[ZX-10R]

Says the MM shill

If it's so great, prove it. This isn't difficult.

[Z OH 6]

Originally Posted by Camaro1973

How much does elite pay you btw? 😂

Not enough, I can tell you that. Dude is putting in overtime!

[pauly1119]

its works great at voiding warranties.

[Gunkk]

Originally Posted by Ckylesworld

Can someone explain what a catch can if for?

98% of the time: Arguing on the internet.

1% of the time:
It gives people something to do with their money and feel better about their hot rod ownership experience, provided they don't care about voiding their warranty. They are glad that their GDI engines will have less risk of long term oil buildup on the backsides of their intake valves (which is not an issue on 2015+ LT4 engines).

1% of the time:
For modded cars with higher power who add more boost to an LT4 or add boost to a LT1: it helps reduce intake oil ingestion from blow-by that comes with the added boost. During short trip & cold weather operation it will also catch water and fuel condensate from the crank case that doesn't evaporate (because the engine crank case never reaches normal operating temperature). Downside #1 is the regular check-and-drain maintenance that is required: for winter short trip daily drivers, this can be as often as weekly. For long trip summer driving, it can be as long as quarterly. Downside #2 is that it will void your GM factory warranty (which is already void if you mod the car).

[Idaho2018GTPremium]

GM put engineering effort into minimizing the risk of oil circulation back into the intake manifold:

"One issue that faced engineers was equalizing the pressure across different parts of the crankcase. The Gen 5 block has bulkhead breathing cavities just above the cross-bolts on the nodular-iron main caps to allow air to circulate between cylinder banks, yet that proved to be insufficient on the LT4. Because all oil drainback feeds through the center of the block, differences in crankcase pressure can prevent oil from draining properly, causing the PCV to suck up oil rather than crankcase gases. "It's critical that we get oil out of the valley," says Alan Rice, the design responsible engineer for ventilation and lubrication. The solution was simple: two holes, roughly 58 inch in diameter, were drilled into each lifter valley. A PCV separator, which is unique to the LT4, was developed to keep oily air from being drawn through the intake, where it could end up collecting on the back of the intake valves. A little bit of oil on a port-injected engine can help lubricate valves, but because all Gen 5 V8s are direct injected, there's no fuel washing the back of the intake valve. That means oil in the PCV system can end up sticking to the back of the hot intake valves impeding airflow and eventually preventing the valves from seating properly."

Very interesting article by Hotrod magazine:

https://www.hotrod.com/articles/the-...e-z06s-lt4-v8/

[ZRacerLE]

What if I never use a catch can?

[Z OH 6]

Originally Posted by ZRacerLE

What if I never use a catch can?

Eventually, your valves will get a nice coating of baked on oil and your intercooler bricks and supercharger will have a nice layer of oil coating them reducing efficiency. It may take many years or miles but not having a catch can will eventually show up long term. Before you ask why GM didn't install one from the factory, its because its another maintenance item that they don't trust the end consumer to maintain properly...meaning it must be emptied every so often.

[ZRacerLE]

Originally Posted by Z OH 6

Eventually, your valves will get a nice coating of baked on oil and your intercooler bricks and supercharger will have a nice layer of oil coating them reducing efficiency. It may take many years or miles but not having a catch can will eventually show up long term. Before you ask why GM didn't install one from the factory, its because its another maintenance item that they don't trust the end consumer to maintain properly...meaning it must be emptied every so often.

Alright, I'll get this thing traded in before warranty is out.

[ZX-10R]

Originally Posted by Gunkk

100% of the time:

1) oil carryover will accumulate on the blower housing and intake, forming deposits on IC bricks and top of intake valves, reducing hp

2) the blowby/gasoline vapor condenses and accumulates in your oil. Fuel dilution can be significant, which reduces oil performance rapidly

Edited for accuracy

This isn't "arguing on the internet", this is 100% fact, WILL happen.

Downside #1 is the regular check-and-drain maintenance that is required

Which literally takes 15 seconds, every oil change

Downside #2 is that it will void your GM factory warranty

Not necessarily - and it's easy to remove it in the rare event there is a major engine failure claim

ALL boosted engines, with possible exception of Honda's 2.0T in the new Type R (baffled head, an ingenious system), need a catch can. The higher the boost and the harder you drive, the worse the problems above become

[Cleancoupe]

6900 miles on the car & I decided to pull the lid & take a look.

[Spaceme1117]

Originally Posted by Ckylesworld

Can someone explain what a catch can if for? Just wondering.

It is for catching crank case vapors which largely consist of a mixture of vaporized oil, combustion gases, water vapor, and unburned fuel that are collected by the PCV system.

Most well designed catch cans have a high surface area element in them that the vapors will condense on and then collect in the bottom of the can to drain away.

Why do want to catch those vapors? The main reasons are to keep the intake track cleaner and in the case of direct injected cars, to keep the backs of the intake valves cleaner to prolong the time between manual cleaning of the valves.

Do you really need one? No. But.... it is not a bad idea especially if you have a DI car.

Now, if you track your car and your engine is running at prolonged high RPM's, you really should get a catch can. I think that some tracks actually require running a catch can.

Another reason, is that some people just love modding their cars.

[Gunkk]

Originally Posted by ZX-10R

"Arguing on the internet" is 100% fact, WILL happen.

Not ALL boosted engines, with possible exception of Honda's 2.0T in the new Type R (baffled head, an ingenious system), need anything. The higher the boost and the harder you drive, the worse everything becomes

See, arguing on the internet is the #1 most common result of these troll posts.

[Camaro1973]

Originally Posted by Gunkk

See, arguing on the internet is the #1 most common result of these troll posts.

ZX10R argues with everyone though

[AZ_1LE]

Another source of oil on the backs of the valves are the valve seals. I come from owning an Audi RS4 which developed some pretty bad carbon deposits around 50k miles and you then had to start cleaning them every 30k or so to keep it from robbing horsepower. The main culprit in those engines are the valve seals.

A catch can is going to do nothing to stop oil weeping past the seals, so I figured the s/c will have to come off at some point to clean them, and so I don't see the point of having a catch can if everything's coming off anyway.