Sea Foam useage?

[767Driver]

I have been running a can of Sea Foam through my fuel system at about 2,000 mile intervals in the hope it will help with reducing carbon issues.I also only run Shell 93,Chevron or Texaco 93 gas and drive the car aggressively.
1) IS this frequency alright for the RS 4 motor?
2) Is there really any benefit?
3) The can also says you can use it directly into the oil system with the proper dilution. I am a bit hesitant to do this. Is this safe and a good practice? Thanks for the input!

[iconoclast]

there are so many different schools of thought on this, having owned a bmw m5 which mind did not experience but others had carbon build up issues as well (of a different nature) every bmw guy i spoke with was completely against it (incl. bmw of amr.) and never used it on the flip side a lot of 'muscle car' owners and VAG guys swear by it while a few are against it. personally i have never used it, and most likely never will unless someone can show me some type of proof that it does anything beneficial for the car. i do however use techron additive in the gas tank once a month which coincides with monthly road trip i take where i get to enjoy the twisties in the mountains and enjoy the car.

[WinterRunner]

I'd say no, just let the dealer clean it up....

[zachf88]

i put seafoam in the gas about ever 3-4k... I don't add it to the crankcase or anything though

[Patrick Bateman]

I say go for it. We use it on all of my fleet vehicles,and small engines.I like it especially with carborated stuff.I also use techron as well as a fuel additive,as well as running 93 octane only.Sea foams been around a long time.I have seen,heard no bad reactions to using this product.

PB.

Edit: Im in favor of just using through the fuel system only.Never added to crankcase.

[WinterRunner]

i put seafoam in the gas about ever 3-4k... I don't add it to the crankcase or anything though

What brand are you using?

[iconoclast]

Edit: Im in favor of just using through the fuel system only.Never added to crankcase.

your car will smoke insanely if add it to the crankcase... it is recommended to do only before oil change and you must drain almost immediately...

[WinterRunner]

lol no thanks....

[dparm]

Don't do it.

[jackp311]

your car will smoke insanely if add it to the crankcase... it is recommended to do only before oil change and you must drain almost immediately...

All the guys that swear by the stuff seem to think this is the indication that it is working. Did any of them ever stop and realize that maybe it is the seafoam itself causing that and not the carbon build up being burnt off?

Bobistheoilguy.com has a lot of good stuff to say about Lube Control products. After much reading, I invested in some. Not terribly expensive, it just comes in large amounts. One for the oil and one for the fuel. This is a maintenance type thing, not a one shot cure all.

http://www.lcdinc.com/

[Lugi20]

The way I used it on my previous car (4.6L DOHC Ford) was by letting the vacuum system suck about 2/3 of a can through (Edit: through the PCV valve) until the engine choked out. Let the seafoam sit on for about 20 minutes, then turn the car on and rev the engine to about 80% redline for 15-30 seconds, and give it a good few laps around the neighborhood.

Change oil instantly after that, put the remaining can of seafoam with about 1/2 a tank of gas and then do this before every oil change.

Works like a charm, the first time I did it I was amazed at the improved throttle response and pick up of the car.

[ginkof]

I think you will be the one who will be able to answer this question for us. If you haven't had a problem so far then i say keep on using it! If for some reason your engine has to be opened up/inspected in the future, take a look at your valves, other parts of your engine, and see if there is carbon build up. If you dont then you are probably doing something right.

I feel that people in the car world have issues with using additives for certain things because they dont feel that it belongs there. There really is no reason for it. People say that we shouldn't put seafoam into our cars when no one has ever heard of it doing anything bad, but everyone still believes in the K&N air filter which can destroy your MAF from to much oil.

I actually have 3 cans in my garage which i plan on using on my truck and parents car, but now that you haven't had any problems so far, i may use it during my oil change on Sunday... ill let you know what happens!

[RS4POWER]

I have been running a can of Sea Foam through my fuel system at about 2,000 mile intervals in the hope it will help with reducing carbon issues.I also only run Shell 93,Chevron or Texaco 93 gas and drive the car aggressively.
1) IS this frequency alright for the RS 4 motor?
2) Is there really any benefit?
3) The can also says you can use it directly into the oil system with the proper dilution. I am a bit hesitant to do this. Is this safe and a good practice? Thanks for the input!

Answers:

1) I would not introduce strong chemicals such as seafoam to fuel nor oil. Such procedure would do nothing for the CB on the back of the intake valves. It might keep the injectors and the upper area of the CC clean but that is about it. I am sure there are other options that are more "nice" to the
internals of the RS4 engine. Once this chemical and contaminants are introduced to the oil via fuel dilution, it will start braking down the oil properties at an accelerated pace and of course that would open a whole other can of worms. If you were to do it plan on doing an oil change soon after.

2)Some, there are better alternatives for such applications (cleaning injectors and upper parameter of CC). I believe the Audi dealer has an additive that people seem happy with.

3)I would not recommend this.

[iconoclast]

All the guys that swear by the stuff seem to think this is the indication that it is working. Did any of them ever stop and realize that maybe it is the seafoam itself causing that and not the carbon build up being burnt off?

thats exactly what it is... anyone who thinks differently is not thinkingly clearly.

[zachf88]

What brand are you using?

SeaFoam brand... or do you mean gas?

I use Shell 91 (no ethanol)

The way I used it on my previous car (4.6L DOHC Ford) was by letting the vacuum system suck about 2/3 of a can through (Edit: through the PCV valve) until the engine choked out. Let the seafoam sit on for about 20 minutes, then turn the car on and rev the engine to about 80% redline for 15-30 seconds, and give it a good few laps around the neighborhood.

Change oil instantly after that, put the remaining can of seafoam with about 1/2 a tank of gas and then do this before every oil change.

Works like a charm, the first time I did it I was amazed at the improved throttle response and pick up of the car.

This can also kill your o2 sensors.....

[madkimchi]

i use it on my work van and my previous cars since they have high mileages (100k+). i usually put 1 or 2 ounces in engine oil and put the rest in crank case and change oil after it stop smoking.

my friend introduced me into this product and he said it helps clean injectors, sludges, and carbon build ups. so far i have not had any issues with it but i havnt put it in my audi yet since my car is still fairly new. my experience with this product has been good and i can feel a lil difference after adding this.

oh yea i remember getting pulled over once by a bicycle cop (i was in a parking lot) cuz my car was smoking so bad and he said i need to take my car to a service center.

yea i wouldn't recommend adding seafoam in your rs4 if your car is still under warranty and decent mileages.

[justinperkins]

putting additives in your $50k vehicle is probably not a good idea, especially with that kind of frequency

on the pragmatic side of things, that's a sure fire way to get your warranty voided

[madkimchi]

This can also kill your o2 sensors.....

my o2 sensors are fine after bottles after bottles and the car has over 100k miles.

[Lugi20]

This can also kill your o2 sensors.....

Seafoam has been around for ages, and I haven't heard of any issues yet. With that said, I suppose this could makes sense since you'll definitely be combusting the seafoam and the carbon that it dissolves next time you fire up the engine after a treatment. I have changed my oild 5 times on my S4 since picking it up and I haven't seafoamed it yet (37k miles) but I think I may try it next time.

[Ill 3.0]

Bottom line is its probably not really doing much in your fuel, since you're not really addressing the carbon buildup issues on the direct injection motors. The fuel can't wash carbon deposits off the valves since they are down-stream, so neither will the sea foam in your fuel lines. Doubtful its causing much harm, but I doubt its helping other than "maybe" in your injectors. As mentioned before, in your crankcase is probably not a good idea as long as you change with a good quality full synthetic at regular intervals.

[gmang35]

If you guys want to clean your engines and such just add half a litre of transmission oil into the engine. It has a lot of detergent's that'll clean the engine. Drive for a bit and then drain and change the oil.