Is my mpg increase really due to Seafoam?

On my last tankfull I mixed in 1oz of Seafoam per gallon. I filled up last night and got 44.5 mpg. Previously it got a consistent 41 mpg. That's a nice 8% increase. I haven't changed my riding habits, so could it really be due to the Seafoam? Anyone have the same experience?

I have been experimenting with the stuff and whenever I use it, I get an increase in MPG. When I don't use it for a while, the mpg descreases. Therefore, I am under the conclusion that it is doing SOMETHING!:woohoo:

What the heck is Seafoam? And where do you get it from?

pant412 wrote:

What the heck is Seafoam? And where do you get it from?

napa stores carry it

But I'm not sure it's a real savings, at least yet. See if I figure this right.
I can buy gas for 2.25 per gallon.
Seafoam is 6.50 w/tax for 16 oz. and 1 oz treats 1 gal. of gas.

$6.50 / 16oz = .406 cents, so lets say $ .41 cents per treated gallon of gas..

$2.25 gas + .41 seafoam = $2.66 for "fuel".

New mileage is 43.5mpg / $2.66 = 16.4 miles per dollar of "fuel"

Old mileage is 41mpg / $2.25 = 18.2 miles per dollar of gasoline only.

It's one way to look at it, but I get more miles per dollar spent without it. So what good will Seafoam do in the long run, to save me money? Less engine wear?

I've used Seafoam a few times and I think it is best used while pouring it slowly down the carburetor or throttle of a running engine. It really cleans stuff up quick. Basically it does what it says.
I see a power increase more in my truck than anything else though. Nissan 2.4l 4cyl. Not so much in the bikes but I know it's gotta do something for a cleaning effect.

Should clean out the carbon deposits. Maybe also clean some of the gunk in the carbs. So, theoretically, once you've celaned the engine with one application there should be no reason to keep applying it until it get dirty again. I use the stuff every 1,000 miles or so, just spray a bit into the intake, and remove the plugs and spray some on the pistons. Sometimes there is some extra smoke once the engine is started after being cleaned, but usually not. I have not noticed better milage.

Advance Auto here had it on sale for $4.95.

OKC, I'm more impressed with the $2.25 a gallon! :ohmy:

We're having a unusually low gas price break right now and it's $2.55 at the jungle juice stations and $2.66 at the name brand station.

As for the increase in MPG, there is another phenomenom where a little water vapor injected in the carbs will increase power and MPG. It was first discovered years ago at the test track that carb'd test cars had more kick to them and the mileage went up a bit after or during a rain in the hot days of summer when the steam would come up off the pavement.

I've heard that some of the really wild racing engines out there use a water injection system. Something about the water cooling the air, making it denser, which of course means more oxygen to burn through.

If anyone's got a bike pushing enough HP to need water injection, I sure as hell don't want to ride it. I'm sure Lorcan would consider it, depending on how well the bike was built.

Water injection was used in a couple of different ways in WWII aircraft.

USAAC: "With the water injection, the P-47C-5's horsepower rating jumped from 2000 to 2300-hp at 27,000-ft."

Luftwaffe: "A BMW 801D-2 engine, capable of producing 2,100 hp for brief periods by using a methanol-water injection system called MW-50, powered the next production variant, the Fw 190A-4. Tank moved the engine forward 15 cm (6 inches) on the next subtype, the A-5. This finally solved the cooling problems that had plagued the earlier variants."

A brief History: Water injection was evaluated scientifically in the 1930's by H. Ricardo who demonstrated that one can basically double the power output of an engine using water/methanol. The first widespread use was during WWII on supercharged and turbocharged aircraft. In 1942, the German Luftwaffe increased the horsepower of the Focke-Wulf 190D- 9 fighter aircraft from 1776HP to 2240HP using 50/50% water/methanol injection. The allies soon followed by fitting the P51 Mustang and other high performance aircraft with water/methanol injection. Following the war, the turboprop aircraft industry used water/methanol injection and called it the "automatic power reserve system (APR)" for use in hot or high altitude take off. It surfaced again in the 60's when GM used a system on the OEM turbo Corvair. It was used effectively in Formula 1 before being banned for adding too much power.

The B52-g model used water injection on takeoff, when loaded beyond a certain weight. It's hard to believe, but it actually felt like a kick in the butt when it was initiated, even in something that heavy.