so .. I recently installed a catch can on my PCV .. I recorded my first time checking the can .. mind you, it was only on the car for 3-4 weeks MAX and I wasn't even driving as much as I usually do .. I'm just wondering now if this would be considered excessive oil being caught or normal for 3-4 weeks ..

http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=avmz4p&s=7
side notes here .. the oil smelled of gas .. it was thick and black .. this was filmed on my phone so quality isn't the greatest and before anyone says anything about the oil on the ground, lol, it was outside of my house and I cleaned it up right after filming this (the only reason I didn't have something to catch it in was because I had NO idea there was going to be this much .. I thought 4-5 drops max) ..

now I'm wondering if this could explain why I ping under load when the cars warmed up .. this much effing oil lowering the octane of my gas is probably effing up everything .. great design every time I mentioned oil lowering my octane everyone said a "few drops" would never do enough to make me ping .. WTF

thats a decent amount of blowby for only 4 weeks, but not horrendous. how do you drive? do you get into the high RPMs often?

btw, next time empty that into a container.

i need to empty my cusco catch can.... its like half full. probably 3-4 times more than what you got out of it

I only drive in the city shifting no later than 4K so not really high RPMs aside from the once a week trips on the highway but I still keep it under 5 or 6K ..

and the container .. no harm since it was my driveway but I soaked it up and put some sand on it .. I was just soo shocked it actually caught THAT much that I wasn't even thinking quickly enough to shut it mid flow ..

imagine all of that going back into my plenum .. how could that pOSSIBLY be a good idea .. ?? soo many of us have that ping under load issue that I'm wonder if this wouldn't contribute (even a little) to the problem .. I notice I ping a little less now but I'm assuming all of that time WITHOUT a catch can has probably caused carbon and other issues that I'll have to drive to get rid of over time

how long has it been since you last emptied ?? this much oil is a little stupid to be anywhere near our plenum ..

about 5-6k... due for change

What does the plenum do exactly and why is oil going into it a bad thing?

I know in the S2k, the valve cover has a hose that is hooked up into the intake. So I can see why this would be a bad thing and a oil catch tank would prevent excessive amount of oil getting into the intake and into the plugs.

But have no idea what the 'plenum' is. Anyone care to explain. Thanks

^Plenum is your upper intake collector. From there it goes to your lower intake runners to intake valves to combustion chambers.

My catch can collected ~5-6oz. in 5K miles. Wasn't that black in color either as OP's. Mine helped with low rpm detonation, but 91oct in general sux too.

plenum refers to the upper & lower collectors - the big, aluminum thing on top of the engine, lol. for emissions purposes, blowby is drawn back into the intake to be mixed with incoming air and consumed in the combustion process. its debatable how much this retards performance for most users.

upper & lower collector (aka plenum):

lol, looks like we gang-tackled the answer to his question

^ lol...yup but you stepped it up a notch with pix

so would it be fair to say that the blow by could have been lowering my octane and/or causing enough issues to where I would be getting my ping between 2-3K under load ?? it ONLY happens when the car is very warm to hot .. I put in colder plugs, I only run shell 93 (have never run anything else in the one year I've had this car) and it's actually a new engine replaced from the OC issue approx. 9-10 months ago .. could the oil have caused carbon buildup and/or other issues and I just need to let it run its course until I'll be ping free ?? this ping under load has been the ONLY part of owning this car that annoys me and even my dealer doesn't have a clue .. a ping that only comes up due to temperature worries me since it's non-existant for the first 20 minutes or so of driving no matter what gear or how much load I put on the car .. frustrating for someone with a N/A ..

Thanks for the explanation. Looks to me like the plenum is already a oil catch tank in the last pic. That's where all the oils shows up right?

I guess with the oil catch tank, we won't have to clean out the plenum as much. Not that people do it anyways. haha

^ that about sums it up.