I'm always hearing about having to use a catch can but I haven't had any oil consumption problems if the catch can catches so much oil wouldn't you have an oil consumption issue ?

 

I have the same question. My 2002 Z06 uses 1/2 quart or less between oil changes. Why would I want a catch can?

 

Maybe that 1/2 qt goes into the intake manifold. That's what a catch can is meant to prevent.

 

what are the issues of oil in the intake manifold? maybe I need a catch can?

 

Well I’ve read that the LS1 had a problem with the way that the PCV system was designed. The LS1 system forces crankcase pressure oil along with the air into the intake manifold. But I’ve also read that GM fixed this in the LS6 by pulling the pressure from the valley cover under the intake and not from the valve cover. So shouldn’t this resolve the problem.

 

If you go through 1/2 qt between changes you might think about where the oil is going, It is possible it is going right into your intake and that is not a good thing, A catch can will catch the oil before it enters the intake and help keeping things clean, Well worth the investment and it looks good...

 

Blowby gas oil that enters the intake becomes carbon buildup on the pistons. As carbon builds up over time, the volume of empty space above the piston decreases, resulting in a higher compression ratio. Because you tend to use 91-93 octane fuel, pinging will occur, triggering the knock sensor to signal the ECO to retard timing.
Retarded timing means loss of power.....do you see where I'm going?

This is typically less of a problem when it comes to smaller engines, as total blowby flowrate past the PCV valve is much less, meaning oil dropless in that blowby is also reduced.

More info can be found here:

http://www.conceptualpolymer.com/PCV...oval%20102.pdf

 

here is some good info from LS1Tech.com on this subject

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/genera...outing-ok.html

 

I recently installed one from Elite Engineering. My Z06 only has 18K miles on it, yet the catch can caught 6 oz of oil after a day at a road course.

I normally burn a quart during a two day event. It is keeping a third of my total oil consumption from going down the intake.

I blame a high percentage of the rest on my excessive oil temps. That's my winter project.

 

i have a C6 and it pulls from the valley and i have oil coming into the intake. Pis*** me off that they designed it that way. I got a can to fix it

 

I haven't had any oil loss at all I check it every week or so and havn't had to add any what oil is the catch can going to catch note I don't run it very hard
I get on it once in a while

 

Some people will not catch much oil at all in the short term, but I can almost guarantee that your engine allows some oil to get past its piston rings.

The other thing to remember is that even though the dipstick shows no loss, the oil that is burned up is displaced by moisture, especially during this time of year when temperature swings are wide and frequent.

 

Ask yourself why did GM relocated the oil baffle/sparator (Gen3/4 engine) from the valve cover to under the valley (Gen3 LS6) and has two oil sparators on the LS2 (Gen4) to deal with the fouled crankcase air ( blow-by) at both inlet and exit ( and still C6 owners with aggressive driving styles have oil consumption issues) .

What is considered an oil consumption issue ? John Juriga , Assistant Chief Engineer for Gen3 Engines at a press conference at Irwindale Speedway
2002 stated that using a quart oil in 2000 miles or less was a consumption issue. Generally the offical GM detemination of oil consumption was of course left to individual dealerships and how persistant the individual Vette owner was.

Oil consumption is an issue with these Gen 3 engines in particular applications ,generally manual transmissions and owners with aggressive driving styles. This is well documented.



The more aggressive Napier scraper ring and increased ring tension (9 to13 lb) did help the majority. But it was a band-aide at best as the actual problem is with the 5300 mid size utility block's siamesed cylinder coolant passages. With the only coolant passing between cylinders (water jacket) thru small 20mm passages at the top of the cylinders , the cylinder bores developed hot spots that caused distortion (out of round spec.) that the OEM piston rings ( with the less aggessive Napier face and less ring tension) could handle. Add to that the loose cylinder bore machining tolerances and cylinder bore taper issues. ( All these issues are documented and were addressed with the Gen4 LS2 engines)

If you are a conserative driver with an automatic transmission , you less likely to experience high oil consumption ( blow-by).

The negative affects of oil consumptions are (1) carbonizing cylinder heads , pistons & rings, valves , spark plugs.

(2) Emissions componet contamination i.e. O2 sensors, Cat converters that result in decreased performanmce and premature componet failure.

(3) Reduced performance by screwing up the air/fuel mixture ( dependent on how much oil/moisture crankcase vapor( blow-by) is drawn into the throttle body/intake manifold).

In theory all the oil catch can does is route this oil/moisture fouled, comtaminated air thru a sparator/ baffle back to the engine to be burned. In practice most oil catch cans are not installed properly for optimum effectiveness, but still offer a variable % of success. Then add the fact that not all oil catch cans are 'created equal' in design. See Dave68 website.

My three (3) C5es (also my '87 Grand National, Mustang GT350) do not use any noticeable amount of oil between 3000 mile (once a year) oil changes but like any insurance policy I encourage Gen 3 owners to install an oil catch can.