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I recently bought a 2008 TL with 97k miles and I am thinking about doing a seafoam treatment. I did not see a thread about it anywhere. What does everyone think?
Before my first oil change I put seafoam in my vacuum line, gas tank, and crank case. Reset the ECU, gas pedal method.
I have also been religiously using Marvel mystery oil, Seafoam, and Lucas fuel injector cleaner in the gas tank for about 5 months, every time tank is half full also put it in before the next fuel up.
Now I can run my car 340 miles before the low level gas light warning turns on. when that happens I fill up about 14 gallons of gas every time.
Car is NOT tuned either and do not have all my beneficial mods installed.
Before my first oil change I put seafoam in my vacuum line, gas tank, and crank case. Reset the ECU, gas pedal method.
I have also been religiously using Marvel mystery oil, Seafoam, and Lucas fuel injector cleaner in the gas tank for about 5 months, every time tank is half full also put it in before the next fuel up.
Now I can run my car 340 miles before the low level gas light warning turns on. when that happens I fill up about 14 gallons of gas every time.
Car is NOT tuned either and do not have all my beneficial mods installed.
So all of this to get to 24'ish mpg? Unless that is pure 25mph city traffic, that is a lot of work to get to that MPG. I have used Seafoam or Techron in my TL I think three times in the past 8 years, and I get the same if not better MPG than that.
Summary:
- if you use Top Tier gas all the time, it is unlikely you will ever need to use Seafoam or anything else in the fuel system
- if you are a new owner, it probably won't hurt to run some through the first tank or two since you have no idea what gas the previous owners used
- to each their own on what mystery snake oil combos you want to run...it is doubtful most of them will hurt your car.....just maybe your wallet a bit
I do use MMO and Seafoam in my mowers on a regular basis...just not my cars. I also do use Techron in my cars usually when we get back from vacation and had been putting unknown quality gas in. To note...that is rarely my TL...it is usually my wife's car since it is bigger and doesn't require premium.
It's really not that much work, and doesn't cost much considering how long they last me. I think it's worth it because ever since I've used it my mpg have increased after every fill up since purchasing the car till now. It's starting to taper off though... However, that wont stop me from using it when I feel my engine innards need lubricating.
I don't have a lawn mower because I don't have grass, but I do have a weed whacker and I plan on using a small quantity of mmo and seafoam in it. Even though I've used it 5 times in the past 2 years.
My weed whacker is great on gas too, 4 hp, plan to modify it soon... just kidding. lol.
I drive my car about 70% city and 30% highway these days. About 230 miles of my fuel is used for the city and the rest is highway.
Last edited by bakaryu18; Jul 18, 2016 at 12:30 PM.
Reason: titties
i hear dealers tend to do a treatment before checking valve clearance.
i run them in all my bikes. i would run it through my TL every few months. as soon as i bought my used MDX, i put SeaFoam in it for the first two fill ups.
and for the person that said it's overkill if you're running 93 octane, you're wrong. it cleared up a spray issue on my injectors on a bike that's only had 93 octane.
It's really not that much work, and doesn't cost much considering how long they last me. I think it's worth it because ever since I've used it my mpg have increased after every fill up since purchasing the car till now. It's starting to taper off though... However, that wont stop me from using it when I feel my engine innards need lubricating.
Fair enough...and what is key here is that this is all personal preference. Some people report improvements, some don't....everyone has their own "methods" on some of the mixtures, timings, and processes. I know since I was a kid, my father and grandfather all used MMO in everything. Same with adding ATF to your oil and/or pouring it into the carb to "clean" the engine. I even recall a thread in the past few years of people putting 2-cycle oil into their gas for similar "gains".
I recently bought a 2008 TL with 97k miles and I am thinking about doing a seafoam treatment. I did not see a thread about it anywhere. What does everyone think?
Seafoam is great stuff, you can out some in your oil, fuel, intake with no adverse affects.
Originally Posted by thoiboi
Wow that's a lot of different snake oils
Seafoam is definitely not snake oil, it restores oxidized metal. I use it to clean all my engine / metal parts. It literally will eat rust away on a rusty part.
Originally Posted by L1GHT
It's basically a petroleum based engine cleaner. It's supposed to get rid of deposits and buildup. I have used it in other cars.
It will break down carbon deposits if you allow anything to soak in a bath of seafoam.
Seafoam is definitely not snake oil, it restores oxidized metal. I use it to clean all my engine / metal parts. It literally will eat rust away on a rusty part.
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was referrign to this little fella
Originally Posted by bakaryu18
I have also been religiously using Marvel mystery oil, Seafoam, and Lucas fuel injector cleaner in the gas tank for about 5 months, ev
i hear dealers tend to do a treatment before checking valve clearance.
i run them in all my bikes. i would run it through my TL every few months. as soon as i bought my used MDX, i put SeaFoam in it for the first two fill ups.
and for the person that said it's overkill if you're running 93 octane, you're wrong. it cleared up a spray issue on my injectors on a bike that's only had 93 octane.
^ Agreed, 89, 91, 93 octanes doesn't matter what octane you run, you are going to build carbon deposits regardless. 93 octane does not necessarily mean it is cleaner than 89 octane.. it just an octane rating.
Very interesting... I would love to get that kind of mileage.
Originally Posted by bakaryu18
Before my first oil change I put seafoam in my vacuum line, gas tank, and crank case. Reset the ECU, gas pedal method.
I have also been religiously using Marvel mystery oil, Seafoam, and Lucas fuel injector cleaner in the gas tank for about 5 months, every time tank is half full also put it in before the next fuel up.
Now I can run my car 340 miles before the low level gas light warning turns on. when that happens I fill up about 14 gallons of gas every time.
Car is NOT tuned either and do not have all my beneficial mods installed.
not sure what seafoam can offer you but I got 28-29 MPG (no seafoam) from NY all the way down to Houston TX. Keep in mind I do have stuff inside the car while moving and weight around 275 lbs.
I've noticed at 55mph an average of 33 to 35mpg is possible. Anything higher than 60 to 65mph the rpms climb and mpg drops to about 30.
What about Mopar combustion chamber cleaner, anyone ever heard of that? Supposed to be better than seafoam I hear. Only thing I'd be concerned about with these cleaners is if they may possibly be bad for engine seals etc.
Seafoam is a waste of money if you're using quality fuel. It might possibly be useful in an old carbureted car with lots of miles on it. When I had my valves adjusted for the first time (original owner) at 200k miles (currently at 213k miles), the piston tops had virtually no carbon. The smoke one might see is the seafoam itself burning. Carbon can't 'reburn' and the minute amount that accumulates in the combustion chamber would not be noticeable out the tailpipe.
So I checked my trip computer after work....not bad for Texas summer. And this is just my regular commute, mostly highway with a few snarly interchanges everyday slowing me down.
I tried it before, half a bottle in the vacuum hose and the other half in the gas tank with a few gallons in there. Smoke came out after driving it around the block. As far as performance feel, it feels the same. I have yet to do it again since I have a spare bottle laying around. What really made a difference for me was cleaning the throttle body. But if you do it, there is a high possibility that you will need to have your throttle body recalibrated and this can only be done using a HDS tool, which the dealer and various mechanics should have. The throttle body relearn procedure itself will not solve this problem for you. Sorry for threadjacking but just a little information since you're deciding it is time to clean the inside of your engine.
New testing from AAA has uncovered significant differences in the quality of gasoline sold at fuel retailers in the United States. The independent laboratory testing compared gasolines that meet TOP TIER™ standards often marketed to consumers as having enhanced, engine-cleaning detergent additives with gasoline brands that do not participate in the automaker-backed program. Among brands tested, non-TOP TIER gasolines caused 19 times more engine deposits than TOP TIER brands after just 4,000 miles of simulated driving.
I averaged 34mpg over ~360mi but, predictably, don't have a pic.
