riot196

Hello everyone, finally bought up my rx8 and have been loving it. The only issue I've been having is one that could be the worst. I've been having hot start issues somewhat recently and wanted to give the engine a cleaning to see if carbon build up was the issue. I also am unsure how old the ignition is on the car and I was planning on buying a BHR ignition for my 8. But first I want to make sure the engine is still even worth my time before I start to put money into it. What I'm trying to get at here is I do live in the New England area and it has been a brutal winter as of late. Now I've read that once you inject sea foam into the engine it should sit there for about 2 hours. Being where I am it is very cold and I just wanted some insight on if I'd be able to sea foam the car like any other time of year, or do it a different way. Thanks for any info

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Seafoam sitting in the engine for a while does literally nothing. I proved it with borescoping the engine before and after.

However I DID prove that some other methods of decarbing work. See my thread about it: https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tec...r-pics-241867/

Read the whole thread, since I was posting as I was testing, it's not all in the first post, or even on the first page.

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

You might want to wait till spring....the odds of having issues are higher if you do it in the winter...and the seafoam works better when it's warmer

WGawlik

Seafoam has no benefits what so ever, so the best seafoam is no seafoam.

Zipperelli

'Ehhh, I wouldn't say that. I had carb issues on my motorcycle and a full can of Seafoam over the course of about a month helped IMMENSELY with buildup.

However, it's already been found out that for whatever reason, Seafoam doesn't help much, if at all, on the 8.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Seafoam DOES work, and it works on the 8. But it has to be used correctly. Soaking is not one of the methods that does anything.

Seafoam is designed for use under pressure and in the heat of combustion, and in that environment, it does work.

Zipperelli

Hmm, I coulda' sworn that there was a sticky somewhere that said the positive effects of Seafoam were negligible at best...

What would be your recommendation about the use of Seafoam then? Just normal directions? Add to fuel tank at fill up and drive as normal?

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Yes, it works (albiet slowly) when added to the gas tank. However I'd worry about extended use that way, because it would probably be actively counteracting the oil film the seals need. If I was going to use it in the gas tank, I'd probably use the whole can with 2-3 gallons left, and keep the RPMs and load low while I burned through to as empty as I dare. Much higher concentration and much shorter time of acting against the oil film. I wouldn't use it that way however, because there is a better way.

If used when ingesting through the service ports at a much higher rate with the engine at low RPM, it will strip carbon very very quickly. This is the best usage of it. I proved the results with before and after borescoping a few years ago. However, it strips carbon about as fast as distilled water using this method, which is 80 times cheaper per unit of measure.

I don't have a personal recommendation for people to use seafoam, because the best case scenario for it has a much cheaper alternative. That doesn't remove the fact that it does work, and work well, when used in the environment it was designed for.

Zipperelli

Edit: I'm an idiot. Nothing to see here...