Stop Wasting Money on Seafoam!

[bimmershark]

if its not your money who cares? whether scientifically it works or not the average consumer does not care...they see and feel results and thats why it is popular

[MattBMWM3]

great post! i have never used seafoam in my car - although i have been told many times that it works. thanks for the technical breakdown vs other additives.

[trive2]

if its not your money who cares? whether scientifically it works or not the average consumer does not care...they see and feel results and thats why it is popular

What a moronic statement. What do you think a PUBLIC DISCUSSION FORUM is.


I think E30 makes a fantastic point and I have always been extremely sceptical of "Seafoam". There is no scientific explanation for how it does the things it claims it does, or for that matter, the things we claim it does.

[2000mkoop]

Ive personally used Seafoam to bring high mileage cars back from the dead. The latest was my brothers 285,000 mile SHO that was using 2 quarts of oil to each tank of gas. We used it in the gas,oil,and vac system. Now it doesnt smoke or use oil and gets 28mpg. He now has 330K miles on it and drives 130miles to/from work everyday.

Proof is in the pudding and the pudding is in my pants...

SeaFoam didn't improve your gas mileage

[pandaboo911]

If you want clean combustion chambers just run a couple gallons of water through your engine at high rpm. Seafoam is waste of money

[trive2]

If you want clean combustion chambers just run a couple gallons of water through your engine at high rpm. Seafoam is waste of money

Yup, best way to wash the car inside is to stick the hose up the intake for a bit.

[CMG]

Yup, best way to wash the car inside is to stick the hose up the intake for a bit.

Actually best way to clean ur intake and head is to use 180 grain sand, just take off ur filter and throw some in the runners. Dude with audi did it search for diy

[e30ncsu]

I've never looked into the effectiveness of water injection but its got a better reputation than SeaFoam so who knows. I would guess its more effective at removing deposits but I have very little to base that on, I've never looked into it that much.

[Brashland]

Any idea what Seafoam would be useful for? Maybe it was appropriate for engines at one time but not anymore?

I have a hard time believing that a company at one point said "We're going to make this chemical mix that is absolutely useless, market the heck out of it so people will buy it, and then $$$! Genius!"

[e30ncsu]

Its probably useful for things that require a light solvent like removing varnish from some parts, just not for combustion. As a soaking agent in the chamber but not during combustion- there are better products.

[stefanom3]

I've seen several threads about people lowering their NOx with a can of seafoam. I guess it's more useful for cars from the 80s and 90s. I never used it though. I prefer water myself and it works... I've done it to at least 10 cars. the immediate result is smoother idle. when you listen at the tail pipe you can here every misfire after you run some water through the engine the misfiring disappears. not talking about terrible misfire like your car is working on less cylinders but like one every 6-7 seconds. the annoying part is that there will be a lot of misfiring while you are feeding it with water and this will result in error codes.

[///MJS]

I've never used Seafoam. Probably never will. I've seen a few videos of it in action, and I want no part of that nonsense. Looks retodded...

[bimmershark]

What a moronic statement. What do you think a PUBLIC DISCUSSION FORUM is.

ok explain to me where its moronic?

from my pov i was DISCUSSING the topic at hand...i simply stated why does he care if its not his money.

[e30ncsu]

Maybe this concept is difficult to understand, but someone can want to educate fellow message board members and BMW fans about an issue while not really caring what they ultimately decide to spend their money on.

If you want to waste your money I won't lose any sleep, I'm just trying to show people how it is wasting money.

I've seen several threads about people lowering their NOx with a can of seafoam

It would make sense if that's true, NOx reacting with oils is one of the causes of sludge, varnish, and deposits. Lowering their NOx is a sign the SeaFoam is increasing deposits, the oils in the SeaFoam is reacting with NOx and creating deposits and sludge. In my opinion that's not an improvement.

[stefanom3]

that's an interesting take because I remember that emission tests after seafoam showed reduction in nox and increase in hc...

[dano670]

The interesting thing is the OP mentioned water as a cleaner. I have been told by older people that ingesting water in the intake clears a lot of the carbon outl. I haven't done this but my cylinder #4 was squeaky clean after I cracked my head. Steam cleaned at an expensive cost.

[IGITANG]

After reading this thread im intrigued about the alternatives that have been used by any of you. Also, im really green when it comes to these discussions and am not really mechanicly inclined. But im trying to learn. How does one go about this process, and again, what is the best alternative to seafoam?

[JCooper]

if its not your money who cares? whether scientifically it works or not the average consumer does not care...they see and feel results and thats why it is popular

Your a fool!!! If it indeed does add more build-up which is exactly the opposite of what it's advertised to do, then whats wrong with letting everyone know?!

The interesting thing is the OP mentioned water as a cleaner. I have been told by older people that ingesting water in the intake clears a lot of the carbon outl. I haven't done this but my cylinder #4 was squeaky clean after I cracked my head. Steam cleaned at an expensive cost.

you actually did it?!

[RidgeBack]

Any idea what Seafoam would be useful for? Maybe it was appropriate for engines at one time but not anymore?

I have a hard time believing that a company at one point said "We're going to make this chemical mix that is absolutely useless, market the heck out of it so people will buy it, and then $$$! Genius!"

There's tons of products on the market that don't do much if anything. Turbonator for example. Magnetic links that manufacturers claim de-ionises/ionises your air/fuel mixtures. These all do nothing.

They are ways of separating fools from their money.

[attrack]

if its doing the exact opposite of advertisements seafoam better make sure they have some good small print on the back of the bottle.. the idea of throwing water in is a.. strange idea but technically should make sense. I'm definatly going to have to look into alternative cleaning methods. Thanks for the heads up!

[e30ncsu]

Water injection is not crazy and has been done on lots of gas engines to control combustion Temp and limit knocking. The Saab 99 is the first car that comes to mind when I think water injection. Don't think there are any cars from the factory Now (may be trucks or equipment) that use water injection, but Is often used aftermarket when super or turbocharging.

I have no research into its effectiveness, but I know when coolant leaks into the cylinder it's usually really clean when you tear it apart.

[Kevlar]

Water injection has been around for a while... some people use even a water/alcohol mix. The water instantly vaporizes (if done correctly) which is very effective at cleaning the intake track.

[nike001]

I've always been skeptical when it comes to seafoam.. that's why I'll never use it. I've seen too many a threads where people have codes afterwards, and a good amount of them are for fried o2 sensors.

[bimmerjph]

I used it once (in the gas tank) and it seemed to make my car run better. I didn't have any smoke either. Of course it could have just been me subconsciously trying to find improvements. :

[stefanom3]

Water injection has been around for a while... some people use even a water/alcohol mix. The water instantly vaporizes (if done correctly) which is very effective at cleaning the intake track.

it was used on ww2 turbocharged/supercharged fighter planes or maybe even earlier than that.