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It's definitely more of an octane booster and temp reducer than it is a cleaning agent. Besides getting race quality meth isn't that far from me anyways.

Having done my walnut shell blasting and going meth right after, I'm not too concerned about getting another walnut shell blasting down the line anyways since it's cheap.

 

My feeling is that an OCC probably helps or at least doesn't hurt but that the amount it helps is negligeable and therefore a waste of money that could be better spent elsewhere. Ie. a DIY shell blasting rig. There's a thread on here somewhere where a member built his own rig and it works great. By buying the parts and doing it himself he paid it off in comparison to what the Dealer charges.

 

If it 'evaporates' then it has turned to a gas which means it's still in the system and still reaching the engine.

 

It made a noticable difference in carbon build up on the head and valve faces in other engines, even mine when I pulled the head after running water injection since day one (the head looked like it barely had 5k miles on it).

 

Hmm at least that's what I thought the meth would do and the evaporation would cool the combustion air. Guess it does give the valves a bath!

 

Exactly. It's no more an atomized fluid in the intake track then fuel is in a non direct injection engine.

I'm just shocked no one has pulled the manifold off an N14 that has been running water injection to see what kind of build up it has...or perhaps they haven't seen then because those running it have not had the symptoms. hmmm

 

Oh good! I'm on the job. What model years have the N14?

 

07-10 have the N14

 

I could be wrong, but I always understood that, in addition to supposedly reducing carbon build up, an OCC was supposed to help keep oily fluid from gunking up the intercooler and turbo.

It sounds like an OCC has, at best, a negligible effect on carbon buildup, but what about its ability to prevent gunk on the turbo and intercooler?

I go back and forth on the OCC. Threads like this make me feel like it is a waste, but then I see the stuff that people pull out of them and think, buildup or not, I'd rather not have that gunk flying through my intake tract.

Also, while an OCC, water/meth, and SeaFoam might not do much to reduce carbon buildup individually, I do wonder if using all three might make a tangible difference? The SeaFoam kit that DoS created looks like a relatively trouble-free way to use SeaFoam.

 

Sorry to hijack the thread.. what about the sea foam fogging system from DoS to clean carbon? This seems like it would work great i was going to get one then i saw this thread i have 35k on mine now.

http://www.defendersofspeed.com/defe...am-fogger-kit/

 

Another good reason for going to the track a few times a year.

 

If you live in an area with similar weather like SoCal. I say don't get it. I have one and haven't caught anything. I just removed it and turn the damn thing upside down and nothing came out....not a drop. I have an N18 btw.

 

Actually, that may be good...Maybe BMW got it right this time. The system really shouldn't be dumping crap into the intake and your catch can is just proving that.

 

I pulled the head on my N14 and the mater meth defiantly helped. I put it on about 30k and pulled the head at 50k. Only one was really dirty and it was the one directly above the manifold port from the valve cover. As for the turbo and intercooler you will get a little oil in them. When I switched to my Helix cooler I noticed oil in the stock one. Now I don't run a OCC, and my back port is blocked. I have anther form of PVC system my car.

 

Thanks for the feedback. Good to know. And I am in SoCal too. (San Diego.)

 

No problem. I got the thing just as a precaution measure as many of us do but so far it looks like it was not needed. Yea we'll still get carbon build up, but I don't think as fast as our N14 brothers. Then again we are blessed with great weather year round in Southern California, and it doesn't really get that cold here to produce the (condensation/ by product) that many people are catching in their cans.

I inspected hoses and they weren't lined with any oily residue...good signs.

 

I can say after a solid year of driving and 15,000+ miles on the car I've seen NO sign of oily residue on/in my turbo pipes and OE intercooler. I check them over about 2,000 miles ago when I upgraded to a Helic IC. Car is a 2012 JCW Coupe (N14).

 

For those who are waiting till your car is close to going out of warranty expecting the dealer to clean your valves, be aware that unless your car throws a code, they won't do it.

I pulled my intake back and video'd how bad my valves were gunked up ('09 Copper S with about 46K on it) and they said they could not do it unless the car threw a code - which it has not done. I have till 50K and mid Feb before my warranty runs out.....

I decided to be proactive and built my own walnut shell blaster.....I have about $150 in it, including buying a 25lb bag of shells (Harbor Freight - buy the "fine" ones. I will rent it out it other KC MINI Club members once I've used it on my car to make sure it works. I bought the factory port adaptor from my dealer for about $50 and the small pressure pot blaster from HF for about $50, I already had a shop vac and air compressor, then I made the blast wand to fit the hole in the port fitting, and I'm good to go. Just waiting for warmer weather now as my garage is not heated - plus I'm still hoping my car might throw a code and I can let the dealer do it the first time on their dime. If not, then I'm ready when I go out of warranty in Feb.

My car gets driven plenty hard, I don't think that's really a factor in whether the valves gunk up or not. Be aware too that this is not just a MINI problem, pretty much anyone running DI is having this issue.....

 

I'm seriously considering going the DIY shell blaster route as well. There's a thread here somewhere of someone else who did it for about the same money and he got great results. For $150 it'd more than pay for itself even after the first use and when you consider the cost of an OCC I think it's a no brainer!

 

An OCC to me is a waste. There has been all kinks of threads on them. I liken this product to CAI's. There have been numerous studies done that they (CAI's) produce little to no additional horsepower yet they still sell like crazy. In fact some produce less HP than the factory intakes.

I prefer to use my money on other things.

 

It's not a compete waste if you catch all that crap that my folks do catch.

It's a total waste of money if you get the results I have been getting.....which is actually a great thing....but money still wasted.

 

+1 SoCal--> I have one and haven't caught anything...not a drop. I have an N18 btw.

 

Its good to hear the the N18's are showing better carbon results. My tired 08 MCSa (previous owner let the car tell her when to change the oil, 3 changes in 50k) gets about 6 oz of water and about 1 oz of oil/water mix every week here in Buffalo in the winter. Whether this translates into coating the intercooler, carboning the valves, or something else, I just feel good getting it out of there. We all do things that we feel good about, and the $200 for the OCC makes me sleep better.

Mike

 

Agreed! While I haven't (and likely wont) bite into the OCC preventative course of action I have done things to my car that are questionable at performance gain. If it makes you feel better and it doesn't hurt the car then I say go for it!

 

well that is good to know that OCC are not needed because I was looking at getting one. Also good to know about diving hard can help. I drive 80miles round trip for work and I don't baby it. Highway usually 85mph or more