Carbon

[trasbeck]

While my 2012 with 18,500 miles was having some work done the techinician took these pictures of the carbon build up on the valves. We all think this is a bit much and I plan to put her on a Ring Free liquid diet next season. Anyone have any experience with this inside their engine? I seldom run high octane but I will use it exclusively from now on. Oil is Mobil ! changed around 4 or 5 thousand miles.

 

[carrot]

My valves looked just like that the first time i checked the second time they where clean the only two things that i changed was that i added a power commander 5 and a yoshi slip on

 

[BaldKnob]

Carbon buildup seems to be a recurring theme with this engine, mine included. It's never manifested itself to be a problem so I just keep adding fuel and changing tires. YMMV.

 

[bigbob]

Does SeaFoam in the tank do anything for carbon?

 

[2daMax]

Some claim using a 500:1 mix of TCW3 Outboard 2T oil with fuel helps keeps it carbon free.

I've tried it on the Versys but never had a chance to inspect the valves. I noticed better fuel consumption and a more responsive engine.

 

[markjenn]

My assessment: normal. You can try different regimens, but I doubt they'll make any difference, especially higher-octane fuel.

- Mark

 

[Ramseybella]

I ran seafoam in my 1050 Tiger it was clean even at 40k + miles.
I would add a little every third tank of gas kept a can in my side bag don't know what it will do for the Tenere.
Couldn't hurt.

 

[Juan]

I use a very small measure of Sikolene ProBoost with every tank fill. I've been doing this for years, on other bikes as well. The reason I regularly use ProBoost is solely to keep the internals clean. Never inspected the valves yet (2013 with 21000 km). Hopefully this will have an effect on the carbon buildup.

 

[Checkswrecks]

The MSDS sheets show that the main ingredients in SeaFoam, Techron, and similar are solvents such as naphtha, kerosene, and alcohol, usually with some other chemicals. At the very least, these products will help keep your injection system clean, as well as the port areas near the injectors. If you do a web-search you can find a number of threads telling how to mix your own. The biggest threat is whether you add too much, which can do bad things to how your engine creates pressure in the combustion chamber.


Generally, the light oils are for a different purpose, such as lubing the rings and top end. However, the amounts of the constituents and result gets into shades of gray. For example, Marvel Mystery Oil is mostly naphtha and mineral spirits, so despite the name the formula is pretty similar to the first group:

http://www.mcoe.us/view/1724.pdf

 

[Kevhunts]

My assessment: normal. You can try different regimens, but I doubt they'll make any difference, especially higher-octane fuel.

- Mark

::026:: Looks normal to me. In the old days premium had higher detergent levels but not anymore.

 

[sail2xxs]

My 2014 looked quite a bit worse than that at 26K miles, and I always run 93 octane from Shell, Exxon, or Mobil.

Best,

Chris

 

[silvergoose]

I have found that Chevron Techron has always maintained a clean intake track.

Good Luck