It is pretty well known that the supercharged motors such as those featured on the Lightning and Cobra will cause oil vapor/mist to exit the PCV valve and enter the intake, subsequently gunking up the intercooler sandwiched between the blower and lower intake manifold on these vehicles. This gunks up the fins, lowering the efficiency of the cooler and has the potential to increase Charge Air Temperatures, not to mention the oil entering the combustion chambers and lowering the effective octane rating of the fuel.
There are plenty of solutions around, and much discussion has been had across various Forms on the Topic. I figured I'd get one going here so we can exchange information and experiences with what has worked, and what doesn't.
On my old 98GT, I ran open breathers on both valve covers. Effective, but far from smog legal, and it does tend to smell foul now and then. Not to mention that this will affect the tune of the car.
Currently on my Cobra I am running the Steeda Oil Separator:
These seem to be pretty common, as most Do It Yourselfers buy an air compressor separator from the local Hardware Store which is pretty much the same as the Steeda unit, and plumb it in after the PCV valve.
Mine collects oil, and I dump it out when need be. However, I don't think this is the most effective solution.
I have been running around the Web this week looking at different ideas, and am trying something new. I decided to order up an Oil Catch Can from GReddy:
In cruising around the Web, I found an example of the old style GReddy can installed on an RSX. Apples to oranges, but still:
Notice the dirty line coming from the PCV valve, and a clean line returning out of the Catch Can:
The clear line coming out of the Catch Can, along with the Fluid Level line on the side of the Can are good visual indicators as to whether it is working or not.
The unit itself is not internally baffled, but seems to work on the 'Pressure Drop' method of thinking. The oil mist comes out of the PCV, cools in the expanded chamber and drops out of the air mixture. Info I received from GReddy:
"The round Oil Catch Can we offer is not internally baffled. However if you install it as shown, inbetween the Air intake pipe (before the throttlebody) to the valve cover breather, it's depth should not allow any significant amount of oil transfer. Especially since the Air intake pipe will not be pressurized until after the supercharger."
This will be Step 1.
Step 2 will be the addition of this Sean Hyland piece on the Passenger Valve Cover:
This is an essential component that can reduce or eliminate oil consumption through the intake system. If you've removed your throttle body and noticed oil buildup then you need an oil breather separator to absorb the oil and prevent it's passage into the intake system.
SHM Recommends the use on an oil breather separator for all supercharged and high performance naturally aspirated applications. It is especially beneficial for vehicles used for open track events, where vehicles run wide open for extended periods of time.
CNC Machined Billet Aluminum Oil Breather Separator Utilizing a 1/2" Poly fitting. Connects to the factory valve cover breather hose that feeds into the air inlet tube/throttle body assembly.
A Five component assembly with a lower and upper housing, two screens and an oil vapor/mist filter media. The housing threads together utilizing a rubber seal. This facilitates inspection of the filter media. The filter media is sandwiched be two aluminum screens, which allow the oil vapor/mist to be absorbed and collected by the filter, and then passed back through the lower screen.
Again, the GReddy Oil Catch Can will be an effective telling on whether or not the addition of the SHM piece helps the situation. That is of course, if the GReddy Can alone doesn't result in a "clean" line coming out of the can.
My Step 3, if need be, is this internally baffled unit from Accurate Machine Works:
Haney Motorsport sells it here: Engine Oil Vapor Separator Catch Can at HMS
The internal baffling on this one looks like it would do the job quite nicely. We shall see.
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Originally Posted by Powershift03
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