Oh shit .. that's hilarous .. sorry mgruber ... no offense ... just too funny! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

I don't know, perhaps there are no side-effects. But I'm very finicky and know that lots of things can go wrong in a BMW, although it doesn't mean it will.

I just always stick to a safe route. I wait for the headlamp to auto-level before starting the vehicle. I don't idle the thing more than 30s. I don't rev over 2750rpm or 90km/h until the coolant temp reaches approx 70°C. You get the idea...........

Well, I would not want to breathe it, but, a friend does it on his Corvette every 20k miles and does not get nearly the smoke cloud I got, presumably because his is cleaner than mine was. Of course, it is a different car running different fuel, etc., so that is not the best comparison. I'll try it again in 20k miles and let you know.

I can apprecitate that. My X5 has not been what I would call "bulletproof"...

I used seafoam in my '93 RRC w/ ~60k a couple of summers ago and cleaned out the carb really good. I am parting her out and have the engine, manifolds, and etc off and look good. I use it an a fuel tank of gas every 3k or so...

My steps:
I add the seafoam to the "vac system" really, really slow and take about 15-20 min to empty a bottle (DO NOT KILL THE ENGINE).

Once bottle is empty i then shut off the engine and let her sit for 30-45mins.

Start her up and take her out for a long drive in till i see no smoke coming out.

Which entry hose do you guys use on the X and can someone add a picture of the hose... I have a '01 3.0i

that youtube video clip made me wanna try this smoke show on my x. :)

damn .....RR you just nail this one good :bustingup :bustingup :bustingup

sorry mgruber ... no offense

Old school methods do not necessarily work well with latest car technology. BMW like a lot of today's cars have all sort of sensors that 15/20 years old cars did not have. Generally speaking BMW's electronic is more sensitive than a lot of other cars to keep them operating at their best. I have 2 BMW cars and 1 BMW bike and I can say that this statement applies also to BMW's motorbikes. There is definitely a risk that, at a minimum, a Seafoam treatment damage O2 sensors. If it did not in your case great for you. I have tried and done all sort of treatment on cars in my many years and I can tell you that I would never use Seafoam in my bimmers.

:thumbup: I agree with all of this....I just know that it is common that quite a few people on this board and in general...do a sea foam "type" of cleaning with no ill effects......and it works no problem.. I have my INDY do mine. No Big deal.....

RR:thumbup:

I agree with the basics of what you are saying. If I had not been able to find 100+ examples online of people using Seafoam on modern BMWs without ill effect, I would not have dared try it on mine. With so many examples of people using it on their modern BMW, I felt it was okay to use it on mine. Time will tell. I will report back after I get a few more miles on it.