I said I'd do something about it...

[Christ]

K, so now that gas is at a national average of $4.00+ per gallon (more expensive than milk), I'm fulfilling an old promise I made to some friends and family a few years ago.

I'm going to start experimenting with fuels, because frankly, it's time someone did something.. and, obviously, you can't single-handedly change the price of oil/gas, so that means you have to learn to improvise.

There are several test subjects I've been looking at, one of which is Xylene, as it's in fully available supply where I work.. I'm a Union Bricklayer (Pointer, Caulker, Cleaner) (BAC Local 5), and because of the caulk and polymers that we use, we clean our equipment with Xylene, which has an octane rating of 117. (Or 114, depending on what blend of iso-polymers was used to create it.)

I'm going to be testing Xylene, Toluene, Acetone additive, and... for some reason, the "water fuel cell as an additive". I'm not going to explain that one.. you can look it up all over the place...

But, I figure that since I can rebuild my engine and fix just about anything that goes wrong with it, and, shortly, I'll be capable of tuning my ECU on the fly, I'll do the research to see what's up with fuel additives, and may eventually try replacing gasoline altogether.

And, just for the record... F\/©|< OIL COMPANIES.

Keep in mind, testing is a delicate procedure, and will take quite some time to nail down a given result, and make it repeatable... so please, be patient, I will post results as I get them.

[BLU CIVIC]

i say we use magnets and long sticks...that way we float on the roads and use the sticks to push ourselves

[Christ]

ROFL.. that was another consideration I had... the "magnet trick"... I'm going to test it with all my homebrew mixes, as gasoline is comprised mostly of solids, and only remains liquid as a result of chemical bonds. The magnet is supposed to "align" the molecules of the fuel solids, in suspension, thus allowing more surface tension and better resolution to vaporization, while allowing for a slightly increased resistance to compression-based ignition (auto-igniton, detonation)

Starting with xylene, like I said, due to it's relatively high availability at work.

I'm pretty sure I could walk away with 2 gallons over a week, and noone would notice, since we get it in bulk.

Also, with acetone, it's not used as an octane booster, it's used as a vaporizer for gasoline, as it promotes higher surface tension among the distillates and solids in gasoline, which allows a finer vaporization of the fuel after it's injected, and during combustion.

The recommended mix is something like 2.5oz per 10 gallons. It has also been said to provide better fuel economy, up to 30%, due to the added vaporization.

The only doubt among those discussing it, is the potential damage to fuel system components... which is null, as gasoline itself contains xylene, toluene, and MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone), all of which are stronger solvents than Acetone, even in it's pure form. (NOT NAIL POLISH REMOVER.)

In fact, MEK is what we (at work) use as "reactivator" after someone makes a "boo-boo" with 2 part polymer epoxies... it will literally melt plastic buckets (normal 5-gallon paint buckets) as you watch.

On a side note, Honda used Toluene in it's F1 cars, not as an additive, but as the main fuel, using 84% Toluene (114 octane) and 16% n- or o-Heptane (0 octane) to level off at a modest 102 octane (all that F1 rules allowed), and produced power levels of 1000bhp/liter in a 1.5 liter engine, utilizing up to 5 atmospheres of boost pressure. (14.7*5=73.5psi)

One would obviously assume this WAS NOT a standard D15B2, but still, the result was widely known then, and is still easily researchable.

By the way, Toluene can be purchased in bulk for around $3 per gallon.

[CivicSpoon]

I found this a couple years ago (maybe even someone here linking to it). It's about Toulene used as "race gas". Thought it might be interesting to add to the discussion.
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=243992

[Christ]

it's not allowed in SCCA competition anymore, nor any sanctioned event... but it does still have many valid uses in street tuning.

By the way, this is science... so anyone with supporting evidence, please feel free to correct me at any point in time... I could use the help if you have it to offer.

But please, don't just spout off and say something b/c you "know" it's right, just b/c your father's best friend's uncle has a husky that said so.

[readallen]

try adding some diesel to the gasoline, that will boost mileage and I heard from a friend of mine that knows somebody that know somebody that robbed some people, and he is giving that stuff away

[Christ]

adding diesel to your gasoline is a stupid way to blow your engine... if you add too much, it will destroy your fuel pump, clog your filter and injectors, and due to the fact that diesel isn't exactly "explosive" under gas engine conditions, it will turn to gel if any deposits are left in your engine, which will completely gum up everything... hell, even diesel trucks have issues with that.

[dan89]

Originally Posted by Dr0pZ0n3

adding diesel to your gasoline is a stupid way to blow your engine... if you add too much, it will destroy your fuel pump, clog your filter and injectors, and due to the fact that diesel isn't exactly "explosive" under gas engine conditions, it will turn to gel if any deposits are left in your engine, which will completely gum up everything... hell, even diesel trucks have issues with that.

I can vouch for that, i'm a diesel technician at the bus company and fuel filters don't last more than a month

[90civicrider]

F\/©|< OIL COMPANIES. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

--AGREED--

Good for you man! Good luck in your ventures and hopefully you dont destroy your engine to badly. You better keep us posted!

[BLU CIVIC]

I place doubt on this venture…if it works, all the research will disappear and Dr0pZ0n3 will turn up missing

[Christ]

lol Blu... ever the optimist :P

[Christ]

Update on this: I no longer work for that contractor, due to his douche-ness... therefore, when I can afford the chemicals and additives, I'll get them, but until then... don't hold your breath.

[Tony]

Already tried the Acetone...its a failure. Did not see any improvements on gas mileage, but I have also ran into some hesitation problems since I added it. On a new tank of gas now and the hesitation is starting to go away. Don't know if it was from the Acetone, or an issue with my IACV I have been having(short somewhere, I'm thinking a ground).

Either way, even before the hesitation started, gas mileage was the same.

[Christ]

yeah, I was going to try it out with all the methods as well, to make combinations.

Xylene and acetone,
Toluene and Acetone,
Straight Xylene,
Straight Toluene,
Straight Acetone, and all with and without a coiled electro-magnet on the primary fuel line...

I figure by the end, I'll either prove or disprove all the crap on the market about adding stuff to your fuel.

It's fact already that Xylene and Toluene can be used to produce higher Octane levels, I just wanna see if they'll help you get better gas mileage, and how much... if any.

[FrodoGT]

They'll probably actually make it worse. The higher octane gas is less prone to ignition..and also releases less energy. For instance, E85. 101 octane..about 85% as efficient as gasoline. of course the other chemicals you mentioned have varying levels of btu output, but I dont think they are going to make any impressive gains in economy. I think the basic focus is finding a replacement that can be had cheaper than gasoline per mile. For instance if you lose 5mpg, is it cheaper to go the same distance than gasoline.