For years Big Oil has offered three or so different grades of gas octane 87 regular, 89-90 premium and 91-94 super.These grades are actually based upon a 100 octane scale where the cleanest burning, most ideal fuel was propane (clean burn fuel). But the scale never took into account arromatic petrol compounds and derivatives which can actually surpass the 100 octane mark, some as high as 115-130 octane.
So the object here is to get the engine running the cleanest burning fuel possible, leave less soot and deposits in the combustion chamber and on the valves, clean the injection system, or in older cars the carburetor, not hurt emmisions systems, not void our warranty, and, in the end, get increased gas mileage and increased engine life. Wow, thats a lot. It really isn't, though.
In recent tests it has been proven that arromatic petroleum distillates, alcohol (methyl alcohol), ether, acetone, and toluene can and will do all of these. That is to a point. If you make the fuel mixture too rich you can actually do the opposite. The ideal mixture found that was easiest to obtain and handle was 1-2 ounces of acetone per full tank (acetone can be found at your local hardware store or paint supply shop). This was tested on everything from 4-8 cylinder gas engines to big Cummings diesel engines. The range in increase of fuel efficincy was 5-20% and the average being 9%. It was found if you used 3 or more ounces per tank ful results were the same or worse than without the acetone - the mixture was too rich.
The effects of the acetone were then tested on the fuel line components themselves for resilience and it was found that unlike methyl alcohol (racing fuel) it did not have a caustic effect. Acetone will have a etching effect on paint, plastic headlight lenses, etc... Spills should be wiped up immediately.
So, to make the story short and get straight to the point, if you wanted to add an average of 9% fuel efficiency to your vehicle and do it for less than $.50 per fillup - its as easy as adding 1-2 ounces acetone per tankfull. Thats it - the only problems are Big Oil doesn't want you to know how to save on gas and you may still void you warranty as they now test for gas additives like acetone.
Also, one last note, acetone or any additive that makes your engine more efficient and burn cleaner is better for the environment - less emmissions.
