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Old 05-22-2008, 06:08 AM   #5 (permalink)
Nerys
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: Levittown PA
Posts: 800

Cherokee - '88 Jeep Cherokee
90 day: 19.44 mpg (US)

Ryo-Ohki - '94 Geo Metro Xfi
90 day: 50.15 mpg (US)

Vger 2 - '00 Plymouth Grand Voyager SE

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Did the mythbusters do this pre or post ethanol. Remember I also remember it not making much difference a decade ago.

Well a 30% increase in economy (minivan) 12-14% increase in the Club Wagon. Those are numbers that are more than statistical errors I do not care WHAT the mytbusters (one of my favorite shows BTW) came up with.

SOMETHING is going on inside my two engines. NOW maybe its not the acetone. maybe there is something wrong with my cars and they are responding unusually badly to "ethanol" I tested it to my satisfaction that I am 100% sure that the drop in economy came after they added the ethanol. I am not looking to argue that because its resolved to me.

The question is what KIND of drop and is the "fix" a result of the acetone OR the result of a secondary effect of the acetone that would otherwise not effect my car if they were running properly? (one assumption is that maybe my cars are not running right but both of them?)

Scan Gauge is a non starter. I just do not have $150. Its just that simple so its going no where.

Also your test would NOT be accepted by many people regardless of the results because you have no way of seperating road/wind/weather/driver and other "unknown" variables.

The Idle test isolated from any of those conditions WOULD at least satisfy enough of those concerns to warrant review.

My biggest fear is that at "idle" the different will not be pronounced enough for me to definitively measure. I just do not know.

The worst result I could get is an "inconclusive" result.

I mean look at my numbers. I went from 23.69 24.5 and 25.07 mpg to 19.5 JUST by stopping the used of acetone. Short of be offroading my minivan or driving it like a maniac what "unknown attribute" of weather driving or roads could cause such a significant drop in economy.

To me a 6mpg drop or nearly 25% of just too large a figure to be dismissed with oh you changed your driving or the wind was different. If those things could have that kind of an effect my MPG readings across time would also show such wide variations.

I am just trying to find a way to as empirically as possible test this WITHIN my means (IE no scan gauge)

I also can not do them immediately back to back for the tests. it takes time for the fuel already in the system to work its way through before you next batch of fuel will have any impact.

Also I have all the mythbusters episodes do you remember what episode it was? I want to see how they tested it. Might help me out.
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