Questions about using Sea Foam in the engine oil

    I originally mentioned using Sea Foam in my gas in the Bad Gas thread (Bad gas?) as a remedy for my engine bogging down around 4000 rpm under hard acceleration. I had feared a bad fuel pump, but after using several cans of Sea Foam and its Walmart equivalent, the bogging cleared up, leaving me to think my problem may have been a clogged fuel filter at the fuel pump intake in the gas tank. As stated in that thread, I now add a can of Sea Foam every month or so in hopes of avoiding future problems.

    Personally, I have traditionally frowned on the idea of adding gas treatment to oil as an old-fashioned superstition/ fix-it-quick idea. I noticed that Sea Foam claims it can be added to your engine oil to help reduce varnish build-up. This caused me to wonder about this use in my Hahn turbo-equipped Slingshot. Since the oil cools the turbo, any oil in the turbo after engine shutdown runs the risk of getting overheated/cooked, possibly resulting in carbon deposits in the turbo. I always try to avoid using the turbo during the last 10 minutes or so during my ride home to provide a cool-down period for the turbo and the oil, but I assume it may still be possible for any oil in the turbo to "cook" a little after engine shut-down, producing possible carbon deposits int he turbo's oil channels.

    Before trying Sea Foam in the engine oil, I wanted to ask a few questions for those who may have experience in this area -

    1) I assume the Sea Foam will basically "thin" the engine oil a little. Does anyone have experience with using Sea Foam in their engine oil on a turbo-equipped motor? Is it possible adding Sea Foam to the oil in a turbo'd engine may not be the smartest thing to do?

    2) I currently use Valvoline Full Synthetic High Mileage 5-20W oil, even though I am now only approaching 55K miles (19K turbo'd). Should I consider switching to the 5-30W version of this oil if I choose to add some Sea Foam to the oil? Should I switch to the 5-30W oil for the turbo even if I don't add any Sea Foam to the oil?

    I'm sure some of the Forum members have an opinion about these issues.:?::thumbup::thumbdown:

    Quote from canegrinder

    BKL If you are using synthetic oil you do not need to use additives of any kind. I use the original synthetic. AMSOIL. Been using it in every thing I own since the 1970's and have never had a problem.

    As I tried to say in my original post, I've always been a little leery of adding gas treatment to oils. Just always seemed like the old-style easy-way-out that most likely wouldn't work. The only possible benefit I was wondering about in my situation is the fact that my turbo is cooled by the oil, so anything that reduced the chance of an oil "cooking" in a hot turbo after shutdown could be a benefit to long-term turbo survival.

    Quote from BKL

    As I tried to say in my original post, I've always been a little leery of adding gas treatment to oils. Just always seemed like the old-style easy-way-out that most likely wouldn't work. The only possible benefit I was wondering about in my situation is the fact that my turbo is cooled by the oil, so anything that reduced the chance of an oil "cooking" in a hot turbo after shutdown could be a benefit to long-term turbo survival.

    Synthetic oil is used in Jet engines. Does that answer your question?