just wondering what the benefits of the occ sorry may be an obvious answer but just dont know...

 

Oil catch can? Have you ever taken your intercooler off? Try it, then feel and smell the oil in there. Then spray in some throttle body cleaner and watch all the oil wash away. Oil film is an insulator and prevents the intercooler from working at it's best. The catch can keeps this film of oil from forming on the inside of your intercooler.

 

ya i have taken it off just never knew it was hurting it at all...thanks for the info

 

However, the insulating effect is small - you might get another 1% of HP from an OCC on a hot day....

 

some minis need them some dont, always clean your i/c once in a while best way imo

 

Might find this interesting

http://www.importtuner.com/reviews/i...ans/index.html

 

Very interesting, I always wondered about that.

 

I just hate how I lose 1 quart per oil change (5-10k) to the PCV system. I know at least my rotors are lubed!

 

Interesting, but not really meaningful as far as power gains go. First, the difference between 242.8 and 244.3 horsepower on a dyno is nothing - you'd probably get a bigger difference between consecutive runs even if you didn't change *anything* on the car. ALWAYS be wary when someone reports dyno horsepower to four significant digits, as if it's a piece of precise lab equipment.

More importantly, look at the two configurations they tested - it wasn't a comparison between a stock PCV system and an oil catch can, it was a comparison between a catch can and a simple push-on breather filter. Like the article says, a push-on breather filter loses the benefit of drawing a vacuum under the valve cover, while a stock PCV system *does* draw a vacuum under the valve cover, just like a catch can system.

As for losing oil between changes to the PCV system, I haven't lost near that much ever, in either of our MINIs. In fact, except for the first 5,000 miles when the cars were new, I haven't had to add any "top-off" oil at all, and the oil level's never gotten close to the lower dipstick mark, even with 10k+ drain intervals.

Regardless, if you're having that problem, a catch can isn't going to help you. Any oil that's drawn out of the valve cover under vacuum is lost forever, whether you have a PCV system or a catch can (unless you empty the catch can by pouring it back into the engine oil, which I *don't* recommend).

 

I catch more water (condensation) in mine than oil

 

my oil catch can don't have any oil.

 

There is a second way of routing the hoses that is not really listed on the instruction sheets for these cans. I forget how it is, but there is a thread about it somewhere on here.

At any rate, this method is more effective at catching oil.

 

lol, i set it up the way nabeshin suggested and i still dont have any oil collecting in my catch can, now its just coated like the intercooler. lol. anyone here have any suggestions on how to folter out the air better? I hae the alta and the air doesnt go through any of the foam to filter it really. it just skims across the top and out the other hole.

 

No matter what you will still have to take the intercooler off once in a while to clean it.

Water in the catch can is a good thing. Its better off there, than in the pan. If you do alot of short trips, you will notice alot of water in the catch can.

You should have stainless steel wool in the catch can to make it filter better. If its just an empty can, its not going to do much.

 

Well, it's not going to catch pools of oil. If it did, something would be seriously wrong with your engine.

As suggested by not-so-rednwhitecooper, steel wool in the can helps more than the foam.