Heritage Revamped - Baffled Oil Catch can Kit R&D, Part 3 - Production Sample and Test Results

Posted: February 26, 2021

Categories: Chevrolet C8 Corvette Baffled Oil Catch Can Kit

It's the end of a journey for our C8 Corvette catch can, both figuratively and literally. We've reached the end of our R&D process and completed over 1000 miles on our road test. Let's dive in and see where this journey has taken us.

As the saying goes, "it's not the destination, but rather the experiences gained along the way." For our C8 Corvette catch can kit, it's a little bit of both. If you remember the last post, our donor vehicle left the R&D facility sporting a matching set of our baffled oil catch cans; but if you scroll down, you'll notice one is missing now. The reason for the change comes down to our testing results.

Our donor 'Vette returned to Delaware with just shy of 1800 miles logged on the road test, and Dan was eager to open up the cans to see what they collected. On the PCV side, we noted a significant accumulation of blow-by. This amount might not seem like much, but considering that this is a brand new vehicle, it's significant. Over time this seemingly small amount of oil and fuel is coating the top end of the LT1 every 1800 miles, building up on the intake valves and eventually reducing the power and efficiency of your mid-engined Corvette. Not to mention that as the engine ages, we expect the amount of blow-by to increase.

On the CCV side, it's a different story. Bone dry. This result is typical to see on most modern engines that we test. A vast majority of the blow-by is routed through the PCV side of the crankcase's ventilation system, leaving this line free of oil and carbon accumulation. For that reason, we opted to drop the CCV-side can from the final version of the kit and focused only on the PCV side.

Speaking of the final kit, it's here, and we're so ready to show it off. Our prototype was very close to the production level, but there were still a few small items to revise, starting with the bracket. Instead of the quick paint job that our prototype received, our final kit ships with a sleek and durable micro-wrinkle black powder coat that resists chips and dings while putting your catch can on display.

An army of hose clamps doesn't exactly scream "finished product." These are essential for our engineering team to retain the proposed shape and routing during the road test, but it's not something that you'd want to show off at cars and coffee. Not to mention that the install would be tedious. So, our final kit includes pre-molded lines, with only a pair of hose clamps for a secure connection to the can fittings. On the other end, we include the OEM Chevrolet quick disconnect fittings to simplify the installation further.

While it might be the end of our C8 Corvette catch can's R&D journey, many of you are just starting yours. There's no denying that the 2020+ Corvette is a historic and groundbreaking generation in Chevrolet's history, so it only makes sense to keep the engine powering it protected. Make sure you get your catch can today: