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Improved Racing has developed an oil catch can kit for the C8. You can pre-order now and save $50 instantly. Pre-orders will ship on December 16th and the pre-order discount is valid until they ship.
This catch can is something we have actually been working on for several years. We've done a ton of bench testing, simulations, real-world testing, and finally a 9-month beta test program with customers. I'm really happy with how it turned out and I'm excited to share it with you guys.
A few quick highlights:
Kit includes custom mounting bracket and OEM style quick connect lines for the C8.
Quick-turn, easy to service reservoir.
85-90% filtering efficiency of crankcase vapors.
Washable 316 stainless steel filter.
Flexible mounting bracket system with 16 positions.
-6 ORB inlet and outlet ports.
Why Add this to the C8?
While developing this catch can, I decided to try it out on our C8 shop car, hoping it would trap next to nothing. Since the LT2 is a direct injected engine, I was really hoping that GM had implemented some provisions to keep oil out of the intake manifold.
I've been testing prototypes of this kit on our shop C8 for the past 10 months. Unfortunately, it trapped quite a lot of fluid, around 32 ml (over 1 fl oz) every 3,000 miles with casual street driving, and a lot more on the track. Not as much as some engines, but still too much.
For reference, here is what that looks like. After 3,000 miles of street driving:
And this is after about 250 miles of street driving:
As most of you know, direct injection engines are prone to carbon buildup on the backs of the valves because there is no fuel to clean the intake port walls and valves. While this won't destroy your engine or anything, it will affect performance over time, and require cleaning. So with a direct injected engine, you want to keep the intake air as clean as possible, and a catch can is a great help.
Please note, I don't want to spark a big debate over whether catch cans are necessary or not. To be clear, they are not necessary in most cases. But they will definitely keep your engine cleaner, improve long-term performance, and even slightly increase the octane level of the air-fuel mixture. Also note they are more beneficial for track cars and modified engines, and sometimes necessary because oil is more likely to make it into the intake at high RPM's and high G-forces. I have seen large amounts of oil get burped into the intake manifold all at once at the track.
We have gone through great lengths to ensure our catch can performs exceptionally well without any negative side effects, so there is no harm in adding one. In testing we found some catch cans out there are too restrictive and will increase crankcase pressure significantly. We made sure our catch can does not add any meaningful restriction and that the PCV system still operates as it should.
Don't have a C8? We also have a pre-order launch package that saves you $142 on the universal version of the CCS catch can here: https://www.improvedracing.com/ccs
Are there any plans to submit this for CARB testing in California to get an EO.
Thanks for the suggestion. We will look into how to officially get it approved. We are using OEM style fittings as well as emissions rated hose, so there is no reason why it wouldn't pass any tests.
Looks slick. Do they all have to be green? Colors to match the C8s would be cool but for simplicity, maybe black and edge red (to blend with the valve covers).
Looks slick. Do they all have to be green? Colors to match the C8s would be cool but for simplicity, maybe black and edge red (to blend with the valve covers).
We try to keep things simple by not offering lots of different colors. But that said, a couple of people have asked for red bracket nuts, so we will probably have a few in anodized in red on the next batch we make.
We are developing a check valve for applications that need one. It should be available around February or March.
The current C8 kit does not include a check valve as it isn't needed unless you have forced induction. If you don't have forced induction a check valve will just be adding unnecessary additional restriction.
Here's a pic of the filter. It's made from 316 stainless steel. There are 5 layers of mesh, of different porosities, sintered together. We developed this filter so the porosity increases with each layer, which helps coalesce the fluid into larger and larger droplets. This is a lifetime filter that is easy to clean. There are no pieces of loose steel wool to get into your intake. It's also sealed up with O-rings on top and bottom, so no air will bypass the filter (we found this to be an issue with a lot of other aftermarket cans).
12-08-2022, 08:00 PM
Improved Racing Oil Catch Can Kit for C8
