So......I work at a Mini service shop part time, my mechanic has had a CC on his R53 for...???...100+k miles, he has had to empty it maybe twice, and it only has had maybe a few cc's in it, the R53 just doesnt seem to blow by much oil. Now in cop1406's case, the R56 turbo motor blows tons of oil and crud. One of the R56 owners here drain's his CC at every oil change, which in, in his case is every 5k miles. Almost gets half a BSH tank everytime

 

JIMINI,

the amount of gunk that can be collected can, and is, very car-centric. Some have a lot, some don't. So you can't make a blanket statement on something like this. Easiest way to determine if an OCC is a good idea is to check the IC and intake runners to see how much (if any) gunk is there.

 

If your engine is in good condition you won't see much in a CC. If the engine has a lot of blow-by you will.

 

Well thats kinda why I stated that I work at a shop, we see a lot of Minis, it's a Mini only shop. We just don't see R53's with much inside the IC. Personally on my car, which you can see has many mods, I just dont see the need

 

I appreciate all the responses so far, but this is what I had in mind. Some kind of field test with many different cars (well different R53s) that had shown signs were having a CC would have made a positive difference. A person working in a shop that gets to see a variety cars with different mileage, mods and use to draw a conclusion fits that perfectly. So thanks, but before I decide for or against I'll pop my IC off to see how dirty it is.

 

Keep in mind that most of these aftermarket catch cans (even if baffled) really aren't properly designed oil vapor separators... they may catch some large oil droplets and boundary film flow, allowing them to stay in the can, but the lighter volatiles will still be sucked in.

If you feel your car has a lot of blowby and want a properly designed one, look at the Mann-Hummel ProVent or Racor units.

 

my .02... If Longboard (Cooper genius, with one of the baddest cars on the boards) and Helix (a dealer who can make money by selling you guys catch cans) say to save your money, I am going to take their advice.

 

That's rather short-sighted. Take off your IC and see for yourself if you think you need one. Neither one of those guys has seen your MINI, right?

 

W/O Flaming longboard to bad, but i dont know how much Genius it takes to drop your car off w/ one of the top tuners, and just cut a check at the end... His car is badass though, but that is b/c of Jan.

If that was true, then explain why Helix sells catch cans then ?

 

Because people buy them. And I think the one Helix has for R53s is the exact same as the R56 one, that is much more popular. I've ran mine for about 5000m, and last I looked there wasn't anything in it. When I change my oil again in 2500m~ I'm going to pull it out inspect it, and if it's got nothing of any substance in it I'll pull it and sell it.

 

I've drained almost a pint of oil and water out of my BSH Oil Catch Can, since I installed it last Fall, half of it oil.

I'd say it's working.

Dave

 

I assume you are talking about your 2010 Mini Cooper S Clubman? If yes, they have been proven to be needed on the R56, no one is disputing that It's the R53 that is questionable

 

I think that is the fairest approach to the situation. If there is ANY oil in there, a OCC would be a good thing. Oil inside the S/C means it is also coating your MAP sensors, and spark plugs, and o2 sensors, all of which are very fragile and sensitive to anything but air.

Why is it still in question exactly ? People with r53s, who DO have OCCs say they have collected oil out of them....what other proof are you or anyone else really, looking for ?

new engine = less/no blow-by = less need for OCC
Older engine = more/alot of blow-by = more need for OCC

 

I have a 03' with 120+ miles and I'd have to say, the only thing you can expect is that it will definitely help and it couldn't hurt! Mine actually collects about 1/3-1/2 of a glass within a month or so. Save your money and take care of the performance mods, if you have some extra cash then do it, I spent $25 bones on mine from Lowe's!

 

Heck $25 bucks is nothing. A well done DIY mod.

Could you elaborate more on what you bought to do this?

 

Basically, go to the air compressor section at Lowe's (they have them at home depot but they are smaller)

3/8" Kobalt Air Filter - Part #221014

Two 3/8" Barb x 3/8" FIP Hose Barb Adapter - Part #A-298

Two 3/8" x 3/8" Flare To Male Pipe Elbow - Part #A-186

1/8" Brass Cap (Had to go to Ace Hardware)

About 3 ft of 3/8" tubing (Autoparts store)
Or Lowe's sell's 3/4" OD red tubing with a inside layer of 3/8" ID

3" clamp

Scrap Metal

Made a bracket myself (like an L type) and just used a bolt to go through the plastic wall. Clamped it and that was that! Ran the lines, put hose clamps on all of them, and it works great! It's also right above my oil filter, that way I always remember to empty it when I do an oil change!

 

Thanks I'll be making one of those up.

 

One thing I will make sure and mention here. When DIY'ing with tubing and vacuum lines, make sure the lines can withstand the vacuum pressure, otherwise if they collapse you can do some damage to your engine.

 

uh, spark plugs are exposed to every ignition, not sensitive at all, and o2 sensors are after the combustion chamber and also not a sensitive item, think exhaust heat... however your are correct that too much of the wrong kind of oil on a map sensor can make it misbehave (the kind of oil used on some foam filters cause a code).

this paranoia about oil in the intake tract is unfounded, ALL CARS RECIRCULATE to more or less of a degree. Your not solving a problem with a catch can.

 

Let's consider the fact plugs can be fouled out with oil, though if that is happen your issues are larger. Also, if you run to much fuel injkector cleaner, that can wipe out your plugs...seen it happen. The same exact thing can be said for o2 sensors, so if you truly think neither are sensitive, then you truly don't understand those parts. I guess the BMW engineers and Honda are really paranoid in spending the few million in R&D lmao...

 

Not sure what you mean by this.....but if you can keep the undesirable products from the combustion chamber aren't you going to have a much better, more efficient operating engine?

And yes ALL cars offer some kind of PCV valve that is then routed to the intake manifold, but we have something most other cars do not.....an SC and an IC.....both of which are better off not having to deal with anything BUT air.

 

And you can get an ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Oil-C...Q5fAccessories can for about $40 and a few bucks for some hose.

 

after discussion with some of buddies, and re-reading this thread, I do have to concede that there are benefits to running oil catch cans. I was unaware that racecars vent directly into the exhaust. I dont think it is something that requires a whole lot of thought, and should not be a priority on anyone's list of mods.

I still stand by my previous post that without a catch can, nothing is going to go wrong, so yeah, it's masturbatory modding at it's best, so have at it.

 

I got a smoking deal on an Alta can last year, and so far, it's collected about 1-2 oz. of oil between each oil change.

Oh, and since I installed it, I went two and a half oil changes (roughly 9-10k miles each oil change) between intercooler cleanings, and it was *far* less goopy than when I cleaned it just before I got the OCC.

Better that the OCC collect that oil than the intercooler.

JM2C....

C ya
Dutch