The only downsides are figuring out how to mount one under your hood, and remembering to empty it every now and then. As Jason Fenske of Engineering Explained shows in this video below, even a budget catch can is better than nothing. Since direct injection engines shoot fuel directly into the cylinder, there's nothing preventing gunk from building up.Īn oil catch can acts as a filter, plugging into this hose line to "catch" the contaminants before they can reach the intake. Why does this specifically affect direct-injected engines? Well, in port-injected engines, the fuel being sprayed into the intake works as a cleanser, washing off any oil buildup that might occur. These contaminants can build up inside the intake when left unchecked, this buildup can hurt fuel economy and horsepower, and can even cause misfires. The problem is, this pressure relief hose allows oil and other nasty stuff from the crankcase to get into the intake manifold, where it doesn't belong. I ran one on a naturally aspirated Nissan Sentra for maybe 90k miles, and about every month or so there would be maybe 2 or 3 tablespoons of funky oil in there.
At any rate, having an oil catch can does get some of that funk out. This hose relieves pressure in the crankcase generated by blow-by (when pressure escapes the combustion chamber by seeping past the piston rings). The oil catch can takes that vapor and catches it, so it cant get routed back through the engine. Here's how they work, and why you might want to install one on your own car.Ī typical catch can plugs into a hose running from the top of your engine's crankcase to the intake manifold. After 1,000s of customer requests (most requested Chase Bays Product ever) and hundreds of hours in testing, we are ready for a soft launch of our Oil Catch Can. They prevent oil and other contaminants from causing buildup inside your engine's intake manifold.
Oil catch cans are simple devices that can greatly benefit direct-injected engines.