Running your car hard.
 

In the pursuit of FE you're constantly running low RPM engine on and off all the time which would tend to plug things up. My Mom had an old 280z that never got run hard (over 3000 rpm) and when I would borrow it there was no pep until I ran it hard for a while which would seem to clean it out and it would start performing alot better. Does anyone worry about that and if so what do you do?

in the past
 

We've discussed this: Here.

Also, heres some great info too.

Why a PCV catch can will reduce carbon buildup for you hypermilers, Here.

Finally, this one has to do with your "run hard" method! This is BY far the oldest tried and true method other than using water injection or the water down the vacuum line method.

Great info. Thanks. I've
 

Great info. Thanks. I've been running Acetone but I think I'm going to try the Sea Foam and see how much smoke it puts out and if runs any better afterwards.

I tried Seafoam and it
 

I tried Seafoam and it worked. It only smoked while I was pouring, not after the wait.

Re: Great info. Thanks. I've
 

I'd recommend AutoRX before seafoam. I've heard from a number of people that seafoam is just a bunch of water and water-like substances, hence the smoke.

AUtoRX takes longer but really cleans the internals.

i like running my car hard,
 

i like running my car hard, i take my car to 4k rpm in every gear if i am accelerating and theres nothing in front of me. i take it to 6k every day.

and it loves me for it. :p

Call me Crazy
 

Call me crazy (as usual), but I think an engine needs a good run-up at least once a month. Sometimes I find that I need to redline to squeeze onto the highway, or make that yellow light. Not only will it blow out the intake crud, but also any build-up in the CAT or general exhaust system. It probably gets small oil injectors going too. It can't hurt it -- every car was designed to run to the redline, if it's properly maintained, for tens-of-thousands of miles.

I still have some seafoam left, afterwards I'll switch to AutoRx.

RH77

Way ahead of you. I started
 

Way ahead of you. I started my Auto rx treatment this weekend. I have 1500miles left. The fuel economy is going down, I suspect it's a mod that I put on so I'm taking it off this week.

I wish I had an air compressor so I could blow out all the gunk out of my engine bay. I'll just go to a gas station and clean the engine bay really nice.

A word of caution
 

A word of caution about cleaning the engine bay -- it's all for looks and can only hurt performance (with water and detergent getting in important parts, like the alternator). Back in the day when RH77 was a teenager and wanted to go cruisin', he would get the family minivan shined up and sprayed off the engine bay once. Turns out, water in the alternator creates a barely-running situation that freaked-out the recently licensed driver. After driving around at mostly full-throttle, things got back to normal, and RH77's parents consequently didn't ground him from the exclusive privilege of the '88 Plymouth. But despite the shining and polishing, nor the 3.0L Mitsubishi V-6 got the attention of the lizzadies :-(

Anonymous

My dad likes to power wash
 

My dad likes to power wash the engine bay, but I don't drive it right after, :p

It sucks to work in a dirty engine, I learned this from my dizzy oil leak and needing to replace dizzies recently.

2¢
 

While it seems true that the smoke would be from water its just not true.

An engine cannot create the temperatures needed to maintain visible water vapor for the 5 feet that seafoam takes to dissipate after exiting the tailpipe. The temperatures you are looking for come from sources such as nuclear power plants.

Some of that smoke you get is the oil that sits in the intake washing out and slowly burning due to the lowered CC temperatures that seafoam creates. (one reason why its so safe!)

Seafoam has a very small percentage of water which is why its so awesome too. Anyone thats ever replaced a blown (coolant side) head gasket would know. That coolant leaking into the CC makes that engine sparkling clean compared to any normal operating engine. That water is super heated and really gets all the carbon deposits out good.

Anyway AutoRX claims this and that...along with some seal leak protection: "Auto-Rx Ongoing Maintenance Plan...For continuous and long-term protection, 3 ounces of Auto-Rx® should be added with each oil change. In addition, you should continue to use non-synthetic oil for maximum benefit."

They got you!! Synthetic oil is the very best slow gentle oil varnish preventative and cleaner. AutoRX tells you to keep adding it because AutoRX somehow creates buildup along the oil seals to keep leaks at bay. Buildup is what were trying to oust! Where else is that buildup occuring?

Anyway, AutoRX says it takes 1500 miles...yeah thats prolly the same amount of time a change to Synthetic oil would take to remove varnish.

Wish I had pictures of all the dipsticks on all the car's I've owned! A dipstick that was discolored due to dino oil varnish, comes completely clean 7,000 miles after changing to synthetic.

no, I'm not stupid. I'm not
 

no, I'm not stupid. I'm not going to powerwash it like some people I know. I'm going to use compressed air to get all the dirt and little rocks out. Compressed air won't hurt anything.

Re: 2¢
 

I use synthetic all the time. Nissan people go with Auto-rx because it makes their engines run like new again. I've even found a website of a guy who has the same engine and how good it got cleaned up with Auto-rx. After I'm done with auto-rx I'll go back to synthetic but at least my engine will be cleaner.

I'm just saying that since
 

I'm just saying that since you were running synthetic to begin with...your internals were never dirty anyway. :)

Now your intake and the top of your valves will still be dirty after you've run your AutoRX, so you still should pour some seafoam down there

There's nothing particularly
 

There's nothing particularly wrong with powerwashing it. It's not like it's going to blow a hole in the block, :p

Re: There's nothing particularly
 

Cars are not waterproof. The car is only designed to get rained on and washed in the exterior. Power washing an engine bay is just asking for trouble.

Re: I'm just saying that since
 

I already did Seafoam like 3k ago. I'll do it again maybe in 30k.

compressed air eh?... now
 

compressed air eh?... now why didn't I think of that. What kind of cannister do you use Compaq?

Re: compressed air eh?... now
 

ROFL. I have computer cannisters but it will take a couple dozen of them to clean the engine bay. I'll just go to a local gas station and use the compressed air that is used to inflate tires.