Do I "need" a catch can?

[Kiteboarder85]

Is a catch can a must? I wouldn't have ever known about catch cans until I joined this forum a couple of months ago. What are the negatives without having one?

[Apex Motorsports]

A catch can prevents carbon build up in your intake manifold and on the valves. Over time this will harm performance and fuel economy. Do you have to get one? No. Is it a good idea to protect your engine and increase your engines service life. Yes. There is no downside to running a catch can.

The "Catch Can" Explained!

[litle88]

Originally Posted by Kiteboarder85

Is a catch can a must? I wouldn't have ever known about catch cans until I joined this forum a couple of months ago. What are the negatives without having one?

Get the other mods first, mike Norris and Elite have good ones though

[Kiteboarder85]

Originally Posted by litle88

Get the other mods first, mike Norris and Elite have good ones though

You mean get the other mods as in the ones from your signature? Jeez you have a book there lol.

[Kiteboarder85]

Originally Posted by Apex Chase

A catch can prevents carbon build up in your intake manifold and on the valves. Over time this will harm performance and fuel economy. Do you have to get one? No. Is it a good idea to protect your engine and increase your engines service life. Yes. There is no downside to running a catch can.

The "Catch Can" Explained!

Thanks for the link Chase. My Camaro is going to be a lifer for me so it sounds like I should order one asap.

[Dexman1349]

What if you already have 40k+ miles on your car? Obviously I wouldn't want more oil getting into the intake, but at this point would it make a difference?

[Spartan01]

Hi, and welcome.
I am kinda in the same boat. I had never heard of a catch can before coming to this forum.
OK so it breaks down like this:
You do NOT "need," one.
It does help a lot. Basically the pcv valve recycles crankcase fumes and small amounts of oil vapor, which is in turn burned off during the intake cycle. More oil vapor is produced at high RPM's and WOT (Wide Open Throttle.)
The catch can rerouts the fumes, and allows the oil vapor to condense back into a liquid, and catches this liquid, thereby stopping it from re-entering the intake system. This keeps your intake manifold cleaner and gives you a cleaner burn, and will result in less gunk build up.

When you change your oil, or whenever you want, you can unscrew the can and dump out the caught oil.

There are several manufacturers of catch cans.
They are super easy to install.
Get a decent one, not a junk generic one on ebay.
Apex Motorsports, RX, and RPI Designs all make great cans.
Good luck

[Kiteboarder85]

Originally Posted by Dexman1349

What if you already have 40k+ miles on your car? Obviously I wouldn't want more oil getting into the intake, but at this point would it make a difference?

great question! After reading the link above that Chase gave, it sounds like you should get one if you plan on keeping your car for a while. I only have 5k miles on mine so I'm def purchasing over the weekend.

[Spartan01]

If you already have 40K miles on the car, I would SeaFoam the intake, then add the can. No reason not to add the can. I added mine at 73K

[Kiteboarder85]

Originally Posted by Spartan01

Hi, and welcome.
I am kinda in the same boat. I had never heard of a catch can before coming to this forum.
OK so it breaks down like this:
You do NOT "need," one.
It does help a lot. Basically the pcv valve recycles crankcase fumes and small amounts of oil vapor, which is in turn burned off during the intake cycle. More oil vapor is produced at high RPM's and WOT (Wide Open Throttle.)
The catch can rerouts the fumes, and allows the oil vapor to condense back into a liquid, and catches this liquid, thereby stopping it from re-entering the intake system. This keeps your intake manifold cleaner and gives you a cleaner burn, and will result in less gunk build up.

When you change your oil, or whenever you want, you can unscrew the can and dump out the caught oil.

There are several manufacturers of catch cans.
They are super easy to install.
Get a decent one, not a junk generic one on ebay.
Apex Motorsports, RX, and RPI Designs all make great cans.
Good luck

Are you dumping the "crap" each time you change the oil, or should we be doing it weekly, bi-weekly, monthly???

[Joe@CPR.com]

A catch can on a stock or full bolt on car is a good thing to do the high hp guys should ditch that all together and just do a open atmosphere system w/ maybe a puke tank.

[rray]

I got mine instlled (Mike Norris Can) at 500 miles, and before 2000 miles I had drained a full 3oz of milky gray sludge. I showed it to my neighbor, who knows lots more than me about cars, and he was able to tell that I was burning gas that has too much water in it, and I was hot rodding before I properly broke in the engine so have more blowby than I should. I've toned it down a bit lately, and switched to Union 76 premium.

[digdeep0169]

i just turned 700 miles on my new SS - and didn't waste a second... already installed

[JDP Sales]

Originally Posted by Kiteboarder85

Are you dumping the "crap" each time you change the oil, or should we be doing it weekly, bi-weekly, monthly???

We typically recommend emptying the can every oil change. This works out best because you already have a pan full of oil to dispose it in.

Another good can to consider is the Elite Engineering catch can. Feel free to call, PM or email me with questions.

Best regards,

Tyler
888-308-6007