Poor Mileage

ariesdude · Post by **ariesdude** » March 10th, 2006, 4:11 pm

Try running a bottle of Fuel injector cleaner with the next few fillups - that helped with my mileage a lot.

Also try flushing the radiator - i heard that if the engine is too hot it will run rich and use up more fuel.

But one basic thing that had a huge effect on (my) mileage was the correct tire pressure - when i got the car it was too low and the car ran like crap and had poor mileage. I got it set at one of those oil change places and they set it too high and it again ran like crap and poor mileage. Finally i got a gauge and went to a gas station and set it at 32PSI and it has been a champ ever since.

If you havent already done it - get an oil change - the first time i got the oil changed i couldnt beleive how much smoother the engine became. The place i had it changed had the "cleaning" oil - they first drained the old oil and then flushed the engine with this other oil - and then put in the new oil. It was a really good deal.

corbanbrook · Post by **corbanbrook** » March 11th, 2006, 7:59 pm

Just drove to toronto and back today.. a little city driving, but mostly Hwy on a fresh tank.. drove between 120-140kph there,.. so 3500RPM average.

Went about 200KM on the first quarter tank. It worked out to 35.3 MPG.

So at least the Hwy is exactly where its suppose to be. I was so suprised especially since the compression on my engine is a-- on 2 cyls.

so.. 21.5 city/35 hwy as it stands.

Im going to try adding more acetone to the tank and see if that improves it.
Last couple tanks i was using 2 oz. im going to move to 4 oz and see what happens.

Tunes67 · Post by **Tunes67** » March 12th, 2006, 12:23 am

The problem with adding acetone to the gas is that even if you measure the exact amount every time you add it.. you will have more acetone in the tank after each fill up since you never actually run the tank dry. This eventually throws off your measuring and you wont be able to keep track of how much to add to make sure you get a consistant mixture. Been there.. done that.. it does help a bit.. but too much acetone will hurt your mileage rather than help it.. after about 5-6 tanks of adding acetone... even at consistant measurments.. you will be guessing how much to add to your tank each time to offset what is still left from your previous tankfuls of fuel.

Tunes67

corbanbrook · Post by **corbanbrook** » March 13th, 2006, 11:27 am

Tunes67: At first glance at the problem it does look like the left over acetone in the remain fuel left in the tank would keep building and building and building until you exceeded the recomended dose of 2oz per 10gallons but this is not the case.

Presuming I fill up after depleting 11G (85%) and add 2oz each time would mean there was 0.3 oz or 9 ml of acetone left in the tank after the first iteration.

The next fillup there would be 0.35 oz extra. and the fillup after that it stays pretty much constant around the 0.35 oz mark.

Lets take a look:

fill up no.1
acetone : 2.0 oz
residual: 0.3 oz

fill up no.2
acetone : 2.3 oz
residual: 0.345 oz

fill up no.3
acetone : 2.345 oz
residual: 0.35175 oz

fill up no.4
acetone : 2.35175 oz
residual: 0.3527625 oz

fill up no.5
acetone : 2.3527625 oz
residual: 0.352914375 oz

fill up no.6
acetone : 2.352914375 oz
residual: 0.35293715625 oz

fill up no.7
acetone : 2.35293715625 oz
residual: 0.3529405734375 oz

fill up no.8
acetone : 2.3529405734375 oz
residual: 0.352941086015625 oz

fill up no.9
acetone : 2.35294108601562 oz
residual: 0.352941162902344 oz

fill up no.10
acetone : 2.35294116290234 oz
residual: 0.352941174435352 oz

This is based on filling up the tank after using on average 85% of the tank capacity. 15% of the inital acetone left in the tank each time. Even after 10 fillups you are still locked at 0.35 oz extra. so i dont have to worry about exceeding the 2oz per 10gallon ratio... really ever.. even after 100 fillups.

fill up no.100
acetone : 2.35294117647059 oz
residual: 0.352941176470588 oz

If you were adding 3oz to the tank it would lock at 3.5 oz. and with 4 oz it would lock at 4.7oz (which is probably too much)

Now if you were experimenting with acetone at the upper end. say 3 oz per fillup you would have to be careful to always use as much of your tank as possible between fillups. Lets say you filled up after using 80% of your tank. You would be running around 3.7oz after the second fillup. And 0.7oz of acetone can make a HUGE difference.

So yes you are correct that you cannot be accurate and will always be guessing on how much to add but you can try to consistantly fall within a certain acceptable threshold, and running 1 tank without acetone to reset yourself if you see your MPG starting to drop.

Tunes67 · Post by **Tunes67** » March 13th, 2006, 12:39 pm

I also have already done this experiment

You can find the thread if you want to search for it.. my conclusion was that while it did improve mileage slightly.. it wasnt worth the hassle.. does a decent job of cleaning up the fuel injectors though

Tunes67

highlife · Post by **highlife** » May 4th, 2006, 9:14 am

Just did my mileage again now that the weather has warmed up, got 29.2 miles per gallon ! Thats up from the 23 mpg I was getting earlier this year. The only change I made was the oil which was getting up towards 5000 miles and a new water pump which I doubt was affecting mileage. Maybe I should upgrade to the heated oxy sensor. Anyone done this from the one wire setup ?