Techron vs Seafoam

Engine treatments should be a staple for any car owner, as they can be used to protect, clean, and lubricate your engine.

A lubricated engine is a healthy engine, and the right engine treatment has the ability to maintain and even meaningfully enhance a car engine’s performance.

A quality engine treatment does all this simply by being added to gasoline or diesel fuel. Some treatments are capable of being added to a engine oil, as well, which generally enhances the treatment’s ability to meaningful impact the way that your car runs.

One of the most common reasons for using an engine treatment is the need to cleanse fuel injectors. Fuel injectors deliver fuel to an engine’s combustion chamber, either directly or indirectly. These small car devices are positioned carefully in order to ensure that fuel is sprayed directly into the engine’s inlet valve or into its cylinder.

Failing fuel injectors can be detected by a number of alarming symptoms; starting issues, poor idling, failed emissions, increased fuel consumption, and rough engine performance are just a few.

Many think that the base oil used in a car is the primary factor in engine health and protection, but it is really the additives that make all the difference. Using an engine treatment which functions as an oil additive will help to extend the life of the additive packages already present in your car’s oil.

These additives function to suspend damaging dirt particle and to neutralize harmful acids to prevent corrosion damage. Oil additives can also protect engines by increasing the car oil’s ability to withstand extreme circumstances such as heat and pressure.

Engine treatments which function as fuel additives can serve a purpose similar to oil additives insofar as that they can prevent carbon buildup and can work to clean various parts of your car’s fuel system, including fuel injectors. A good fuel injector can improve fuel economy, increase performance, and improve emissions.

If you are worried about your car engine collecting deposits from fuel injectors, carburetors, ports, valves and combustion chambers, then it may be time to find a good engine treatment. Thankfully, we’ve compared two top performers to help you in your search.

We aim to show you accurate product information. Manufacturers, suppliers, and others provide what you see here, and we have not verified it. See our disclaimer.

Chevron Techron Concentrate Plus Fuel System Cleaner

Chevron is an infamous and trusted company, and it holds the title as the original developer of both the patented PBA and the patented PEA chemical technologies which are known to effectively clean engine components and compartments.

PBA is now used by a plethora of commercial products due to its low cost and relatively high efficiency rates. PEA is regarded as being even more effective when it comes to its cleaning technology, but it costs more.

Techron restores lost power, acceleration, lost fuel economy, and fuel gauge sensor operation. It is also known to reduce engine surges, idling, and engine hesitation. The product can be used on most motor vehicles, ranging from off-road-motorcycles to luxury cars to snowmobiles.

Techron is an additive technology that works molecule by molecule to help you get the most out of your engine. It has been known to treat vehicle issues before the escalate, thus saving car owners hundreds of dollars on trivial repairs.

Techron cleans the entire fuel system, including fuel injectors, carburetors, valves, and combustion chambers. Cleaning the fuel system helps reduce issues like engine knock, run-on, and cold start problems.

The fact that it functions as gasoline additive means that it has the chance to flush and lubricate the most important areas of your car’s engines, thus improving nearly every aspect of the driver and owner experience.

Techron comes in a handy portable container, with a long nosed nozzle to help with ease of application. This container seems handy at first look, but it is somewhat difficult to use intuitively.

A fair amount of product has been known to pour out during the filling process, and this can create unwanted messes. While Techron doesn’t have a reputation for being particularly fragrant, any engine treatment carries with it an unpleasant smell (and the ability to stain) if spilled.

There is a non-peel seal on the bottle, so be sure to poke a hole in the film rather than trying to peel it back when using Techron for the first time. Attempting to peel back the film can be a frustrating process and runs the risk of damaging the bottle or causing a mess.

Recommendation: Techron’s engine cleaner is certainly an effective solution, and does a decent job of revitalizing and engine’s performance. Chevron has a deserved good reputation, and its Techron fuel additive and cleanser doesn’t fall short.

That being the said, the product’s price point and less than ideal dispenser design keep it from being our #1 recommendation. What’s more, the product can cause damage to Diesel or 2 stroke air cooled engine vehicles, thus limiting its applicability and versatility.

Chevron Techron Concentrate Plus Fuel System Cleaner - 20 oz.

• Cleans, restores, protects the entire fuel system (fuel injectors, carburetors, intake valves and combustion chambers)
• Restores: lost power, acceleration, lost fuel economy, and operation of the fuel gauge sensor
• Reduces: rough idle, engine surge, hesitation, and spark plus fouling
• Improves: cold start performance, and fuel stability for up to one year
• Automobiles and trucks use every 3,000 miles or at your next oil change. All other gasoline engines use as needed (motorcycles, dirt bikes, boats, ATVs, RVs, water craft, lawn care, etc.)

$7.99

Sea Foam Extreme Marine & Rv SF-16 Seafoam Liquid

While Sea Foam certainly doesn’t share Chevron’s towering reputation, its engine cleaning solution has proven to be incredibly successful and effective.

Sea Foam’s engine cleaning liquid is specially formulated to safely and slowly re-liquify gum, sludge, varnish and carbon deposits.

This allows for the hard-to-clean parts of your engine to be flushed. Sea Foam absorbs water inside the fuel tank, allowing it to be burned up in the combustion chamber without issue.

It can be used by car owners, and mechanics alike! The product dissolves and cleans fuel and oil residues and deposits, stabilizes fuel, and controls moisture.

This solution is safe and effective when added to gasoline and diesel fuel and oil crankcases, thus giving it a competitive advantage as an exceedingly versatile products.

Unlike nearly all of its competitors, Sea Foam’s ending cleansing product can be used in three different ways:

In the crankcase — SeaFoam can treat 15 liters of oil, and is best used between 880 and 1600 kilometers before the next oil change. However, it is perfectly acceptable to use the solution before or after an oil change.

In the fuel tank — SeaFoam can treat up to 60.0 liters of fuel. This removes despots from the fuel pump, injectors and carb jets. It also controls moisture levels and stabilizes fuels.

In the diesel fuel filter — To clean carbon deposits from air intake systems, intake valves, and combustion chambers inside the engine, including GDI engines, Sea Foam recommends using their Sea Foam Spray Top Engine cleaner and lube. Sea Foam Spray is the same great Sea Foam product, only in aerosol spray instead of liquid form.

Recommendation: We highly recommend Sea Foam’s engine cleaning liquid. It cleans your engine and improves performance extremely effectively without carrying too heavy a price tag.

While there are several available engine system cleaning options on the market, Sea Foam works incredibly well and has one of the most versatile array of uses and applications. Sea Foam’s ability to be added to cars in various ways means that it can tackle most of an engine’s difficult problems.

This solution is known to work equally well on all vehicles, with the exception of some antique collectors cars. If you have a relatively new vehicle which is experiencing minor aches, pains, wear, and tear, this may be the product for you. We recommend this product to anybody looking to extend their engine’s life, efficiency, and overall mechanical health.

Sea Foam 1 Pack (16 Ounce) Extreme Marine & Rv SF-16 Seafoam Liquid 16 Fl Oz

• Cleans injectors, carb jets and passageways
• Cleans and lubricates intake valves, pistons and cylinders
• Dissolves and cleans fuel residue in fuel systems
• Dissolves oil deposits in crankcase
• Clean timing chain tensioners and VVT actuators, quiet noisy lifters
• 100 percent pure petroleum
• EPA registered product
• Liquefies gum and varnish deposits or internal engine contaminants
• Special Shipping Information: This item cannot be returned and has additional shipping restrictions
• Special Shipping Information: This item cannot be returned and has additional shipping restrictions

$9.99 -$3.43 $6.56

Our winner is Sea Foam Extreme Marine & Rv SF-16 Seafoam Liquid.

Techron and Sea Foam both do a good job at cleansing motor engines and increasing vehicle efficiency. Both solutions have a high success rate when it comes to keeping engines clean and purifying the fuel system.

However, Sea Foam stands out due to its versatility and its price point. While many different manufactures offer comparable products which focus on specific cleaning tasks, SeaFoam promises to tackle nearing every engine cleaning need at once, with one application and one go-to product.

Techron receives consistently good costumer review, but customers’ responses to SeaFoam are overwhelmingly more positive and more consistent.

It’s important to remember here that oil and fuel additives and overall engine treatments can work wonders when it comes to preserving a vehicle and its engine, but these products work best when cars are taken care of in ever aspect.

Regardless of whether your treatment is added to oil or fuel, it is important to get your oil changed on a routine basis. What’s more, these products can generally be used at any time but are especially recommended right before an oil change.

This allows the car to totally flush itself of residues before inviting in a new load of possibly dirty oils, gasoline, and/or contaminates.

Lucas LUC10013 Fuel Treatment

Lucas Fuel Treatment is designed for gasoline and diesel engines alike, both cerebrated and fuel injected. It’s specially blended solution of super slick oils and high detergent action additives allows engines to operate with maximum efficiency and longevity.

An engine treated with Local Fuel Treatment burns its fuel more effectively for increased power with less consumption, enacted in part by the solutions ability to clean and lubricate carburetors and injectors.

Lucas Fuel Treatment should be used to treat vehicles which require leaded fuel, because the product mimics the helpful benefits of leaded gasoline without causing the resulting harmful emissions.

The treatment comes in a high concentration and goes a long way, treating 10 gal. of gasoline with only 3 oz of the product. Lucas Fuel Treatment is one of the engine treatments which receives the highest concentration of positive customer reviews, with the vast majority of customers reporting encouragingly and overwhelmingly positive results.

Lucas is less ‘high power’ than products like Sea Foam and Techron when it comes to their cleaning abilities. Lucas is primarily focused on lubrication, specifically the lubrication of the upper cylinders, fuel pumps, and fuel injectors, in order to improve the smoothness of the car’s engine operating system.

Recommendation: The product is sold in relatively high quantities, but it is relatively expensive. We recommend this product to customers with cars which consume leaded gas, and are confident that it will be able to combat your difficult residues.

If your car does not run off of leaded gas, then we think you should look towards other engine cleaning options. We recommend SeaFoam, as previously stated, if you’re looking to maintain your car without incurring too much expense.

LUCAS LUC10013 Fuel Treatment, 1. gallons

• Cleans and lubricates the fuel system. Neutralizes low sulfur fuel problems
• Increases power and miles per gallon by burning excess exhaust emissions
• Made in USA
• Increases the life of pumps and injectors

$25.97 -$0.98 $24.99

FAQ/Buyer’s Guide

Is Sea Foam toxic?

Sea Foam should not be ingested under an circumstances, but it is non-toxic!

Is Sea Foam bad for your car?

No, Sea Foam is actually good for your car and its engine.

Do you put Sea Foam in before or after gas?

You should put sea form in your car before you fill it with gas.

Is it safe to put Sea Foam in engine oil?

Sea Foam engine cleaner should only be added to gasoline or diesel fuel.

Is Techron safe?

Yes, Techron is very safe and easy to use.

Does Techron really clean your engine?

Yes, Techron is effective at cleaning your engine.

Does Techron clean fuel injectors?

Techron cleans the entire fuel system, including fuel injectors, carburetors, intake valves and combustion chambers.

How often should you use Techron?

Techron is recommended for use right before an oil change or every 3,000 miles. If you occasionally fill up with lower quality gasoline, you may need Techron.

Do I need to change my oil after Techron?

There is no need to get your oil changed after using Techron, but it is helpful to use it right before an oil change.

Finding the right engine treatment can be an important step for every car owner. Both Techron and SeaFoam have created products which help with overall fuel system maintenance, but we think that SeaFoam is the best quality for the best value.

Different manufacturers are constantly coming up with car cleansing liquids that tackle various buildup issues, but we think that sticking with an overall fuel system cleaner can be the easiest and most trustworthy introduction to engine maintenance.

There are several manufactures on the market other than Techron, SeaFoam, and Lucas, and each offer something slightly different. However, cleaning your engine has become such common practice that most of the more important elements have become somewhat generic.

This means that the differences in effectiveness lie in the subtleties, and SeaFoam has done the best job of incorporating every necessary element of efficiency and thoroughness. Its ability to function as both an oil and fuel additive places it clearly above Techron in its capabilities and effectiveness as a product.