We've Got It - Catch Can Kit R&D, Part 1: Concept to Completion
What is it about a new vehicle that draws people to it?
Every car or truck enthusiast can relate to catching a glimpse of a new vehicle
from across the parking lot and thinking, "What is that?". Whatever it is, the
new 2019 Dodge Ram 1500 has a lot of it. When we pulled our volunteer 2019 Ram
1500 5.7L into our R&D facility for the first round of catch can
development, even our car segment
walked out to take a look.
If you own a 2019+ Ram 1500, and you're like most new
vehicle owners, you want to keep that "it factor" for as long as possible. Car
washes and interior detailing are a must. But what about under the hood? I'm
not talking pressure washing the engine; I mean inside the engine. After all,
part of that "it factor" for you is driving your truck. If the outside looks
great, but the engine runs rough, that wonder of owning a new vehicle is going
to fade quickly.
They say that the best offense is a good defense. So, to defend
your 2019+ Ram 1500 5.7L from the effects of blow-by and help keep that "it
factor" inside and out, we've been developing a direct-fit catch can kit.
Like all our catch can kits, this one started with bringing
in the truck and planning out our design. The 2019+ Ram 1500 shares the 5.7L
Hemi from the 2009-2018 models, but the updated body means that our previous
generation catch can kit won't fit. So we rolled our volunteer 2019 Ram into
the shop, popped the hood, and got to work. Our first challenge was to mount
the catch can. After that, everything else would fall in place.
The engine bay of the Ram only gave us a couple options
for mounting the can: the firewall or utilize the radiator and fan shroud. The
only available space on the firewall would mount the can very low and make
servicing it very difficult. In contrast, the radiator mounting point would
place the can in an easily serviceable area and give us a straight shot to the
CCV system ports on the engine. That made the radiator the obvious choice.
Dan got to work measuring all the components that our can
bracket would touch to begin building a prototype. Our bracket will utilize a
bolt from the fan shroud to attach to the radiator and an additional
hook-shaped bracket will grab another fan shroud mounting point for more
stability. A small notch in the top of the bracket will hook onto the top of
the fan shroud for even more support. Our fabricator, Mike, cut the bracket out
on our waterjet and bent it into shape.
With the bracket designed, we could move on to the lines.
The relatively straight shot to the engine's CCV ports from the radiator made
designing lines simpler than with many other new vehicles. Some bends and
curves to snake around sensors and under the engine cover were all it took to
route the lines. A coat of paint on the bracket finished our prototype and we
sent the volunteer truck back out into the world for a 1,000-mile road test.
Meanwhile, we were confident enough in our system that we
kicked off production of our sample bracket and lines. It might sound brash, but
our catch can kit for the previous generation caught a significant amount of
blow-by in 1,000 miles on the same engine. Starting our production sample and
our 1,000-mile test at the same time allowed us to bring the truck back in a
few weeks later to measure the blow-by in the can and test fit our sample at
the same time.
We pulled in the truck, removed our prototype kit and
unscrewed the bottom of the can. Our testing was done in the winter, so we
expected to see a lot of condensation in the can. Pouring the collected blow-by
into a glass beaker revealed a muddy mix of fuel, water, and oil totaling about
40 ml. After letting the mixture settle, we measured about a 50/50 mix of oil
and condensation.
Our catch can works, but how would our sample fit? It only took about 10 minutes to find out. The bracket bolted on without a hitch and sat securely against the radiator and fan shroud. Installing the lines was a simple matter of removing the prototypes and clamping on the production lines. That was it, we were done. Our catch can stops blow-by from entering your engine's intake, keeps it running like new. And, it fits like it came from the factory. All that's left is for you to buy it and preserve your Ram's "it factor." This 2019+ Ram 1500 5.7L catch can kit is on pre-sale, which is your chance to get it at a deep discount. Check it out on our website and let us know what you think.
