JA, JB, JD Owners and open air filters

androoz · Post by **androoz** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 12:48 am

how many of you guys have open air filters or pods?

i asked around on the tristarion forums a while ago, and they said that starions with the air can which is connected to the "mass air flow sensor" cannout be removed/cut open..

but i hear some of you guys cutting open your air cans or removing it completely.. how did you get around the "mass air flow sensor" problem.. as i heard some guy over there in the US removed it, and now his engine spits out oil..

SpidersWeb · Post by **SpidersWeb** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 1:01 am

The reason his spits out oil, is because he didn't move the oil catch can output to atmosphere or a bottle. Factory most cars are set up to burn excess oil if the pressure gets too high - this stops oil seals braking, and engine fires from oil hitting the motor. The idea is to use a bottle to hold any excess oil, or make it drop below the car. Ideally this shouldn't happen, tends to be something that happens more as the piston rings wear out (air gets underneath and raises the oil pressure).

The idea regarding the AFM etc, is to cut holes in the can, but not remove it (if you have a factory ECU). So if you just cut larger holes (preferabbly on the side of the air can not facing the motor, and remove the oil catch can output and put it somewhere else, it will give a mild increase in power, mildly redudce turbo lag, and cause no problems.

Those are my thoughts anyway, I'm sure someone else might have a comment or three :)

Seems to be a very common mod, recommend by many, never heard a bad story.

mrb1 · Post by **mrb1** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 11:12 am

The Starion has a rather elaborate oil separator catch can breather system complete with drain back to sump! You could call it a "blowby management system".
You should be able to keep this with a bit of custom plumbing.
Yes you have to run an aftermarket ECU (using a MAP sensor) to remove the airflow meter. Highly recommended because that airflow meter is a horrible thing.

Abalistic · Post by **Abalistic** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 8:15 pm

One way of getting cold air in and keep the factory Air can. :D

NachoMan · Post by **NachoMan** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 2:44 am

I got a cut open air box.
Tis good stuff, and makes a big difference!

SpidersWeb · Post by **SpidersWeb** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 3:18 am

Also removing the driver side headlight on drag racing days and running a pipe from it, would be quite good. Cold air being pushed in as you go down the track.

androoz · Post by **androoz** » Sun Apr 25, 2004 3:03 pm

SpidersWeb wrote:The idea regarding the AFM etc, is to cut holes in the can, but not remove it (if you have a factory ECU). So if you just cut larger holes (preferabbly on the side of the air can not facing the motor, and remove the oil catch can output and put it somewhere else, it will give a mild increase in power, mildly redudce turbo lag, and cause no problems.

"...remove the oil catch can output and put it somewhere else..." where can we ouput it to.. how is this done.. can i see your setup?

SpidersWeb · Post by **SpidersWeb** » Sun Apr 25, 2004 4:27 pm

If you have to, get any kind of bottle.

There is a line from the oil catch can that goes to the top of your air can, the can itself, unplug this and put it in the bottle

Now any excess oil will go in to the bottle instead of the air intake in the event of excessively high oil pressure.

I describe this as very dodgy, but it works. Did it on my ex-gfs Corolla when it started spitting oil.

An aftermarket oil catch can is probably a better idea, however this way can be done for a few dollars depending on if you buy Coke or Pepsi.

androoz · Post by **androoz** » Sun Apr 25, 2004 7:44 pm

SpidersWeb wrote:...Now any excess oil will go in to the bottle instead of the air intake in the event of excessively high oil pressure...

yeah i kinda get what you are saying now.. but i still want to ask in the event of high oil pressure, the excess oil goes to the air can? or does the air can push it back to that little bottle b/t the engine and air can..

also can i cut holes in the can and leave the oil line connected to it?

SpidersWeb · Post by **SpidersWeb** » Sun Apr 25, 2004 8:40 pm

Ideally the oil should never leave the engine, but if it has to due to pressure it goes to the oil catch can, if thats full it *has* to go somewhere, and I'd rather store it in a bottle or burn it than let it spallter on the engine.

To be honest, its not really a large concern for most people, for the oil pressure to get that high you either need wicked blowby problems (crappy rings), super high temperatures or someone putting way too much oil in the car. Add to that your factory catch can being clogged or too small.

Seriously, just cut the can, if you find oil lying about, then put that pipe so it goes in to a bottle or something. Cross that bridge when you come to it. Its really no big deal.

androoz · Post by **androoz** » Sun Apr 25, 2004 9:03 pm

ok will do.. last 2 questions..

in the extreme cases you were talking about before, so if the oil catch can becomes full, the oil *has* to go somewhere.. and that somewhere is all over the air filter? thats the part i dont get.. in later models, the oil catch can is connected to the acordian (think thats how u spell it) tube.. how does that work..

also in that case, can we just take off the air can and have an open filter?

thanks for your help

androoz · Post by **androoz** » Sun Apr 25, 2004 9:08 pm

and another thing.. inside our air filter lies a.. *pause* i think its called a mass air sensor.. is this y we cant use pod filters? i feel we would get greater power if we just remove the air can totally as opposed to just cutting it?

SpidersWeb · Post by **SpidersWeb** » Sun Apr 25, 2004 10:17 pm

You dont remove the can because it holds the air flow sensor. You can buy an adaptor plate for the Starion so you can fit pod filters, but these are generally expensive. Ideally you want an aftermarket ECU that runs off a MAP sensor, and get rid of the stupid restrictive thing altogether.

The excess oil is burned by the car, some put it in the pipe, some in to the air can. Doesnt matter where. The idea is to safely and slowly burn the oil by placing it in the air intake as apposed to splattering it on the engine. Performance car owners here often fit aftermarket catch cans to protect their air filters.

But as I said before, its not meant to happen, it only happens when something is buggered royally. Its a saftey mechanism. Under normal operation, that second pipe is a breather pipe that allows the catch can to fill and empty itself easily.

Here is a link to show you what a lovely GReddy aftermarket oil catch can looks like http://www.machv.com/groilcacan.html

SpidersWeb · Post by **SpidersWeb** » Sun Apr 25, 2004 10:27 pm

Here is a howto for cutting the air canister:

http://www.vfaq.com/mods/filter-print.html

ProZac · Post by **ProZac** » Mon Apr 26, 2004 9:02 am

The cannister attached to the air can is not an oil collector, its an oil-air seperator. It takes fumes from the rockercover, containing oil vapour, and seperates the oil out from the air, the air goes back into the system, into the accordian hose, and the oil drains back to the sump.

Austarion

JA, JB, JD Owners and open air filters

JA, JB, JD Owners and open air filters

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