advertised result. How then does it sustain this result? Is the snake oil some how changing something that allows less fuel to be pumped thru an injector (in this case) like changing how a o2 sensor "sees" exhaust oxygen? If that was the case this mouse milk would NOT have any effect on a non feedback carbed rig? True?

Logic might suggest that adding any given witches brew, would in reality, clean dirty components, such as injectors and intake valves resulting in better economy. Once these areas are clean, they should not, however, need continues useage. Correct? Periodic re-voodooing should maintain results by keeping valves/injectors clean.

After just now talking with my friend at the emissions tech center, he suggested that my "logic" is most likey correct.
However he noted that Acetone over prolonged useage will send your rig to the scrapper, even in small doses.

Have fun, don't waste your time, don't hurt your engine using paint solvents, use approved additives like BG 44K to clean your internal parts once every 6 months or so.

SD

That's my take on the use of acetone in gasoline engines, the acetone is a know solvent for organic deposits, grease, lacquers, etc., and mixes easily with water. The mpg benefit most likely is the result of cleaning the gasoline-side of the total engine. Continuous use may not be adviseable where acetone will react with some metals and organic materials (rubber and plastic). I keep watching for someone who has continuously used acetone as a gasoline additive to see what negative experience(s) they may have had. Hopefully, there is no real damage. I suspect that acetone might be a good "refresher" for gasoline that has been left in a vehicle for many months, years, or whatever . . . but I don't know for certain.

According to the article I read, the increase in mpg comes as the result of the acetone reducing the surface tension of the gasoline, leading to more complete vaporization and combustion. A solution of one or two tenths of one percent acetone in gasoline is not likely to hurt anything in the fuel system.
Yes, the guy comes across somewhat like a crackpot if you take the time to read his ramblings on line, but, he repeatedly says, "don't take my word for it, experiment for yourself". He's not trying to sell anything, I guess he may be an Acetone Industry Stooge. Maybe he owns a lot of Dupont stock. I don't know. I'm convinced it helps the CJ and I will keep monitoring fuel consumption to see if the apparent increase in milage drops off like you suggest, Fred.

I filled up the YJ today, the last mileage check shows 21MPG (8.3 gals to go 175.3 miles). Thats as good as I have ever gotten with the MPI 4.0. I added 4 ounces of pure acetone to the 20 gal tank. So far driving around town I have not noticed any difference in the way it runs, It's got power to spare so I can't tell if there has been any slight increase like I can with the CJ. Time will tell! If it blows up or melts down I will holler loud and clear on this and many other boards! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

While you are at it JP getcha some of those dangly dice for your mirror and see what gains they make.
BJ <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />

i dont think that just adding the 2 ounces will increase your gas mileage by increasing the amount of fuel in your tank.

from what i can see here it seems that the reason for the gas mileage gain is the increase in power and the better running engine. the more power and the better running your engine is, the less you need to press on the gas pedal. the less you press on the gas pedal the better mileage you get.



$0.02

Is it possible that acetone's properties make it a bad choice as a gasoline additive? I mean, could it create problems for gas, especially with as far and as long as gas sits before actually being burned? Maybe it's too volatile. Maybe it absorbs water (hydrophilic). Maybe it breaks down some of the other EPA crap. I don't know.

The acetone thing seems like (what did you call it?) voodoo at first, but there are too many "it works for me" type reports to complete dismiss it.

Acetone release less KJ/mol than gasoline does, so you aren't getting any more heat out of the fuel. The mixture being formed is homogenous, and not reacting, so you are just making a very dilute solution. If anything, all the acetone does is clean the system out.


Don't forget, TB spacers add HP, "Intake kits" add HP, A higher voltage coil add HP... ETC. a lot of them are just snake oil.

If we go with JeePete's theory that it lowers the vapor pressure, your jeep does not have a warm enough T-stat installed. With a proper 180-195 T-stat, all the gasoline is turned to vapor quite quickly.

Unless some new report back with proper chemistry is realsed, cause this is BS



I'm going to view it as a gimmic that people think might help.

gasoline is primarily a blend of 70 to 80 per cent octane (C8H18) and 20 to 30 per cent heptane (C7H16), and additives. Acetone (C3H6O) and methanol (CH3OH) are smaller molecules having lower boiling points and are more volatile than gasoline. Using these smaller molecules in gasoline mixture results in multiple combustions in the engine's cylinder due to these smaller molecules' lower combustion temperatures, rather than a single explosion when using just gasoline. Multiple combustions, or knocking, results in more unspent fuel. The more octane used in the gasoline blend, the less knocking; also the anti-knock additives added to gasoline act as negative catalysts during combustion, and, in that way prevent knocking, or multiple explosions and incomplete fuel consumption.
Also, greater benefit (increased mpg) was gained by using 0.5 fl. oz. to 1.5 fl. oz. of acetone to 10 gallons of gasoline; mpg decreased as the amount of acetone added was increased and approached 2 fl. oz. of acetone to 10 gallons of gasoline.
I wonder if the increased mpg obtained by some acetone users that labored to find the beneficial ratio of acetone to gasoline for their vehicle, couldn't be acheived mechanically by finding the proper timing and fuel injection rate for their particular vehicle?