Oil Catch Cans

An oil catch can intercepts crankcase blow-by vapors between the PCV valve and intake manifold, preventing oil-laden mist from coating intake valves, throttle bodies, and intercooler cores — a critical engine protection upgrade on both forced-induction and naturally aspirated builds. Motor Sport Mayhem stocks 213 oil catch cans across 161 brands, ranging from entry-level separators at $1.19 to professional billet competition systems at $11,495.95, with an average price of $260.84.

Our Top Picks for Oil Catch Cans

Each of these products was hand-selected based on verified performance data, engineering quality, and proven real-world results across street, track, and competition builds.

How to Choose the Right Oil Catch Can

The single biggest separator between a quality oil catch can and a cheap decorative part is internal baffle design — a can without baffling simply sloshes oil-saturated vapor through and back into the intake, achieving nothing. Effective units use either stacked mesh baffles, a dividing wall with directional flow routing, or coalescing filter elements to force blow-by vapor to contact a large surface area, condense, and drop into the reservoir before clean air exits toward the intake. Material quality matters too: aluminum billet construction resists heat and chemical attack from acidic blow-by, while thin-wall steel or plastic units can warp, leak, or fail outright under sustained heat cycles. For forced induction applications, volume capacity and drain intervals become critical — a can sized for a naturally aspirated engine will overflow quickly on a turbocharged build producing aggressive blow-by at elevated boost.

Key Specifications

Reservoir volume directly determines how often you need to drain the can and whether it will overflow between service intervals. Street-driven daily vehicles typically generate less blow-by and can operate with smaller 150–300ml cans without issue. Track and competition builds, particularly those running forced induction or high-rpm naturally aspirated engines, should run larger 300–600ml cans or include a drain valve for quick evacuation at pit stops. Undersizing the reservoir is the most common installation mistake — when it overflows, it defeats the entire purpose of the system.

Inlet and outlet port sizing must match your crankcase ventilation hose diameter — mismatch here causes either restricted flow that builds crankcase pressure or loose connections that introduce unmetered air into the intake tract. Most passenger car and light truck applications use 5/8-inch to 3/4-inch hose, while high-displacement or forced induction engines may run larger diameter lines. Always verify port sizing before ordering, and budget for quality AN-fitting adapters or quality hose clamps if your application requires custom routing. A poorly sealed connection is worse than no catch can at all.

Filter element serviceability is often overlooked at purchase. Some baffled cans use replaceable polyester or stainless mesh elements that can be cleaned and reused; others are sealed units where the media degrades over time and cannot be serviced. For a long-term installation, a can with cleanable or replaceable internals is the correct choice — a clogged or oil-saturated filter element restricts crankcase ventilation and can build enough backpressure to push oil past valve cover gaskets or rear main seals. Check the manufacturer's recommended service interval and confirm replacement media is available before committing to a sealed-element design.

Mounting orientation and drain-back design separate purpose-built catch cans from generic separators. Units with check-valve-equipped drain fittings allow you to empty the reservoir without removing the can from the engine bay, which matters on track where time is limited. Some high-end units include sight glasses so you can monitor accumulation without opening the system. For builds where under-hood real estate is tight, low-profile or remote-mount designs with braided line routing offer the same separation efficiency in a more adaptable package — check our fittings section for compatible AN adapters when building a custom routing setup.

Oil Catch Can Sizing Reference by Application Type

Price Guide

Entry ($1.19–$130): This tier covers basic single-chamber separators, replacement fittings, hose adapters, and simple unbaffled cans that offer a degree of separation for low-demand naturally aspirated street applications. Honest assessment: an unbaffled can with no internal media will catch some oil, but separation efficiency is significantly lower than baffled designs. Appropriate for mild builds where any reduction in intake contamination is an improvement over no can at all.

Mid-range ($130–$600): This is where the majority of enthusiasts correctly land — baffled aluminum cans with serviceable filter elements, proper port sizing, integrated sight glasses, and drain valves are all available in this range. Separation efficiency climbs dramatically, and build quality is sufficient for sustained track and competition use. Most street performance and track-day builds are fully served by this tier, and the step up from entry-level to mid-range is the most impactful upgrade you can make in this category.

Premium ($600–$11,495.95): Professional race-spec systems built for endurance competition, dedicated race vehicles, and applications where zero tolerance for intake contamination exists over extended run times. Expect CNC-machined billet aircraft aluminum, welded AN fittings, integrated pressure relief, multi-stage coalescing elements, and optional data integration. The top end of this range covers full crankcase evacuation systems used in purpose-built race engines where conventional PCV systems are eliminated entirely. For a street or occasional track car, the mid-range is sufficient — this tier is for builds where reliability over race distance is the primary engineering concern.

Who Is This For?

Oil catch cans serve a broad spectrum of builds — from commuter cars protecting long-term engine health to purpose-built race engines where intake contamination is a zero-tolerance issue — and the usage data reflects that range clearly.

Engine Performance — 8.5/10

With 185 products scoring an average of 8.5 out of 10 for engine performance relevance, this is the category's strongest use case — and for good reason. Crankcase blow-by contamination of intake valves, particularly on direct injection engines where port wash no longer cleans valve deposits, is a documented cause of power loss, rough idle, and premature valve failure. A properly sized, baffled catch can directly protects combustion quality and long-term engine output. This is the primary technical justification for the category, and the scores reflect it.

Racing Competition — 8.2/10

At 8.2 out of 10 across 191 products, competition use scores identically with track and drag applications, confirming that catch cans are genuinely cross-discipline race equipment. In competition, engine reliability over race distance is as important as peak power, and oil contamination of the intake tract is an insidious failure mode that builds gradually between maintenance intervals. Most sanctioning bodies and technical regulations for endurance and circuit events now either require or strongly recommend crankcase evacuation systems — a catch can is the most practical compliance solution.

Track / Autocross — 8.2/10

The 8.2/10 score across 181 products for track and autocross use reflects the reality that high-g cornering loads cause oil to surge in the crankcase, dramatically increasing blow-by volume compared to straight-line street driving. A can that is adequately sized for street use will fill much faster during an autocross or track session. This application demands both adequate reservoir volume and a can that handles elevated blow-by rates without restricting crankcase ventilation — undersized units can build crankcase pressure that forces oil past seals during hard cornering.

Street Performance — 7.6/10

The 7.6/10 score across 196 products positions street performance as a strong but secondary use case — appropriate, because street-driven engines generate less blow-by volume and see fewer sustained high-load events than dedicated track hardware. That said, forced induction street builds and high-mileage engines benefit significantly from catch can protection, particularly at extended oil change intervals. For any direct injection engine used on the street, a catch can is one of the most cost-effective long-term engine protection investments available.

Drag Racing — 8.2/10

Drag racing scores 8.2/10 across 147 products, driven by the extreme crankcase pressure spikes that occur during full-throttle high-boost passes — conditions that push blow-by volumes far beyond what any street-spec PCV system is designed to handle. High-boost drag builds often route catch can outlets to atmosphere (where regulations permit) rather than back to the intake, completely eliminating blow-by contamination of the charge air path. At this level, catch can capacity and flow rate are engineering specifications, not afterthoughts.

Trusted Oil Catch Can Brands We Carry

The brands that consistently lead in this category earn their position through engineering depth, not just marketing — and across our catalog of 161 brands, several stand out for specific technical reasons. Mishimoto has built a strong reputation for well-baffled, application-specific catch can kits with quality aluminum construction and integrated check valves. Moroso brings decades of professional race shop experience to their catch can and crankcase evacuation systems, with designs validated in NASCAR and drag racing applications. Radium Engineering sets the benchmark for CNC-machined billet precision with modular port configurations and cleanable polyester filter elements that make service straightforward. Perrin Performance produces well-engineered catch cans purpose-built for the specific PCV routing of popular forced induction platforms, eliminating the guesswork of universal fitment. Crawford Performance focuses on high-volume crankcase management for heavily modified engines where standard PCV capacity is genuinely insufficient. Across all these brands, the common thread is real-world validation — these are products that have been tested on running engines under load, not just sized theoretically.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do oil catch cans actually work, or are they just show parts?

A properly baffled catch can with a quality coalescing element genuinely works — this is not disputed in engineering circles. Independent testing on direct injection engines consistently shows measurable accumulation of oil and fuel vapors in the reservoir after normal driving intervals, confirming that the PCV system is routing contaminated vapor toward the intake without interception. The catch can separates that contamination before it reaches the throttle body and intake valves. The caveat is that unbaffled, empty cans with no internal media have very low separation efficiency — they look the part but do little. Spend the money on a baffled design with a real filter element, and the system works as advertised.

Are ACL race bearings any good, and are they coated?

ACL race bearings are among the most widely used aftermarket engine bearings in professional motorsport, which is the clearest endorsement possible — they wouldn't survive in that environment if they didn't perform. The Race Series line uses a tri-metal construction with an aluminum-tin overlay on a copper-lead intermediate layer bonded to a steel back, providing a hard-wearing surface with genuine conformability to shaft geometry. The extra oil clearance specification is a deliberate engineering choice that maintains hydrodynamic film thickness at elevated temperatures and under the higher oil viscosities used in performance applications. Certain ACL Race Series bearings include a polymer or PTFE-based overlay coating, but this varies by application — check the specific part listing, as the standard Race Series and coated variants have different clearance recommendations.

Are ACL or King bearings better for a performance build?

Both ACL and King Engine Bearings are legitimate race-grade products used in professional competition, and the honest answer is that the better choice depends on the specific application and your clearance targets. King bearings are particularly well-regarded for their pMaxKote polymer coating, which provides exceptional break-in protection and tolerance for momentary oil film interruption — a real advantage in high-revving builds where oil delivery timing is critical. ACL's strength is in application breadth and the extra-clearance variants that suit forced induction and high-temperature builds where tighter OE clearances would cause oil film breakdown. In practice, engine builders tend to have strong preferences based on direct experience with specific platforms, and either brand is a significant step above OE replacement bearings for any performance application.

Are aftermarket head gaskets better than OEM for performance applications?

For a stock-power, unmodified engine, a quality OEM replacement head gasket is entirely appropriate — the OE design was engineered for that specific combustion pressure and temperature range. However, once you increase boost, compression ratio, or power output beyond OE parameters, the OE head gasket's sealing capacity becomes a limiting factor. Aftermarket performance head gaskets from brands like Cometic offer multi-layer steel construction with controlled stopper height, allowing builders to tune the compressed thickness to achieve a specific target compression ratio while maintaining sealing integrity at elevated cylinder pressures. The fire ring design and surface finish requirements of aftermarket MLS gaskets are more demanding than OE composite units — they require a properly decked block and head surface finish of 50–80 Ra microinches to seal correctly, so the head gasket upgrade must be paired with correct machine work.

Are aftermarket ignition coils worth the upgrade on a performance build?

On a stock or mildly modified engine, OE-specification replacement coils are sufficient — there is no combustion benefit to exceeding the factory ignition energy at stock air-fuel ratios and timing. The case for aftermarket ignition coils becomes technically valid when cylinder pressure increases through forced induction or high compression, because the ionization voltage required to fire a spark plug across a compressed charge air column rises significantly with boost and compression ratio. A coil that delivers adequate spark energy at 1 bar cylinder pressure may misfire at 2+ bar, causing lean stumbles, detonation risk, and fouled plugs. Quality aftermarket coils with higher peak output and faster charge times also improve combustion consistency at high RPM, where OE coils can run out of saturation time between firing events — this translates directly to more complete combustion and measurable power gains on aggressive cam profiles and high-rpm builds.

Building something specific? Our performance specialists can help you select the right Oil Catch Cans for your application — street, track, or full race build.