The first link just links back to the second one, which gets into conspiracy theories, which are banned here. At the third link we find testimonials that adding acetone causes engine damage.
As a former mechanic I found this experiment to be of great interest. I was unfortunately a victim to the early testimony here that said acetone does not harm engine parts.
I added acetone as recommended to both my 1996 Honda Accord wagon and saw increased miles right away. I also put it in my 1997 Dodge Ram 1500. After several tanks in my truck (and a little better mileage) I found my number 1 injector showed up as failing. Shortly after that I was talking to John Bedini about the better mileage I was getting and then he said, "yeah, but it will kill your injectors." Then I laughed and told him this just happened to me.
So this weekend I went up to the cottage and my Honda would not start again. Had to tow it home 100 miles and go home early. Turns out my fuel pump was gone. The mechanic asked me, have you used injector cleaner in your car? I told him about the Acetone. He said, Honda pumps never go unless you damage them like this.
So I conclude that this added mileage is certainly not worth the damage it causes. And I suspect that we only read the initial reports here and not the long haul uses of acetone.
Be warned.
Rick Friedrich
People do seem to claim that adding acetone can yield a slight increase in mileage, but like so many such schemes, it is most likely a lack of understanding of the complete system that makes it appear to be a viable option. That is to say that even if this works, the negatives likely far outweigh the positives.
For years there were claims of 100 mpg carburetors and to some extent they did in fact exist, however, I don't know what the theoretical limits of the designs really were. The problem was not a conspiracy to hide the information as many claimed. Instead, the problem was that these designs were implicitly dangerous and prone to explode. In fact, back in the 70's, not too far from my home, some yahoo destroyed his garage this way. Also, I was never aware of anyone that got one to work in a real car. It seems that they could work in principle, but the real application of this idea was another matter.
The real conspiracy was one of ignorance. I would bet that the same is true here as well. If there are papers about this published in reputable journals, then it may be discussed in an engineering or chemistry forum at that time.
Late Edit: Jim, the member who started this thread, sent a pm stating that he is now suspicious that this may be a scam:
jmnew51 said:
This one thing is that I now believe that it is a hoax probably perpetuated by the marketers of the "scan gauge".
Thanks Jim! It was worth a look.
