I recently encountered a story concerning finger nail polish remover ( acetone ) as being a very good method of increasing one miles per gallon. I did a little research into the subject and uncovered some interesting facts. This research prompted me to try the additive to my own gas tank….and it seems to work.
You first determine how much fuel you intend to pump into your vehicle. This is important as you only want to add one ounce of acetone to 5 GALLONS of fuel. And a notation here…if you try this in winter..use about one third less acetone, as the fuel suppliers add some of their own additives for winter driving already…and you may want to adjust the acetone dosage to suit yourself. I drive a pick up truck which has a 25 gallon tank. With fuel being near three dollars per gallon I usually pop in 30 dollars to get 10 gallons of fuel. And before doing the pumping..I fill a little 4 ounce plastic bottle to the halfway mark with acetone. I pour in the acetone ( must be 100% and non colored or scented ) first, and then the gasoline. This enables the gasoline to completely mix in with the acetone. Here where I live the local gas stations have taken to requiring pre-pay before pumping. And, as acetone can evaporate very quickly, you will want to first pre-pay and be prepared to pump..before adding the acetone.
Here is what is happening with the acetone. It’s all about causing the fuel to vaporize easier or faster. Now the fuel refining companies already do this with using certain other additives to help your engine to start easier and faster on cold winter mornings. And to also stabilize the fuel to make your vehicle more driveable and user friendly. You would NOT want to use the fuel before than have put in all the additives. The easier the fuel is to vaporize..the better gas/air mixture you are going to get and the easier and more completely it will burn…and the better the mixture and the burn..the more power it will create.
My old truck has seen a number of years and with the high mileage, there has come a reduction in the miles per gallon I used to get with it. As an engine ages things tend to wear out..there is more blow-by past the rings for instance so you don’t get as much boost from an air/fuel mixture like you should. Valves don’t seat like they used to and therefore the compression isn’t as high as it once was. Before trying the acetone the vehicle was getting perhaps 15 mpg. I drive roughly 170 miles per five day work week. Ten gallons of fuel at 15 mpg, had me putting in more gas by Thursday ! After the acetone my mpg has gone up nearly 60% ! A ten gallon shot of fuel will now take me right up to 250 miles. I am getting about 25 miles per gallon. I can drive all week and still have fuel by Monday.
I see little to no difference in the way it drives or responds…no sudden increase in horse power. If I had to point at any one thing…I would say that I don’t need as much throttle as I am accustomed to once I reach highway speed. And really, this is where we all spend much of the time behind the wheel..at highway cruising speed.
Now..I am a conservative driver. No rapid starts, no speeding. My truck is a 5 speed standard shift with overdrive and running a medium v-6 engine. This 60% increase in fuel mileage just astounded me. Your results will vary. But you can make the most of it. Get a tune up..new air filter, proper pressure in your tires..drive with some common sense..and I expect you will see an improvement in your MPG too.
Having said all of that I would urge anyone who may be interested in trying this, to to do your research. There may be a potential for voiding your warranty for instance. I saw one article that mentions that acetone isn’t good for some types of gaskets…may cause them to expand or deteriorate. And this may be especially important if your vehicle has fuel injection. Mine doesn’t, it has Throttle Body injection, ( essentially a carb. with an injector positioned inside it ) so I didn’t hesitate to give it a try. Acetone doesn’t like some kinds of plastics either. Another consideration may be winter driving..the gasoline producers will have added their own vaporizing additives..so, again, it may be wise to adjust your dosage.
