fuel cleaners & octane boost additives?

Just my 2c. I've talked to two dealerships (a chevrolet and a Dodge dealer) that use the "Chevron Techron" fuel additive during tune up services to cars and stuff so I feel that is a reason to believe it's gotta do something.

Motorvac (which I've performed on my car) is a whole fuel cleaning machine that essentially hooks right up to your fuel lines and you car runs off of the cleaner directly with some gas to dilute it somewhat. This is more effective but the premise is the same. Theres a detergent that will contact everything the gas touches and cleans.

There are some products that are better than others and working in a parts store, I hear people swear by certain products such as lucas and seafoam all the time but long story short, they should work to some extent. If it's not dirty, there's nothing to clean. If it's running really crappy, you are more likely to have a real problem with it so cleaner isn't going to fix it.

[quote="AA"]Good to know. I must be using the 2-3% that works.

I do not use Sea Foam. Did the movie have anything to say about it?[/quote]

it just said that it was a more "harsh" or better compound to clean..... it was about 4 months ago.... i go back to that class tommorow and dig up some more info for you guys.......... sorry if i was hatin on it.....

I used to run Torco Accelerator in my Supercharged 5.0. Lots of Lightning owners also use it with success. The only Octane boost I would use.

we,ve got a debate going on here at work...the addition of 3oz. "acetone" :10 gallons gasoline is supposed to improve fuel economy and performance. Some say it's a hoax, I see some crediblity as it would increase the octane level and clean small orifices within the injection system. Since it shares similar characteristics to gasoline it should not harm anything at this very low concentration...groupies? what could this do to our superchargers?

Is acetone any cheaper than gasoline or octane? If so, why isn't it premixed at the pump?

Aaron,

When you moved the thread I lost everything I typed because I wasn't allowed to post it, and I was not able to go back to recollect my typing.

BK, the short answer is that yes, you will see very slight increases, but do some research on google for homebrew octane boost recipies and you'll see what I had written. I wouldn't use acetone as it is a blend of different things. Two major components are toluene and xylene, which have high octane ratings and high energy contents, which would technically help both fuel economy and gas milage, but 3 oz is too small a quantity to make any difference in your scenario.

I agree with Derek. 3 oz will be negligible. There are links early on in this thread about toluene and xylene for raising octane. It takes a lot more than 3 oz.

Derek,

Sorry, but I can't know when you're typing something in a thread that's being moved. Two things:

1) To new members: PLEASE search using the advance search feature, and post your comments in the correct topic (better yet, you may answer your own question). If your post needs moved, others' posts could be lost in transit. Please read: https://rivperformance.editboard.com/board-news-policies-f2/multiple-threads-not-necessary-t2245.htm

2) To members posting extra long topics: ALWAYS select all and copy your keystrokes before clicking "send". I do this habitually after keying more than 4 sentences. That way, if something happens, you can paste your post into the reply field and try again. (control + A, control + C, send...)

I did read acetone is supposed to be 100% pure but admit I don't know much of the chemical make up of Acetone if it is a blend of other solvents or what. The so called experts do say Toluene and Xylene are too aggressive on the plastic and I would have to assume the 3oz:10 gal is very conservative...we're running tests, they're all about $7/pint so we'll know more on Monday. The Acetone test has been on since Tuesday... vamac, viton, polyacrylate seem to be ok, the nitrile, silicone and HNBR seem to be softening a bit but have not deteriorated to a point where I think they would leak....more to come!

Update: 150 hour test - acetone seems to have no detrimental effects to any of the rubber sealing or injector o rings in our cars so onto the real world test...my co worker drives a 1999 4 cylinder ford ranger pick-up...picked up 2mpg, another driving a 1997 nissan altima 2.5 both of these are standard shift, my wifes 05 camry with all city driving 3+ mpg increase, my daughters 2000 stratus has not even made it through it's first tank yet nor has my 98 riv. I have noticed that at 3/4 tank I usually have gone 100 miles but i'm barely at 3/4 and have 130 plus it seems to be running alot better like it's had a good injector cleaning...my coworkers used the 3oz/10 gallons but I went with 4oz/10 gal so there is some of the difference...they are bumping there concentration for their next tanks but we're all believers so far!

4 oz/10 gal? There are too many variables to tell the difference. Warmer weather, more economy minded driving... it needs to be a long term test. How are you tracking gas milage in all of these cars? It has to be gallons added vs miles driven, period. Not I got 300 miles/tank and this time I got 320, that's not enough info. How many gallons exactly?

Plus, I really doubt 4 oz is enough to change the octane rating or energy content significantly.

It's also possible that because of the chemical change in the fuel, your O2 sensor is reading a false rich condition, and all of these engines are now running leaner. Very detailed tailpipe measurements are needed to tell if there is any real economy change. Without that you are believing... nothing...

I was thinking the same thing,Derek. I can't even trust my self enough to conduct such tests. The only way to prove something such as this is to hire a lab to perform truly scientific tests. Otherwise the results are pretty much meaningless.

Even if the acetone did substitute for octane, there's not even any proof that higher octane gives better fuel economy. Potentially more power under boost, but that's it.

Show me something like this from every car:
(right-click, save target as or save as)

http://homepage.mac.com/derekcunningham/Files/GasMileage.xls

over a long period of time, then I'll start believing...

No insult intended, just that true gas milage changes need close tracking and reporting to mean anything.

Aaron and Derek Thanks for the spreadsheet!
I hear you and agree totally...this all began during a lunchtime conversation over cubicle walls so we thought we would conduct our own little test...crude as it may be I wanted to share it with this group.

The odd thing is the concentration level being low as it is we thought it safe enough to try. We all design sealing products for a living and we have a lab at our disposal but don't see aerospace testing standards as being that important for what we're doing...some people on the internet seemingly not trying to sell claim 30-40% increases so I guess we have busted that one but I am surprised there is at least a little something to it.

We plan to average several tanks and this little test has only just begun and I already average 21.6 over 14 fill up's. I'll have a better more accurate mpg at my next fill, I drive shorter distances than my co workers who are on their second tanks and both are saying the vehicles are running much better, but true, the weather is much nicer as well!

BKRIV wrote:

I already average 21.6

must be nice!

My commute sucks. Wish I had more highway time... 12.6 miles, 45-50 minutes. That's why my average rarely climbs above 18. Well, the commute and an otherwise heavy foot...

Bill, we do appreciate the testing ideas you have. It's the kind of thinking I like to see happening at our board. Keep it up; try your best to convince us! I hope you're right, actually. I'd like to save a few dollars at the pump. Maybe some hard data graphed over time would do the trick?

if you are patient you can land a used Tech II off Ebay for $1,200 - $2,000.

GM dealers are being compelled to switch to the MDI, which is just an interface to a laptop or desktop PC. Point is to have 1 PC per 2 technicians at a dealership. MDIs are under $1,000 new (I think something like $799) but in order to get operating and calibration software, one *must* be a GM dealer (only available via their VPN).

Albertj

Info: http://www.pureenergysystems.com/news/2005/03/17/6900069_Acetone/

-and-

http://www.cartalk.com/content/columns/Archive/2006/January/08.html

AA wrote:

Info: http://www.pureenergysystems.com/news/2005/03/17/6900069_Acetone/

Quote :

Acetone drastically reduces the surface tension. Most fuel molecules are sluggish with respect to their natural frequency. Acetone has an inherent molecular vibration that "stirs up" the fuel molecules, to break the surface tension. This results in a more complete vaporization with other factors remaining the same. More complete vaporization means less wasted fuel, hence the increased gas mileage from the increased thermal efficiency.

I'm not buying it. This is not scientific info, and the 10 mpg increase they report near the end feels very bogus.

Any scientific long term results from our testers above?

I thought that sounded a little hokus-pokus, too. But what if it's true?

Well i'll be testing this as well , i usually get a rock solid 17.5 city regardless about every tank with no less than 16.8 ( when i first got my pully ) and no more than 18.5 when i tried for mileage , it usually only goes up when i have highway driving which isnt ofte. but anyway i put about 6 oz of acetone in my tank and will report back any mileage difference with the same habits. if it goes up to 19 ( all city ) i'll probably keep doing it.

Keep in mind, according to the article, too much acetone results in worse mpg than using too little. They say 2-3 oz per 10 gal fuel. I would try using less than 6 oz if it doesn't work.

Yeah i read that. I added ~6 oz to the tank before filling it. I'm hoping this turns out well.

When I was racing dirt track a fellow by the name of Mark Bangs used to add acetone to his fuel. He nicknamed me "Bertquist" after Bloomquist if any of you folks know who Scott Bloomquist is...
He was sponsored by Pro-Blend and also used all of the products they sold...

Anytime he was on the track he was a threat, so perhaps acetone is a good additive as well.

Bert

i get 17.3-17.8 mpg driving 100% city and using wot pretty much daily

Oh and that acetone thing didn't really do anything. I got 17.38 my last tank , given it was using a/c and driving a little heavier than normal , i don't think it made a difference. will continue further testing however,