Catch Can System for Golf R - Worth it?

[wilsonj]

My mechanic friend stated that he feels this is a good investment to promote engine longevity - thoughts?

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-ecs-parts/ecs-tuning-baffled-oil-catch-can-system/016901ecs01-01kt/

 

[tonipepperoni77]

My mechanic friend stated that he feels this is a good investment to promote engine longevity - thoughts?



https://www.ecstuning.com/b-ecs-parts/ecs-tuning-baffled-oil-catch-can-system/016901ecs01-01kt/

Unless you track your car extremely hard with tight turns there have been people who have run them for 10k plus miles and haven’t found a single drop in them. The systems on the mk7 is far superior than the past. If you have money to blow go for it but otherwise spend it else where. Few members in the 70-80k mile range have had there engines scoped and found no build up at all


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[Gawernator]

Not worth it

 

[dkennedy]

So far I’m at 11k over 2 years of ownership & not a drop in my catch can. Probably would have been $ better spent elsewhere but oh well, it’s already in there.

 

[Gawernator]

Better off spending that $$ on water meth injection!

 

[NCM]

Reading through the installation instructions )see: http://bd8ba3c866c8cbc330ab-7b26c6f..._18990_MK7_Golf_Catch_Can_Installation_r1.pdf) this strikes me as an impressively well engineered kit.

However you might want to read the warning on page 45 about use in temperatures at or below freezing. This adds a seasonal maintenance requirement for those of us in 4-season areas.

Neil

 

[KASPER1]

I check mine every month, and there is always something in there, it is a different catch can though, maybe that's why it's so damn expensive.

You do have to check it more in winter months, if that applies for you, mine are damn near full of condensation after 3 weeks in winter and you don't want that freezing

 

[wilsonj]

Thank you everyone for the feedback - I am probably going to go with NO on this one then.

 

[greggles]

I check mine every month, and there is always something in there, it is a different catch can though, maybe that's why it's so damn expensive.

The ECS unit is a "bypass" system. It tosses out the functioning factory system and replaces it with its own. The gases that were originally routed back into the engine are instead vomited into the catch can.

You will always see accumulation in the bypass catch can systems because it kills the functional factory system. You won't see anything in an "inline" system (piggybacks on stock system) unless the factory pcv system has an issue. (Easy way to tell which system is which, the bypass systems replace the top plate of the factory unit)

Catch can systems are only necessary if you are tracking your R. Bypass catch cans should be avoided at all costs (they are not necessary), except for the one very specific model designed for an issue that occurs at high G's while tracking the car.

If you must have a catch can system, spend your money on an inline system, which maintains the factory system. Of course you won't ever find anything, and will realize what a huge waste of money it was. You can usually pick these up from other owners in the for sale section after they to realized it was a waste of money.

 

[wilsonj]

The ECS unit is a "bypass" system. It tosses out the functioning factory system and replaces it with its own. The gases that were originally routed back into the engine are instead vomited into the catch can.

You will always see accumulation in the bypass catch can systems because it kills the functional factory system. You won't see anything in an "inline" system (piggybacks on stock system) unless the factory pcv system has an issue. (Easy way to tell which system is which, the bypass systems replace the top plate of the factory unit)

Catch can systems are only necessary if you are tracking your R. Bypass catch cans should be avoided at all costs (they are not necessary), except for the one very specific model designed for an issue that occurs at high G's while tracking the car.

If you must have a catch can system, spend your money on an inline system, which maintains the factory system. Of course you won't ever find anything, and will realize what a huge waste of money it was. You can usually pick these up from other owners in the for sale section after they to realized it was a waste of money.

THANK YOU

 

[vw671]

The ECS unit is a "bypass" system. It tosses out the functioning factory system and replaces it with its own. The gases that were originally routed back into the engine are instead vomited into the catch can.

Absolutely incorrect. The ECS kit is not a "bypass" type system like the VMR and CTS Turbo ones. It works exactly like the APR system which retains the stock PCV. Additionally all gases are still circulated back into the intake.

 

[greggles]

If it maintains the stock system, and you are seeing something in your catch can, then something is wrong with your pcv valve, and I'd look into replacing it. In my experience on the forums/facebook, owners have only seen accumulation in a catch can when the stock unit has a problem, or the replacement catch can system bypasses the factory pcv valve.

 

[vw671]

If it maintains the stock system, and you are seeing something in your catch can, then something is wrong with your pcv valve, and I'd look into replacing it. In my experience on the forums/facebook, owners have only seen accumulation in a catch can when the stock unit has a problem, or the replacement catch can system bypasses the factory pcv valve.

The stock PCV does lets oil into the intake, especially if your running higher boost than stock. If you don't believe me open up your intake pipe and look for yourself. Non-bypass catch cans on MK7's don't catch much oil for sure, but the purpose is they keep the oil out of your turbo, intercooler, and valves. Most of the oil is caught in the long hose that runs from the PCV valve to the catch can itself.

 

[KASPER1]

Happy with my vwr catch can, high g braking/turning solution. My only point was with the vwr catch can, you will actually "catch" a bunch more stuff, as others mentioned, it it also very effective at track day events or seriously spirited country road driving in eliminating the high g blow by issue. It does however cost twice as much, replaces the upper washer tank, bottom one is huge anyway, it's really a non issue and requires frequent maintenance, draining, especially in the colder months. Not a big deal for me, I'm always under the hood.

I'm personally a fan of the vwr kit, figure you get what you pay for. I also never wanted to experience the high g braking blow by again, haven't seen it since vwr install, on not 1 but 2 R's, so like I said, I'm obviously a fan of vwr's solution.

 

[bebersol]

671 is right.

The jury's out on catch cans though.
Studies that have been done show that the primary cause of coking is unburnt fuel leaking out when the intake value is open and mixing with the oil vapors in the intake runners. The theory was that less recirculated oil in the intake, the less coking on the intake runners and valves. To some degree this works. But not as well as everyone would hope. This is a general problem with all direct injection engines (diesel or gasoline) and all brands of DI engines (turbo or normally aspirated). Eventually you'll have to have your intake and valves de-carboned.

The catch can doesn't hurt because it does reduce the amount of oil being recirculated.

In the winter my can is catching about 70% water and 30% oil. In the summer almost nothing. This is also partly due to the different summer and winter fuel formulas and partly because the engine doesn't run rich to warm up in the mornings.

Also a catch can has nothing to do with tracking or not tracking a car, that's just silly. I have a Durmax Diesel and catch cans were a hot topis on that forum too.