HOW TO: SEAFOAM (Motor Treatment) A 370z
 

Hey guys-

A friend of mine has a turbo car and uses this often on his vehicle. I know nothing about this product. For all I know the car could be harmed by using this stuff...

However, it says motor treatment and it seems to be running smoother after I did the treatment.

Whether you approve or not, you will need:

1 Can of Seafoam---- $8.00 Walmart
1 Funnel
1 Cap or Disposable cup to pour 1/2 Container of Seafoam into
Pair of needle nose pliers
Make a tube or straw to suck up seafoam

SORRY FOR BAD QUALITY! I DIDNT REALIZE THE SETTINGS ON MY PHONE WERE SET TO LOW QUALITY.
Also, youtube got me for copyright on 1/3 songs that i posted. Theres a song missing from the middle. But whatever, you get the point.

I've used this in the gastank before. I bought a tool that would work with the brake line, but it was made for a different sized bottle than the seafoam, so it didn't mate up exactly right. So it will require a DIY, but I plan to do this later this summer.

Ive used seafoam for years, amazing stuff, and has never ever caused me issues. When you pull it via vacuum hose into the intake manifold, youll sometimes get a CEL, but it will clear after all the crap and gunk has burned off.

So I was looking at this and thinking WTF. Are these guys trying to make the car smoke for drifting or something or do they think a smoking car is cool? Then I was thinking what is this stuff really supposed to do? So I looked at thier website. Fuel injector cleaner/fuel system cleaner / Engine internal deglazer. Really??? Sounds like BS to me boys. Putting it through the vacuum hose, bypassing the fuel injection? Wow, these guys are not firing on all 8, I mean 6. Not sure why you would be putting this stuff in your new car. Maybe my truck with over 250,000 miles on it but it still runs like a champ... so... No. Good luck with getting a nice hi-milage vehicle if you keep pooring that poison down it's throat.

Ive got 65,000 on the engine. Its not 250,000 but maybe doing this every 50,000 will make this engine last til 250,00 haha. :tup:

I appreciate your input.

It's worked fine for a lot of people for a long time. I've used it on some other cars with success. I wouldn't use it in the oil like the label suggests, though.

It'll also show you where you have any exhaust leaks real quick. :rofl2:

I use it every 30k in my engine, using the vacuum tube to bring it into the intake tract allows it to cover every area of the ICC, from the valves to the intake runners.

One suggestion, get the engine as hot as you can, and rather than using a needle to get small amounts at a time, have someone rev the engine to 2k and try to keep it there while you feed the engine SF. Get as much in as you can before the engine dies then let it sit. As soon as you start it, it should run terrible, get on it as hard as you can and get that engine hot, and youll see even more smoke then they did.

Also: It is useful in the oil if you go over mileage. It will remove any oil that has varnished on the cylinders from age. One word of caution, if you do this, i usually bought a few cheap $1 bottles of 5w-30 from walmart to fill the engine with first, give it a good hard drive, then empty and use RedLine. Between the oil, the vacuum tube, and the gas tank, this stuff rocks.

I actually say that in the video, but i cut it out! Haha thats funny. We did it on another car and it was smoking thru about 10 different spots in the engine bay!

I used it on an old beater Volvo I had, and none of the smoke was coming out of the tailpipe. Looked like I had an engine fire.

I want to use this form of it, not the spray can version with the hose you put into the throttle body as you'll only get one bank at a time. :ugh2:

I've been using this stuff for years; in all of my cars and motorcycle and have never had any issues. I even use it when storing the car in the winter (instead of Stabil). I put a can in the tank with every oil change, or long distance trip.

I'm glad you mentioned it so I can get a can to put in the Z for the drive down to ZdayZ :driving:.

I used it once on a previous car, an LS1 engine with... I want to say it had around 60-75K miles on it at that point. Sucked it in through the brake booster hose. It didn't hurt the car, and it probably does help clean the intake/heads/valves.

That being said, on a newer/specialized engine like ours, I'd want to be extra sure of compatibility - mostly that their formula doesn't damage some plastic/rubber/whatever that it would come in contact with, or that it doesn't cause our ECU to go bonkers when the front O2s read that smoke and cause the engine to try to hurt itself with over-lean fueling or whatever. But I'm paranoid about these kinds of things, it's probably fine.

As for the smoke: far too often I see people talking about how this product works and using the smoke to prove it did something. "Look at all that filth it cleaned out of the engine!". Most of the smoke is undoubtedly from the product itself, not the crud it might clean out.

An oil catch can on the PCV lines, using good air filters, top-tier premium fuel, and the occasional bottle of Chevron's Techron additive (bitog really likes that one over the competition, last I checked, and those guys know their ****) should be enough to keep our engine pretty damn clean anywhere the Seafoam would touch anyways.

In my experience, these types of products seldom do any good and often end up causing more problems. If the equipment is dirty enough that cleaning the engine would be beneficial, there is a high probability of dislodging pieces big enough to plug oil galleys and damage bearing surfaces. If it's not that dirty, then why use a cleaner? Keeping it clean is a whole lot cheaper and easier than trying to clean a dirty engine.

Then there's possible compatibility problems with sensors, plastic/rubber components, and even the metals used in modern engines.

Not sure it's true, but wstar's theory about messing with the O2 readings and hurting the engine sounds very plausible.

There may be a situation where an engine cleaner would do some good, but, for most people, they are a waste of time, effort, and money. If the engine is dirty enough to need cleaning, then it needs to be torn down. If you do the normal maintenance on you car, you don't need to clean the engine.

I've used seafoam for years without problems. I wouldn't use it in the z yet since i still have low mileage. Most cars i use it on have over 130k on the ticker. I run a third of the can in the oil for a few miles then change the oil immediately since it thins it out. Another third in the intake manifold and the last third in the gas tank. It's helped a little on higher mileage cars restore some pep. Just my experience :)

Used this stuff all the time on my Dakota R/T. Any problems that arrived were not because of SeaFoam -- it was because I had a freaking Dodge!

I had a charger r/t and loved it! Never once had an issue!

I used to use the STP cleaner with every tank, but heard it wasn't the best. So the Chevron bottle is the one to go with? I think I've seen different colored bottles... is there one in particular thats best?

Bob is the Oil Guy . Be warned: if you're at all sciency/nerdy and into cars, clicking that link could cost you weeks of time while you get sucked into it :)

I think the bottom line on the simple fuel system cleaner additives that are widely available, though, is to get Chevron's Concentrated Fuel System Cleaner. You can also use their Injector Cleaner if that's all that's available. Both have the same active ingredient (PEA), but the FSC is about twice as concentrated as the IC. The bottle of the concentrate stuff looks like: Chevron 65740 Techron Concentrate Plus Fuel System Cleaner - 20 oz. : Amazon.com : Automotive

There are other products that have good amounts of PEA. I think Redline's fuel treatment does as well, for instance. But the Techron's the one to remember because you can buy that just about anywhere, even a lot of gas stations.

Seafoam has a great placebo effect. I've helped take some V-twins apart that were Seafoamed. Other than a smoke show, I didn't see any of the claimed results

I can't voutch for its effectiveness. The only time I used it was when I put my gixxer in storage for a year and someone mentioned about running some seafoam through it before buttoning it up. Started/ran fine a year later.

I put a half bottle in my gas tank twice a year. Just to keep the injectors and valves from gooking up.

I've also been using it for years, back in my DSM days. It did wonders on carbon buildup.

Thank you sir, I will be on the lookout for this. :tiphat:

Is it a once/twice a year sort of thing, or every fill up?

every tank of gas you used STP cleaner? in what car, and why? :confused:

I first heard about Seafoam about 8 years ago when I belonged to a Goldwing forum. These guys used to swear by (not at) this stuff. I had just purchased an 89 Wing with ultra low miles for being 18 years old at the time. The bike wasn't riden much for two years before I bought it, so the acceleration was a bit hesitant at part throttle. The forum members said to use Seafoam (1/2 bottle) every other tank. I did just that, and within about a month, the hesitation was completly gone and the bike ran like a Swiss watch. Since then, I've been a true believer.

Previous car and this one, till about 2 months ago.

Because I thought it kept the lines clear, and it recommended to do so on the bottle...

Mind you, the STP Gas Treatment in every tank, not the Fuel System Cleaner. I only did that 2x a year. Forgive me for not differentiating the two earlier.

Beats me. I could say "depends on your conditions and habits", but honestly even if I knew those things, I don't have a fact-based answer for you. I definitely don't use anything in the fuel more often than once every few months, sometimes it's closer to a year.

I haven't done it to the Z in quite a long time now... but in place of that, roughly every 2nd or 3rd track weekend or so, I put a half tank of unleaded race fuel in the car, 98-octane Sunoco 260 GTX is usually what's available at a track pump. I figure that and the hard driving on a hot engine keeps things pretty pristine in there. It's normal street-driving conditions that gunk things up more.

I use the techron cleaner right before each oil change. Always have. I can't imagine needing to add a cleaner any more often than that. Good gas has plenty of detergents already.

This^ The only thing burning off is the SeaFoam. Its a waste on most cars and big time on direct injection engines. The Z does not need this if you are using a good premium fuel with a proper detergent package(Shell,Chevron) etc. You can also hydro lock an engine and foul plugs and burn out ignition and coild packs. Stay away from this product. It does not take off any baked on carbon deposits. It physically cannot do it. Physical valve cleaning is the solution for gunked up valves. Check any direct injection type forum for reality.

Yeah... agreed. The "I see smoke coming out" is essentially a "I know it's working because it's tingling" rationale.

Where is the evidence it actually does anything to clean the valve train? Where is the independent data on improved gas mileage or whatever other claims it purports?

I wouldn't pour this gunk into the engine. I'd say its as likely to weaken seals or gunk EVAP valves as it is to remove any presumed carbon deposits.

That users report no apparent harm (other than a CEL!?!) is hardly a ringing endorsement. That the car "runs smoother" afterwards is shaky anecdotal evidence at best.

Anyone adhering to a regular maintenance schedule, using top tier fuel, and perhaps after 60 - 200K miles a proper fuel injector cleaning service (rather than just dumping extra detergents into the tank) is doing plenty to keep the engine in excellent running condition for several hundred thousand miles easily without adding this alchemist's brew.

Zxax
 

I've used Zmax on my EVO before I sold it and bought my Z and immediately went and got the Zmax 3 bottle kit for my Z. Haven't put the transmission formula in ( results pending on CVT trannys ). Definitely works better than sea foam. And if Carroll Shelby used it in EVERY car he built/owned, it's good enough for me. ( and I don't think paying him as a sponsor is why he used it, like he needed the money ). He stood behind the product and the tests do as well.
Tests Prove zMAX Works, SAE testing | zMax Micro-lubricant

zMAX® - Testing - FTC | Oil Additives | Bob Is The Oil Guy

Zmax is so bad they were sued by the FTC and got their asses handed to them in court. It's the textbook definition of snake oil. You should do some reading form places other than the manufacturer of the snake oil.

Also, definitely don't put additives of any kind in an automatic transmission - they're very sensitive to the exact properties of the lube in them and/or any contaminants (and I'm not sure what you're referring to about CVT, but the Z doesn't come with a CVT).

I haven't chimed in on this thread, but I know I have on others.

My cousin bought a Yamaha POS something or other that wouldn't kick over, figured the fuel had gummed up from sitting so long. Put some Marvel Mystery oil in the oil and gas tank, would start, but not run super well, dumped a shítload of Seafoam in the gas tank, ran like a champ. Cleaned the jets in the carbs and the bike got beaten until the day it got jacked...

I did also run it through the intake on my Avalon (RIP), and when it needed a rebuild, you could see that one bank was clean as a whistle, the other was gummed to hell.

@Chuck - before you tear me apart, maybe check the facts. The only reason a case was brought before the FTC was because one of the major oil companies lodged a complaint. If you read the entire FTC final outcome and what has proceeded since then you would see all claims were proved by legitimate ASTM/SAE testing and all claims that were made before the FTC hearing are still being made today as there is proof of such claims. The only claim they cannot make is what percentage gas mileage increase they can provide. - it works as advertised for me. DONT USE IT IF YOU DONT WANT TO!! - The FTC suit was only in regards to zmax guaranteeing a certain % of better gas mileage which is different to every vehicle. Every claim/study or scientific proof they had used before the suit is still allowed to be stated now, and is. Maybe next time read the link you post before posting it

My wife and I use this technique all the time - I look for smoke and she says "I know its working because its tingling"

so i keep going!

:happydance:

I was told that you might need new O2 sensors. I ran it in my 240sx and never had any issues, drift and grip she was run really hard.

Has anyone used the CRC intake valve cleaner? It should be the same concept as seafoam

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

For anyone who stumbles across this thread in the future here's about as scientific a look at Seafoam as possible. It works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVyin2n24X8

Here's Seafoam vs Marvel Mystery Oil

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3F3jDa2xhg

Revived again
 

Added a video by "Chris Fix" to complement those added by dinfire.

He took a before and after scope of a 2008 Honda Civic Si engine and it very clearly was cleaner after the treatment.

In another video, he scoped and had before and after with several other products, including Techron. He saw no to very, very, very minimal benefit with any product, some appeared to be worse. The only one that worked was seafoam.

He used the aerosol version through the throttle body. I have never used Seafoam but I did buy a couple aerosol cans, I may do the brake booster method and use the cans on another vehicle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6UeJXkzDW8&t