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I live in Savannah GA. I drove to Palmetto FL to see Tracy Lewis the owner of RX performance.
I own a 2012 Mini Cooper R58 JCW with a N14 engine. He designed and holds the patient to his catch can system. When I left Savannah I reset my mpg counter to see the difference. I was getting about 32mpg at 80mph. RX performance performed a walnut blast of my exshast valves and chamber. Mr. Lewis then installed his catch can system.
Mr. Lewis also educateted me on various catch can on the market. I was running a single M7 can. He had many catch cans that are popular on the market today. He has cut them open to show just how useless they are. You probably have one in your car right now. A real catch can system must include one way check valves to prevent back flow when in boost and non boost. I will not go into the design of the catch can its self he holds the patient.
A huge majority of catch cans are empty inside. So basically the bad stuff that damages your engine travels through the tubing into the can under huge vacuum then gets sucked right back out. Basically the catch can I had in my car and you have in your car does absolutely nothing but look cool.
My M7 can which was expensive just looked cool. So my trip back to Savannah I reset my mpg counter. At 80mph for over 6 hours my mpg was almost 40mpg. I noticed the cars performance was greatly inhanced. My car held boost no turbo lag. Mr. Lewis has developed his catch can system over a decade. He has had a lab I believe in Minnesota test his system over thousands of miles. The independent lab determined that the oil did not need changing and did not need to be changed for as much as 10,000 miles longer.
I want to say I am in no way associated with RX performance. I am just a happy customer. I am not being paid nor received or going to receive anything for this post. I am writing this for two reasons only.
First am tired of being lied to and ripped off by manufacturer and throwing my money away with zero benifits. The second reason is Mr. Lewis took the time to educate me and had actual catch cans that were cut open that I could hold in my had and see just how useless they all are. I am just trying to save my car and yours.
Mr. Tracy Lewis has RX performance catch can videos on YouTube. He is the type of guy that you can pick up the phone and call and he will help you. I do not believe that you have to go to his shop for installation. I am sure you can contact RX performance order what you need and install the system yourself with instructions provided. I am sure if you have any questions you can call him and he will help you any way he can.
IMO... if your are mindful of using an oil that has the value of the NOACK # >7 (volatility of the oil)...use what was intended (5W-30).... and not some 0W variant in non sub zero ˚F situation.
Then a catch can becomes a bit superfluous IMO.
Factory MINI oil has horrible NOACK number.... regardless of lubricity...BMW's "LL rating" is not concerned with this volatility nor longevity of the motor past warranty expiration.
Today there are quite a few choices in Full synth that are "Ideal" for these engines that cover all bases in terms of TBN, SAPS, NOACK, and have amazing lubricity and residue numbers. ... and MANY that are not.
NOACK is important. Is it the 'magic pill' for motor longevity .... nope... but minding it will go a long way to reducing IVD's and issues related to deposits that could be minimized by paying attention to the evaporative/volatility properties of your oil. Your 'favorite oil' may just not do well in this area.... worth checking out.
My 2¢
.
Last edited by mountainhorse; Oct 7, 2021 at 03:15 PM.
I purchased my completcompletely useless M7 catch can for $200.
I copied and pasted this from Tracy Lewis with his permission
All engines have a certain amount of blow-by. That blow-by consists of combustion byproducts consisting mainly of 70% water and acids (acids are formed during the combustion process and attack the metals internally. The main one being sulfuric. The oil additive that has properties to combat this is TBN), 23% raw unburnt fuel (that washes down the cylinder walls and dilutes the oil so it is barely protecting as a GDI engine introduces the fuel at 1,000-3,000 PSI vs the old port injection engines at 45-55 PSI, so it pushes 8-12 times the amount of fuel past the rings)., and 7% is oil saturated with abrasive particulate matter (mainly ash/soot/carbon). IF you delete or defeat any of the functions of the PCV system, these stay in the crankcase and settle mixing with the oil and accelerates wear and damage if they are not flushed and evacuated (sucked out) the foul/dirty side of the PCV system. Filtered fresh MAF metered air in one portion of the crankcase to flush and make up for the foul contaminant laden vapors being evacuated (sucked out) the opposite portion. The shortcoming on the Mini is no evacuation when in boost, and excessive oil vapors included in the combustion byproducts cause intake valve coking...the Mini, and BMW engines as a whole have more severe issues than many other automakers, but ALL GDI engines have all of these issues. And if you use a synthetic blend oil the petroleum based portion is a large part of what causes those formations to build. Run ONLY a full synthetic oil in a GDI engine. And to help counter the fuel dilution that reduces actual
viscosity to far too thin. and that adds to wear and failure issues. Also, as the valves having no fuel contact as in the past, operate at far higher temps so the deposits bake into a hard crystallin structure that is extremely abrasive. Same consistency as sand. And that scores cylinder walls and piston skirts and rings if an engine running solvent based cleaning is done. They are only safe in the old port injection engines. Then with GDI engines we have a new phenonium known as LSPI (Low Speed Preignition). This is when the oil vapors and unburnt fuel get trapped behind the rings and if it ignites, breaks the piston at usually the top ring land. Far too often the land stays in place and oil consumption increases and the occasional misfire and is often missed in diagnosing. So, the PCV is far more than a pollution control system, it has several functions that are critical to engine life and other issues. So the solution is NEVER to vent or delete, bit to enhance the current functions. One way is to add a secondary evacuation suction source and a series of special checkvalves so the crankcase always has suction pulled. This prevents pressure from building in the first place, so the crankcase is always being flushed and evacuated of these compounds and substances leaving very little to settle in the crankcase. This helps maintain viscosity as well as greatly increases oil life. Here is an example of a tech testing just this with a twin turbo GDI engine that is modified and driven hard. Pay special attention to the Lab Techs comments: Independent lab. Other benefits from an enhanced system? Less oil ingestion equals less KR pulling timing so power and fuel economy improve. Not allowing pressure to build also reduces the parasitic power loss of the pistons fighting crankcase pressure on each downstroke. It also reduces the incidence of "Ring Flutter" where with forced induction engines allowing pressure to build in the crankcase allows the rings to enter into a State of rapid vibration that increases blow-by and reduces power output. A vent or breather also introduces un metered air into the intake air charge so fuel trims go nuts trying to compensate. If we look back through history up until the mid 1960's, all engines vented through a "draft tube" and that released pressure, but did a very poor
job of evacuating so engines wore rapidly. It was not until after the PCV system was mandated that engineers saw the same engines, with the same oils and oil change intervals were now lasting 2-3 times as long as prior. So after study they discovered what they could not see was responsible for much of the wear. Then we look at the racing industry. No form of Professional racing uses breathers unless the specific class forbids a crankcase evacuation system for all the reasons listed above and more. So we see far too many great tuner shops who do excellent builds completely ignore all of this. Why? It has been decades since any of this has been taught in Automotive Tech Schools and dealer training. So with no where to actually learn, most just make assumptions and as the damage done is gradual, few associate failures from deleting this system. My first post, but as a GDI and Crankcase evacuation Automotive Engineer, I figured this would be beneficial for those wanting to learn. Ask questions. I will answer and provide more data and documentation if needed. I'll go over other issues, the causes and solutions later on. Cheers!
I purchased my completcompletely useless M7 catch can for $200.
I copied and pasted this from Tracy Lewis with his permission
All engines have a certain amount of blow-by. That blow-by consists of combustion byproducts consisting mainly of 70% water and acids (acids are formed during the combustion process and attack the metals internally. The main one being sulfuric. The oil additive that has properties to combat this is TBN), 23% raw unburnt fuel (that washes down the cylinder walls and dilutes the oil so it is barely protecting as a GDI engine introduces the fuel at 1,000-3,000 PSI vs the old port injection engines at 45-55 PSI, so it pushes 8-12 times the amount of fuel past the rings)., and 7% is oil saturated with abrasive particulate matter (mainly ash/soot/carbon). IF you delete or defeat any of the functions of the PCV system, these stay in the crankcase and settle mixing with the oil and accelerates wear and damage if they are not flushed and evacuated (sucked out) the foul/dirty side of the PCV system. Filtered fresh MAF metered air in one portion of the crankcase to flush and make up for the foul contaminant laden vapors being evacuated (sucked out) the opposite portion. The shortcoming on the Mini is no evacuation when in boost, and excessive oil vapors included in the combustion byproducts cause intake valve coking...the Mini, and BMW engines as a whole have more severe issues than many other automakers, but ALL GDI engines have all of these issues. And if you use a synthetic blend oil the petroleum based portion is a large part of what causes those formations to build. Run ONLY a full synthetic oil in a GDI engine. And to help counter the fuel dilution that reduces actual
viscosity to far too thin. and that adds to wear and failure issues. Also, as the valves having no fuel contact as in the past, operate at far higher temps so the deposits bake into a hard crystallin structure that is extremely abrasive. Same consistency as sand. And that scores cylinder walls and piston skirts and rings if an engine running solvent based cleaning is done. They are only safe in the old port injection engines. Then with GDI engines we have a new phenonium known as LSPI (Low Speed Preignition). This is when the oil vapors and unburnt fuel get trapped behind the rings and if it ignites, breaks the piston at usually the top ring land. Far too often the land stays in place and oil consumption increases and the occasional misfire and is often missed in diagnosing. So, the PCV is far more than a pollution control system, it has several functions that are critical to engine life and other issues. So the solution is NEVER to vent or delete, bit to enhance the current functions. One way is to add a secondary evacuation suction source and a series of special checkvalves so the crankcase always has suction pulled. This prevents pressure from building in the first place, so the crankcase is always being flushed and evacuated of these compounds and substances leaving very little to settle in the crankcase. This helps maintain viscosity as well as greatly increases oil life. Here is an example of a tech testing just this with a twin turbo GDI engine that is modified and driven hard. Pay special attention to the Lab Techs comments:
Ya $200 is also crazy when you can get a decent catch can for $30 and then some hose and valves for a little more.
Ya $200 is also crazy when you can get a decent catch can for $30 and then some hose and valves for a little more.
You are going to argue the point no matter what. Your $30 "catch can" is the equivalent to cutting a couple of lengths of garden hose and using an old coke can. When your engine falls and it will. I am just trying to help others.
Dude, you engine is not going to fail because you don't use a catch can. These engines are junk to begin with and they fail for many reasons having nothing to do with the PCV system.
Ya just gotta clean the valves every 50-80k miles whether you have a catch can or not. A catch can helps but its not going to capture it all.
I wouldn't spend $500 on a car that's only worth $5000.
Costs a lot....unless you do it yourself...and again, catch can helps but doesn't solve the problem 100%. If it solved the problem 100% it would be worth it. I just walnut blasted my other car a month ago for the second time...major PIA and the intake valves face forward!
If your car is new and ya wanna spend $500 I understand. But on a 12 year old car....meh. I'd rather piece together something for 1/5th the price.
I only have 15K on my mini, considering purchasing.
Cheers!
Walnut blasting cost vary greatly. I drove from Savannah GA to Palmetto FL. I went to Tracy Lewis RX performance. I had them walnut blast and install their patented catch can system. I paid about $900 for everything. Performance gain is incredible both mpg and zero turbo lag. I have a 2012 Mini Cooper R58 JCW with a N14 engine 60,000 miles. I am getting about 100 miles more out of a 13 gallon tank. I get close to 475 miles out of a tank My car at idle was noisy and on the rough side. Now it is as smooth as the day I bought it.
Ive walnut blasted horribly dirty valves...strangely, it didn't make all that much seat of the pants difference or MPG improvement. Wish it did. Engine sounded a little different.
I only have 15K on my mini, considering purchasing.
Cheers!
Noticeable performance gains. Zero turbo lag. I am getting 100 miles more out of a tank of gas. 475mpg plus at 80 miles per hour. What I learned from Tracy Lewis just how much vacuum is generated in a mini cooper. You can start your car and then remove the oil filler cap. The problem with the catch can I was using is the vacuum is so strong that it sucks the harmful material that destroys the engine into the can so fast that there is nothing to stop it from leaving the can an going right back into the engine. I paid $200 for a M7 catch can. To be effective the system I have now has high performance one way check valves and the can is designed with multiple Baffles very close to the interior sides of the can. This allows only air to leave the can back into the turbo and engine.
Costs a lot....unless you do it yourself...and again, catch can helps but doesn't solve the problem 100%. If it solved the problem 100% it would be worth it. I just walnut blasted my other car a month ago for the second time...major PIA and the intake valves face forward!
If your car is new and ya wanna spend $500 I understand. But on a 12 year old car....meh. I'd rather piece together something for 1/5th the price.
I am not trying to sell anyone. I have a 2012 Mini Cooper R58 JCW with a N14 engine 60,000. For me this was money well spent. I am a preventative matinance kind of guy. I know where the week points of the car are and take care of them well before they would fail. A little money here and there no major money down the road.
I thought they didnt make enough vacuum which is why we have a vacuum pump....
Start your car and pull the oil filler cap. They produce far more vacuum. So much that the engine will try and pull the cap out of your hand. The engine will most likely stall. Then do the same with any car that is not GDI.
Start your car and pull the oil filler cap. They produce far more vacuum. So much that the engine will try and pull the cap out of your hand. The engine will most likely stall. Then do the same with any car that is not GDI.
hmmm....will do. So why the need for the vacuum pump (sincere question)?
ya youre car is low miles so more worthwhile. Makes sense. Can you send some pics of your set up? How much oil are you draining at what intervals?
I will once it stops pouring rain here in Savannah. Meanwhile you can find videos on YouTube from Tracy Lewis RX performance. He has one for the N14 and N18 engine. You can Google Tracy at RX performance in Palmetto FL. He is an extreme nice man. He can explain the system far better than I can.. I am just one of his customers.
hmmm....will do. So why the need for the vacuum pump (sincere question)?
That is a very good question. I am not a mechanic but my guess is that the engines design requires a much higher amount of vacuum. The Mini with a turbo is trying to get the maximum hp out of a 4 cylinder engine. Just my guess. I will have to talk to Tracy Lewis and I will post an accurate answer.
Dude, you engine is not going to fail because you don't use a catch can. These engines are junk to begin with and they fail for many reasons having nothing to do with the PCV system.
Ya just gotta clean the valves every 50-80k miles whether you have a catch can or not. A catch can helps but its not going to capture it all.
I wouldn't spend $500 on a car that's only worth $5000.
You are so very wrong. The Mini Cooper is a GDI engine. That means it injectes fuel only into the combustion chamber.. it dose not spray over the valves..that is the reason they need to be walnut blasted. So all that crud is also in your engine oil. That leads to cylinder wall scoring, piston scoring and broken piston rings. The crud is just like sand. That is why you need a catch can system that actually works. So if you don't care about your engine then just dump some sand in with your next oil change and speed up the process.
hmmm....will do. So why the need for the vacuum pump (sincere question)?
Just received this from Tracy Lewis
Most all turbo engines from factory will have a aux vacuum pump for the brakes, but it is not part of the PCV system. They fail when dirty oil and other gunk is ingested when some have attempted to add them in. GM and Ford do as well. Since intake manifold vacuum is only present at idle and deceleration on these, the brake booster would not function without an aux pump.
You are so very wrong. The Mini Cooper is a GDI engine. That means it injectes fuel only into the combustion chamber.. it dose not spray over the valves..that is the reason they need to be walnut blasted. So all that crud is also in your engine oil. That leads to cylinder wall scoring, piston scoring and broken piston rings. The crud is just like sand. That is why you need a catch can system that actually works. So if you don't care about your engine then just dump some sand in with your next oil change and speed up the process.
Ya lost me man. Ive walnut blasted cars for the very reason they are GDI engines whose valves never get fuel on them.
