Gents
I wanted to see if anyone had used Seafoam or Lucas or something similar in their kitty and what the results were. With my car being 15 years old I'd like to try something because surely it cant hurt.

Discuss

 

I have used to Lucas in my Range Rover's and Land Rovers. Good results. I get better results with gum outs best. BG 44 is known to give exceptionally good results. Hard-to-find.

 

I used 2 cans over a couple weeks in my XK8 recently and there is a SIGNIFICANT improvement in smoothness.

A side benefit is that my gas gauge used to only go to 47 miles before it started sputtering, now the red gas light comes on and it reads 15 miles before sputtering.

Some say snake oil, but I am confident it improved the smoothness.

 

Dave - 2 cans of Seafoam?

 

Are any of these treatments safe with a nikasil engine?

 

Yes, Seafoam- thanks for pointing that out.

 

What problem are you trying to fix?

 

My vote - BG44. I have tried Seafoam and other 'off the Advance Auto Parts shelves' products with no really noticeable result but since BG44 I have been quite impressed at things such as better idle, smoother running, etc.. This stuff is not sold at traditional retailers and is not cheap. I reached out to a couple of garages around my place and actually found two happy to sell me the stuff at ~$30 a can (ouch I know).


For what it's worth


Cheers

 

not a massive problem but theres a bit of rough idle even after replacing plugs and 3 coils. Its not major at all and it hasnt thrown any codes but Ive used Seafoam before and it seems to blow carbon and impurities out of the system and in general improve things. Again, I'm a Jag n00b so I thought I'd ask before I did anything and had a moment of regret.

 

I did seafoam in the tank (I figure it cleaned out the injectors).

 

DEAR LORD- I just realized when you saw 2 cans you thought I meant through the intake....

IN THE GAS TANK.

 

ding ding. I thought "Wait, I've met Dave, he seems like a rational person!!"

 

use seafoam in both my jags and toyota tacoma....with good results ....especially with my maxi-scooter....but i must tell you .....after trying the gum out (need to) use the full treatment bottle.....i think its even better....

 

OK, its time for someone to pipe up about 2 stroke oil...

 

I've been using Lucas for as long as I remember. and I never saw any improvement on the vehicles. Maybe because I use it all the time?

Every 4th-5th tank, I drop a bottle in. In every vehicle I own, and I own quite a few. I also pump premium fuel only in everything I own. Since I owned couple of gas stations for a decade or so, I learned a LOT about fuel, it's additives, and engine deposits.

One vehicle I used to own (sold it last year), showed a BIG improvement with Lucas. TJ Wrangler. Started throwing "misfire on #1" after few months of ownership (I purchased it with 160K on the clock, stock, and then restored, lifted, etc. you get the pic). It took two bottles of Lucas, two tanks of Chevron premium, and the CEL+ code was gone. VERY simple explanation,....... valve deposits. As deposits build up, they won't allow the valves to fully close on one or more cyls. Lucas burned it off, and I put 30K FUN miles on it and sold it.

With all the ethanol, additives, dye, and plain TRASH (and I mean dirt, disintegrated rags, paper towels, dead rodents, etc) that are in the tanks of MOST gas stations, and knowing how lax some are with filtration at the pump, I pay extra good attention to my fuel management systems, and keep them clean. Lucas, Seafoam, BG,......it's all cheap compared to new injectors, seals, valve jobs, etc.

 

Don't be impressed by the clouds of smoke coming out the tailpipe. That's the product itself burning off and not the (supposed) deposits- those are already carbonized anyway and cannot produce even more smoke if released.

Modern engines in good health do not accumulate significant deposits that make any difference during the normal service life. If your engine has some sort of internal problem that's causing the issue you mention, there's no miracle in a can that will fix it.

I've never heard of any product doing damage when used as directed, but there again documented cases of them helping are few and far between also.

 

it works

ymmv