Can adding acetone to your gas tank actually increase your gas mileage?
Asked by
El_Cadejo (
34610
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December 27th, 2007
I’ve always wondered if this was true or not, but I’ve read conflicting things about it. Some say its perfectly safe, others say it will destroy your engine. Anyone out there actually tried this? What was your outcome?
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I spent a good six hours researching this very issue one lonely night and determined that there is no conclusive evidence that it does anything other than increase the risk of taking paint off your car.
Yeah, I agree with the others. No real proof of it helping anything.
I’ve tried it a few times before. I was running it in a 2001 Toyota 4runner 4wd. On a road trip between San Antonio and Dallas TX, I got 25 mpg. I don’t know if it was because of the acetone or not, but 25 mpg highway with a lifted 4wd SUV is not normal! Right before I traded it in, the headgasket started leaking. It may have been because if the acetone but I’m not using it in my vehicles anymore for fear of engine problems. If anything I would say the acetone cleans out your fuel system, but I don’t think its worth the risk of extended use.
Acetone tends to increase the octane rating of the gasoline it is added to. We used to add it prior to drag racing our hot rods in high school to get a little edge on the strip. It can, however, damage seals, o-rings and other rubber or silicone parts in your fuel delivery system, especially in imports. There are aftermarket additives that are way safer than acetone if you want to bump up your octane.
Is this where I get to make fun of people using xkcd? Or am I making fun of myself?
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