Kizashi Club

Got this idea from Kip Kay's Podcasts. Pure Acetone purchased at the local ACE hardware store.

Idea: Acetone evaps at lower temp than gasoline. So when mixed will lower the evap temp of the fuel slightly allowing for more atomization of the fuel and a more enhanced cooling affect.

Test: my test was done on a 40mile trip I make twice a week. Very predictable. It's 9 miles of city and then 31 miles of hwy and clear and recently paved hwy. For two tanks I measure my MPG, filling up each time I left (gas station is right there at entrance to hwy). Without I get 29.8mpg with cruise set at 80mph. With Acetone in the tank I'm getting about 36.4mpg max and about 34 average at 80mph! This is obviously during summer and I like my A/C COLD so it's on LO each time I start and pretty much runs that way the entire time.

The city part was a little harder and I should state it's probably more "country" than city. It's a 19mile road with 2 stops. I drive like I'm racing both ways and the gas station is right before the road entrace. I make this run about 3 times a week. My average is 23.4mpg without acetone and as of today it's 27.3mpg with it.

Take it for what it's worth.

I'm using 3oz pre-measured into a plastic bottle at each tank. Adding ONLY after I fill the tank to one "pop". Computer is reset each time and the readings are from the computer, backed up by math on a calculator and it's spot on.

When we head back south later this year I'll be using it then and I'll chime back with results. But so far it's working well.

One note: the CVT seems to wabble more than before and the engine seems to run smoother (odd).

Car is 2010 GTS with AWD and CVT - however AWD is currently OFF and only used when it's raining. Tests were measured on 75-95* days and logged via paper. Night runs were not measured and neither were foul weather days. The RK Sport Aero kit will be installed later this month as well so that will possibly affect drag later.

My Wife's hyundai 2.4L Direct Injection would be an interesting test to see if the extra evap and cooling of the Direct Injection would make an improvement or not. Suzuki is supposed to be moving to DI by 2012. Massive improvement in power and mileage to an already efficient engine.

Acetone is NOT good for the fuel system unless it was designed to run it. the Evap system on the Kizashi (and most cars made after 2004) should prevent the evap of the acetone overnight.

I heard about this also a couple of years ago on Coast to Coast. I think the problem was that the acetone deteriorated some of the plastic parts or hoses in the fuel line.

There was a "Mythbusters" episode debunking the theory.

I also read on the internet...

I'm not selling snake oil. I tried it. It worked. I'll continue to use it. Although I may lean it out to 2oz per 10 gallons.

Too much acetone will raise the octane. High octane is LESS likely to burn and requires MORE compression to LOWER it's flashpoint. High compression engines generally require high octane to prevent the fuel from flashing (spontaneously combusting ahead of the spark). In a nut shell acetone does that but also helps cool the combustion chamber and increase the evap rate of the fuel.

If you compress a gas it will heat up, storing the energy from compressing it. If you release a gas it will cool, releasing the energy in the gas. This is exactly how A/C works. Different gasses work different based on their physical attributes, etc... In fact Propane is healthier and more than 3x more effecient than R134a. But tell people you run propane in your compressor and the first thing they think of is BOOM. It will never explode as long as it's contained in the system, no oxygen to burn but nobody cares or is smart enough to understand... Got one of those compressed air dusters? Hold the trigger down for a bit. Acetone does the same effect. Your pump compresses it and gasoline, upon release from the injector it cools the cumbustion chamber. Higher octane does the same effect. This is also one of the attributes of Direct Injection. Our Fuel Injection system runs around 100psi. Direct Injection runs over 1000 psi. So when the injector opens that's a lot of pressure being released directly into the cylinder which causes a much greater cooling effect and also much greater atomization of the fuel.

But we go and put 20 gallons of gasoline in the car, spray that into a flaming sparking container...

Oh, I'm running 89 and it's been Shell based gasoline. Acetone is also an ingrediant commonly used in additives.

You WANT more atomization of gasoline. Remember the days when you could flood a car with gas and it would not run? Spraying Ether into the air was how you got it to fire? The Ether lowered the evap rate of the gasoline, drying out the cylinders (by evaporating the excess fuel).

If you could completely evaporate gasoline into a gas and inject that into the cylinder you would drastically increase mileage AND power as you would be able to extract more of the energy in the units of fuel. People have done it before. In fact there are patents on it.

Lowering the combustion chamber temps will also increase fuel and power. Water injectors are used for that. Back in 94' I installed a KIT water injector system into the intake of my MR2 turbo and it was incredible the performance and mileage gain.

Acetone can ruin your rubber o-rings and gaskets..not to mention near plastics and your paint job.

I think I'd rather just make sure my tires are properly inflated.

Sorry, dude, the chemistry doesn't work out here.

x2 on tire pressure - makes a HUUUUGE difference.

IMHO, people don't understand the effect of variability on testing. There is so much variability tank-to-tank, it's going to take a lot of testing to definitievely say you have truly shifted the mean, and are not just experiencing the random variation.

While I applaud you that your test method is better than most, there are a number of issues - the biggest one being that you're only measuring over 40 (or 80) miles - so 2-3 gals of gas. Any environmental condition could show as a huge effect with such a small denominator.

If you want a truly scientific study, you should randomize the tanks and just drive. You want similar RANDOM variation between both sample sets that reflect your normal driving. You will need 10+ tanks worth of data for each condition (ie acetone or no).

Send me the data, and I'll be happy to analyze it for you - it's what I do for work.

Sorry this is going to be offensive:

Acetone = Stupid Idea

Acetone will eat through just about any petroleum based product. Even mixing it off could cause some damage through embrittlement. I used it in the lab to clean all kind of nasty stuff out of our equipment. Just the fumes cracked our sonicator's plastic lid in half. Later several more large cracks grew without even turning it on.

Even in small amounts it will cause gaskets hoses to become brittle and crack. Rubber and plastic will preferentially absorb the acetone right out of the gas. While it may slightly boost fuel mileage it will cost you lots of money in the long run.

Not to mention it would surely void your warranty if they figured out that you did it.

While Acetone may be an additive in some automotive products it is not something you want to run through rubber lines for very long.

(Edited)

After running 2 tanks without it the wobble in the transmission (CVT) which I thought was from the additive is actually from the A/C being on. Running without A/C yesterday and today and no wobble in the performance (feels like on off power surge).

Do I sound like an idiot? Send you the data cause your an analyst?

I saw the idea on a podcast. The chemistry is sound. I found it interesting and tried it. Throwing my results up here to share with others.

Take it for what it's worth. Use it or don't, I DON'T CARE. I tested on MY car, not yours. I don't care about the long term effects of MY CAR. I get a new car every year. Even with having a knee operation and re-learning how to walk I have put 22k miles on my Kizashi since August 30th, 2010.

I'm not an idiot though you do a good job of making me sound like one. "Surly" should be spelled "surely" in the case of grammer in which your using it.

http://www.pureenergysystems.com/news/2 ... 9_Acetone/

Research works better. It's an old document.

http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Gasoline.html

Decent info here for those actually interested in learning about FUEL and how it works in the internal combustion engine.

Direct Injection would be better but Suzuki hasn't released a system yet. It does exactly what Acetone does expect in mechanical fashion by increasing pressure of the fuel to 1000-1500 psi it heats it up causing slight vaporization and then when released into the chamber it cools and atomizes evenly breaking the surface tension for a more equal distribution.