Oil Catch Can

An Oil Catch Can Tank is a simple device that benefits countless types of vehicles whether they are boosted with turbo or supercharger and normally aspirated vehicles can benefit as well.

To explain it simply, an oil catch can tank is a reservoir, or filter for pipework or PCV (Positive Crankcase Ventilation)  coming from the valve covers. There is also a Breather line associated with the PCV line. Both lines function together for the PCV emission system to work. When one side is positive pressure, the other side is negative pressure.

So why does somebody need an Oil Catch Can Tank ? The reason is, that the valve rings do not create a perfect seal. If they did the pistons would not be able to move up and down. Because there is a tiny gap between the cylinders and the pistons, a little bit of pressure is able to escape into the valve cover area. At the same time burnt oils are also escaping into the valve cover area. This is called "blow by". This stuff is nasty and does enter the valve cover area and will escape into the PCV line and Breather. The PCV line will recycle these burnt solids back into your manifold which will increase the level of carbon solids, and reduce your octane levels. For a boosted setup with turbo and supercharger, the Breather line will recirculate some of these oils into the intake which will go into the intercooler. Of course, the intercooler works best when the interior surfaces are nice and clean. When the breather line returns any fumes with oils into the intake, this will start to coat the inside of the intercooler with oil, and reduce the heat exchange efficiencies.

So, the simplest solution is to insert an oil catch tank can into each line, this gives these heavy oil solids a place to enter and pool. There are many shapes and sizes, and even different configurations which are closed-loop, and open loop.

If you search the Internet, repository of much good and some terrible information. You will find that there are many differing opinions on forums about open and closed systems. Additionally there are quite a few opinions on if catch cans do anything at all! The way I see it is that they can't hurt the system and indeed, if the can does actually 'catch' some oil then it will have proved it's worth. 

The biggest problem for fitting a catch can was finding a location for it, many R33 owners tend to place it by or indeed, on the fuse box cover. I have also seen Spec one engine bays, with it fitted at the right hand rear, although this only works if you don't have ABS fitted as standard (I do). So what to do? In my case I decided to 'lose' the carbon filter and opt to vent the fuel tank to atmosphere (Why make things easy?). 

Carbon Filter Removal.

Looking at the filter in situ there are two hard pipes that wind their way towards it, these then connect to rubber pipes etc. that attach to the carbon canister. Put simply, the canister has an entry (the top) and exit (the bottom) the exit winds it's way out through the bulkhead. So simply disconnect the carbon canister, remove it from its bracket and place to one side. The two hard lines that are left need to be connected together again and joined to the 'T' piece that vents to atmosphere. As you have to cut the hard pipe to get a decent looking job, the hardest part is actually 'thinking' about what your doing! 

You have to remove the upper hard pipes from the Inlet Manifold and the throttle body. Blanking them off or plugging the pipe with a screw (if your a savage).  

Catch Can fitment. 

The (now free) Carbon Canister bracket was the ideal solution on to how to fit the catch can and I decided that a small round can would squeeze into the newly created hole in the engine bay nicely. 

Catch tank and bits

I have included a picture of a round catch can, so you can see what you actually get in the box. Be careful to order one with 15mm pipe fittings (AN-10) as a few (like the one pictured) are sold with only 9mm fittings. In the pack you also get a set of clips, a bracket with two screws and a length of pipe. 

Why they include a length of pipe, I don't know, as it's the first thing to go into the bin. The bracket is a little suspect as well, but it can be modified for our purpose. The clips would be kept as spares as I use braided hose. The catch cans come with two sets of tapped holes in its body. This means that you do have some adjustment in how it is mounted (in the picture you can just about see two holes in its 'side'), you also have some adjustment in it's lid (as it's round). 

As mentioned, there was some modification to the small black bracket supplied with the can. Basically it just needed the L shape chopping off and the now defunct carbon canisters bracket simply needed a hole drilling in it. The can was then secured to the bracket and a stainless steel clip placed around its body (although it probably didn't need this). 

Breather pipework

Why do I use braided hose? It's a bloody pain to use (quite literally) but what price vanity? As mentioned use AN-10 pipe you will also need two AN-10 finishers (20mm for braided) for the catch can. For the actual Crankcase outlets you will need a size up on finisher as you will not be able to get an AN-10 over the pipe! In fact this was a bit of a 'oh' problem for me and I ended up using the original fittings of 24mm. The pipework is reasonably simple, you just insert the can in between the original breather hose exit. So pipe from crankcase to can, from can to breather (An open system). 

Catch can fitted

AN-10 Hose finishers (20 mm ID)

As you can see it all fits, just. If nothing else it was an interesting and possibly fiddly job to do. 

HICAS Lock out kit

Hello, hello, It is probably true that notable by my absence from blogging and previous comments about the car being complete. The casual reader may think that I am done with this annoyance of a 'car', well I'm happy to report that I'm a long way from having picked up a fine pair of slippers and changing vehicle to a Nissan Juke (although I have always fancied a pipe). In the back ground I have been 'Beavering away'. Real life has slowed me down somewhat with such annoyances like cash flow being diverted to everyday living, but I'm hopeful that I can recover my strangled bank balance, back to a more healthy shade and start the year again with a bang!

The funny thing with blogging or keeping a diary is, that you have to be pretty firm about keeping it up to date, making a habit of even the most boring news? I have practically missed the whole summer on here and in some respects missed the point of what the blog was about, which is me, not you!

Still anyway enough of my musings on the subject, lets get to something fresh on the table.

HICAS Lock Out

It was never my intention to remove the HICAS (rear wheel steering) from the car. However randomly I do get the warning light pop up just to say 'hello'. Naturally I have fiddled no end with such convincing things such as cleaning connections and light oil spray. The problem would be impossible to diagnose as I have a APEXi Power FC ECU on the car and can't easily generate a fault code. Nor can I say I have tried that hard as it quite takes my fancy to junk the whole of the HICAS system in favour of a Driftworks Lockout Kit (or HICAS Eliminator as they call it).

Kit including Toe rods, Polybushes, Brackets and Mounting Hardware.

Replaces Hicas rear steering on Hicas equipped Nissans

Improves Predictability of handling.

What you get in the box

As it arrives - Slightly less glamorous!

As mentioned I am holding off fitting just yet, as there are some other suspension geometry parts I'm interested in. Additionally as tracking will be required, it would be a better idea to fit all the bits in one go, rather than keep chuck in tracking (wheel alignment) costs at £100 (UK Pounds) a go. 

Light Up Rear Panel Part Two

And some fella said 'let there be light'..

So previously we had a clear panel with a bad paint job and two whacking great holes cut in the back. Not the most promising of starts I hear you cry. Ah, but remember that sometimes you need to destroy to be able to create! pffft... say the philosophers. Get on with it cry the readers...

So as to remain legal in the UK the rear panel must 'light up' red. Anything else is of course possible but you will be breaking the law on UK roads. Personally I like the red as it fits in with the lights. It is possible to purchase paint from Foliatec known as 'Glow Bulb' I like this as it's quick and easy only requiring one coat. However you can use Tamiya clear red etc, you get the idea. For instance on my car the internals are painted Tamiya red.

I did not paint this... This is not the finish

Characters painted internally with clear red

 Next up get tin foil or some adhesive backed foil. Stick this to where the centre lug is. What we want to do is cover all the way along behind the lettering with this. When the sun shines on the car during the day it helps make the lettering stand out, additionally it also helps the brightness when the panel is lit with reflected light.

Exhaust tape (but tin foil will do)

Remember to cover center section behind lug

 I was keen to 'try' a different LED set this time and picked some bright red 30CM strips up from ebay for very small money. These run off 12 volts and can be easily wired into the lighting circuit. However I think that  probably a 60CM would be better. I'm going to try out a 60CM strip to see how well it works. Currently I attached strips top and bottom.

pre wired Red LED, this is a 30CM strip 60 would be best.

 Using some plastic card, two strips were made to cover the holes made previously. Foil was attached to these as mentioned previously.

'PlastiCard cut to fit over holes with foil attached to 'inside' part

 The strips were then glued back into place. Probably does not matter what glue as long as it sticks. I like my glue gun, the bodgers tool!

Glue (or two part epoxy into place)

 As I used two light strips, I neatened up the wiring and tinned the wires. Ready for installation.

lets not have any messy wiring!

 Here is the finished product (from the lighting perspective). It is actually quite hard to take a photo as the camera dwells on the light source making it appear that the bulbs are brighter than they actually are. However it is fair comment to say that the S and the E are slightly dull in the flesh. Hence my final hurrah at trying a 60CM strip in the unit.

Some product?

I hope you enjoyed this outing into something practical and yet at the same time quite useless. Naturally the panel can be wired to the lights or if you have a sad copy type spoiler without brake light it could be wired to that.

Light Up Rear Panel

I was asked recently if I would 'make' a light up rear SKYLINE panel. The origins of the original light up panels have been lost in time now and fetch quite a high figure within the community. Although they seem reasonably pointless here in the UK as it is illegal to display anything other than a red light on the back of cars here. The original panel was of the clear design and rather cleverly just lit up the letters of skyline in a greenish 'teal' back light.

That isn't what I plan to show you all though, this is UK specific although naturally with a change of some ingredients anything is possible.

Firstly you will need to get hold of a Spec 1 Skyline panel. The irony being that the letters were originally painted silver and the rest of the panel was clear. We now need to turn this on its head and have clear letters and a painted panel. The one that I am using is a badly painted unit that a friend abandoned to my care. More about painting later.

As this is step one, it's reasonably easy. You will need to cut away two sections either side of the central locating lug at the back of the unit.

Note it may be possible to heat the unit and separate it's parts, although personally I have never tried doing this. This step only takes 30 odd minutes anyway.

With trusty drill and hacksaw blade. Not a hammer in sight. 

note this picture is wrong and you will need to go beyond the rubber air vent pipe.

Get your self a small drill and machine gun around the following area. From the central lug all the way along to include just beyond the small air vent. Then with hacksaw blade 'join the dots', naturally you will have to ensure that you got all the bits out of the unit although these usually rinse out okay.

This concludes part one, part two will be painting the letters and lighting.

Schism – winning the internet

I have a passing interest in cars, not I hasten to add that I think it takes over my life to the detriment of everything else. Although as it certainly seems to, I can only but guess that it is fact. It’s certainly strange having this true borderline obsession, a complete and singular focus on one thing, to reach a goal and damnation to everything else. Obviously I appreciate it is ‘just a car’ and have said this many times, although it is a car born of my own imagination, created by me, my hard labour, my dreams. Sometimes it is at odds with my own humility and am not sure if this is derived from my humble beginnings or just a desire not to show off. Although when complimented or even abused over it, my thought process are, that the other party has not earned the right to comment.  

Although there is also the need for acceptance, which is perhaps why I belong to a car club, whatever my original motivations were are probably lost in time now. With the shrinking multitude, I am also just another number passing comment, not quite the forum warrior that some feel the need to be. Yesterday I had the distinct displeasure of watching two tribes going to battle publicly over, nothing much. An argument that had simmered for sometime just went on to prove that things which happen in your head only happen in your mind. I often feel that my intelligence is a distinct disadvantage when on the forum.

Of course it resulted in various ejections of a small group of users, who are now firmly bonded together under the flag of injustice, a powerful force. Perhaps they will be able to build upon this, the very fact that this has happened in the past is proof positive that those with vision can overcome. However personal experience in a different field shows just how much dedication this can require. One irony being, that the group where they now fly their flags of allegiance are also talking about introducing the same rules that they pushed so hard to take down in the first place.

A friend of mine who has an interest in various forms of communication enquired of me about random status updates happening on Face book and eagerly studied the forums.

Their comment was as follows:

“They tried to win the internet, they lost”  

Perhaps there is a moral to this post, although I find it highly unlikely anyone in the same scenario will care. I however will continue to focus my ‘obsession’ on the car rather than focus it on the thoughts of others. 

The end of the road?

To Modify.

I'm not talking about saving a wreck or bringing a classic back to life. R33's are old, but not that old. They were pretty quick in their time, although now they struggle with, handling, acceleration, level of trim and fuel economy. Basically everything really is what you would expect from a car that ended production some 14 ish years ago.

To me Ms Skyline isn't a living and breathing thing. Who would want to drive 'high art' which basically is what I strove to create. What would be the point of it? Well ultimately there isn't a point, just the obsession that fills people to strive to create something.
Compared to other car marques it is a lonely existence, I have made some good friends but they are scattered to the winds and met some real BS merchants.

Most bizarre was the blog perhaps, that people would drop in and out of my 'Adventure' was unexpected. Although it is a big world out there, I guess that they can't all be bot's or wrong addresses?

Question is, would I do it again? Wah! You nuts?? No freaking way!

I think I will continue the blog for as long as anyone is interested.

As a last hurrah and whilst the car and myself are still intact. I had some photo's taken.
No Photo shop, just lighting involved.

Looks cool but Carbon is a pain

I have three centre consoles now..

JapFest 2012 Show report

It's a show report.. of sorts, especially considering the efforts involved with us actually getting in the gate. I'm not entirely sure if the journey was more eventful than the actual show!

Cars congregate to convoy to the show. Yes she made it here and is in centre shot!

12th May 2012 held at Castle Coombe Circuit
Japfest is a celebration literally of all things four wheeled and Japanese. From ricers to shop fresh GT-Rs this small corner of Wiltshire is transformed into a small corner of Japan. The schedule of events is split into professional drifting and members of the public getting a taste of track action.

Without doubt the biggest and best Japanese car show, this year it celebrated its tenth anniversary in some style, even without knowing the attendance it must have had record crowds attending, although am not entirely sure that this was purely down to it being an anniversary show, or just the fact that the weather God's had decided to be kind to us poor pale English folk and blaze down upon us. Whatever it was, there was certainly some of the very best in Jap car culture to feast the eyes on.

Taken from the Japfest official site Ms Skyline on the right. 

Naturally there was a fair amount of crap too.

Touring the retailers is always a bit of a let down as mostly they cater for either lesser cars or are just fine purveyors of 'stickers' and rubbish you can probably live with out. We did find a few gems scattered around and my friend picked up a nice NISMO cap and D1 Rad cap for a bargain price.. No I don't know if the oil cap was a fake, it looked good enough!

To be honest at the time of day when we finally rolled in, it was lunch time. So we had a pretty busy afternoon, me insisting on looking at the club stands and my friend begging to look at some drifting action. I think the balance was about right and before we knew it we had to make our way back to the Skyline Owners Club stand to partake in the cavalcade.

The cavalcade itself was rather fun, we were told we would be doing a slow lap, well yes we did do one slow lap.. Followed by three rather quick ones. It was a real buzz and I think I was still giggling in schoolboy terms the next day. In fact there is the rumour that my friend Dal, tried to merge and be as one with the pace car that was leading them around the track.

On track. I don't normally put in personal appearances on the blog!

To cap a brilliant day out, the club won best stand in show. Although this should not be too surprising as the cars this year were simply stunning.

Some pictures from the day.. Without trying to be too boring.

Al_Star

Have a feeling this is my friend Dal in pole position

Ms Skyline and my ass

Nitros (fine fella that he is!)

taste of the queues

Tommo's smokey lady (slight case of over bombing)