Anybody know if the m7 canister is baffled inside to catch oil and vapors? Just put on their Super AGS and now that there's room, I'm looking real hard at one. My intake from turbo to cold side IC tube is a mess and need to clean it up once and for all. I know it won't completely eliminate the DFI intake valve carbon fouling problem, but it will help slow it down if designed properly. Thanks

 

By looking at mine I did not see any baffles in it. That wold make sense to have baffles. Maybe put a very porous material in it, like a rough scrubbing pad to catch the oil mist so it drains to the bottom. I will look into this.

 

Got Peter of m7 on the phone and asked the same question. He said no baffles are installed, and for two pretty good reasons. The first is cost and keeping the unit price down. The second is more important. Any filtering material must be rock solid stable to prevent any kind of particles going into the turbo and combustion chamber! Makes sense to me. He runs one on his MCS and said he's had no oil fouling problems since. Ordered mine right after I hung up!

BTW, Ford has put some kind of "outside the engine" media filter on the PCV tube for it's DFI motors to solve the intake-valve carbon fouling problem. Hey, there's some room on that side for a small filter and the PCV tube is easy to get at. I'm going to start looking around for something that could work. Anybody got any ideas?

PS: See this months Road & Track Tech Correspondence article.

 

i love the idea and think mini from the factory should have catch cans....does anyone know if mini wouldn't warranty work on the motor if there was a catch can?

 

Good Luck! My dealer tried to void the warranty on the cig. lighter (!!) saying I had put an aftermarket accessory plug in and broken it! Heatedly showed him the page in the owners man. that says nothing about using it for anything but the OEM lighter. They replaced it! It was broken on factory install. An independent source said that any mod that doesn't cause a CEL, effect the ECU or mess up smog systems is OK. Wish I could feel certain about this!

 

Either way they still have to prove to you that it was an aftermarket part that caused failure. MINI here local to me has given me no problems what-so-ever in regards to my aftermarket engine mods.

For example...I got a CEL on and it was running extremely poor. I mean it would shake my car on shut down like it was a 1970 boat car. Took it in...my O2 sensor was damaged and needed to be replaced (the top one near the turbo). I went in with my turboback installed and in, and asked no questions on replacing it for free for me.

 

Found something much better than m7's catch can. They were out of stock anyhow. 42 Draft Design's can is triple baffled and uses the OEM diameter PCV tubing in and out,not a neck down from 3/4 inch (19mm) to 3/8". It's a universal kit and does not include mounting hardware. Got all that stuff at NAPA for $12. Cost? $115 for the "Stealth" kit. Got it this PM and may put it on tonight. I'll let you know how it goes. BTW, if you still have the OEM air intake tube (I don't), mounting could be a real bear!!

<42draftdesigns.com>

 

Dwight: Could you post photos of your installation and any information regarding the volume of oil accumulated over time. Thanks in advance.

 

The "bear" bit me first! My first attempt didn't have enough hood clearance and will have to make a bracket to lower it ~1.5". Will also need to find some flexible, non-binding hose to get around the turbo intake tube. I'm curious too about oil accumulation. Will apply the SWAG Method (Scientific Wild *** Guess) to determine . Gone last week for the Turkey Slaughter and will get at it as soon as my arteries flush out. Pics and gory details for sure! Gotta show off ya know.

 

check my gallery for my catch can install

 

i think the catch can is a great idea... it just sux for those who DON"T have M7 intakes and still have the stock snorkel...

 

Yes, I agree for those of us who do not have a CAI. I want to install an oil catch can, but I am looking for suggestions for a CAI. Anyone?

 

I went with the m7 Super AGS, but not until I figured out how to get cooler outside air to it. The open scoop and possibly even the heat shield (see sig.) give outside air a straight shot at the very large filter and deflect some of the turbo heat. IATs have dropped from 20-30deg over ambient to 2-3 deg over. Turbo is now starting to spool-up at ~1200rpm. A key thing to remember is that every 1deg drop in IAT equals 1-1.5HP. My butt dyno can really feel the extra torque and above 4K things start happening much faster. Only thing I can't figure out is why I haven't filled the bay with bugs, birds and small dogs. It's staying pretty clean! BTW, when I started these mods 6mon. ago, all I was trying to do was keep the scoop from melting yet again!

 

So the oil catch can is a decent mod to get?

 

For the long term health and performance of your engine, YES! The PCV system so oiled down my intake that I couldn't keep the turbo intake tube on, and all that oil mist heads straight to the turbo and IC. Dreading the thought of having to pull the IC to flush the oil fouling . Even the OCC and the IC flush won't solve the entire PCV trouble. The other PCV tube is what's causing the carbon build-up on the intake valves. Got no clue (yet) on how to cure that one. Anybody got any ideas?

 

Let me know when you finish the install because I am interested in the results.

 

I need to purchase a catch can soon. Its funny, my old VW buddy doesnt believe me how much of a difference these make on direct inject motors....he seems under-educated lol.

As far as 42 draft designs...I definitely recommend them! I have purchased several parts from them on my big turbo VW Corrado in the past, and had nothing but perfect parts coming to me!

 

Ain't finished yet, but here's the progress so far. Made a bracket to mount to the fender well flange. Next is the hose plumbing. Want to go over the turbo intake tube to make oil filter changes a little easier. Gonna be tight! Will post when finished, but probably not till after all the rein-deer poo has disappeared.

 

I put a catch can on everything I own. If you've ever seen an intake manifold on a car with 100,000 miles on it, you'd want one to.

And if I may say Dwight... HOOAH to the 101st!

 

Looks like it's coming along nicely . I might want to do something similar to what you are doing because I can't buy the M7 oil catch as I still have the stock intake and don't plan to change it until my warranty is up(don't want to get crap from the dealer). I mean I only have about 3500 miles on my MINI, but all this talk of engine sludge got me thinking about something like this. If what you are doing works, let me know the exact parts and stuff like that you used because I am not too engine savvy and could never come up with something like this.

 

How'd you figure that out? Yup, I be Currahee. And BTW, if you're gonna be one, be a Big Red One!!

PS: Lamped your front plate.

 

Yer badge on the left of yer window!



Hooah for the 1st ID!

 

Sorry for the jack... back to yer regularly schedule post.

 

where can i buy a m7 oil catch can

 

Do you have an R56?