Catch Can Air / Oil Separators

[The_Don_72]

Hi all,

I have a 2019 manual GT (right hand drive in Australia) and am a bit confused by what I read regarding the necessity or not of catch cans.

I have spoken to a couple of performance work shops in Australia who say they are not necessary if you stay N/A, which I am planning on doing, however a lot of people online seem to think they are a necessity. IF they were so important then wouldn't Ford have installed them as part of the car?

Someone in another forum also wrote:

Your Mustang GT has the 3rd generation Coyote 5.0L V8 which in addition to getting direct injection also retains the port injection, which actually sprays (and therefore cleans) the back of the intake valves so it’s not susceptible to carbon buildup there. Since you still have the port injection, therefore you don’t need a catch can.

I have also read that the passenger side collects the most oil (passenger side of American cars). Is this the same for my right hand drive car (installing on the drivers side (same as American passenger side), or would I install it on the drivers side (American passenger side because it is a RHD)?

Interested in what people have to say.

Cheers

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[cerbomark]

you seem to already be well read about the topic . As you know you ll get differing opinions. I put a Ford performance separator (catch can) on the passenger side myself. It was a cheap enough mod. Is it needed, most likely not. I doubt you ll read anything here you haven t already heard .
So it would get installed on your drivers side.

 

[VelR5.0GT]

Okay. It is true the 18+ Coyote are Direct and Port Injection. It's true that DI suffers from valves getting gunk while PI alleviates that.
Now I would not buy a catch for a 18+ or any PI engine thinking about the valves, but the dilution of the octane while introducing an oil mist that works against knock prevention. Remember these new engines have a really high compression, knock sensors and although you may run let's say 87 oct and at high rpms get that oil mist in the intake track. Who is to say your octane level it's not being diluted, plus a spark plug that gets harder to fire due to oil contaminants and thus having the ECM pull timing due to slight knock? Yeah Ford recommends it for a track car (off road) for the right reasons including Warranty/EPA (emissions).
If you bought a 5.0 and you care having the engine combustion running in top shape, always getting every hp from it then a catch can it is for you. Now think about the opposite and if you want to ensure the warranty stays intact, then a catch can is not needed or not for you.

 

[Magnetic Stang]

You'll definitely get conflicting answers about catch cans on here. lol. For me I have one (RHS). I like the thought of the oil it catches not going through my engine. Is it helping me? I don't know but not burning it has to be better in my mind. I have had one on the last 4 cars. 100s of thousands of miles total with zero issue from a catch can other than it catching oil.

 

[Mspider]

I think there is enough information to say catch cans do help with keeping oil out of your intake track.

But I would still would never install one. The intake valves will never be caked with oil and little oil getting in the intake track doesn't seem like a big problem to me. If the problem was bad you would see local shops making a living cleaning people`s intake tracks.

 

[Gfswindle]

A catch can imo isn't necessary for any coyote. Even the 3rd gen utilizes the pi enough to keep the valves clean. I run one mainly for the peace of mind in knowing I am reducing the chance of lspi or knock caused by oil mist. I always try to run an oil with a low noack volatility rating and/or one that is rated for turbocharged engines to reduce lspi. Not really a factor in a n/a engine but every little bit helps me sleep at night.

 

[VelR5.0GT]

Why do people keep talking about the valves? These are PI engines. Leave that part to the BMWs. It’s not about the valves. It’s about combustion efficiency and the oil in the intake that changes the airflow dynamics. If you’ve never seen an intake manifold with a puddle of oil from a late model engine, then you cannot appreciate the catch can.

 

[Mspider]

Why do people keep talking about the valves? These are PI engines. Leave that part to the BMWs. It’s not about the valves. It’s about combustion efficiency and the oil in the intake that changes the airflow dynamics. If you’ve never seen an intake manifold with a puddle of oil from a late model engine, then you cannot appreciate the catch can.

People talk about valves is because that is the single biggest selling point of these cans as per marketing goes.

 

[The_Don_72]

People talk about valves is because that is the single biggest selling point of these cans as per marketing goes.

So is the marketing false then? Just curious.

 

[Mspider]

So is the marketing false then? Just curious.

Nothing about a catch can is false marketing. They do as advertised, keep some oil and oil vapors out of the intake track. They definitely work let me be clear on that.

It is clear though that engines with direct injection gain the most benefit.

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