I just read an article about adding 100% pure acetone in your gas. 2 oz added to 10 gals. Supposedly it adds up to 35% more MPG. Is anyone doing this in their MINI?

Article
http://www.pureenergysystems.com/new...00069_Acetone/

 

since thier own claim is that this is only a vaporization aid and the quantity and purpose is not to increase the amount of energy in the chemical being used for combustion the claim of 15% to 35% increase is HIGHLY SUSPECT....simply put we are talking about energy, if you are to get 35% more energy you have to be wasting 35% of energy....meaning 35% of the fuel injected is exhausted unburned and uncombusted that simply defies the test of common sense.

Furthermore the notion that there is this simple great overlooked secret to greater fuel economy simply strikes me as ridiculous.

 

Their claims look very interesting.
Wiki info here: http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directo..._Fuel_Additive

However what frightens me is what acetone is. How harmful it is to us as well as our car's paint and potentially causing fuel lines or fuel system damage.

With that in mind...anyone up for testing it out???

 

I agree with the above response as I too am a skeptic. 35% seems to be an extremely high number.
On the other hand, there is some room for improvement. Catalytic converters, under cars since '73, have 3 tasks. Reduce NO2 and VOC emissions and provide feedback for the fuel mixture control system. To my knowledge VOC=fuel. The first stage is the O2 sensor.
Nitrogen is scavenged from the exhaust in the second stage of the converter (reduction). The liberated oxygen then continues through the converter with the VOCs where it is burned in the Oxidation stage.
So, how much is burned? I don't know, but every molecule that burns in the exhaust is wasted product.
I think there is a simpler way to evaluate this process. An absolute measurement of VOC exhaust load, with and without acetone, upstream of the catalytic converter would put this to rest.
Since that data is not provided.... I remain a skeptic.

 

I don't know about acetone, but toluene and xylene have been commonly used as octane boosters. Search for "home brew race gas"

 

here's an old thread (with references to several other threads as well):
https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54520

 

But octane is just "resistance to pre-ignition" or pinping and is not a measure of energy....the fuel is combusting to early, increasing "vaporization" to me makes that more likely not less likely. pre-ignition is by nature ineffecient. but ultimately raising octane does not improve mpg one bit unless you geting pinging at the lower octane, in which case the uncontolled combustion is in effecient