The "Catch Can" Explained - By Elite Engineering

Elite Engineering · January 11, 2018

6 minutes ago, Ozer said:

Mine works great, i wish the canister was taller, or maybe an optional taller canister? I checked mine after about 1000 miles and it was almost full. Need to check it more often looks like.

Interesting you say that, we have two options, our E2-X "Ultra" is about 30% larger (it's a beast), or we also have longer bases you can screw on the bottom if you have our E2 Catch Can

Ozer · January 11, 2018

Oh i did not know that, i will check it out. Got mine while ago so haven't checked back.

Edit: Actually i wasnt able to locate the larger base on the website, can you link it here please?

Edited January 11, 2018 by Ozer

Elite Engineering · January 11, 2018

14 minutes ago, Ozer said:

Oh i did not know that, i will check it out. Got mine while ago so haven't checked back.

Edit: Actually i wasnt able to locate the larger base on the website, can you link it here please?

Do you have our E2-X or E2 Catch Can?

Ozer · January 11, 2018

İ have the smaller 2 port E2

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Slapps74 · January 11, 2018

1 hour ago, Elite Engineering said:

I'm confident you'll be very pleased with the design and function of our Catch Can. You'll be amazed how much is trapped inside our Catch Cans vs our competitors. As far as shipping, I apologize. We almost always ship all orders within 24 hours (most times the same day). But we had a mix-up in our inventory after the holidays and our E2-X Catch Cans are delayed in manufacturing for about 7 days.

I made a post a while back asking about guys and boosted situations like me. What would be the recommended hook up with a pro charger? I already have my catch can and I think that it is the E2. I would’ve liked to have seen a drain port on the bottom of it.

Josh154 · January 11, 2018

Well elite messaged me and is taking care of me! I have a e2x setup going out tomorrow morning! I went ahead and upgraded to the “ultra” can since those are in stock.

Brian2015 · January 13, 2018

On 5/5/2017 at 11:12 AM, Elite Engineering said:

Hi Brian,

Sorry for the trouble. Shoot us an email, (sometimes they get lost in the shuffle) and we'll get this figured out. Maybe the CSS is not sealing correctly around the o-rings.

Send an email to:

[email protected]

Thanks!

Forgot to follow up on this, the issue turned out to be dealer inflicted. When they changed my oil (last of the 2 freebies) the cottonheadedninnymuggins tech destroyed the o ring on the clean side separator which allowed for an air leak. GM tech could not figure out how to correctly reinstall the CSS after adding oil....and also spilled oil all over my valve cover and down the side of the motor. I replaced the o rings and have been scent free since. Thankfully I will be changing my own oil from here on out.

Oh and for those who claim 'snake oil' and deny the effectiveness of a catch can, go to disney.com.

Slapps74 · January 13, 2018

On 1/11/2018 at 10:17 AM, Slapps74 said:

I made a post a while back asking about guys and boosted situations like me. What would be the recommended hook up with a pro charger? I already have my catch can and I think that it is the E2. I would’ve liked to have seen a drain port on the bottom of it.

Elite, some direction here?

Josh154 · January 14, 2018

I believe on the website the e2x ultra is reccomended for high hp boosted applications.

Elite Engineering · January 14, 2018

On 1/11/2018 at 9:17 AM, Slapps74 said:

I made a post a while back asking about guys and boosted situations like me. What would be the recommended hook up with a pro charger? I already have my catch can and I think that it is the E2. I would’ve liked to have seen a drain port on the bottom of it.

Here's some good information we have posted in the past. As some others have said, the E2-X is a great product for boosted applications, and due to it's larger size, the E2-X "Ultra" is even better, especially in these full size trucks where you have room to mount.

What you have to look at is how proper crankcase evacuation works.

Especially when forced induction is in play. Your engine, and all engines have a constant flow of contaminants that enter the crankcase as blow-by. These include among other things water, sulfuric and other acids, raw fuel, and abrasive particulate mater (namely ash, soot, and carbon).

One of the functions of the PCV system is to flush and remove them before they have a chance to settle and mix with the engine oil. How this occurs is fresh, filtered air (the clean or fresh side) enters one bank of a V engine, and is drawn around the rocker arms and down the pushrod valleys, into the main portion of the crankcase where it flushes and makes up for the foul/dirty vapors being evacuated (sucked out) the opposite bank. Think of this as a smoke filled room. There is a vent in the floor and smoke is constantly coming out of that vent (blow-by) and filling the room. This room has a window on each end (the valve covers on a V configuration engine). If you open one window, the pressure building from the vent and some of the smoke will exit, but the room remains full of smoke the entire time (a breather or vent as the mouse does). Now if we open that opposite window, and we place a fan in it sucking out, the room quickly clears, and remains clear the entire time now even though the same amount of smoke is entering from the vent (blow-by). As you can see, if you are not actively evacuating (sucking out) the contaminants that cause most internal engine wear, these accumulate in the engine oil overwhelming it's ability to properly protect. So that is one great flaw of anything that vents (also illegal in all 50 States for highway use, but to most that is not a priority) and does not actually pull full time evacuation (suction) on the crankcase. Next, we have to look at how does the PCV system evacuate?

Almost all engines use the intake manifold suction. This presents a few issues, especially with forced induction such as a turbo or centrifugal super charger (basically a turbo driven via a belt VS exhaust gasses) as the intake manifold is generally under pressure, so unless at idle or deceleration, your crankcase has zero evacuation taking place (remember, evacuation is actual suction, not venting) so this causes several issues. Long term is the increased wear to all internal parts. Most people spend a small fortune on their engine build, but then mainly due to so little accurate information available and tons of misinformation so very rarely is this ever approached properly. The short term issues are many. And this is where systems like the mouse fall very short. And here are the reasons why.

First, the goal of a "catchcan" (ours is a complete air/oil separation and crankcase evacuation system). is to stop oil mist and other compounds from being ingested as part of the intake air charge. You can install our system in line AFTER our competitors Catch Can, and you'll be amazed how much oil passes through thier Catch Can, but is caught by the Elite Catch Can. So as far as function, there is no more effective design than our patented internal design. 95% plus vs the average Catch Can of only about 15-30%. You can perform the test yourself so you don't have to trust any "hype", as there is more than enough out there, you actually see factual results. We have this open challenge against ANY can design on the market.

Now, aside from this we need to look at what is occurring in the engine if you are NOT pulling full time evacuation. All newer engines are built with "low tension" piston rings. This allows for less parasitic loss from friction in order to meet CAFE fuel economy requirements (along with super thin oils that are NOT the best for protection), but it also creates an issue known as "ring flutter". This is when at high RPM's the piston rings can enter a state of rapid vibration that compromises ring seal and increases blow-by. Short term this cost power of course, and is far more prevalent with forced induction. These rings reply on pressure above, and suction below to maintain stability. If you look at ALL forms of Professional racing, breathers and venting are NEVER used for all of these issues, but as the aftermarket performance World is mainly made up of self taught, and some very talented at making power, they only look at the crankcase as pressure and releasing it and not understanding all the critical functions so they only see the pressure issue. Which is never allowed to build in the first place with a system like ours. The best possible solution is of course as all Professional motorsports use, a belt driven vacuum pump. This allows you to not only pull evacuation suction at all times, but also to maintain with the use of an adjustable relief valve with a goal of 14-15" constant. But since these will not last on the street, we have developed the next best thing. We utilize intake manifold vacuum for evacuation suction when in non-boost operation, and the vacuum/suction generated by the Venturi Effect for evacuation suction for in boost operation so pressure never has a chance to build in the first place unlike the mouse that relies on allowing pressure to build first and then vent or release out the breather. We also include a billet cleanside separator to address the fresh/cleanside of the crankcase so any brief periods pressure may exceed the suction, it simply flows unrestricted backward through the cleanside unit and oil is removed and nothing vents to the engine compartment.

We have attached illustrations from Turbonetics, done by their head of engineering on the performance side that did extensive testing and endorsed our system as the only one that addressed all of the issues aftermarket forced induction builds face. You can see how all is routed, and how our system uses 2 billet checkvalves to allow the system to always default to the strongest suction source no matter what mode of operation. So full time evacuation takes place removing the damaging compounds before they have a chance to settle into the oil. We stop 95-08% of the offending compounds present in the crankcase vapors. We extend engine life removing the contaminants before they can accumulate, we enhance piston ring seal and this power, and reduce contaminant caused detonation (knock retard). So there is no comparison. Venting went out over 40 years ago and has not been used since in any Professional racing, and to bring back technology that was first used back in the early 1900's now we can't understand why anyone with knowledge would do so.

Here is a good video of a naturally aspirated small V8 on a engine dyno showing first venting, and second pulling full time evacuation suction:

This is only demonstrating the power enhancements. There are many more benefits laid out above.

Please take the time to study the illustrations and please reply back with questions on any part not clear. Education is key here, and I realize this is long, but we're trying to cover all the technical aspects as well.

Josh154 · January 21, 2018

Got my e2x ultra installed!

bkesting · January 21, 2018

I bought a 2016 Silverado with 15,000 miles on it. Two questions:

1) Will the addition of a catch can void my power train warranty? I've seen yes and no.....any definitive answer?

2) Do I have too many miles already for there to be a noticeable benefit?

martha3065 · January 22, 2018

I bought a 2016 Silverado with 15,000 miles on it. Two questions:

1) Will the addition of a catch can void my power train warranty? I've seen yes and no.....any definitive answer?

2) Do I have too many miles already for there to be a noticeable benefit?

1) It's going to be up to the dealer making the warranty repairs as to whether they make an issue out of it. Legally I don't believe it can void the warranty, but you could be in a situation where you have to fight it. That is, if they see it. Takes 10 minutes to get back to stock. If I have an engine/intake issue, I'll remove mine before it goes to the dealer.

2) My opinion, no it's not too late. Do a Sea Foam intake cleaning and put your can on. I put a can on at 1200 miles, but still do a Sea Foam cleaning every 12k-15k. Should be overkill cleaning that often with the can, but piece of mind for $6.

bkesting · January 22, 2018

56 minutes ago, martha3065 said:

1) It's going to be up to the dealer making the warranty repairs as to whether they make an issue out of it. Legally I don't believe it can void the warranty, but you could be in a situation where you have to fight it. That is, if they see it. Takes 10 minutes to get back to stock. If I have an engine/intake issue, I'll remove mine before it goes to the dealer.

2) My opinion, no it's not too late. Do a Sea Foam intake cleaning and put your can on. I put a can on at 1200 miles, but still do a Sea Foam cleaning every 12k-15k. Should be overkill cleaning that often with the can, but piece of mind for $6.

How do you do the Sea Foam cleaning? Just buy one can and dump in the crank case, run the engine and then change the oil?