I usually put about a 1/2in. of antifreeze in a catch can, with a water separator catch, during the few months the temp can reach freeze danger after patching 3 winter cracks.
I run JLT 3.0 catch cans on my 3.5 Ecoboost transit vans. I'm in Michigan and we get some oil, water,fuel mix in the can (definitely more oil blow by than your VW). We empty them with every fuel fill aka once a week. The catch a lot more water in the winter (hence frequently emptied). The can can hold more but they are easily emptied and if you miss a week or two you're still ok. I don't want to risk filling it all the way up with water and then having the engine suck through a big lug and hydro locking (probably just paranoid)
Wonder if insulating the can would help. We had a big problem with pcv breathers on some gensets a few years back when the catch can wasn't insulated. They added insulation and no more freezing problems.
I used to have a Mishimoto catch can but it was a pain to clean. I changed it for a generic one that has a valve for emptying on the bottom. Noticed no difference in quality between the two, except that the cheaper one was smaller, easier to make room for and to clean. I put a silicone tube on the clean out valve to make it easier (and discrete) to empty. I found the smell from the catch can came mostly from the hoses going to and from the can. Mine are silicone, I have to change them yearly. Also between changes they need cleaned. If they get too fume logged, or people don't empty their cans the 02 will pick that up and adjust, leaning the car out. The can is not only saving the engine from having to burn that junk up, it also keeps it from going through the turbocharger and exhaust. No carb spraying out the exhaust if you two step, although it's kind of funny. Most importantly the catch can saves my diverter valve and therefor the turbo and engine. If you don't have a catch can, all that condensation gets caught up in the faster cooling parts of the system. Before I installed the catch, my car would bog or go into limp mode on rainy or even humid days. When I checked the DV I could dump the condensation and oil out of it. I personally would not run a modified, turbo charged car without a catch can. The original design uses a carbon reservoir like a catch can, but that's for a stock air intake. If you change to a CAI, the stock carbon canister just gets loaded and eventually your system can get choked out on condensation alone. So carb saving or not, I'd keep a can on.
Good update! If those lines are not teflon lined lines they will leak smell through. Almost need to run fuel rated lines for catch cans. I figured that out the hard way haha :D keep up the great work
Hi Charles, you’ll probably find that the rest of the carbon build up is coming from the egr system. It would be an interesting experiment to run an egr delete and the catch can for a while to see how much it affects it.
Probably not the best idea to posts videos online admitting you deleted any emissions systems with all the epa stuff going on. Just my two cents as a car enthusiast who has been staying informed. And the fact one of you thought I was saying the catch can is editing the emissions system is special education, I was responding the uploader literally mentioning in the video .possibly making a video about an EGR delete. But keep spewing bull crap.
@@CorruptInfinityOfficial It is not clear that anything was deleted. Neither this video nor the raceline info gives details about the pcv valve replacement parts. If there is a functioning check valve still in the system, there was no change to the emision system. Even without a check valve, the crankcase still appears to be vented to the intake with the second hose which is the goal of pcv.
@@crisnmaryfam7344 it doesn’t matter where you live, people are getting hit in every state and you are misinformed if you think otherwise. People are getting personal visits from the EPA and small businesses are getting hit with fines for selling items like a hondata addon chip that allows you to add more functionality to older obd1 cars. PFI speed was hit with a 18k dollar fine for selling Hondata chips because they say it modifies the emissions system on the car, you need to google the rpm act and realize things aren’t like they seem.
I think the definitive answer is how 3 and 4 got cleaner……. But I don’t think a recent long highway drive would of cleaned them like that……the catch can must be improving the situation a little bit!……for as little as it takes to install and maintain one(with a drain)….I’m sold on the idea !!
One thing Ive learned with catch cans. It is best to have your catch can close enough to your engine as to keep it warm and prevent freezing. Best 2 empty out the catch can after every use if using the vehicle in a cold/freezing environment.
@@bulletproof8686 I don’t know. Maybe antifreeze would be better but that’s not good for your catalytic converter. Just drain the catch can more often in the winter.
@CadillacDriver if you're dealing with below freezing temps like here in Wisconsin, it's best to park it whenever u can in the garage. If u do have to park it outside in freezing weather, then unscrew the can either when you park for the night or make sure u take the collection cup off and empty it out. There are plenty of issues and possible oil starvation if you're dealing with the temps that I'm currently dealing with. As we speak, it's 6°F with a -27°F wind chill. Normally, my sleeper wagon hibernates throughout the winter, but thanks to a county plow with a front shovel, which has a height of my Fiesta hatchback, I'm driving my show car till it gets back from the collision place. Sux, but yuh gotta do what yuh gotta do.
I really like the catch can on my focus st because it has a hose that comes down from the bottom with a valve so I can drain it from under the car while I'm doing my oil change all as the same time. It's really nice I don't have to remove the can each time, just open the valve.
Ditto on my Golf. I actually created a lower/extended stainless tube/sump for mine that lives behind the front grill. Easy to pop grill and just let drain every few thousand km
@@rosstudisco8650 it’s technically not a catch can. It’s a febi e53 cyclonic oil separator, I think from a 4ltr+ BMW v8 that usually has a handed pair for each bank. 1 on my 2.0tdi has roughly the same capacity, fits neatly next to the fuel filter and only cost £11. Just needs some form of sump to drain to. Kudos to whoever the guy was that suggested this (an Aussie forum I think?)
I researched my wife's vehicle choices and we chose a 2020 Toyota Camry SE over the VW simply because we wanted to avoid these hassles and Toyota actually did something about the carbon issues by adding Port a long with the Direct injection. A little more complicated, but so far to this day we have had no problems with the car and we have put 50k miles on it so far. I hope VW introduces their own version of the Toyota D4S system in future cars its a really good sallution.
I have a catch can on my 2017 Tiguan and have noticed the same thing. The cooler it is the more water it collects. Moisture is a by product of combustion and this is coming out as blow by and rerouted into the intake manifold by the manufacturer. The catch can seems to condensate this moisture into liquid. I have to drain mine every 1 or 2 thousand miles. This is a VERY stinky liquid. Don't spill it and were gloves. Treat it like hazardous waste. But on the upside I've noticed my oil doesn't smell so bad anymore at 3000 miles and I'm certain it is cleaner too. All of this is bound to help with carbon build up.
Yikes. Just an FYI good news for people with MPI (Port & Direct injection). I have a 2015 Mk7 Golf R Australian delivered with MPI. My mechanic and I inspected the intake valves on mine off after 65,000k km or about 40k miles. It is very clear of any Carbon. Quite incredible really. Crazy how VW didn't keep port injection for USA cars purely for that reason. Works very fricken well
I'm sure the long drive had some impact on how clean they were. But there's plenty of overall evidence that a catch can at least mitigates some of the carbon build up seen in engines. Does it solve it? No, probably not. Does it elongate how long it may take between needed cleanings? Plausibly. If for example a carbon cleaning is needed every 50k through normal use and a catch can can extend that number by 30% or more, that feels like a good investment in my mind. Because at say 150k, that's 1 less cleaning you've needed in the same mileage. And there's the residual impact on various internal components within/connected to the engine too.
Very well said. 👍🏻 I think a cleaning is needed once you notice performance degradation. Sure there’s gunk on the valves but is it causing the engine to run poorly? It has to build up quite a bit to cause a problem. I have 100k miles on a Di Mazda 3 engine and it runs amazing. I’ve been driving it for 7 years since new. What carbon build up? 😎😅
What about no catch can, so no constant maintenance on it. And a cleaning at every 100k. Far cheaper and since you've power over a longer time you'll notice a bigger boost after the cleanings. Better yet do nothing because you'll probably sell the car in a couple years.
@@HumbleMechanic - well, had you just throw on the can and not modified anything else, it would have been quite simple to get accurate data from this experiment but you had to go and complicate things. 😒😤🤷🏻♂️ I still appreciate the hard work and update. Did you clean the valves again before assembly?
I added a catch can to my 3rd gen prius, Stopped the oil consumption issues & also stopped the oil from dumping into the intake....saved my Prius’s life
Hi Charles - Do you think what could be happening is that the catch-can is preventing further carbon build up, and the fact that no further carbon was being added to 3 and 4 has allowed the previous deposits to have been burned off?
He never answered but this is also my guess. It makes sense if you think about it from a longevity standpoint. This video basically convinced me to finally pull the trigger on a proper catch can setup.
Hey Charles, I run a ProVent 200 'Catch-Can' more a oil separator than a traditional catch can from MAN+Hummel on my 3.2L Diesel in my Ford Ranger and have noticed the same as you. My theory is that there is less 'wet' oil returning from the crank case to the valves which provides adhesion for carbon in the exhaust gasses from the EGR to stick to and then burn on in the heat. As there is less oil in the system the gasses from the EGR over time may potentially have a cleaning effect, over time. MAN-Hummel actually recommends that people do not block their EGR off after installing their system. I tried finding the video where they said that but cant track it down.
I have a N54 catch can and my take is it helps a lot in smaller journeys (when the engine does not reach ideal oil temp), as there will be substantially more water/oil in the can - in colder weather it will be mostly water - compared to when going on a longer trip.
Thanks. Good analysis. 1990s VW engines were having engine oil sludge problems at some point (not sure which engine or engines). The oil change places were always recommended a flush, and special fluid additives. Kind of a a scam. My 2001 forest green VW Golf (2.0 TSI) developed a toasty oil smell at one point. I couldn't detect any leaks, and there was NO oil dripping on the pavement. The culprit turned out to be the oil filler cap. I replace the (plastic) OEM filler cap with a metal Stant replacement cap. I also added a second rubber gasket to the cap. I think what was happening is that once the engine reached operating temperature, the plastic cap deformed just enough to allow oil vapor to blow past the gasket. ABS plastic is not a good substitute for steel or aluminum. Same car needed a new water pump a few years later. ABS plastic impeller failed. I only learned later that there are after market water pumps with steel impellers.
The Humble Wife: "Honey, where is my good measuring cup?" Charles: ... Is there a recommended interval for cleaning valves in a DI engine? I would be interested to see how the engine looks with a catch can from clean, all the way to that interval.
No. There isn't any intervals for cleaning valves, but from what I've heard and seen, you might want to inspect them at around 80000 km. Too much carbon buildup will cause a code on the spark plugs/coils (can't remember the code at the moment) and a rough idle when cold.
@@panzerveps - I have 100,000 miles (160km) on my Di Mazda 3 engine. I’ve been driving it for 7 years, since 3 miles on the clock. Runs like new @ 105k miles as I type this. I do thrash on it quick a bit though, revving it out to redline “Frequently”. 😅
@@I_know_what_im_talking_about If you aren't running a catch can you might think about cleaning those valves before a chunk of that gummy crap screws up your engine.
@@I_know_what_im_talking_about I just went to 140,000 with my Optima if it starts using oil, baby it. I take my wife's car up to the gas station a couple times a month and wash it for her then I give it an Italian tune-up and drive home. Didn't work so good last time lost compression on cylinder 3. Car was running like a dream. Until that happened. I'm putting a catch can on my new engine.
I know this is two years old at this point, but I want to say that I'm glad you mention the freezing of a catch can due to water. I have had freezing happen twice on my WRX, once with a cheap catch can, once with my AOS installed. I found out that the problem is that the PCV lines are directly under the intercooler, which when driving at higher speeds for long periods caused the lines to freeze. Then, with the car sitting outside overnight, the catch can freezes. My fix is to put cardboard over the intercooler in the winter, that keeps the cold air from freezing the lines. Also, while it's not 100% effective, part of the problem still exists with the EGR. That's what's cooking the oil and turning it into carbon. Even with a catch can, there will still be some oil in the system, just not as much.
I run a catch can on my silverado 5.3L (Vortec, not a DI ecotech) and I’ve never had a problem with it freezing up in winter time even after 3 winters with below 0° temps. But I also have never seen that much water:oil come out of my can. I have just a small moroso can, but I drain it every 2k miles or so, little more frequently and it’s never been full.
I have a Nissan Frontier 3.8L DI engine with a small Moroso oil separator installed. It doesn't collect any noticeable water. I can freeze the bowl overnight and no ice to be found. I'm sure the small volume allows less water to condense as the system cools after shutdown. I know, completely different engine, separator and probably driving conditions.
I've had a cheap catch can on my mk6 gti for over a year now, and I can tell it's helping because my tail pipes aren't carbon black every 2k miles anymore.... actually I haven't had to clean them all summer, they're still nice and chrome. That has to be helping further upstream logically.
@@great4ever845 it means your engine is burning oil and not just gas. This isn't abnormal, as pcv vapors contain oil and are vented into the intake by design to be burned off.
Great video. I’m debating putting one on my 2020 WRX, and being that it’s a turbo charged engine I’m leaning towards doing it. An AOS is arguably better (so I’ve heard) but I’ll set reminders on my phone to just check the can every couple months or so. I now know that my prerequisites for make/model are: drain valve (or plug at minimum), seamless install w/out removing factory components, biggest size I can fit to avoid multiple servicing. I’m going shopping.
That smell is coming from the catch can hoses weeping crankcase vapors when they get hot. Great vid, shows catch cans dont help reduce carbon buildup on gdi engines, ive been trying to convince people of that since they started becoming available. They only collect water (condensation) and soot that would be burned off in the pcv hoses and engine anyways as the system was designed. Changing oil every 3k miles and keeping up on maintenance is all we can do. Catch cans were originally made for old school race engines that would blow oil out the valve cover breather at high rpm, dripping oil onto the block, exhaust or the track.
@@karim.13337 Well, yeah. I own a DI engine (1.4 tfsi, 125 hp, motor code CAXC/ Audi A3). I have misfires even with the 100 octane fuel even with new spark plugs. It doesn't metter if the engine is cold or not. I own a Skoda Octavia Tour(the second generation,2011) with the 1.4 MPI engine(80 hp) and it's running great(only 95 octane), no misfires, no loss of power.
@@karim.13337 The Audi's great. I mean it is faster than the Octavia. I'm trying once a month to do an italian tune up (running the car hard, changing gear at 5000-4500 rpm). I ussualy change gears at 3000 rpm.
@@bogdandacian2001 Could be the intake valves carboned up, I don't have much experience with that engine so I don't know how involved removing the manifold is... I also hear that coil packs are a very common fault with these, but again, I don't have much experience with that specific engine. I've had a car (1.4TSI) where it had 3 different issues at the same time, all 3 together caused one hell of a misfire and it was running rich AF... carbon build up on intake valves, timing was slightly off (engine with digital timing, was 1.5 degrees off spec.) and an O2 sensor was giving random readings sporadically, I'd fix one issue and the misfire gets better but still there, till all 3 problems were fixed...
friend made one for a bew, when new, from clear hose with coarse stainless steel wool lightly installed. the hose had a T with ft long drain tube,, collected grey sludge and water every month and would fill the drain every 2 months. 200K miles and the intake tract was still spotless
What oil? It’s clearly mostly oily water. I’m surprised the water isn’t cleaning everything up, to be honest with you. That tiny amount of oil mixed within the water mist is probably the culprit at making carbon, based on what we’re seeing here. Very interesting. 🤔
@@I_know_what_im_talking_about yeah, a major point of the catch can is to keep oil from getting in the intake via that pathway, so without the oil continuing to settle on the valves, the heat may have burnt away the carbon buildup that was on cyl 3&4 before.
You should try the Mann and Hummel catch can. It's way more practical and easy as to drain. No need to remove the can itself. It has a drain hose which collects the oil and water and is simply emptied via a tap at the end of this hose. It also has a filter element within the can itself which, as per manufacturers instructions only needs to be replaced every 40000 kilometres. Hope this helps. Cheers for the video 👍
I have the same catch can installed on a MK7.5 as well and I installed it because I watched your video and I have to say the same about the oil smell after the install. Also I have the same dislike with the engine bolt and washer bottle diminished capacity. I hope others understand it's not a cure to the carbon build up but a little help in preventing it.
Great video Charles. I am glad to see you use CeraTec as well. I just recently starged using in my 3.6 VR6 (and Liquimoly oil as well) , can't tell a big difference with it but I also put in my Gen 3 Coyote F-150. It made a huge difference in it, that engine is typically very noisy and it calmed down a lot of ticks and taps and made it run much smoother.
Got my '19 GTI around the same time as you humble. Except mine has 74k kms on it. Get to driving my man! Good stuff with the catch cans, I wish winter time wasn't a concern, or I'd probably get one as well for a peace of mind.
That sticky gunk on the shaft of the valve will cause a sticky valve. It's nice that the valve It's self looked good. So the catch can kinda help with half the job 🤔
This is the best video iv seen so far about catch cans testing ,really enjoyed it , well at least it didn't make things worse 🤣 , looks promising , i built my own , took for ever though but can screw of the body easily no other dismantling involved .Many thanks .
I want to build one and was thinking to use two old oilfilter cans, the upper should hold the siphon tubing and the lower should unscrew like an oilfilter to empty it. do you think that could work or is such device not as simple as I imagine?
@@naotamf1588Well i actual bought a BMW oil catch can off ebay was about £15 saves on that side of the build , as it has two 19mm in and outs on it ,the rest like brackets, fixings, pipes, and hook up to psc valve and to turbo in elbow i had to think long and hard, as its all gota seal properly with O rings ect ,so you need to be up on it ,and thinking out of the box.Sure Anything can be done .
Hello, yes the catch can worked for me, however I'm up in the north long Island NY and with the cooler Temps my can would fill up quicker with water so I removed it due to the large amount of water collection in the can from the moisture. Very good info as always thank you.
Well you still have the egr vavle in place and that will definitely let soot build up onto the valves. I noticed much less soot in the intake and on the valves on my bmw n57 when i did an egr delete.
I wouldn't have thought it helped clean, just kept it from getting dirtier. On my k24 I have the PCV and crankcase venting directly to a can and the EGR blocked and so far after about 10K miles on it it's still spotless, just had the manifold off to do the t/b so I got to check
You could take the catch can off and check the valves after another 10k miles to see if the carbon/yuck on the valves comes back :) Do you think the oil burning smell is from catch can causing a restriction on the PCV system? Would that cause oil in the combustion chamber?
Can a catch can be converted to a reservoir? Like for a Sea Foam or similar product? Seems like that would have more benefit sort of like DEF in diesel engines. Great work here Humble. Thanks for sharing.
Catch cans are 100% worth it on anything direct injected or even port injected engine. If VW would use both port and direct injection like every other manufacturer has done to eliminate ir prevent carbon build up! Their engines would run so much cleaner but nope they’re still stock on just D.I. 🤷♂️
This is why I refuse to purchase a new VW. Steadfast German dedication to questionable technology. Let’s go back to the time when VWs were properly engineered! Ps I drive a Mk3
In my Audi B7 I run a Provent 200 oil separator with an APR block-off/pcv delete plate. It removed a great deal of preexisting condensation that was already in the system, and keeps it out, as evidenced during oil changes there's no water or "motor mayo" (😂) mixed in when drained. There's no oil buildup in my intercooler lower piping, or my throttle inlet hose, and my throttle body stays perfectly clean inside. I occasionally remove the hoses on the Provent for examination, and see no oil buildup in the return hose going back into the valve cover. The issue I have with catch cans, even the ones with baffling is that baffles aren't separators or filters, and some oil mist still makes it's way past them. I like the Provent because it has an actual dual action mesh FILTER inside, along with a coalescing baffle, there's room to add steel (preferably copper) wool, and unlike typical catch cans it doesn't rely primarily on centrifugal action and coalescence. It also has a drain hole at the bottom for a hose/petcock attachment. The only drawbacks are 1) the holding tank area at the bottom isn't that voluminous, 2) the replacement filters generally aren't cleanable, and are pricey to replace ($70+). I think the drawbacks are palatable because you actually can manually clean the filters a bit, and they last a very long time (20K -/+). And if you use a clear drain hose long enough (1ft) and place the drain valve near the end, the hose acts as a holding tank and you can see when it needs draining. Which after the first two to three times (depending on weather where you live. I'm in Colorado) isn't very often, and yields just under a half cup of "motor mayo" every 2 - 3K. I think the benefit of keeping condensation out of your oil and from diluting it (which is a must for the oil guzzling 2.0 engine) is enough justification for use of the very reasonably priced (less than $200) Provent 200.
Hello brother! I'm from Brazil and after studying about this product I've decided to install it on our VW TCross 1.0 TSI. Since this may help a lot of people as well, I'm going to come back here in some time to tell you if it worked here. My situation is that 70 to 80% of the mile usage is on highways (about 100km/h) and daily use in São Paulo SP. The thing is that I live on the beach so maybe we will have more water here from the air. I'll be glad to tell the results in some months, thanks for sharing your experiences! Best regards ♡
Thank you. I have been wondering about catch cans for a long time now. I would take out the catch can. I always figure if they worked the factory would put them in. Those engineers do a lot of testing on things. i really enjoy your VW videos.
The factory doesn't want to add another thing that requires servicing. They are actively trying to extend service intervals. My BMW auto transmission has "lifetime" transmission fluid and 19,000km engine oil change intervals. I assume the fluid will last the life of the transmission, as the transmission will be dead soon after the fluid needs changing.
No. Such an amount collected in the catch can over 10k miles is not going to affect mileage when you take into consideration how many fuel-ups it would take to reach 10k miles.
I put a JLT catch can on my L86 (DI 6.2L) and in the summer I may get a few ounces of just oil over 5000 miles or so. In the winter I have to empty it every 750-1000 miles due to the water it catches (I wish it was bigger). I installed it for the same reason as you. To keep the valves from getting gunked up causing poor performance. I have been running it for almost 2 years now and performance is as good or better than when I installed it. This video made me feel better about it keeping the valves clean as I don't want to remove the intake just to check. Thanks!
I think I'd rather just spend $400 on a walnut blasting at 100k miles than $200 on a catch can, emptying it out every oil change, and worrying about it blowing my PCV system in the winter.
@@AQCE245 I think I'd rather just spend $400 on a walnut blasting at 100k miles than $200 on a catch can, emptying it out every oil change, and adding antifreeze to the can every winter to keep it from blowing my PVC system.
Fun fact. On my ex wifes 1.8 Jetta,there was even carbon on the piston. Verified via borescope. On my 02 Maxima,clean as a whistle. As to why. 🤷🏼♂️ Maybe too much oil was getting through tue rings on the Jetta.
Really thorough video. I'm frightened to think what my 125TDi Passat has in the manifold. I'm still convinced that it's choking as it feels laggy under 1,800rpm but the boost compensation feels fine in the upper rpm. Fantastic video 👍👍👍👍👍
On that type of catch can; you can always drill a hole and thread it with an oil drain bolt on the lower side where you have room to catch the nasty fluid with a container that will fit in that space. I use a one litre soda bottle with the top four inches cut off leaving a strip at one end just to hold onto and lift to remove it without spilling. Not the bottom where you can't see anything. Just like changing your motor oil. I also tried using a Fumoto Oil Drain Valve to drain the fluid, However more simple that would be turned out to be not so simple after all. I prefer the first option as the Fumoto has a narrower exit and sometimes that thicker floating oily crud would clog it causing me to remove the entire plug anyway. I actually prefer the round canister style as it is easily unscrewed and cleaned. A good explanation and video. Cheers
I don’t see a significant change as a result of a catch can on the EA888. But I have to agree with the BMW guys saying it helps on on the N54/N55. I have a theory on the burning oil smell coming from the water boiling off in the catch can. This happened to my cousins N55 where the catch can is located by the hot exhaust. This is not the case on the R. Or does it get hot enough?
I have a catch can on my ‘19 Fiesta ST, and drain it every oil change (5k miles). I’ve noticed during warm months, there is no water at all in the catch can. Just smells like burnt oil. During the winter, it has a lot more gunk/water.
If you live anywhere with freezing temps, you should ditch the catch can in the winter. They can freeze up and then the crankcase pressures will blow out seals.
Interesting. The catch can I installed in my Ford F-150 3.5 Turbo pulls liquid that looks like thick coffee. It's also very consistent with no chunks, particles, or separated layers.
For the vapor smell, check the seal on the coupler that goes to the turbo inlet. They frequently do not seal correctly, and will vent oil fumes right in front of the firewall.
Thanks for sharing. One important note to add is all catch cans are not created equal. Have to be careful the crank case pressure don't go too high. If there is a filter restriction in the can, that burnt oil smell you are talking about might just be from too much pressure being forced out some where and you now smell it. Example-, Mishimoto cans with that screw in filter (inside the can) create back pressure in the line from the PCV valve line that goes into the inlet of the catch can, and it needs to be removed and let the baffles do the work.
Have you had any experience with dry ice cleaning to remove carbon deposits? It would be interesting to see if this method is a possible replacement for chemical/manual and/or walnut shell cleaning. I've seen a number of chassis cleaning videos where dry ice is used to remove years of accumulated grime from under the car. One would think the same method should work for carbon removal too.
The problem with dry ice blasting is that it's multiple times more expensive than media blasting because the machines are extremely expensive and it's super slow. You can even buy a cheap media blasting setup and do your own walnut shell blasting but good luck affording a dry ice blasting machine.
I added a catch can to my Ford Explorer (2.3 eco boost) and have that same smell at times, it almost smells like exhaust. I bought the UPR catch can, and I empty it at every oil change. Great video thanks,
Great vid👍🏻 Had never considered the water & freezing in winter issue. Could be a major issue in the UK winters. Very interesting. Cap of antifreeze in there maybe? 🤔 🤷🏻♂️
Yes, I know several people who put about 1/4 cup of antifreeze in the catch can during colder months (especially if they park outside)...just have to keep an extra eye on the fluid levels. My cars live in the garage and are only outside while I am in the office...so its usually back above freezing by then.
A catch can like this would have been awesome on my 1996 Passat TDI, those engines are infamous for gunk buildup on the intake runners. the most common "FIX" is blocking off the EGR and installing a filter in the crank case vent.
Really wishing that all North American destined EA888’s came with MPFI and DI. This issue is so unnecessary. Plus if we had both of those options I’d imagine the tuning options would be amazing running on ethanol. I’m sure there’s some mix of emissions and cost reason why this is not the case oh well.
Charles, in the subaru world we sometimes need to install turbo vent sump restrictors to get rid of the burning oil smell. Sometimes in less restrictive downpipes it changes the back pressure within the turbo and draws some oil through the seals burning it in the exhaust...
@@jeromevet007 I think the water being basically doused on top of oil from the PCV allows the intake valves to never reach a temperature that it burns off the carbon deposits. Removing that variable let them run hot enough to dissolve them over time.
@@MaNNeRz91 No. That just contributes to faster build up on the back of the valves. Its the intake valves that are the problem,not so much the exhaust. You are correct on high temps clearing out the carbon though. To an extent at least. Just not in this situation.
I ran a catch can for a while. You get a LOT more water in there in the winter, leading to the potential freezing you mentioned. I figured condensation pulled in through the PCV system would not be a bad thing in small amounts. It didn't seem to do anything for intake valve buildup for me either.
after watching this video and the Legitstreetcars video where Alex ran plain water thru the intake of the e30. It seems to me that the water in the catch can is vaporizing and steam cleaning the valves as it goes thru the intake. Looks like similar results. Maybe running water thru the intake is the cheapest most effective way to clean the valves. Anyone willing to do a video on that?
When i used to be a boat mechanic, the guy i worked under would take a good spray bottle like the hair salon uses puts out a super fine mist, and he would throttle the engine and spray a couple squirts through the intake to flash clean the engines. Seemed to work pretty well.
I think that this water collected in oil catch can have cleaned valves in similar way as steam cleaning. There was enough water to be slowly (very slowly) sucked into engine. This was reason why valves are cleaner than before.
Had the ECS catch can on my 17' GTI for about just under two years in total, with the latter part of it's time installed for all four seasons. Didn't catch anything in the first few months, so figured the can needed more in terms of baffles or filter media. Added two poofs of steel wool inside the can to help catch and bead off any oils or vapors. It was packed in there pretty well even though it was like kitchen sink type of steel wool and not the super fine stuff. Never found a drop of anything in the can for the whole time it was installed. Only thing I ever found was a little oil inside the lines to and from the PVC, can, and intake. In my opinion, kinda of a big waste unless you have a particularly high power build or something out of the ordinary where it might actually do something I guess.
Stage 2 and up you need a good catch can. Adequate pcv is important... factory pcv is not made to see above stock power and torque levels. If you're not venting the system correctly you will end up with a metric ton of blow by and be burning it out of the exhaust. Under normal to light driving conditions you won't see much of a difference but if you're getting on it on the back roads, circuit, autocross at the strip or in a straight line in general you will notice the difference. On these cars today I'd run a stage 2 setup as such. 1. Upgraded intercooler and piping 2. Downpipe 3. Oil cooler and Trans cooler (Note an oil and Trans cooler will eliminate the ability to run a front mount intercooler most of the cores mount to the front crash bar you may be able to modify and remove your fog lights and run them in the outer edges of the bumper and then run an fmic if you don't wanna deal with the factory one or an upgraded factory but you will loose fog lights if this is the case) 4. Catch can 5. Upgraded fuel system full e85 files or full flex fuel (wich will put you in line to go stage 3) at any level e85 tunes are going to make more power and torque vs 91 and 93 Alot with these or any car people don't think about setting them up right and running proper supporting mods. Gtis are typically cheap card especially used and thats caused alot of people to modify them as cheap as possible. Spend the time to modify it correctly with good quality components
I think if you’re not emptying the catch can often enough and it gets too full, the breather hose which most likely goes into the intake is probably pulling in some oil from the catch can, which is causing the burning oil smell. Just a guess, I could be wrong.
Keeping water out of the intercooler sounds like a good idea. Also, a curl-Q drain tube at the bottom of the can would allow draining yet retain all the gasses similar to a p-trap.
Lol 😂 Why are catch cans a pain in the ass?!? I live in New England so if I install one of these Racinglines catch can, I gotta take it off during the winter? Too much work, I’ll just get a walnut blast clean. Lol Thanks for the follow up video was waiting for it.
That’s how I feel. I have a BMW with the N55 engine and I’m just over 100k miles and haven’t needed an intake cleaning yet. Is there some build up? Sure. But it’s not messing with anything to warrant the effort of a catch can. Next time the intake manifold is off to change the oil filter housing gasket, I’ll probably just clean them then.
@@slscamg so the N20's, N26's, N55's N63's, etc are more resistant to cold start misfires than TSI's. Mostly due to valvetronic. TSI's have a very small intake port at idle. Any build up will disrupt airflow noticeably.
I never considered the water issue for winter driving. I was going to install a catch can on my 2019 Silverado but with the -40c temperatures here in the winter has given me pause. Thanks for this video.
I've never seen the value in a catch can. I've owned 4 DI engines now, one a turbo - never had any sort of issues. I borescope'd each at 20k and 40k and they look fairly clean. I think that a nice highway jaunt driving spiritedly does more good than anything else - seems to be the people who take short trips and baby the car have the build up issues.
@@mckylecfc If I keep them that long lol, all of these have been Mazdas, and have served me well. We pulled a 6 with ~140k on it and it was still acceptable. From what I've seen its the Germans and early Ford Ecoboosts that have the worst issues with it, specifically earlier systems with VAG and BMW. But I still think the people that putt them around are the ones with the issues, the lower mile cars seem to have a correlation with buildup
@@Suction_ the mk7's are so fine I can't let go! Especially seeing the disasterclass with the mk8 and no buttons/overreliance on screen based hvac /everything smh... qhats next in this line of progress - plug ourselves into the matrix and use virtual blinking instead of going thru trouble of opening eyes and getting out of bed? Lol.
@@mckylecfc I'm not a huge VW guy to be honest. Especially considering my last rentals from enterprise being an atlas cross sport thing and a passat. The infotainment on both were definately annoying to use, the IPS displays were great, but navigating around was not easy. Sound system was TRASH too lol, the audio range of the systems we're so flat and washed out. I really don't care for the look of the mk8 either, looks kinda cartoony
@@Suction_ GTI and Golf R are different to rest of VW lineup -made more for driving enthusiasts ala Mazda3's Speed or Sport (100th?) which I wudnt mind test driving tbh but I'm still on the fence abt the styling of that hunched back... and reviews aren't the best either on power delivery... but if that 2.5 ltr turbo can be tuned I'm curious to see results..
Though I was HOPING to see that the catch can was having a clear-cut positive effect on carbon buildup ( I have the same year/ model ), I am just as pleased and perhaps more interested that you instead simply reported the results whatever they happened to be! At what point did you go stage 2? Do you think THAT had an influence on your experiment? I understand the variables complicate interpreting the results.
Going from a dealer technician to PM auto sales I’ve learned that on DI engines the carbon build up is from the oil system. Low tension less drag rings allows oil to get into the intake and that’s being sent back into the combustion chamber. As a car enthusiast I do believe the catch can does help but will not stop the carbon build up.
@@djmartin4776 not really. Oil vapors yes but actual oil is heavier than air. And the pcv systems allow oil vapor and some oil into the intake manifold. This creates a different kind of carbon on the valves. But as we moved to low tension piston rings for more power and efficiency they tend to stick to the pistons, when not cleaned regularly with a crank case cleaner, fuel service due to carbon build up and oil is getting passed the rings into the combustion chamber causing a thing called low speed pre ignition (LSPI) and that is how oil gets in the combustion chamber. Engineering explained has a whole video on GDI engines and low speed pre ignition. It’s about 10-15 minutes of really good information.
The 3-400 mile drive probably decarboned the intake a noticeable amount IMHO. Hours spent at high throttle openings and at ideal running temperature does wonders at removing carbon, it might have been interesting to use a borescope and have a peek at the pistons. I also suspect the engine in your car is in pretty good condition, so perhaps not much blowby when compared to an older engine.
idk why everyone is so concerned with this carbon build up. Who cares. As long it it's not built up to where it's decreasing air flow it's not a problem. All that goes through that intake is air, it's not disrupting the fuel so it's not really that big of a deal especially on a mostly stock car that already has multiple bottlenecks and restrictions to air flow anyway.
Having a bucket of water connected to my engine's oil supply with only gravity preventing it from mixing is the kind of thing that would keep me up at night. A real sword of Damocles.
Yeah like what happens if your hard cornering a lot? Wouldn’t it slosh up and be sucked in to the engine. A little mist of water is tolerable but otherwise this would make me very worried. I’m assuming there’s some kind of separator?
I have a Diesel with catch can. I believe the catch can is keeping products from going through the motor and into the exhaust where it can work of the DEF system.
Short trips = lots of condensation. Every bit of the sludge that doesn't get back into the intake is not getting burned. That means it's not putting carbon back into the system. The only problem with catch cans is people forget to empty them.
I’ve had the same catch can for months sat in the box I must get round to fitting it 👍🚙🇬🇧 Banjo bolt on the bottom with drain hose and a valve, built my own ready to go on once I fit it.👍
@@KasamS no not at all doesn’t really get that cold in the uk I know loads of people running them and my tuner said they are a must fit and I do agree I stomped on my brakes and the cloud of smoke that came out of the exhaust made me think my turbo had gone bang thankfully not tho. Oil cooler at some point too but not needed it in over 2 years running over 500bhp 👍
Engineering Explained did a video on D.i. cars and the itlian tune up. You can infact get the intake valves hot enough under normal operation with higher rpms to burn off carbon buildup. I would say with the catch can slowing down the amount of carbon buildup on the valves made it more manageable for the engine to burn the carbon off. That would answer why the valves you didn't clean before the test look better than before.
I've gone back and forth about a Catch Can and from what I gather, it's mostly a placebo effect. Some of the contents of that can were probably solvents (detergents, water, and fuel), which help keep things cleaner. I'd be curious if you could measure the actual carbon content of the can. Possibly through rendering? (Boil off the liquids and measure the mass.) That would give you an idea of the mass of the solids (mostly carbon) removed by the can.
If the previous OEM setup caused build up, of course it’s worth it to modify the system to make it better. It clearly catches a ton of moisture and oily mist. You don’t want that in your intake track PERIOD. 👍🏻
GDI engines work great until they get gunked up, I work in a lube shop for 10 years, take my advice change your oil often and use only the very best if you have GDI engine and use a fuel additive, it all adds ups to help ameliorate the problem. A catch can will help a little too
My catch can has a threaded plug on the bottom. Could a drain be made for that location? or is there a clearance issue. BTW, thinking of adding a single nozzle water/ methanol kit on the intake after the throttle body. I feel in addition to lowering inlet temps, it would help keep intake valves clean.
@@Hawk7886 a single 32cc nozzle ( smallest available from prometh ) shouldn’t need a tune. Also if you place the nozzle directly after the intercooler outlet it’ll give it enough time to fully atomise before the manifold
@@lukekilah6257 when I spoke with AEM, they said the same thing. On a small nozzle there is no need for a re-tune. In fact, I talked to a golf r owner that did it, he actually tuned the car for the 104 tune APR.
Finally someone that did true testing and true inspection of the valves with a catch can.
I usually put about a 1/2in. of antifreeze in a catch can, with a water separator catch, during the few months the temp can reach freeze danger after patching 3 winter cracks.
Great 💡 idea --- Thanks 🙂
I run JLT 3.0 catch cans on my 3.5 Ecoboost transit vans. I'm in Michigan and we get some oil, water,fuel mix in the can (definitely more oil blow by than your VW). We empty them with every fuel fill aka once a week. The catch a lot more water in the winter (hence frequently emptied). The can can hold more but they are easily emptied and if you miss a week or two you're still ok. I don't want to risk filling it all the way up with water and then having the engine suck through a big lug and hydro locking (probably just paranoid)
That is a really good idea. Thanks
Wonder if insulating the can would help.
We had a big problem with pcv breathers on some gensets a few years back when the catch can wasn't insulated.
They added insulation and no more freezing problems.
Do not add antifreeze, it poisons catalytic converters when it burns. Add pure alcohol like methanol or ethanol instead.
I used to have a Mishimoto catch can but it was a pain to clean. I changed it for a generic one that has a valve for emptying on the bottom. Noticed no difference in quality between the two, except that the cheaper one was smaller, easier to make room for and to clean. I put a silicone tube on the clean out valve to make it easier (and discrete) to empty.
I found the smell from the catch can came mostly from the hoses going to and from the can. Mine are silicone, I have to change them yearly. Also between changes they need cleaned. If they get too fume logged, or people don't empty their cans the 02 will pick that up and adjust, leaning the car out.
The can is not only saving the engine from having to burn that junk up, it also keeps it from going through the turbocharger and exhaust. No carb spraying out the exhaust if you two step, although it's kind of funny.
Most importantly the catch can saves my diverter valve and therefor the turbo and engine. If you don't have a catch can, all that condensation gets caught up in the faster cooling parts of the system. Before I installed the catch, my car would bog or go into limp mode on rainy or even humid days. When I checked the DV I could dump the condensation and oil out of it.
I personally would not run a modified, turbo charged car without a catch can. The original design uses a carbon reservoir like a catch can, but that's for a stock air intake. If you change to a CAI, the stock carbon canister just gets loaded and eventually your system can get choked out on condensation alone. So carb saving or not, I'd keep a can on.
Good update! If those lines are not teflon lined lines they will leak smell through. Almost need to run fuel rated lines for catch cans. I figured that out the hard way haha :D keep up the great work
Hi Charles, you’ll probably find that the rest of the carbon build up is coming from the egr system. It would be an interesting experiment to run an egr delete and the catch can for a while to see how much it affects it.
Probably not the best idea to posts videos online admitting you deleted any emissions systems with all the epa stuff going on. Just my two cents as a car enthusiast who has been staying informed. And the fact one of you thought I was saying the catch can is editing the emissions system is special education, I was responding the uploader literally mentioning in the video .possibly making a video about an EGR delete. But keep spewing bull crap.
@@CorruptInfinityOfficial Depending where you live, might not be smart. A person is not a business though,
@@CorruptInfinityOfficial It is not clear that anything was deleted. Neither this video nor the raceline info gives details about the pcv valve replacement parts. If there is a functioning check valve still in the system, there was no change to the emision system. Even without a check valve, the crankcase still appears to be vented to the intake with the second hose which is the goal of pcv.
@@crisnmaryfam7344 it doesn’t matter where you live, people are getting hit in every state and you are misinformed if you think otherwise. People are getting personal visits from the EPA and small businesses are getting hit with fines for selling items like a hondata addon chip that allows you to add more functionality to older obd1 cars. PFI speed was hit with a 18k dollar fine for selling Hondata chips because they say it modifies the emissions system on the car, you need to google the rpm act and realize things aren’t like they seem.
@@billpendergrass9466 learn to understand context. Didn’t even say catch can bootyhead
Dual injection would fix ALOT of problems.
Audi added that to their newer V6 engines, actually.
Or service ports so that you can "seafoam" right into the each intake runner.
Or CRC spray into each intake.
@@OlguinInHD and the RS3/TTRS 5 cylinder as well.
I believe Toyota did that would their 2.0 M20 engines in the newer Corollas. I'm curious to see the results as time goes on!
I think the definitive answer is how 3 and 4 got cleaner……. But I don’t think a recent long highway drive would of cleaned them like that……the catch can must be improving the situation a little bit!……for as little as it takes to install and maintain one(with a drain)….I’m sold on the idea !!
Drill a hole under the can and install a valve dang it.
One thing Ive learned with catch cans. It is best to have your catch can close enough to your engine as to keep it warm and prevent freezing. Best 2 empty out the catch can after every use if using the vehicle in a cold/freezing environment.
Some other guy said to put a little alcohol in the catch can so the water doesn’t freeze over.
@@markm0000 Wouldn't the alcohol evaporate?
@@bulletproof8686 I don’t know. Maybe antifreeze would be better but that’s not good for your catalytic converter. Just drain the catch can more often in the winter.
Close to the engine?
Once the engine has cooled - then what? Back to square one.
@CadillacDriver if you're dealing with below freezing temps like here in Wisconsin, it's best to park it whenever u can in the garage. If u do have to park it outside in freezing weather, then unscrew the can either when you park for the night or make sure u take the collection cup off and empty it out. There are plenty of issues and possible oil starvation if you're dealing with the temps that I'm currently dealing with. As we speak, it's 6°F with a -27°F wind chill. Normally, my sleeper wagon hibernates throughout the winter, but thanks to a county plow with a front shovel, which has a height of my Fiesta hatchback, I'm driving my show car till it gets back from the collision place. Sux, but yuh gotta do what yuh gotta do.
I really like the catch can on my focus st because it has a hose that comes down from the bottom with a valve so I can drain it from under the car while I'm doing my oil change all as the same time. It's really nice I don't have to remove the can each time, just open the valve.
Which one do you have, curious I have a st as well and want to put a can
Which one are you using
I have a st as well 350hp tuned and my tuners says i should get a catch can soon. Curious to know what you use
Ditto on my Golf. I actually created a lower/extended stainless tube/sump for mine that lives behind the front grill. Easy to pop grill and just let drain every few thousand km
@@kpbmx which can ru using?
@@rosstudisco8650 it’s technically not a catch can. It’s a febi e53 cyclonic oil separator, I think from a 4ltr+ BMW v8 that usually has a handed pair for each bank. 1 on my 2.0tdi has roughly the same capacity, fits neatly next to the fuel filter and only cost £11. Just needs some form of sump to drain to. Kudos to whoever the guy was that suggested this (an Aussie forum I think?)
I researched my wife's vehicle choices and we chose a 2020 Toyota Camry SE over the VW simply because we wanted to avoid these hassles and Toyota actually did something about the carbon issues by adding Port a long with the Direct injection. A little more complicated, but so far to this day we have had no problems with the car and we have put 50k miles on it so far. I hope VW introduces their own version of the Toyota D4S system in future cars its a really good sallution.
Would you consider removing the PCV plate to investigate the burning oil smell/general inspection of that component?
Idk one time I removed mine and found a piece of severed metal aluminum.
I have a catch can on my 2017 Tiguan and have noticed the same thing. The cooler it is the more water it collects. Moisture is a by product of combustion and this is coming out as blow by and rerouted into the intake manifold by the manufacturer. The catch can seems to condensate this moisture into liquid. I have to drain mine every 1 or 2 thousand miles. This is a VERY stinky liquid. Don't spill it and were gloves. Treat it like hazardous waste. But on the upside I've noticed my oil doesn't smell so bad anymore at 3000 miles and I'm certain it is cleaner too. All of this is bound to help with carbon build up.
Yikes. Just an FYI good news for people with MPI (Port & Direct injection). I have a 2015 Mk7 Golf R Australian delivered with MPI. My mechanic and I inspected the intake valves on mine off after 65,000k km or about 40k miles. It is very clear of any Carbon. Quite incredible really. Crazy how VW didn't keep port injection for USA cars purely for that reason. Works very fricken well
I'm sure the long drive had some impact on how clean they were. But there's plenty of overall evidence that a catch can at least mitigates some of the carbon build up seen in engines. Does it solve it? No, probably not. Does it elongate how long it may take between needed cleanings? Plausibly. If for example a carbon cleaning is needed every 50k through normal use and a catch can can extend that number by 30% or more, that feels like a good investment in my mind. Because at say 150k, that's 1 less cleaning you've needed in the same mileage. And there's the residual impact on various internal components within/connected to the engine too.
Very well said. 👍🏻
I think a cleaning is needed once you notice performance degradation. Sure there’s gunk on the valves but is it causing the engine to run poorly? It has to build up quite a bit to cause a problem.
I have 100k miles on a Di Mazda 3 engine and it runs amazing. I’ve been driving it for 7 years since new. What carbon build up? 😎😅
What about no catch can, so no constant maintenance on it. And a cleaning at every 100k. Far cheaper and since you've power over a longer time you'll notice a bigger boost after the cleanings.
Better yet do nothing because you'll probably sell the car in a couple years.
I don't think a catch can will eliminate carbon on the valves. I think it's slows the build up
This is exactly what I was thinking when watching this video. There are definitely other variables at play not just the catch can.
Yep. That’s why testing these for definitive proof is almost impossible
@@HumbleMechanic - well, had you just throw on the can and not modified anything else, it would have been quite simple to get accurate data from this experiment but you had to go and complicate things. 😒😤🤷🏻♂️
I still appreciate the hard work and update.
Did you clean the valves again before assembly?
I added a catch can to my 3rd gen prius, Stopped the oil consumption issues & also stopped the oil from dumping into the intake....saved my Prius’s life
Fuel and its additives with help remove the previous carbon build up.
Hi Charles - Do you think what could be happening is that the catch-can is preventing further carbon build up, and the fact that no further carbon was being added to 3 and 4 has allowed the previous deposits to have been burned off?
He never answered but this is also my guess. It makes sense if you think about it from a longevity standpoint. This video basically convinced me to finally pull the trigger on a proper catch can setup.
I just bought a GDI Turbo and even though it's not a VW, your series has been super inciteful. Take my sub!
Hey Charles, I run a ProVent 200 'Catch-Can' more a oil separator than a traditional catch can from MAN+Hummel on my 3.2L Diesel in my Ford Ranger and have noticed the same as you.
My theory is that there is less 'wet' oil returning from the crank case to the valves which provides adhesion for carbon in the exhaust gasses from the EGR to stick to and then burn on in the heat. As there is less oil in the system the gasses from the EGR over time may potentially have a cleaning effect, over time. MAN-Hummel actually recommends that people do not block their EGR off after installing their system. I tried finding the video where they said that but cant track it down.
Hi from Germany, I use the M+H Provent 150 on my VW T6 2.0 TDI sice Jan 2021 and it works very well. I think it is the best cc on the market.
I have a N54 catch can and my take is it helps a lot in smaller journeys (when the engine does not reach ideal oil temp), as there will be substantially more water/oil in the can - in colder weather it will be mostly water - compared to when going on a longer trip.
If you're driving your car long enough or letting it idle enough you will burn away all the water in your oil..
Thanks. Good analysis. 1990s VW engines were having engine oil sludge problems at some point (not sure which engine or engines). The oil change places were always recommended a flush, and special fluid additives. Kind of a a scam. My 2001 forest green VW Golf (2.0 TSI) developed a toasty oil smell at one point. I couldn't detect any leaks, and there was NO oil dripping on the pavement. The culprit turned out to be the oil filler cap. I replace the (plastic) OEM filler cap with a metal Stant replacement cap. I also added a second rubber gasket to the cap. I think what was happening is that once the engine reached operating temperature, the plastic cap deformed just enough to allow oil vapor to blow past the gasket. ABS plastic is not a good substitute for steel or aluminum. Same car needed a new water pump a few years later. ABS plastic impeller failed. I only learned later that there are after market water pumps with steel impellers.
The Humble Wife: "Honey, where is my good measuring cup?"
Charles: ...
Is there a recommended interval for cleaning valves in a DI engine? I would be interested to see how the engine looks with a catch can from clean, all the way to that interval.
No. There isn't any intervals for cleaning valves, but from what I've heard and seen, you might want to inspect them at around 80000 km.
Too much carbon buildup will cause a code on the spark plugs/coils (can't remember the code at the moment) and a rough idle when cold.
@@panzerveps - I have 100,000 miles (160km) on my Di Mazda 3 engine. I’ve been driving it for 7 years, since 3 miles on the clock. Runs like new @ 105k miles as I type this.
I do thrash on it quick a bit though, revving it out to redline “Frequently”. 😅
@@I_know_what_im_talking_about If you aren't running a catch can you might think about cleaning those valves before a chunk of that gummy crap screws up your engine.
@@chasl3645 - bruh, it’s been two years since my post. The car now has 135k miles. Still no driveability issues from Carbon. 🤷🏻♂️
@@I_know_what_im_talking_about I just went to 140,000 with my Optima if it starts using oil, baby it. I take my wife's car up to the gas station a couple times a month and wash it for her then I give it an Italian tune-up and drive home. Didn't work so good last time lost compression on cylinder 3. Car was running like a dream. Until that happened. I'm putting a catch can on my new engine.
I know this is two years old at this point, but I want to say that I'm glad you mention the freezing of a catch can due to water. I have had freezing happen twice on my WRX, once with a cheap catch can, once with my AOS installed. I found out that the problem is that the PCV lines are directly under the intercooler, which when driving at higher speeds for long periods caused the lines to freeze. Then, with the car sitting outside overnight, the catch can freezes. My fix is to put cardboard over the intercooler in the winter, that keeps the cold air from freezing the lines.
Also, while it's not 100% effective, part of the problem still exists with the EGR. That's what's cooking the oil and turning it into carbon. Even with a catch can, there will still be some oil in the system, just not as much.
I run a catch can on my silverado 5.3L (Vortec, not a DI ecotech) and I’ve never had a problem with it freezing up in winter time even after 3 winters with below 0° temps. But I also have never seen that much water:oil come out of my can. I have just a small moroso can, but I drain it every 2k miles or so, little more frequently and it’s never been full.
Just add an ounce of straight anti freeze to the can in the winter
Charles.. THANK YOU!! I was gonna do this.. but it is not worth it to me. You saved me a lot of $$$ TY!
Charles, remove the catch can and take it apart again at 10K miles.
I’m loving this idea more and more.
@@HumbleMechanic 👍
I was just saying the same thing I’d love to see this even more.
If you do this, definitely reintroduce some Ceratec -- I'm wondering if that actually had more of an effect than it's being given credit for.
I have a Nissan Frontier 3.8L DI engine with a small Moroso oil separator installed. It doesn't collect any noticeable water. I can freeze the bowl overnight and no ice to be found. I'm sure the small volume allows less water to condense as the system cools after shutdown. I know, completely different engine, separator and probably driving conditions.
I've had a cheap catch can on my mk6 gti for over a year now, and I can tell it's helping because my tail pipes aren't carbon black every 2k miles anymore.... actually I haven't had to clean them all summer, they're still nice and chrome. That has to be helping further upstream logically.
What does this mean if tail pipe is black my camaro Is
@@great4ever845 it means your engine is burning oil and not just gas. This isn't abnormal, as pcv vapors contain oil and are vented into the intake by design to be burned off.
@@great4ever845 or it's running rich
You can get the racing line drain kit for catch can to avoid removing the catch can to empty it
That came out the day after I posted this video hahah
@@HumbleMechanic typical 😂
Great video. I’m debating putting one on my 2020 WRX, and being that it’s a turbo charged engine I’m leaning towards doing it. An AOS is arguably better (so I’ve heard) but I’ll set reminders on my phone to just check the can every couple months or so. I now know that my prerequisites for make/model are: drain valve (or plug at minimum), seamless install w/out removing factory components, biggest size I can fit to avoid multiple servicing. I’m going shopping.
That smell is coming from the catch can hoses weeping crankcase vapors when they get hot. Great vid, shows catch cans dont help reduce carbon buildup on gdi engines, ive been trying to convince people of that since they started becoming available. They only collect water (condensation) and soot that would be burned off in the pcv hoses and engine anyways as the system was designed. Changing oil every 3k miles and keeping up on maintenance is all we can do. Catch cans were originally made for old school race engines that would blow oil out the valve cover breather at high rpm, dripping oil onto the block, exhaust or the track.
Great, now time to add an MPI fuel setup and see if that makes it even better!! (Too bad NA doesn't get the dual injection setup as standard...)
The engine will run even better with the Multi-Point injection. No more cold start misfires, no more power loss :D
@@bogdandacian2001 are they actually that bad??, I'm in the UK and here even the 190bhp engines (At least on the SEAT Leon) have dual injection
@@karim.13337 Well, yeah. I own a DI engine (1.4 tfsi, 125 hp, motor code CAXC/ Audi A3). I have misfires even with the 100 octane fuel even with new spark plugs. It doesn't metter if the engine is cold or not. I own a Skoda Octavia Tour(the second generation,2011) with the 1.4 MPI engine(80 hp) and it's running great(only 95 octane), no misfires, no loss of power.
@@karim.13337 The Audi's great. I mean it is faster than the Octavia. I'm trying once a month to do an italian tune up (running the car hard, changing gear at 5000-4500 rpm). I ussualy change gears at 3000 rpm.
@@bogdandacian2001 Could be the intake valves carboned up, I don't have much experience with that engine so I don't know how involved removing the manifold is...
I also hear that coil packs are a very common fault with these, but again, I don't have much experience with that specific engine.
I've had a car (1.4TSI) where it had 3 different issues at the same time, all 3 together caused one hell of a misfire and it was running rich AF... carbon build up on intake valves, timing was slightly off (engine with digital timing, was 1.5 degrees off spec.) and an O2 sensor was giving random readings sporadically, I'd fix one issue and the misfire gets better but still there, till all 3 problems were fixed...
friend made one for a bew, when new, from clear hose with coarse stainless steel wool lightly installed. the hose had a T with ft long drain tube,, collected grey sludge and water every month and would fill the drain every 2 months. 200K miles and the intake tract was still spotless
My catch can collects some sludge pieces on the bottom every time I empty it. Not sure what to think of it.
The other valves could have been cleaned by burning off what was on them without the addition of new oil
That's what I was thinking, especially since he went on a road trip, that's a lot of miles presumably at full operating temps.
What oil? It’s clearly mostly oily water. I’m surprised the water isn’t cleaning everything up, to be honest with you. That tiny amount of oil mixed within the water mist is probably the culprit at making carbon, based on what we’re seeing here. Very interesting. 🤔
@@I_know_what_im_talking_about yeah, a major point of the catch can is to keep oil from getting in the intake via that pathway, so without the oil continuing to settle on the valves, the heat may have burnt away the carbon buildup that was on cyl 3&4 before.
Burn off by what?
@@myname9252 HEAT. Mazda claims that their Skyactiv engines are designed to keep the valves super hot, which burns shit off and keep them clean. 🤷🏻♂️
You should try the Mann and Hummel catch can. It's way more practical and easy as to drain.
No need to remove the can itself. It has a drain hose which collects the oil and water and is simply emptied via a tap at the end of this hose. It also has a filter element within the can itself which, as per manufacturers instructions only needs to be replaced every 40000 kilometres.
Hope this helps.
Cheers for the video 👍
I have the same catch can installed on a MK7.5 as well and I installed it because I watched your video and I have to say the same about the oil smell after the install. Also I have the same dislike with the engine bolt and washer bottle diminished capacity. I hope others understand it's not a cure to the carbon build up but a little help in preventing it.
Excellent review of the catch can and additives. I don't need more info than this.
Great video Charles. I am glad to see you use CeraTec as well. I just recently starged using in my 3.6 VR6 (and Liquimoly oil as well) , can't tell a big difference with it but I also put in my Gen 3 Coyote F-150. It made a huge difference in it, that engine is typically very noisy and it calmed down a lot of ticks and taps and made it run much smoother.
Got my '19 GTI around the same time as you humble. Except mine has 74k kms on it. Get to driving my man! Good stuff with the catch cans, I wish winter time wasn't a concern, or I'd probably get one as well for a peace of mind.
That sticky gunk on the shaft of the valve will cause a sticky valve. It's nice that the valve It's self looked good. So the catch can kinda help with half the job 🤔
I've seen a lot of those catch cans leak from where they replace the factory pcv system.
This is the best video iv seen so far about catch cans testing ,really enjoyed it , well at least it didn't make things worse 🤣 , looks promising , i built my own , took for ever though but can screw of the body easily no other dismantling involved .Many thanks .
I want to build one and was thinking to use two old oilfilter cans, the upper should hold the siphon tubing and the lower should unscrew like an oilfilter to empty it. do you think that could work or is such device not as simple as I imagine?
@@naotamf1588Well i actual bought a BMW oil catch can off ebay was about £15 saves on that side of the build , as it has two 19mm in and outs on it ,the rest like brackets, fixings, pipes, and hook up to psc valve and to turbo in elbow i had to think long and hard, as its all gota seal properly with O rings ect ,so you need to be up on it ,and thinking out of the box.Sure Anything can be done .
Hello, yes the catch can worked for me, however I'm up in the north long Island NY and with the cooler Temps my can would fill up quicker with water so I removed it due to the large amount of water collection in the can from the moisture. Very good info as always thank you.
Well you still have the egr vavle in place and that will definitely let soot build up onto the valves. I noticed much less soot in the intake and on the valves on my bmw n57 when i did an egr delete.
I wouldn't have thought it helped clean, just kept it from getting dirtier. On my k24 I have the PCV and crankcase venting directly to a can and the EGR blocked and so far after about 10K miles on it it's still spotless, just had the manifold off to do the t/b so I got to check
You could take the catch can off and check the valves after another 10k miles to see if the carbon/yuck on the valves comes back :) Do you think the oil burning smell is from catch can causing a restriction on the PCV system? Would that cause oil in the combustion chamber?
My catch can never looks like that but I always warm up my car and do my oil changes plus other maintenances on time
Can a catch can be converted to a reservoir? Like for a Sea Foam or similar product? Seems like that would have more benefit sort of like DEF in diesel engines. Great work here Humble. Thanks for sharing.
This kind of lines up with my theory that if it worked well and did enough, all manufacturers would be installing them from the start.
Catch cans are 100% worth it on anything direct injected or even port injected engine. If VW would use both port and direct injection like every other manufacturer has done to eliminate ir prevent carbon build up! Their engines would run so much cleaner but nope they’re still stock on just D.I. 🤷♂️
This is why I refuse to purchase a new VW. Steadfast German dedication to questionable technology. Let’s go back to the time when VWs were properly engineered!
Ps I drive a Mk3
@@aygwm ALH here!
MPI is standard in most german VWs though? EA888 gen 3 has MPI and my 1.6 A3 from 10 years ago also has MPI.
@@whuzzzup not in the u.s
@@whuzzzup not anymore in the EU. It's DI + particulate filter.
I have one of the last dual injected EA888 gen 3 VAG cars before they all switched.
In my Audi B7 I run a Provent 200 oil separator with an APR block-off/pcv delete plate. It removed a great deal of preexisting condensation that was already in the system, and keeps it out, as evidenced during oil changes there's no water or "motor mayo" (😂) mixed in when drained. There's no oil buildup in my intercooler lower piping, or my throttle inlet hose, and my throttle body stays perfectly clean inside. I occasionally remove the hoses on the Provent for examination, and see no oil buildup in the return hose going back into the valve cover. The issue I have with catch cans, even the ones with baffling is that baffles aren't separators or filters, and some oil mist still makes it's way past them. I like the Provent because it has an actual dual action mesh FILTER inside, along with a coalescing baffle, there's room to add steel (preferably copper) wool, and unlike typical catch cans it doesn't rely primarily on centrifugal action and coalescence. It also has a drain hole at the bottom for a hose/petcock attachment. The only drawbacks are 1) the holding tank area at the bottom isn't that voluminous, 2) the replacement filters generally aren't cleanable, and are pricey to replace ($70+). I think the drawbacks are palatable because you actually can manually clean the filters a bit, and they last a very long time (20K -/+). And if you use a clear drain hose long enough (1ft) and place the drain valve near the end, the hose acts as a holding tank and you can see when it needs draining. Which after the first two to three times (depending on weather where you live. I'm in Colorado) isn't very often, and yields just under a half cup of "motor mayo" every 2 - 3K. I think the benefit of keeping condensation out of your oil and from diluting it (which is a must for the oil guzzling 2.0 engine) is enough justification for use of the very reasonably priced (less than $200) Provent 200.
Hello brother!
I'm from Brazil and after studying about this product I've decided to install it on our VW TCross 1.0 TSI.
Since this may help a lot of people as well, I'm going to come back here in some time to tell you if it worked here.
My situation is that 70 to 80% of the mile usage is on highways (about 100km/h) and daily use in São Paulo SP. The thing is that I live on the beach so maybe we will have more water here from the air. I'll be glad to tell the results in some months, thanks for sharing your experiences!
Best regards ♡
Hi, care to share your findings? it's been some months already..........
Thank you. I have been wondering about catch cans for a long time now. I would take out the catch can. I always figure if they worked the factory would put them in. Those engineers do a lot of testing on things. i really enjoy your VW videos.
The factory doesn't want to add another thing that requires servicing. They are actively trying to extend service intervals. My BMW auto transmission has "lifetime" transmission fluid and 19,000km engine oil change intervals.
I assume the fluid will last the life of the transmission, as the transmission will be dead soon after the fluid needs changing.
Is there a difference in fuel mileage since all that water vapor isnt going back into the engine?
I'll leave my comment here because thats a solid question!
Over the course it probably makes the smallest difference, to the point where it is hardly measurable.
@@couch1596 That's called an assumption :D
No. Such an amount collected in the catch can over 10k miles is not going to affect mileage when you take into consideration how many fuel-ups it would take to reach 10k miles.
Can you do a video on CRC intake valve cleaner?
Love this video, Learned a ton about DI engines and catch cans. Thanks Charles 👊🏼
No you didn't. This is bullshit. Find other videos, because this is full of shit.
I put a JLT catch can on my L86 (DI 6.2L) and in the summer I may get a few ounces of just oil over 5000 miles or so. In the winter I have to empty it every 750-1000 miles due to the water it catches (I wish it was bigger). I installed it for the same reason as you. To keep the valves from getting gunked up causing poor performance. I have been running it for almost 2 years now and performance is as good or better than when I installed it. This video made me feel better about it keeping the valves clean as I don't want to remove the intake just to check. Thanks!
I think I'd rather just spend $400 on a walnut blasting at 100k miles than $200 on a catch can, emptying it out every oil change, and worrying about it blowing my PCV system in the winter.
Just throw some antifreeze in the can that's what I do I've got zero freezing issues, I live in NYC
@@AQCE245 I think I'd rather just spend $400 on a walnut blasting at 100k miles than $200 on a catch can, emptying it out every oil change, and adding antifreeze to the can every winter to keep it from blowing my PVC system.
Fun fact.
On my ex wifes 1.8 Jetta,there was even carbon on the piston.
Verified via borescope.
On my 02 Maxima,clean as a whistle.
As to why.
🤷🏼♂️
Maybe too much oil was getting through tue rings on the Jetta.
Really thorough video. I'm frightened to think what my 125TDi Passat has in the manifold. I'm still convinced that it's choking as it feels laggy under 1,800rpm but the boost compensation feels fine in the upper rpm.
Fantastic video 👍👍👍👍👍
On that type of catch can; you can always drill a hole and thread it with an oil drain bolt on the lower side where you have room to catch the nasty fluid with a container that will fit in that space. I use a one litre soda bottle with the top four inches cut off leaving a strip at one end just to hold onto and lift to remove it without spilling. Not the bottom where you can't see anything. Just like changing your motor oil. I also tried using a Fumoto Oil Drain Valve to drain the fluid, However more simple that would be turned out to be not so simple after all. I prefer the first option as the Fumoto has a narrower exit and sometimes that thicker floating oily crud would clog it causing me to remove the entire plug anyway. I actually prefer the round canister style as it is easily unscrewed and cleaned. A good explanation and video. Cheers
I don’t see a significant change as a result of a catch can on the EA888. But I have to agree with the BMW guys saying it helps on on the N54/N55. I have a theory on the burning oil smell coming from the water boiling off in the catch can. This happened to my cousins N55 where the catch can is located by the hot exhaust. This is not the case on the R. Or does it get hot enough?
I have a catch can on my ‘19 Fiesta ST, and drain it every oil change (5k miles). I’ve noticed during warm months, there is no water at all in the catch can. Just smells like burnt oil. During the winter, it has a lot more gunk/water.
If you live anywhere with freezing temps, you should ditch the catch can in the winter. They can freeze up and then the crankcase pressures will blow out seals.
I clicked on this video so fast I got whiplash
same
i clicked faster than Volkswagen getting their emissions ok certification
Faster than a slap on my arm trying to squish a mosquito
I just picked up a mk6 gti 2012 with 20k miles. I haven't done a catch can. But I do have one on my mk4 r32. I love Volkswagens.
@@r32guy10 wtf nice find!
Interesting. The catch can I installed in my Ford F-150 3.5 Turbo pulls liquid that looks like thick coffee. It's also very consistent with no chunks, particles, or separated layers.
I installed an JLT catch can on my 17 3.5L EB and get same coffee consistency and a quieter engine.
For the vapor smell, check the seal on the coupler that goes to the turbo inlet. They frequently do not seal correctly, and will vent oil fumes right in front of the firewall.
Good call. Thank you
Thanks for sharing. One important note to add is all catch cans are not created equal. Have to be careful the crank case pressure don't go too high. If there is a filter restriction in the can, that burnt oil smell you are talking about might just be from too much pressure being forced out some where and you now smell it. Example-, Mishimoto cans with that screw in filter (inside the can) create back pressure in the line from the PCV valve line that goes into the inlet of the catch can, and it needs to be removed and let the baffles do the work.
Have you had any experience with dry ice cleaning to remove carbon deposits? It would be interesting to see if this method is a possible replacement for chemical/manual and/or walnut shell cleaning. I've seen a number of chassis cleaning videos where dry ice is used to remove years of accumulated grime from under the car. One would think the same method should work for carbon removal too.
works great on turbines, havent seen it used on a normal engine though
The problem with dry ice blasting is that it's multiple times more expensive than media blasting because the machines are extremely expensive and it's super slow. You can even buy a cheap media blasting setup and do your own walnut shell blasting but good luck affording a dry ice blasting machine.
I added a catch can to my Ford Explorer (2.3 eco boost) and have that same smell at times, it almost smells like exhaust. I bought the UPR catch can, and I empty it at every oil change.
Great video thanks,
Great vid👍🏻 Had never considered the water & freezing in winter issue. Could be a major issue in the UK winters. Very interesting. Cap of antifreeze in there maybe? 🤔 🤷🏻♂️
Yes, I know several people who put about 1/4 cup of antifreeze in the catch can during colder months (especially if they park outside)...just have to keep an extra eye on the fluid levels. My cars live in the garage and are only outside while I am in the office...so its usually back above freezing by then.
A catch can like this would have been awesome on my 1996 Passat TDI, those engines are infamous for gunk buildup on the intake runners. the most common "FIX" is blocking off the EGR and installing a filter in the crank case vent.
Really wishing that all North American destined EA888’s came with MPFI and DI. This issue is so unnecessary. Plus if we had both of those options I’d imagine the tuning options would be amazing running on ethanol. I’m sure there’s some mix of emissions and cost reason why this is not the case oh well.
It doesnt change that much, here in Europe i also see buildup with dual injection
Charles, in the subaru world we sometimes need to install turbo vent sump restrictors to get rid of the burning oil smell. Sometimes in less restrictive downpipes it changes the back pressure within the turbo and draws some oil through the seals burning it in the exhaust...
Awesome testing! So weird how those valves almost looked better after 10k 🧐
might be that they drove less short trips,
@@jeromevet007 I think the water being basically doused on top of oil from the PCV allows the intake valves to never reach a temperature that it burns off the carbon deposits. Removing that variable let them run hot enough to dissolve them over time.
Higher exhaust temperatures would clear it out. Hence the term "Italian tune up"
Thats VW for you.
Too cheap and lazy to have dual injection like Toyota .
@@MaNNeRz91 No.
That just contributes to faster build up on the back of the valves.
Its the intake valves that are the problem,not so much the exhaust.
You are correct on high temps clearing out the carbon though. To an extent at least.
Just not in this situation.
I ran a catch can for a while. You get a LOT more water in there in the winter, leading to the potential freezing you mentioned. I figured condensation pulled in through the PCV system would not be a bad thing in small amounts. It didn't seem to do anything for intake valve buildup for me either.
after watching this video and the Legitstreetcars video where Alex ran plain water thru the intake of the e30. It seems to me that the water in the catch can is vaporizing and steam cleaning the valves as it goes thru the intake. Looks like similar results. Maybe running water thru the intake is the cheapest most effective way to clean the valves. Anyone willing to do a video on that?
I agree. The intake valves certainly looked steam cleaned.
When i used to be a boat mechanic, the guy i worked under would take a good spray bottle like the hair salon uses puts out a super fine mist, and he would throttle the engine and spray a couple squirts through the intake to flash clean the engines. Seemed to work pretty well.
I think that this water collected in oil catch can have cleaned valves in similar way as steam cleaning. There was enough water to be slowly (very slowly) sucked into engine.
This was reason why valves are cleaner than before.
This is what I was thinking about.
But if there was no catch can the water vapor would have gone directly into the engine. The catch can only delayed the process.
Had the ECS catch can on my 17' GTI for about just under two years in total, with the latter part of it's time installed for all four seasons. Didn't catch anything in the first few months, so figured the can needed more in terms of baffles or filter media. Added two poofs of steel wool inside the can to help catch and bead off any oils or vapors. It was packed in there pretty well even though it was like kitchen sink type of steel wool and not the super fine stuff. Never found a drop of anything in the can for the whole time it was installed. Only thing I ever found was a little oil inside the lines to and from the PVC, can, and intake. In my opinion, kinda of a big waste unless you have a particularly high power build or something out of the ordinary where it might actually do something I guess.
Stage 2 and up you need a good catch can. Adequate pcv is important... factory pcv is not made to see above stock power and torque levels. If you're not venting the system correctly you will end up with a metric ton of blow by and be burning it out of the exhaust. Under normal to light driving conditions you won't see much of a difference but if you're getting on it on the back roads, circuit, autocross at the strip or in a straight line in general you will notice the difference.
On these cars today I'd run a stage 2 setup as such.
1. Upgraded intercooler and piping
2. Downpipe
3. Oil cooler and Trans cooler
(Note an oil and Trans cooler will eliminate the ability to run a front mount intercooler most of the cores mount to the front crash bar you may be able to modify and remove your fog lights and run them in the outer edges of the bumper and then run an fmic if you don't wanna deal with the factory one or an upgraded factory but you will loose fog lights if this is the case)
4. Catch can
5. Upgraded fuel system full e85 files or full flex fuel (wich will put you in line to go stage 3) at any level e85 tunes are going to make more power and torque vs 91 and 93
Alot with these or any car people don't think about setting them up right and running proper supporting mods. Gtis are typically cheap card especially used and thats caused alot of people to modify them as cheap as possible. Spend the time to modify it correctly with good quality components
I think if you’re not emptying the catch can often enough and it gets too full, the breather hose which most likely goes into the intake is probably pulling in some oil from the catch can, which is causing the burning oil smell. Just a guess, I could be wrong.
Some people have commented on other videos that the oil smell went away when they upgraded to Teflon lined hoses for the catch can.
Keeping water out of the intercooler sounds like a good idea. Also, a curl-Q drain tube at the bottom of the can would allow draining yet retain all the gasses similar to a p-trap.
Lol 😂 Why are catch cans a pain in the ass?!?
I live in New England so if I install one of these Racinglines catch can, I gotta take it off during the winter?
Too much work, I’ll just get a walnut blast clean. Lol
Thanks for the follow up video was waiting for it.
Same live in the uk so we get freezing temps aswell although our pre gpf cars are mpi so i think we're better off
That’s how I feel. I have a BMW with the N55 engine and I’m just over 100k miles and haven’t needed an intake cleaning yet. Is there some build up? Sure. But it’s not messing with anything to warrant the effort of a catch can. Next time the intake manifold is off to change the oil filter housing gasket, I’ll probably just clean them then.
A frozen catch can will turn your engine bay into an oily mess. I see it happen with at least one customer every winter.
Thank you! We need more logical folks in the community.
@@slscamg so the N20's, N26's, N55's N63's, etc are more resistant to cold start misfires than TSI's. Mostly due to valvetronic.
TSI's have a very small intake port at idle. Any build up will disrupt airflow noticeably.
I never considered the water issue for winter driving. I was going to install a catch can on my 2019 Silverado but with the -40c temperatures here in the winter has given me pause. Thanks for this video.
Yeah Id for sure worry about that
I've never seen the value in a catch can. I've owned 4 DI engines now, one a turbo - never had any sort of issues. I borescope'd each at 20k and 40k and they look fairly clean. I think that a nice highway jaunt driving spiritedly does more good than anything else - seems to be the people who take short trips and baby the car have the build up issues.
Try checking at 80k and 120k and 160k.. we're getting up there in mileage given the years the mk7 been on roads already
@@mckylecfc If I keep them that long lol, all of these have been Mazdas, and have served me well. We pulled a 6 with ~140k on it and it was still acceptable. From what I've seen its the Germans and early Ford Ecoboosts that have the worst issues with it, specifically earlier systems with VAG and BMW. But I still think the people that putt them around are the ones with the issues, the lower mile cars seem to have a correlation with buildup
@@Suction_ the mk7's are so fine I can't let go! Especially seeing the disasterclass with the mk8 and no buttons/overreliance on screen based hvac /everything smh... qhats next in this line of progress - plug ourselves into the matrix and use virtual blinking instead of going thru trouble of opening eyes and getting out of bed? Lol.
@@mckylecfc I'm not a huge VW guy to be honest. Especially considering my last rentals from enterprise being an atlas cross sport thing and a passat. The infotainment on both were definately annoying to use, the IPS displays were great, but navigating around was not easy. Sound system was TRASH too lol, the audio range of the systems we're so flat and washed out. I really don't care for the look of the mk8 either, looks kinda cartoony
@@Suction_ GTI and Golf R are different to rest of VW lineup -made more for driving enthusiasts ala Mazda3's Speed or Sport (100th?) which I wudnt mind test driving tbh but I'm still on the fence abt the styling of that hunched back... and reviews aren't the best either on power delivery... but if that 2.5 ltr turbo can be tuned I'm curious to see results..
just put a full synthetic oil, ester or PAO based, and change it at max 10k miles. 😊
Though I was HOPING to see that the catch can was having a clear-cut positive effect on carbon buildup ( I have the same year/ model ), I am just as pleased and perhaps more interested that you instead simply reported the results whatever they happened to be! At what point did you go stage 2? Do you think THAT had an influence on your experiment? I understand the variables complicate interpreting the results.
I read on the forms that MK7s don’t have bad carbon build up due to a pretty good particle filter in the PCV.
You and every other dummy who paid $800 for a F'ing catch can kit. lol
Going from a dealer technician to PM auto sales I’ve learned that on DI engines the carbon build up is from the oil system. Low tension less drag rings allows oil to get into the intake and that’s being sent back into the combustion chamber. As a car enthusiast I do believe the catch can does help but will not stop the carbon build up.
How would oil in the combustion chamber end up in the intake? The air rushing into the cylinder would prevent that. It would just cause it to burn oil
@@djmartin4776 not really. Oil vapors yes but actual oil is heavier than air. And the pcv systems allow oil vapor and some oil into the intake manifold. This creates a different kind of carbon on the valves. But as we moved to low tension piston rings for more power and efficiency they tend to stick to the pistons, when not cleaned regularly with a crank case cleaner, fuel service due to carbon build up and oil is getting passed the rings into the combustion chamber causing a thing called low speed pre ignition (LSPI) and that is how oil gets in the combustion chamber. Engineering explained has a whole video on GDI engines and low speed pre ignition. It’s about 10-15 minutes of really good information.
The 3-400 mile drive probably decarboned the intake a noticeable amount IMHO. Hours spent at high throttle openings and at ideal running temperature does wonders at removing carbon, it might have been interesting to use a borescope and have a peek at the pistons. I also suspect the engine in your car is in pretty good condition, so perhaps not much blowby when compared to an older engine.
idk why everyone is so concerned with this carbon build up. Who cares. As long it it's not built up to where it's decreasing air flow it's not a problem.
All that goes through that intake is air, it's not disrupting the fuel so it's not really that big of a deal especially on a mostly stock car that already has multiple bottlenecks and restrictions to air flow anyway.
@@jims.3987You shouldn't talk about things you don't know anything about. You're making yourself sound ignorant.
Interesting!
Thanks for mentioning it can freeze. I never though of that!
Having a bucket of water connected to my engine's oil supply with only gravity preventing it from mixing is the kind of thing that would keep me up at night. A real sword of Damocles.
Yeah like what happens if your hard cornering a lot? Wouldn’t it slosh up and be sucked in to the engine. A little mist of water is tolerable but otherwise this would make me very worried. I’m assuming there’s some kind of separator?
Great video Charles 👍
What engine oil change intervals are you observing? Why are you running 0w30 instead or 5w40?
Because of the sticker in engine compartment stating to us 0w30. He covered that a couple months ago.
I have a Diesel with catch can. I believe the catch can is keeping products from going through the motor and into the exhaust where it can work of the DEF system.
Short trips = lots of condensation.
Every bit of the sludge that doesn't get back into the intake is not getting burned. That means it's not putting carbon back into the system.
The only problem with catch cans is people forget to empty them.
I was considering a catch can for my '19 Atlas 3.6 Liter. But I live in Canada, so its just gona freeze half the year. Great video as usual, thanks.
I’ve had the same catch can for months sat in the box I must get round to fitting it 👍🚙🇬🇧
Banjo bolt on the bottom with drain hose and a valve, built my own ready to go on once I fit it.👍
Are u not worried about it freezing?
@@KasamS no not at all doesn’t really get that cold in the uk I know loads of people running them and my tuner said they are a must fit and I do agree I stomped on my brakes and the cloud of smoke that came out of the exhaust made me think my turbo had gone bang thankfully not tho. Oil cooler at some point too but not needed it in over 2 years running over 500bhp 👍
Engineering Explained did a video on D.i. cars and the itlian tune up. You can infact get the intake valves hot enough under normal operation with higher rpms to burn off carbon buildup. I would say with the catch can slowing down the amount of carbon buildup on the valves made it more manageable for the engine to burn the carbon off. That would answer why the valves you didn't clean before the test look better than before.
I've gone back and forth about a Catch Can and from what I gather, it's mostly a placebo effect. Some of the contents of that can were probably solvents (detergents, water, and fuel), which help keep things cleaner. I'd be curious if you could measure the actual carbon content of the can. Possibly through rendering? (Boil off the liquids and measure the mass.) That would give you an idea of the mass of the solids (mostly carbon) removed by the can.
Good observation of the bolt that would be needed to retain the catch can. It's the type of feedback one would hope the manufacturer is listening to.
I was thinking of fitting a catch can as I have had the valves walnut blasted already,but not to sure now if its worth it
If the previous OEM setup caused build up, of course it’s worth it to modify the system to make it better.
It clearly catches a ton of moisture and oily mist. You don’t want that in your intake track PERIOD. 👍🏻
GDI engines work great until they get gunked up, I work in a lube shop for 10 years, take my advice change your oil often and use only the very best if you have GDI engine and use a fuel additive, it all adds ups to help ameliorate the problem. A catch can will help a little too
My catch can has a threaded plug on the bottom. Could a drain be made for that location? or is there a clearance issue.
BTW, thinking of adding a single nozzle water/ methanol kit on the intake after the throttle body. I feel in addition to lowering inlet temps, it would help keep intake valves clean.
Sure, you could do that. Would definitely need to redo a tune for it, though.
yeah try to tell the computer how much fuel to inject after such a mod. or make it with a button for occasional cleanup on demand.
@@Hawk7886 a single 32cc nozzle ( smallest available from prometh ) shouldn’t need a tune. Also if you place the nozzle directly after the intercooler outlet it’ll give it enough time to fully atomise before the manifold
@@lukekilah6257 when I spoke with AEM, they said the same thing. On a small nozzle there is no need for a re-tune. In fact, I talked to a golf r owner that did it, he actually tuned the car for the 104 tune APR.
@@williamupdegrove5340 so long as the nozzle is before the intake temp sensor. Most modern car’s ecu should adjust the timing to suit