In my estimation you would be comparing apples to grapes.
I have looked at the comments made on the geo forum as well as the link provided by which a home- made brew of Seafoam was evaluated. Although the chemist spent a lot of time evaluating components that could be cheaply purchased to resemble the SeaFoam formula, I find most of the data to be misleading.
For one we have to make a distinction between what is desirable to be added to a motor oil and what should be included in a fuel system cleaner. Primarily the SeaFoam product, containing an alcohol, naptha, and a neat oil would be typical of a fuel system cleaner. These would be considered typical additives to gasoline to clean a fuel system and to some extent the combustion chamber to dissolve the residue left behind from incomplete combustion. This would include the dome of the combustion chamber and the crown or top of the piston.
However, none of the ingredients are desirable in the oiling system of the motor. Alcohol has the effect of thinning down the oil film on cylinder walls. And naptha is considered to be an aliphatic and aromatic combination of solvent. Oil companies spend serious dollars removing aromatics from the mineral oil base to create group III oils. Aromatics are considered to be a contaminant to a good mineral oil base. So why you would want to add aromatic hydrocarbons to your motor oil just does not make sense. And with respect a neat oil, that is like the equivalent of diesel fuel added to the oil. Therefore, I would categorize SeaFoam as a quick shock solvent flush. The motor should not be run any load, like driving conditions with any appreciable amount of this product added to the motor oil. Instead should only be used in motor oil with the motor running in neutral for short duration.
Auto-Rx on the other hand, is designed to be run under normal operating conditions. Every ingredient in Auto-Rx provides supplement lubricating properties to the host oil. Auto-Rx is designed to slowly dissolve sludge and hardened carbon like deposits in the oiling system.
Auto-Rx contains specialized lanolin esters that provide most of the cleaning action. Similar lanolin esters are used in metal working to dissipate heat and provide anti- corrosive properties from the high heat derived in machining, drawing or bending. Auto-Rx contains aliphatic esters that make the oil film more sturdy, to help prevent metal to metal contact, which would be in stark contrast to a solvent flush. The other ester used in Auto-Rx is a polyol ester that provides enhanced extreme pressure protection to the host oil. This further separates Auto-Rx from a traditional solvent flush product. Auto-Rx is designed to clean on the go, working while you drive. No other product can make that claim.
We have plenty of used oil analysis reports to show that wear metals in the oil are less with auto-rx in the system cleaning, when compared to the baseline reading of the motor previous.
Because Auto-Rx is a slow methodical cleaner, dissolving deposits as opposed to shocking them loose, Auto-Rx provides the maximum in safety in cleaning up neglected or dirty motors.
In my estimation SeaFoam is a fuel additive cleaner, but really has no place in the oiling system. By the same token, Auto-Rx is specifically designed for the oiling system, but has no application in the fuel.
RichOne
-- Edited by Frank on Thursday 13th of October 2011 08:57:55 AM
