Oil catch can setup on my race car.
Oil catch can setup on my race car.
This is one that many track junkies have battled for a loooooong time, including me, trying many different ways to solve it.
What I can tell you, is that after trying 3 different setups and years of making oily mess of the engine bay and side of my race car, my current setup has been a great solution for me. Both Andy (gooroo) and I run similar setups and we basically can run an entire weekend without having to empty the oil catch can anymore. Does it sill fill a bit, yes, as it should since there will be some oil in the air going through it, but it solved the previous problems we had where we would fill the catch can part way through a session and end up blowing oil all over, in, and around our cars. This was one of my biggest pet peeves, I hated having to deal with an oily mess every session. But now I drive in bliss, not worrying about 'the oily messy monster' coming back to visit :-)
Ok, for those that do not even know what I am talking about, let me start with why we even do a catch can. I am going to really simplify things since this is not a thread to teach why it happens, rather it is to show a good setup to do to manage it. So here it is in short, basically our oil pan get pressurized a bit when on boost. If there is pressure in the oil pan and oil is sloshed around and it by an opening into the pan area (filler neck exit, turbo oil drain holes, et) then the pressure will shoot the oil out the opening.
Blah blah, and 3 more paragraphs later, ...so when you track your car, the lateral Gs from turning make even more problems by moving the oil around and you end up filling a catch can up quickly if it is not setup to vent well.
Anyway, after trying different setups, I found what was very important was the size of the hole the air could vent through, and the locations of the vents. Basically you want the pan to be vented properly when turning right or left, and when under decel or accel.
Vent Locations:
For the vent locations, I had limited options if I ruled out drilling new vent holes in the block. So we basically have the oil filler neck, and the unused oil return hole that stock turbos use (single turbo setup typically use the front oil return hole, and the rear one gets blocked off). These 2 locations end up working well if vented properly, as the unused oil return hole is in the right rear of the block and takes care of venting the right hand turns and also deceleration, the filler neck is on the left side of the engine and close to the middle, so it basically takes care of the left hand turns and does well enough with acceleration.
Vent line size:
For the vent line size, I decided to move way up from the common small vac fittings typically used, and went with a hefty -10 an size. The idea here is that even with oil splashing up, there is still a large enough vent pathway for the air to still escape while the oil falls back down to the pan. This proved to be a good vent line size. Here is a link to the vent line I used:
Jegs -10 AN Pro-flo Braided Hose
http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/110931/10002/-1
The catch tank:
I tried a few catch tanks it the past and was not very happy with them, then I found one on Jegs that was just about perfect. It had exaclty what I wanted, internal baffle, a drain valve, and an option for -10 fittings. Here is the link to it:
Jegs oil breather tank.
http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/52200/10002/-1
AN Fittings:
You will need some AN fittings, but what you need will depend on how you route the lines
Jegs -10 AN union fittings, to go from catch tank to the lines, you will need 2 of these.
http://www.jegs.com/i/Russell/799/660370/10002/-1
ATP turbo - oil return flange with -10 an flare
http://www.atpturbo.com/Merchant2/me...egory_Code=BCS
Here is a picture of the catch tank, as yo can see I added a view finder thingy to it so I could see how full it was with a quick peek:
I think this is a critial part, the tank is internally baffled to allow better separation of air and oil, as you can see in this pic:
This pic shows the basic setup and routing I have now. I plan to redoe the lines in the future, place the tank in a better place for the line routing:
More internal baffling, I had the welder weld in a small tube that passes through the filler neck, the bottom side that you cant see I angled so that the bottom is very open. This also prevent any oil being poured in to go into the vent line.
And finally a pic of the fitting that goes to the unused oil return line. The line is routed up and over the trans, to the catch tank. Be sure to shield it from heat.
Trust me, between Andy and I, we have a lot of experience testing different setups and after years of oily messy track car, I can now go an entire race weekend and not have to empty the catch tank!!!
This may be my biggest success on the track car of them all!!!! I Fing HATED oily track car!!!! :-) lol
What I can tell you, is that after trying 3 different setups and years of making oily mess of the engine bay and side of my race car, my current setup has been a great solution for me. Both Andy (gooroo) and I run similar setups and we basically can run an entire weekend without having to empty the oil catch can anymore. Does it sill fill a bit, yes, as it should since there will be some oil in the air going through it, but it solved the previous problems we had where we would fill the catch can part way through a session and end up blowing oil all over, in, and around our cars. This was one of my biggest pet peeves, I hated having to deal with an oily mess every session. But now I drive in bliss, not worrying about 'the oily messy monster' coming back to visit :-)
Ok, for those that do not even know what I am talking about, let me start with why we even do a catch can. I am going to really simplify things since this is not a thread to teach why it happens, rather it is to show a good setup to do to manage it. So here it is in short, basically our oil pan get pressurized a bit when on boost. If there is pressure in the oil pan and oil is sloshed around and it by an opening into the pan area (filler neck exit, turbo oil drain holes, et) then the pressure will shoot the oil out the opening.
Blah blah, and 3 more paragraphs later, ...so when you track your car, the lateral Gs from turning make even more problems by moving the oil around and you end up filling a catch can up quickly if it is not setup to vent well.
Anyway, after trying different setups, I found what was very important was the size of the hole the air could vent through, and the locations of the vents. Basically you want the pan to be vented properly when turning right or left, and when under decel or accel.
Vent Locations:
For the vent locations, I had limited options if I ruled out drilling new vent holes in the block. So we basically have the oil filler neck, and the unused oil return hole that stock turbos use (single turbo setup typically use the front oil return hole, and the rear one gets blocked off). These 2 locations end up working well if vented properly, as the unused oil return hole is in the right rear of the block and takes care of venting the right hand turns and also deceleration, the filler neck is on the left side of the engine and close to the middle, so it basically takes care of the left hand turns and does well enough with acceleration.
Vent line size:
For the vent line size, I decided to move way up from the common small vac fittings typically used, and went with a hefty -10 an size. The idea here is that even with oil splashing up, there is still a large enough vent pathway for the air to still escape while the oil falls back down to the pan. This proved to be a good vent line size. Here is a link to the vent line I used:
Jegs -10 AN Pro-flo Braided Hose
http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/110931/10002/-1
The catch tank:
I tried a few catch tanks it the past and was not very happy with them, then I found one on Jegs that was just about perfect. It had exaclty what I wanted, internal baffle, a drain valve, and an option for -10 fittings. Here is the link to it:
Jegs oil breather tank.
http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/52200/10002/-1
AN Fittings:
You will need some AN fittings, but what you need will depend on how you route the lines
Jegs -10 AN union fittings, to go from catch tank to the lines, you will need 2 of these.
http://www.jegs.com/i/Russell/799/660370/10002/-1
ATP turbo - oil return flange with -10 an flare
http://www.atpturbo.com/Merchant2/me...egory_Code=BCS
Here is a picture of the catch tank, as yo can see I added a view finder thingy to it so I could see how full it was with a quick peek:
I think this is a critial part, the tank is internally baffled to allow better separation of air and oil, as you can see in this pic:
This pic shows the basic setup and routing I have now. I plan to redoe the lines in the future, place the tank in a better place for the line routing:
More internal baffling, I had the welder weld in a small tube that passes through the filler neck, the bottom side that you cant see I angled so that the bottom is very open. This also prevent any oil being poured in to go into the vent line.
And finally a pic of the fitting that goes to the unused oil return line. The line is routed up and over the trans, to the catch tank. Be sure to shield it from heat.
Trust me, between Andy and I, we have a lot of experience testing different setups and after years of oily messy track car, I can now go an entire race weekend and not have to empty the catch tank!!!
This may be my biggest success on the track car of them all!!!! I Fing HATED oily track car!!!! :-) lol
Excellent, Damian!
I wonder if there's a way to do something similar for people running twins that still use that oil return on the back of the block.
FYI, I run a Jaz catch can on my car, 2 Viton lines going from the 2 oil fill nipples to the catch can. I empty it at every oil change, and it's not particuarly full. People running on the street won't have the problems track guys have with the PCV system. But, the catch can keeps all that oil mess in the can and not in the intercooler piping and IC itself.
The key outside the box part of your design is the fitting on the passenger side of the block - that's just brilliant!
Dale
I wonder if there's a way to do something similar for people running twins that still use that oil return on the back of the block.
FYI, I run a Jaz catch can on my car, 2 Viton lines going from the 2 oil fill nipples to the catch can. I empty it at every oil change, and it's not particuarly full. People running on the street won't have the problems track guys have with the PCV system. But, the catch can keeps all that oil mess in the can and not in the intercooler piping and IC itself.
The key outside the box part of your design is the fitting on the passenger side of the block - that's just brilliant!
Dale
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,171
Likes: 0
From: MI
Excellent, Damian!
I wonder if there's a way to do something similar for people running twins that still use that oil return on the back of the block.
FYI, I run a Jaz catch can on my car, 2 Viton lines going from the 2 oil fill nipples to the catch can. I empty it at every oil change, and it's not particuarly full. People running on the street won't have the problems track guys have with the PCV system. But, the catch can keeps all that oil mess in the can and not in the intercooler piping and IC itself.
The key outside the box part of your design is the fitting on the passenger side of the block - that's just brilliant!
Dale
I wonder if there's a way to do something similar for people running twins that still use that oil return on the back of the block.
FYI, I run a Jaz catch can on my car, 2 Viton lines going from the 2 oil fill nipples to the catch can. I empty it at every oil change, and it's not particuarly full. People running on the street won't have the problems track guys have with the PCV system. But, the catch can keeps all that oil mess in the can and not in the intercooler piping and IC itself.
The key outside the box part of your design is the fitting on the passenger side of the block - that's just brilliant!
Dale
I also run 2-Viton lines to my catch-can from the same place.
I used stainless-steel tie-wraps to mount my catch-can behind the mount for the cruise-control cable assembly.
:-) neil
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great write up Damian. I've been fighting this ever since I've had my car.
It seems that the best solution to the problem is to vent both sides of the motor, however I intend to stay with the twins and do not want to disassemble the motor to tap the front cover as some have. Does anyone have a better idea of how those of us still running twin turbos can vent the other side?
It seems that the best solution to the problem is to vent both sides of the motor, however I intend to stay with the twins and do not want to disassemble the motor to tap the front cover as some have. Does anyone have a better idea of how those of us still running twin turbos can vent the other side?
. Maybe I'll sell it...
Great write up Damian. This is something I would spend lots of time in the garage with the hood open trying to think of ways to takle this. Although I am now cursing under my breathe as I add another thing on my list of things to do....
Rotary Freak
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,677
Likes: 287
From: sydney
Originally Posted by thetech
Originally Posted by JHew84
Could they tap the pan itself?
