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MX-5 SE owners, factory catch can question?

Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 1:54 am
by PASHN8
Just a quick one, anyone here vented the factory catch can to atmosphere rather than back to intake?

MX-5 SE owners, factory catch can question?

Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 1:38 pm
by Benny
I think it is illegal to vent it to the atmosphere, hence why it goes back to the intake.

I doubt it will make much difference to power or tuning if it is vented to the atmosphere.
Why not pull the tube out and find out if it makes any difference and report back.

MX-5 SE owners, factory catch can question?

Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 3:32 pm
by bruce
Illegal (affects emissions). Don't see any performance benefit. But if ya wanna add a blingy alloy catch can - go nuts.

MX-5 SE owners, factory catch can question?

Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 12:52 am
by PASHN8
I know it isn't legal, neither are pod filters, boost controllers, variable sound exhaust systems, certain coilovers etc etc, I was asking purely from a mechanical perspective :)

It would seem that from all reports even having the factory catch can, there are still oily vapours released back into the intake which in turn coats the intercooler/pipes etc with a film of oil in the piping.
I have vented my catch can air return to atmosphere through a small discrete breather and blocked the factory return, was just wondering if anyone had done the same?

Bruce do you have an SE/SP? Bling catch can? No thanks! 8)

MX-5 SE owners, factory catch can question?

Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 9:08 am
by Boyracer
I had the SE race car venting to a tank...it was filling with oil...ended up blocking off the big hose that goes down to the sump...it was sucking up oil from their....

MX-5 SE owners, factory catch can question?

Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 8:39 pm
by PASHN8
Thanks for that pic Boris, very interesting!

I'm not sure I agree with the need to fit a second can in series, because if you observe the factory design it seems quite good, the only deficiency in there will inevitably be 'some' oil coming back into the intake.

Below is how I have currently plumbed my setup, K&N breater mounted on the vertical factory catch can air OUTLET venting to atmosphere and factory return line that goes back to the inlet is not properly blocked.

ImageImage

Seems to be working well so far with clean charge pipes?

MX-5 SE owners, factory catch can question?

Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 12:31 am
by PASHN8
hehe :)

Actually, believe it or not that is how you plumb a catch can in to a car that doesn't already have one, so i'm not sure about what you mean when you say cutting off vaccuum to the crankcase?

MX-5 SE owners, factory catch can question?

Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 1:24 am
by BitRusty
PASHN8, do you have any pics of your breather setup? i'm looking for options for my SE

cheers

MX-5 SE owners, factory catch can question?

Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 6:36 pm
by PASHN8
Ok, have snapped some pics and will post them up tomorrow.

MX-5 SE owners, factory catch can question?

Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 12:52 pm
by PASHN8
Apologies for the delay! :)

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Seems to be working well, as the intake pipes are now clean as a whistle and extremely subtle to the untrained eye!

MX-5 SE owners, factory catch can question?

Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 10:21 pm
by BitRusty
Ahh thanks for the great pics

MX-5 SE owners, factory catch can question?

Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 7:26 pm
by PASHN8
Correct, the turbo inlet is now sealed.

The whole purpose of this exercise was the ensure no crankcase gases return to the inlet, catch can or not. Catch cans do separate a large amount of the oil vapour from the air, but I can assure you a noticeable amount still returns to the intake.

If you don't believe me, try blocking the air inlet return and vent to atmosphere and check the levels of oily residue in your pipes, quite noticeable :)

MX-5 SE owners, factory catch can question?

Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 1:24 am
by PASHN8
Hehe, I actually thought you were disagreeing with me! lol..

I agree with you also, your solution does work definitely, I just didn't want to add another apparatus to my engine bay and used to use this method on my old Lancer Evo III and SR20DET 180sx, hence it was natural for me to solve it this way :)

Do you plan to fit the 02 Clamp?

MX-5 SE owners, factory catch can question?

Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 6:39 pm
by PASHN8
TRB, IIRC the 02 clamp actually removes/improves the lean tip in/'lag' feeling under 5k under WOT and after fitting it can confirm this.

Without it's final adjustment, the 02 clamp has unbelievable results for the money! Car is sooooooo much smoother now under WOT with the hesitate under 5k almost non-existent, i'm a very happy camper now :)

Car is going on the dyno tomorrow morning for some adjustments and power run, I will also use this opportunity to set the 02 clamp trigger as accurately as I can using the load from the dyno to simulate road conditions.

I have also purchased the resistors needed to defeat the factory boost cut, but will not fit it until we see what sort of A/F's we are getting. I'll be happy with a steady 10psi across the board until I make the decision whether to fork out for a set of 440's and a Haltech intercepter.

The tuner who is setting her up is one of the most well-known and highly respected Nissan GT-R tuners in Australia, so I have full-confidence the the outcome will be satisfactory, but most importantly, safe for the longevity of the motor and running gear. Will post results tomorrow.

MX-5 SE owners, factory catch can question?

Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 3:05 pm
by Fuzzlet
Curious - what is the boost cut level at? From memory it was around the 10psi mark