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rmay635703 · 03-04-2010, 06:12 PM

I hear many who say acetone will destroy your fuel pump, if it does ethanol fuel will as well, only older cars that are not ethanol rated will fail.

That said,

Acetone can affect fuel economy both positively and negatively, that is known.

Acetone was used on raceways at EXTREMELY high concentrations as were moth balls, benzene derivatives and other sorts of hydrocarbons. That is known and still going on (many threads on that if you look as well)

Acetone can screw up your sensors, especially O2 that is VERY well documented
(generally it doesn't affect wideband)

Acetone is a major component in many over the counter snake oils for cleaning your engine which it can do that is very well known.

Now to my personal experience. Every vehicle I own is affected differently by acetone. I used it for over a year in the buick.

Here is what I've found, during the summer if it increases FE I can't tell beyond the margin of error, it appeared to be "slightly" higher

In the wintertime it moved my FE up approx 3mpg (I say that but its over many years average compared to 1 season average) Generally it appeared to increase the wintertime FE more the colder it was (comparitively) In other words when its -10 and I'm driving in town my FE is usually around 16mpg acetone it usually was over 20mpg in town but the amount of difference leveled out as temperature rose.

ANOTHER VERY DISTURBING DETAIL! The scanguage is DRASTICALLY affected by acetone on most vehicles. My Buick Scanguage was reading higher and higher FE as I was slowly filling the acetone out. It was reading as much as 50% above what I was actually getting, this behavior grew as temperatures got colder and continued to grow without stop until all the acetone was out at which point it started reading correctly without a fudge factor. And obviously my REAL FE only increased a comparitively small amount. The same behavior on my 01 dodge but only about 30% off.

I believe this is the reason why many folks mistakenly believe acetone doubles your FE because it tricks guages.

Also that is the reason why some cars get better FE, their paticular sensors lean out the car with acetone, other cars get better because it cleans all the crud out much like e85.

I believe a single tank with a small amount of acetone on a GOOD RUNNING MODERN CAR will do no harm and is an easy test so long as you run more than one to base your decision off of.

In other words acetone can affect fuel economy depending on your cars sensors but the amount it does generally is not worth the cost. Mystery Oil, ground/powdered napathalene and 2stroke motor oil have more of an effect if your willing to have a mess, a stink and health problems.

Cheers
Ryan

03-04-2010, 06:12 PM	#13 (permalink)
rmay635703 home of the odd vehicles Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Somewhere in WI Posts: 3,882 Silver - '10 Chevy Cobalt XFE Thanks: 500 Thanked 865 Times in 652 Posts	I hear many who say acetone will destroy your fuel pump, if it does ethanol fuel will as well, only older cars that are not ethanol rated will fail. That said, Acetone can affect fuel economy both positively and negatively, that is known. Acetone was used on raceways at EXTREMELY high concentrations as were moth balls, benzene derivatives and other sorts of hydrocarbons. That is known and still going on (many threads on that if you look as well) Acetone can screw up your sensors, especially O2 that is VERY well documented (generally it doesn't affect wideband) Acetone is a major component in many over the counter snake oils for cleaning your engine which it can do that is very well known. Now to my personal experience. Every vehicle I own is affected differently by acetone. I used it for over a year in the buick. Here is what I've found, during the summer if it increases FE I can't tell beyond the margin of error, it appeared to be "slightly" higher In the wintertime it moved my FE up approx 3mpg (I say that but its over many years average compared to 1 season average) Generally it appeared to increase the wintertime FE more the colder it was (comparitively) In other words when its -10 and I'm driving in town my FE is usually around 16mpg acetone it usually was over 20mpg in town but the amount of difference leveled out as temperature rose. ANOTHER VERY DISTURBING DETAIL! The scanguage is DRASTICALLY affected by acetone on most vehicles. My Buick Scanguage was reading higher and higher FE as I was slowly filling the acetone out. It was reading as much as 50% above what I was actually getting, this behavior grew as temperatures got colder and continued to grow without stop until all the acetone was out at which point it started reading correctly without a fudge factor. And obviously my REAL FE only increased a comparitively small amount. The same behavior on my 01 dodge but only about 30% off. I believe this is the reason why many folks mistakenly believe acetone doubles your FE because it tricks guages. Also that is the reason why some cars get better FE, their paticular sensors lean out the car with acetone, other cars get better because it cleans all the crud out much like e85. I believe a single tank with a small amount of acetone on a GOOD RUNNING MODERN CAR will do no harm and is an easy test so long as you run more than one to base your decision off of. In other words acetone can affect fuel economy depending on your cars sensors but the amount it does generally is not worth the cost. Mystery Oil, ground/powdered napathalene and 2stroke motor oil have more of an effect if your willing to have a mess, a stink and health problems. Cheers Ryan