Can adding acetone increase gas mileage? -- Maybe.

A couple of weeks ago I tested fuel economy in my Volvo over a 5 mile stretch of freeway without, then with an ounce of acetone added to 10 gallons of gas.  I found an immediate 6.5% drop in mileage between those first two tests.  Then after 300 more miles I tested on the same tank of acetone-laden gasoline using the same conditions, and found I got an added 4.2% to mileage.  I was intrigued.

Now I've been through 15 more gallons, and haven't added any more acetone.  I did two runs tonight to check where the mileage was.  Same weight in the car, same temperature outside, etc.  Just about the only thing different was the song playing on the radio!  Mileage was slightly better still.  The first run I averaged 38.9 mpg, which is 5.5% better mileage than my original baseline, and the second I got 39.2, which is 6.3% better.  Looks like I've got at least a +/- 0.4% margin of error.

So bottom line after all this testing is that the people who see better mileage will probably continue to see that better mileage once they stop using acetone.  I still think I started with gunk in my fuel system that got cleaned out from the acetone.  Mine is a higher-mileage car, 122,000 miles.  Easy for me to believe that this is what's happening here.


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# re: Can adding acetone increase gas mileage? -- Maybe.

I remember reading somewhere last year about these guys that did this "real world" test on factors influencing fuel efficiency (it was in California I think) and they discovered (if I remember correctly) that the most impact on saving fuel was to use the car's cruise control.

I assume that you did that when doing these tests? 7/8/2007 1:53 PM | Guy Ellis

# re: Can adding acetone increase gas mileage? -- Maybe.

Oh yeah, cruise was set at exactly 65. Also made sure I wasn't drafting anyone, checked tire pressure, turned off the A/C, and made sure the outside temperature was within 2 degrees for each test. 7/8/2007 9:23 PM | Lorin Thwaits

# re: Can adding acetone increase gas mileage? -- Maybe.

The dirty little secret of ethanol is similar - it cleans all the gunk out of the fuel line and clogs the fuel filter, especially if you use it only once in awhile. 7/8/2007 10:23 PM | Scott Miller

# re: Can adding acetone increase gas mileage? -- Maybe.

You turned off the a/c? In these temperatures? Your dedication to accuracy is admirable! Did you pre-freeze the inside of the car to outlast the test distance? 7/9/2007 1:26 PM | Guy Ellis

# re: Can adding acetone increase gas mileage? -- Maybe.

Hehehe! I did run the couple tests at 10pm when it was only 102 outside. Didn't want to melt my camcorder during the test! 7/9/2007 7:28 PM | Lorin Thwaits

# re: Can adding acetone increase gas mileage? -- Maybe.

Just a thought - If you want to make it "real world"; you need to use the A/C!

I live in central Florida; and you can bet your life I do when I'm running my acetone tests! At 10 PM the humidity is still 110%!

I use cruise control too.

Something to keep in mind is that; the difference between mileage going 70 MPH and going 55-60 MPH is HUGE!!!!! Much more effect than the "cruise control" notion. 7/26/2007 8:56 AM | William Wright

# re: Can adding acetone increase gas mileage? -- Maybe.

William -- First a hearty "hello" from this sun-drenched dustbowl out to your sun-drenched wetlands!

Although A/C is definitely a part of my real-world driving experience, during a test it can skew things a little bit because the compressor will cycle on and off in an unpredictable way, dependant on humidity and the current temperature in the cabin of the car. In a smaller car the A/C can change mileage by about 10% or so. Since my tests were short runs (5 miles each), I decided to forego the A/C so I could get more consistent results.

Definitely cruise control helps to have a reliable test, and agreed that 70mph vs 55mph is way, way different. In the Volvo it's around a 12% difference in fact. For all of my tests I tried to get the speed as close to 65mph as I could, which in Phoenix is slow enough compared with surrounding traffic that I didn't have to use the brakes at all during the test.

It's been about 1000 miles since I did my last test, and doing another follow-up test would be interesting. Maybe I'll have some time this weekend to do another test. Monsoons have started, and humidity is up a little right now, which may skew the results a little. 7/26/2007 11:01 AM | Lorin Thwaits

# re: Can adding acetone increase gas mileage? -- Maybe.

I am just beginning my testing with this acetone mixture.
The best way to test is to get a solid baseline and drive like you always do go where you go and drive the same as if you were not testing anything.
If you see 5-7-10% consistant increase in MPG than I would say it works.
A 5 mile run ain't no test.
Different ratios must be considered also and all data must be accurately documented to have any kind of real world test results. 9/8/2007 8:57 AM | Patrick Thomas

# re: Can adding acetone increase gas mileage? -- Maybe.

Hey, just reading up on smartgas.net about acetone and noticed your post. I googled for "volvo acetone" to see if there were any others messing around with this. I was wondering if you were continuing this experiment and what the results were? E-mail me... 11/20/2007 10:16 AM | mike f

# re: Can adding acetone increase gas mileage? -- Maybe.

It seams all who say yes, back it with facts and figures, not to mention very extensive tests with variables AND controls. Those who say no just seam to say no (or acetone melts plastics...2oz. per 10 gal. is hardley the ratio when used for "plastic melting". 11/26/2007 11:25 AM | chris i

# re: Can adding acetone increase gas mileage? -- Maybe.

OK, I wanted to try it for myself. I traveled about 140 miles each way, same day, same weather, almost identical traffic, trip was almost exactly due north with a breeze from the west, and fueled with the exact same brand of fuel. Results: Trip A, 146.0 miles / 6.69 gallons used / 21.82 MPG Trip B: 136.8 miles / 5.21 gallons used / 26.26 MPG. Only difference was trip B has 6 oz of Acetone in the tank. No noticeable change in performance. (1998 Toyota Avalon with 355,000 miles — engine has ~70,000 miles). 4/24/2008 12:45 PM | Jim

# re: Can adding acetone increase gas mileage? -- Maybe.

I have used acetone in my 1991 Honda CRX HF with the 1.5 engine. I have found that it affected the running of the car. It ran a lot less smoother. I ran 2 oz. to the 10 gallon tank. The car would jerk and stutter when running on the highway. After adding another additive to the gasoline it smoothed out. I added acetone again two tanks later and the same thing. Jittery running and after the other additive, it smoothed out.
I found that it did help with mileage a little but the added trouble of adding it was not worth the extra 1 or 2 MPG that I got.

7/12/2008 3:24 AM | Steve from Ohio

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