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Which Turpentine As Engine Fuel Additive Brand Wins?
2020 test2 productsMyths & Experiments

Which Turpentine As Engine Fuel Additive Brand Wins?

This head-to-head test of 2 turpentine as engine fuel additive options has the measured results for each. See how they ranked and watch the full test video.

The verdict
Ranked first

Turpentine

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The measured results

Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.

All measurements (12 more)+

Solvent test

  • 1Turpentine

    does not mix with water (oil-based solvent, confirmed not alcohol-based); mixes well with gasoline, blending clear after a brief foggy period

  • 291 octane no-ethanol gasoline
    not tested

Engine carbon buildup test, 50/50 gasoline-turpentine blend, 45 min run

  • 1Turpentine

    ran the engine fine (smells like Pine-Sol); compression reading same as straight gasoline at 110 PSI; MORE carbon buildup on spark plug, cylinder head, and around the valves compared to straight non-ethanol gasoline

  • 291 octane no-ethanol gasoline
    not tested

Fuel efficiency test, 50/50 blend, fuel-injected generator powering ~2,370 W of halogen lights

  • 1Turpentine

    generator ran 21 minutes 52 seconds, about a minute and a half longer than straight gasoline's 20 minutes 28 seconds

  • 291 octane no-ethanol gasoline
    not tested

See-through cylinder head combustion test, 50/50 blend

  • 1Turpentine

    combustion looked nearly identical to straight gasoline, blue to yellow-orange flame, appeared to nearly fully combust

  • 291 octane no-ethanol gasoline
    not tested

Upper cylinder lubrication wear-scar test, 40 ml turpentine, 30 sec, 5-lb plate removed

  • 1Turpentine

    wear scar 9% smaller than the gasoline wear scar, indicating better lubrication than gasoline

  • 291 octane no-ethanol gasoline
    not tested

Farm Bego speed test, turpentine only

  • 1Turpentine
    54 mph

    4 mph slower than the 58 mph non-ethanol gasoline standing record (narrator attributes the shortfall to slick grass traction, not the fuel)

  • 291 octane no-ethanol gasoline
    not tested

Farm Bego tire-spin distance test, 60/40 turpentine-to-gasoline blend

  • 1Turpentine
    107 yards

    described as pretty much the same as gasoline, with no noticeable power loss

  • 291 octane no-ethanol gasoline
    not tested

Engine carbon buildup test, 45 min run

  • 291 octane no-ethanol gasoline

    ran great; left some carbon deposits on the spark plug and a small amount of deposits on the piston, valves, and cylinder head; compression 110 PSI baseline

  • 1Turpentine
    not tested

Fuel efficiency test, fuel-injected generator powering ~2,370 W of halogen lights

  • 291 octane no-ethanol gasoline

    generator ran 20 minutes 28 seconds (the time-to-beat baseline)

  • 1Turpentine
    not tested

See-through cylinder head combustion test

  • 291 octane no-ethanol gasoline

    blue flame over the piston gradually becoming bright orange and yellow

  • 1Turpentine
    not tested

Upper cylinder lubrication wear-scar test

  • 291 octane no-ethanol gasoline

    baseline/control wear scar, described as larger (9%) than the turpentine wear scar

  • 1Turpentine
    not tested

Farm Bego speed test

  • 291 octane no-ethanol gasoline
    58 mph

    the standing record used as the benchmark for the turpentine run

  • 1Turpentine
    not tested

How it was tested

  • solvent miscibility with water and gasoline
  • engine carbon/deposit buildup after a 45 minute run (small engine, new head gasket and spark plug each run)
  • compression test before and after each run
  • fuel efficiency via fuel-injected generator running a fixed light load
  • see-through cylinder head combustion visual comparison
  • upper cylinder lubrication wear-scar comparison
  • Farm Bego top speed run
  • Farm Bego tire-spin distance test
Data notes and caveats

This is a myth-test/exploratory video (not a brand-vs-brand head-to-head): the only product on the Products Tested list is Turpentine, tested as a gasoline additive/substitute against a 91 octane non-ethanol gasoline baseline across cleanliness, fuel efficiency, combustion, lubrication, and real-vehicle (Farm Bego) performance. No single declared winner; results were genuinely mixed (turpentine blend ran the generator longer and showed less wear, but left more carbon buildup than straight gasoline), so winner/runnerUp/budgetPick are left null. The video ends with an explicit safety caveat: do not run turpentine in an actual vehicle, likely catalytic converter damage and other problems. Meta chapters field is null for this video.

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