Acetone > Myth Busters
- Thread starter mechtech
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OMG! It seems that so many folks just cannot wait to jump on the band wagon. In their mind it's "Scientists be darned, I KNOW this stuff works because everybody says so." And therefore it does. Yeesh!
I started using 3 oz. of acetone in my wrangler last week. So far I have three tanks on it. I had put several cans of chemtool through the jeep so she's clean as a whistle. Last week I nailed 25MPG, something of a record for a 4 cyl wrangler. The week before I started using acetone was 23MPG. This week is 24MPG but I ran the A/C several times for that tank.
It's working for me, that's all I know. My father put some in his Cherokee and got an extra 1MPG. A friend tried it and didn't get anything. Maybe it has something to do with certain engine designs (jeeps a couple years old have in-line engines)??
It's working for me, that's all I know. My father put some in his Cherokee and got an extra 1MPG. A friend tried it and didn't get anything. Maybe it has something to do with certain engine designs (jeeps a couple years old have in-line engines)??
Unfortunately, the common grade of acetone varies widely.
The chemical grade(pure) is hard to find and expensive.
The chemical grade(pure) is hard to find and expensive.
That could be a reason for the difference from one person to the next.
An engine tachometer is not anecdotal, it is a measuring device.
I can accept results from someone who has has bad or no results with acetone use in fuel - the same goes for if they had good results.
More importantly, does it work for me!
Time will tell concerning all aspects.
I can accept results from someone who has has bad or no results with acetone use in fuel - the same goes for if they had good results.
More importantly, does it work for me!
Time will tell concerning all aspects.
I agree. Anecdotal would be it idles better, like my statement. The idle went up, as in 650 rpms to 725, is a number, and there for non-anecdotal
You're missing the point. Idle RPM is completely irrelevant as it doesn't tell you a darn thing about what kind of fuel economy any given fuel formulation is going to yield for any given engine. As I said before, there are just too many variables in modern engines to say "Higher Idle RPM = Better Fuel Economy".
Looking at this from another perspective, if Acetone was really a magic bullet, then somebody from the SAE (or other petroleum industry or automotive engineering or standards body) would long since have performed a battery of tests on it and reported its efficacy from a scientific perspective (which is the only perspective that means a darned thing). So far at least, they haven't; and until qualified scientific evidence is presented, anything and everything you, me and anybody else says about Acetone laced Gasoline is in fact "Anecdotal". The only difference here is that, so far at least, I've got scientific findings to back up my assertions that adding Acetone to Gasoline will yield no change in economy (best case) or yield worse economy (worst case).
I tried acetone a few times and only before a "road trip". The first two times I didn't see any measurable gain. The third time, and on latter tries, I did get about 3mpg more than normal. I will certainly try this again.
The recomended amount was 3 oz/10 gallons and that's how much I used the first two times. The third time I only had enough to do 2 oz/ 10 gallons.
Go figure - less was better.
The recomended amount was 3 oz/10 gallons and that's how much I used the first two times. The third time I only had enough to do 2 oz/ 10 gallons.
Go figure - less was better.
Doesn't acetone evaporate pretty readily? How long is the acetone actually staying in the gas tank? Is it recovered by the charcoal canister? I mean, it's boiling point is something like 127F. I'd be surprised if there was any left after 24 hours.
An increased idle speed is a sign of a problem, not the beginning of a solution. Your Focus has electronics so sophisticated that any change in base idle would be compensated for so quickly that you'd never notice it unless you had a scan tool on it and was reading IAC counts before and after the addition of acetone in the exact same environment.
I recently cleaned up a really gunked Neon throttle body, and before doing so, had the scanner on it to see if the IAC was working. It was, but the passage was so plugged it couldn't flow enough air to properly stabilize the idle in gear. IAC counts were in the 70s idling in park before cleaning, and in the 40s after. The PCM responded immediately and the idle speed in park never changed. Either way it still idled at a perfect 725 RPM. Just that after cleaning, it would react to being put in drive and idle at a smooth 650-675 RPM.
I recently cleaned up a really gunked Neon throttle body, and before doing so, had the scanner on it to see if the IAC was working. It was, but the passage was so plugged it couldn't flow enough air to properly stabilize the idle in gear. IAC counts were in the 70s idling in park before cleaning, and in the 40s after. The PCM responded immediately and the idle speed in park never changed. Either way it still idled at a perfect 725 RPM. Just that after cleaning, it would react to being put in drive and idle at a smooth 650-675 RPM.
GT - Like I originally said, I know that the idle will eventually return to it's prescribed RPM [which it did].
What you don't realize is that this is not instantaneous, but has to be learned.
For the same throttle blade angle and previous remembered idle air valve setting, there was an increase that had to be attenuated.
If something is more efficient, it is NOT a problem. If the idle went down however, that would indicate a problem .
What you don't realize is that this is not instantaneous, but has to be learned.
For the same throttle blade angle and previous remembered idle air valve setting, there was an increase that had to be attenuated.
If something is more efficient, it is NOT a problem. If the idle went down however, that would indicate a problem .
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