Fuel Additives to improve gas mileage

Posted on 30 August 2008

Thanks to Carson, we had our first comment, and therefor our first homework assignment.  What do we think about fuel additives and whether they will work.  Let us first start off by saying, we have not tried fuel additives, we are a bigger believer in just driving slower, mainly because there is no way to know whether the Fuel additives may void the factory warranty or not.  With that being said, here is a list of the main fuel additives, and the pros and cons.

Acetone: is better known as propane to the common public.  There was a huge influx of propane vehicles in the gas shortage of the 80s.  Here is a website that shows exactly how the propane vehicle is designed and how it works.  As we progressed not many people do that anymore, they may just ad some acetone to the vehicle.  From my research, here and here, the basic premise behind using acetone(in the proper mixture, and from what we read, it was about 1 part to 500, that it will help vaporize the fuel completely.  Apparently in today’s vehicles there are claims that the fuel isn’t completely combusted, and therefor leaving some residual fuel behind, which in turn does not get the efficiency that could optimize mpg.  The first con that comes to mind, is obviously the combustibility of propane, mixed with a combustible such as gasoline could be extremely dangerous.  Also acetone is the main ingredient in paint thinner and if it was splashed or spilled on your vehicles paint, it could start to take it off.  The last con is that Acetone and ethanol do not mix.  You will not get a harmful effect, but the two cancel each other out, in turn negating the effect you are trying to reach.

CA40 - The jury seems to still be out on CA40.  There isn’t many substantial proof that leads the consumer one way or the other.  There seems to be a general conscience though that it may be another scam.  The more Americans search for opportunities to get better gas mileage, the more scams pop up to take advantage of people.  We are not saying this is a scam, but just be weary. Here is a video of CA-40

There are a number of fuel additives that can be purchase at your local gas station such as HEET, or some people say to put ether in it.  This site gives a list of all types of different additives and what they do.  The basic point behind this is, yes, these are ideas for a short term band aid on the scratch, but you(the customer) would still be purchasing something.  Another cost.  These are great ideas to not follow the norm, but at what cost.  We as a society can conserve our fuel intake for free.  We as a society are turning more and more into an instant gratification society(another post, on another day).   If you have used any of these additives and you would like to input and success or failure, please do so.  In the meantime, free is always good.  Put in a tape or C.D. kick back, and drive slower :)

Coming soon, a video of me and my 2005 GMC Sierra getting 22 MPG.  It is an all-stock vehicle, with no fuel additives, not going down hill, just taking my time.  Keep your eyes peeled for the video, for direct proof.

Thanks again Carson for starting a discussion, and we look forward to anymore comments from anyone.

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6 Comments For This Post

  1. Gives Instant Gratification says:

    You can improve your gas mileage by up to 2% simply by using the manufacture’s recommended grade of motor oil. Gives Instant Gratification

  2. Joe Dynamo says:

    Pull up the ingredients that makeup paint thinner, and you will see:
    * Acetone
    * Mineral turpentine (turps)
    * True turpentine
    * Naphtha
    * Toluene (used in racing fuel)
    * White spirit
    * Xylene (another key additive for racing fuel)
    * Methyl ethyl ketone (MEK)

    A paint thinner is a solvent used to thin oil-based paints. (All such solvents have other uses.)

    Commercially, “paint thinner” is usually a name for mineral spirits.

  3. Joe Dynamo says:

    Look, just don’t exceed what is recommended, use about one ounce of acetone (paint thinner works just fine and is 1/3 less expensive) to 5 gallons of regular unleaded gasoline (regular has the least amount of alcohol additive, do not bother to use higher grades of gasoline, for their levels of alcohol are higher and will thus negate the surface tension breaking benefits of using acetone), your best results will be obtained with mixing with just regular unleaded gasoline, and don’t worry for the acetone is an octane booster, as well.

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  5. Joe Dynamo says:

    Be careful when attempting to use acetone and or paint thinner as a fuel additive, for I have caused my General Motors fuel injectors to leak gasoline profusely by doing so (this is obviously dangerous and actually will decrease the m.p.g. by wasting gasoline, as well). I owned a 1988 Buick 3.8 litre V-6 motor powered vehicle, this motor is commonly referred to as the 3800, and after trying to use acetone (a key ingredient in clear paint thinner) as a fuel additive, I noticed that my fuel injectors began to leak gasoline all over the top of the engine. A chemist friend of mine said that the inner lining of the fuel injectors are coated with a shalaque lining that will rapidly deteriorate when coming in contact with acetone & paint thinner, thus causing the ruining of these expensive fuel injectors, in that they will leak

  6. Joe Dynamo says:

    The recommended acetone to gasoline ratio is one ounce of acetone to 5 gallons of gasoline, so don’t exceed this ratio, or you risk damaging your fuel injection system!

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