And now for a question that could be this morning’s “head scratcher”…

Does anyone know the best preventative maintenance procedure to prevent carbon buildup on valves and ports in direct injection engines like the R56? I use a little dose of Redline SL-1 (1.5oz) at every fill up, but unlike manifold injection engines the fuel is blasted straight into the combustion chamber instead of through the port and across the intake valve cleaning it. I’m not sure if any swirling of the air/fuel mix might whisk around the valves but this seems to be creating a big imaginary question mark above my head! Is using Sea Foam the only solution? That stuff seems pretty crazy…

I’m only bringing this up since I plan on owning my Mini for the longest time possible and of course maximizing the vehicle’s life means giving it TLC! I’m definitely not trying to create hysteria!

 

use top tier gas? (Shell, BP, etc.)

Every 7500 miles put in a can of BG-44K? (if U can find it)

take it to the track every 6 months and run it hard and fast?

otherwise ????

 

Ha, I do all of these things except track! I do drive my Mini hard a bit every day though. I thought I might get a breakthrough answer but I don't think it's out there right now.

I use redline SL-1 but heck... that's a whole 'notha thread!

 

So, is driving the car hard a good thing for the engine?

YES! Now I can tell my wife I'm only doing it as "preventive maintenance!"

 

Anyone remember the Bill Cosby routine about the Ferrari mechanic telling him how to "blow the cobwebs out" of his first Ferrari?

It was something like:
M: You need to blow the cobwebs out from time-to-time.
C: How do I do that?
M: Run it at 100 mph in 2nd gear.
C: Where can I do that?!!
M: Any side street.

I try not to use anything but Shell Premium, and do some 3,000+ rpm driving up long grades. Hope that works.

 

A while ago in one of the threads on this, there was some talk about using an oil catch can to fix this problem. Has anyone tried it?

Robin, I think when they say blow out the cobswebs, they probably mean 6500 rpm!

 

Yeah, have her look up the term "Italian tuneup"

 

"I'm tuning my car, just like Andretti does, honey!"

Seriously, would this help with carbon deposits?

 

A catch can would be great for the R56. If only someone would friggin' make one!

 

I think you can use any that are available. The issue is where do you put it.

I think M7 has a new one out as well. Check this out:

http://www.m7tuning.com/parts/produc...roducts_id=151

They put it in the location of the cold air intake tube.

 

Yea, that's the Italian Tune Up. I was hoping that some general driving at over 3,000 with a load (freeway speeds up a long grade) would help.

 

The build up on the intake valves is from the gas being drawn in. With direct injection, this build up is virtually non-existant. If you have a blow by problem from the PVC valve then an oil catch can would help with the build up.