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Acetone gas additive - tuning requirements?

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Old 09-27-2005, 09:50 AM
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BJM
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I found this link for the Reid Vapour Pressure standards (vapor if you are in the US) on the EPA website. The formulations are changed to meet specific targets throughout the year. EPA link. The standard nearly matches the pressure of acetone so it should be a good match. Not sure what the boiling point of gas at 1 atm is though.
Old 09-27-2005, 02:18 PM
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So I should be safe if I buy a quart of acetone at Depo and throw it in the trunk for periodic fill ups?

I would also carry a long plastic funnel and a few rags to avoid spills on the car paint.
Old 09-27-2005, 02:29 PM
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I just bought a quart to try out. Its sitting in my trunk right now. If my car blows up, ill let you know.
Old 09-27-2005, 05:51 PM
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I keep mine in the bed of my truck with a black roll&lock tonneau cover in a basket with a plastic funnel. I got a metal 1/8cup / 1oz coffee scoop for measuring it out. Works great and has never exploded !
Old 09-27-2005, 08:46 PM
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Well, I just put 4 ounces in with a full tank of 93. I figured at worst, this is like inexpensive fuel injector cleaner. I had been logging all week and gotten my fuel trims all within +- 1 or 2. After driving away from the gas station I took a little spin and started seeing my trims drop to anywhere from -8 to -12 within minutes. I then reset my fuel trims and watched them come down again, this time to around -6. I only went around the block a couple of times, but tomorrow morning ill log my commute which is almost 40 miles. Ill tell you guys how the acetone works. I can pretty much say right now that the VE table will want to come down considerably. I figure it will cost about half a dollar in acetone and if it really makes the tank stretch 10% further, its a great bargain. Ill post my findings in the morning. If you dont hear from me, it means my motor exploded on the side of the highway and I cant get to work and post!
Old 09-28-2005, 12:34 AM
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does acetone increase octane?
Old 09-28-2005, 08:13 AM
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Well, got to work safe and sound this morning. Unfortunately my fuel trims all went right back to zero. For what its worth the car fealt like she was smooth and strong, but no more so than any other day. Nothing was really out of the ordinary this morning compared to driving without acetone in the tank. I suspect the reasoning for the acetone to have an effect last night but to have little or no effect this morning might have to do with the acetone being counteracted by the ethanol found in all pump gas in my area. Anyway, Ill keep at it for a few tankfuls, but otherwise why spend money on acetone if its not doing anything for me.

See Here http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=re...JSJ7uj6cE8UDgw

Also of note, I should mention that an Acetone + Ethyl Alcohol mix is sold as a photographic solvent, so I guess the acetone and ethanol really dont combine in the tank. Why then would the acetone appear to work initially before eventually fading away?

Originally Posted by Josh McGrath
does acetone increase octane?
No, for that you can try toluene or xylene from home depot. Add 1 to 1.5 gallons per tankful and it should bump you up from 93 octane to 95 or so.

Last edited by GuitsBoy; 09-28-2005 at 08:35 AM.
Old 09-29-2005, 08:39 AM
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GuitsBoy:
Is there any other reason the initial LTRMs would decrease after lacing your gas with acetone and then come back up to near pre-acetone levels the next day?

Does the PCM adjust for the change in the fuel after acetone is added?

What else were you logging with your scan tool that might explain this?
Old 09-29-2005, 08:58 AM
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R.B. -

There's nothing else that I can think of that would cause this. The only way that the PCM compensates for fueling changes is via the fuel trims (LTFT and STFT). Im going to need to fill the tank back up tonight so I will see if the results are duplicated. The more I read, the more it looks like the ethanol and acetone are mixing togather somehow. There's nowhere I can get gas without ethanol, unfortunately.
Old 09-29-2005, 10:24 AM
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I call ethonal-laced gas "corn gas" since the farmers in Iowa are gettign rich on this scheme.

Both my cars hate corn gas. NY just switched to full time corn gas. Previously, it was mandated in the winter months only.

So is it possible the acetone laced gas burns differently and, therfore, the front O2s are getting a different signal so the PCM compensates by changing the fuel trim?

I could understand this but it would not explain why the LTRMs subsequently returned to pre-acetone levels the next day.

I did read on the "fueling" post that the full impact of adding acetone does not ocurr until you have run several tanks fulls through the motor.
Old 09-29-2005, 10:28 AM
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I burn natural gas in my home heating unit so this may not benefit me directly but, I wonder if oil burning units would benefit by lacing the furnice oil tank with a few gallons of acetone?

My guesss would be NO but it is interesting to consider with home heating oil reaching record prices.

For what it is worth, deisel truck and car motors benefit from acetone lacing...
Old 09-29-2005, 10:41 AM
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Originally Posted by robertbartsch
So is it possible the acetone laced gas burns differently and, therfore, the front O2s are getting a different signal so the PCM compensates by changing the fuel trim?

I could understand this but it would not explain why the LTRMs subsequently returned to pre-acetone levels the next day.

I did read on the "fueling" post that the full impact of adding acetone does not ocurr until you have run several tanks fulls through the motor.
Fuel trims are directly affected by the o2 sensors. If the o2 sensors detect a lack of oxygen in the exhaust, they assume there is too much fuel (rich condition) and theyll then tell the car to pull out gas via the fuel trims. This is called "Closed Loop".

If the acetone did cause finer atomization of the fuel which resulted in more efficient and complete combustion, the o2 sensors would see this as a rich condition and thus pull out more fuel. Thats what I saw when I first added the acetone.

I believe they say you need to run a few tankfulls simply because the long term fuel trims may take quite a while to fully learn. Ours are relatively quick to adjust but still take 50-100 miles to get most cells stabilized.

Something is reacting in the fuel tank negating the effects of the acetone because it was clearly working at first and then started going back to zero. I dont think the reaction is happening in the combustion chamber due to heat like some of the papers mention otherwise everytime I start the car with a cold motor I would see the same thing.

What is reacting and what its producing, I dont know. But im not seeing any weird fueling or knock retard, so it dosnt seem to be hurting how the engine runs.
Old 09-29-2005, 11:32 AM
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Yeh, I'm goning to buy some acetone this weekend and try it out too.

I have a OBD-2 scanning tool and have also down loaded the free-be diagnostic software from Carputing (LS1Edit).

Basically, these suk - but I am too cheap to buy a decent diagnostic program.

What should I log:

1. LTRMs
2. RPM
3. TPS

Anything else?
Old 09-29-2005, 11:37 AM
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Really just the LTFTs. Know which FTC youre in also. Might want to keep an eye on KR to make sure nothing is knocking.
Old 09-29-2005, 12:15 PM
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Do you pay any attention to the LTRMs at various RPM? The last time I scanned, a freind transferred the data logged ((LTRIMs Vs RPM, STRIMS Vs RPM) to an Excel spreedsheet. An average of the LTRMs and STRIMs was used to get an idea of the current tune.
Old 09-29-2005, 12:26 PM
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Originally Posted by robertbartsch
Do you pay any attention to the LTRMs at various RPM? The last time I scanned, a freind transferred the data logged ((LTRIMs Vs RPM, STRIMS Vs RPM) to an Excel spreedsheet. An average of the LTRMs and STRIMs was used to get an idea of the current tune.
A large range rpm and map zones fall under each FTC. The LTFTs do not update fast enough to as you go from low rpm to high rpm within the same cell. I wouldnt bother paying any attention to rpm for any reaon other than your own curiosity.
Old 09-29-2005, 01:45 PM
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Acetone magical fuel mileage claims are pure snake oil. Tested, confirmed.
Old 09-29-2005, 01:53 PM
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Originally Posted by Brains
Acetone magical fuel mileage claims are pure snake oil. Tested, confirmed.
Would you be so kind as to direct us to some evidence? Information that debunks this is of equal importance to me as that which supports the claims.

You know they called the tornado and the electric supercharger "snake oil" too, and look at how they turned out!!!
Old 09-29-2005, 04:26 PM
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I never used the stuff. However, several people posting on this board have used it for extended periods and claim significant improvements. I suppose this is eveidence.

See the "Fueling" section of this board for an extended post that documents user findings. I didn't make it up; these people appear ligit!

What abut the Tornado? This wind mill device on TV that is garbage; right? What is the electric supercharger?
Old 09-29-2005, 04:37 PM
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Originally Posted by Josh McGrath
does acetone increase octane?
It IS an ingredient in almost all octane boosters on the market.


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