The "Catch Can" Explained - By Elite Engineering

[Nasty]

I dont understand how when people post pictures of what's in there catch cans. It looks like chocolate milk. This is the second time I've drained mine. 1000 miles each time just to see. 

[Crobinson16]

19 hours ago, Nasty said:

I dont understand how when people post pictures of what's in there catch cans. It looks like chocolate milk. This is the second time I've drained mine. 1000 miles each time just to see. 

What can are you using

[Nasty]

1 hour ago, Crobinson16 said:

What can are you using

Moroso

[Mike GMC]

The colder the weather, the milkier the substance will be.  When it's cold, you get more condensation or water coming out which makes it milky.  I just drained my elite can the other day and it looked like yours.  But earlier in the year it was milkier due to the cold mornings driving to work.

[Dr Awesome]

On ‎4‎/‎17‎/‎2018 at 8:55 AM, Mike GMC said:

That's what I have.  It would seem to me that the second valve could be plumbed to the "spare" port on the passenger side of the air box rather than tapped into the top center.  The air velocity would be much lower at that port, but it might still work fine if you want a dual valve and want be able to go back to stock quickly and easily.

I was thinking the same thing here, would @Elite Engineering chime in on it?

[Penguin VII]

Does anyone know if there has been research done into the PPM of oil and other particulate in the catch can? I see a lot of photos with "oily" substance in the catch can and while I don't doubt it contains oil and other particulate I'm uncertain how much.

 

I'm wanting to keep my truck till one of us dies so long term reliability is decently high on the list. I can't see any downsides with adding a catch can (outside needing to remember to empty it) but if anyone has a negative piece of information that would be good to know. All I've seen at this point is either "you def need one" or "the engineers would have put it there if it needed to be there".

[Mike GMC]

I can't see a down side either.  I can't do any harm, even if it didn't do any good.  But, I believe keeping that oily substance out of the intake is a good thing.  While particulates are bad, that's not the only concern.  The oily substance itself coats the intake valves which gets baked on by the heat of combustion.  This the builds up over time and can eventually restrict intake air flow.

[Elite Engineering]

3 hours ago, Penguin VII said:

Does anyone know if there has been research done into the PPM of oil and other particulate in the catch can? I see a lot of photos with "oily" substance in the catch can and while I don't doubt it contains oil and other particulate I'm uncertain how much.

 

I'm wanting to keep my truck till one of us dies so long term reliability is decently high on the list. I can't see any downsides with adding a catch can (outside needing to remember to empty it) but if anyone has a negative piece of information that would be good to know. All I've seen at this point is either "you def need one" or "the engineers would have put it there if it needed to be there".

 In fact, oil is a very small percentage of what is caught. Without going into real deep analysis, here is the average makeup of what is trapped in one of our Catch Cans after a 2450 miles trip and drain when spun in a centrifuge and then analyzed.  70% of the contents are acidic water (water and sulfuric acid are both produced /released during the combustion process and need to be removed/evacuated from the crankcase before settling and contaminating the oil), 23% was unburnt fuel (raw fuel reduces viscosity and the oils ability to protect). and 7% was oil filled with abrasive particulate matter (carbon, soot, ash, etc.) so as very little true accurate information is available on any of this, oil is what most assume is being caught, so the decreased wear extends engine life. The removal of oil mist reduces detonation and allows less carbon build-up and for the engine to run more timing advance and make more power, etc.

So there are a good number of benefits but education on all that is involved with proper crankcase evacuation is so critical. We at Elite Engineering USA have made it one of our priorities to help educate the consumer and sort through all of the misinformation and incorrect assumptions.

[Penguin VII]

6 minutes ago, Elite Engineering said:

 In fact, oil is a very small percentage of what is caught. Without going into real deep analysis, here is the average makeup of what is trapped in one of our Catch Cans after a 2450 miles trip and drain when spun in a centrifuge and then analyzed.  70% of the contents are acidic water (water and sulfuric acid are both produced /released during the combustion process and need to be removed/evacuated from the crankcase before settling and contaminating the oil), 23% was unburnt fuel (raw fuel reduces viscosity and the oils ability to protect). and 7% was oil filled with abrasive particulate matter (carbon, soot, ash, etc.) so as very little true accurate information is available on any of this, oil is what most assume is being caught, so the decreased wear extends engine life. The removal of oil mist reduces detonation and allows less carbon build-up and for the engine to run more timing advance and make more power, etc.

So there are a good number of benefits but education on all that is involved with proper crankcase evacuation is so critical. We at Elite Engineering USA have made it one of our priorities to help educate the consumer and sort through all of the misinformation and incorrect assumptions.

Thank you for the follow up. Additional question, what fuel was used as part of this test, was it top tier fuel, and additionally what level octane?

 

No offense here but obviously any company selling a product needs to be involved in some level of consumer education, and even more so when there is a mass of misinformation. So while I do appreciate the information, I would expect the same of any company worth half their salt.

 

One more, assuming I was going to buy one, what is the difference from the E2 vs E2-X, I haven't been able to find info on that or the schedule for cleaning. Lastly dual or single port, I do WOT at times but it's a truck, not a track car.

[don67]

I get the logic of how catch cans work, and why it is intuitively a good thing to prevent watery oil from being sucked into your engine.  Especially a GDI engine.

 

I get it.

 

What I don't see is context.  If there's a safe level for  cholesterol in my blood and arsenic in my drinking water, then there is a safe level for impure oil re-entering my impure engine along with impure gasoline and impure air.  What is that number?   By what % does a catch can reduce it?  And by what % does this reduction improve vehicle reliability and longevity?

 

Without this information it's just a bunch of storytelling; a classic marketing solution looking for a problem.

 

[Black02Silverado]

27 minutes ago, don67 said:

I get the logic of how catch cans work, and why it is intuitively a good thing to prevent watery oil from being sucked into your engine.  Especially a GDI engine.

 

I get it.

 

What I don't see is context.  If there's a safe level for  cholesterol in my blood and arsenic in my drinking water, then there is a safe level for impure oil re-entering my impure engine along with impure gasoline and impure air.  What is that number?   By what % does a catch can reduce it?  And by what % does this reduction improve vehicle reliability and longevity?

 

Without this information it's just a bunch of storytelling; a classic marketing solution looking for a problem.

 

One would like to see a study done on two vehicles. One with a catch can and one without.  Take them both and drive them the same for 200k miles and then tear them apart and see what the out come is. 

 

Now this would be an interesting study and it would surely answer all kinds of question like the ones above.  Is it going to happen?  No, well unless I would win the Powerball and it was at 500 million, then I would do the study. 

 

So until then it is something that we will have to just take on as a good thing and hope it does make a difference.  Although there are a ton of vehicles on the road that never had a catch can and are probably over 200k by now with no issues.

 

To me it isn't more on the lines of installing a catch can.  It is more on the lines of I wish manufactures would build a quality product that doesn't need band aids on it.  It can be done, just no one wants to invest the money into it.  Kind of like we all know vehicles can get better mpg than what they get.  Again, big oil and money come into play and so as along as some one is getting rich off of one thing the other isn't going to change.

[don67]

On 8/6/2018 at 7:53 AM, Black02Silverado said:

So until then it is something that we will have to just take on as a good thing and hope it does make a difference. 

Fair enough, Nick.   As long as there is a genuine problem for which a "difference" is needed.

 

My cynicism stems from years in the car business, where young men and their money are frequently parted by magic potions and gadgets.   It's the same shtick every time.   Create fear by building up a problem that may or may not actually exist, present a pseudo-scientific solution which offers vague benefits, throw in a few cliches about why automakers don't want you to know about it, and then charge an inflated price so your customers write inflated testimonials.  

 

Anyway I'm actually interested in catch cans, and will be watching this thread with interest

[batman900]

I used to have an Elite on my 15 Z71, that thing filled up with gunk rather quickly. I once poured it out on some concrete "I know, not environmentally friendly" and 2 years later the concrete was still stained by what I poured out. By comparison, newer Hondas and Subarus which also use direct injection only without the port combination companies such as Toyota implement, had members going through 2 oil change intervals with their cans only sitting at around a quarter full at most. 

 

The only negative I have read so far on catch cans, is that in very cold temps, the water that is trapped within the lines / can, can freeze and create issues. This is largely due to can and line placement which I'm guessing Elite has already taken into account since I haven't heard of a problem with that happening.

 

Long story short, it does seem as though these Chevys create a lot more blow by similar to older Nissan / BMW / Audi vehicles from all the forums I have been part of. I can also note that my 15 ran noticeably smoother after installing the can with around 3k miles on the truck. It's probably been said before but, I think the can is worth it if you plan to keep your truck passed 100k, anything less and I'd personally just skip it, you may loose a little power over time but it won't be noticeable. I just picked up my 18 and I'm still debating on the purchase. 

[Penguin VII]

My main concern here is twofold. Firstly, I understand the "issue" this solves. And while I can see the benefit in this mixture of oil and other things not going back into the intake valves I also imagine that GM plans for this. I'd love to see what these valves look like after 100k miles with and without catch can.

 

Additionally, it's not cheap and maybe it's cheap insurance overall I still can't help but get the snake oil vibe with these catch cans. The website of EE doesn't seem to have comparisons either, some info in the FAQ but not broken down great. Makes it seem very fly by night which adds to the snake oil vibe.

 

I spent as much money on an intake that I may spend on this little catch can. I'm still on the fence and leaning toward the cheap insurance but I'm not 100% yet.

[batman900]

1 hour ago, Penguin VII said:

My main concern here is twofold. Firstly, I understand the "issue" this solves. And while I can see the benefit in this mixture of oil and other things not going back into the intake valves I also imagine that GM plans for this. I'd love to see what these valves look like after 100k miles with and without catch can.

 

Additionally, it's not cheap and maybe it's cheap insurance overall I still can't help but get the snake oil vibe with these catch cans. The website of EE doesn't seem to have comparisons either, some info in the FAQ but not broken down great. Makes it seem very fly by night which adds to the snake oil vibe.

 

I spent as much money on an intake that I may spend on this little catch can. I'm still on the fence and leaning toward the cheap insurance but I'm not 100% yet.

Having owned an elite can in the past, my opinion of them is fantastic. If you want to see an expensive can with a nice website and terrible quality, IMO check out Mishimoto. I’m not biased on getting one vs not, but the quality is good in my opinion.