When people modify their turbocharged cars, they usually focus on the big-ticket items—intakes, downpipes, intercoolers, and tunes. But there’s one inexpensive, often overlooked mod that plays a huge role in protecting your engine: the oil catch can.

What Does an Oil Catch Can Do?

Turbocharged engines naturally create more crankcase pressure. That pressure pushes oil vapor and blow-by gases through the PCV (positive crankcase ventilation) system, where they usually get rerouted right back into the intake manifold.

Without a catch can, those vapors coat your intake valves and intercooler piping with oil residue. Over time, this buildup can cause:

• Carbon deposits on intake valves (especially in direct injection engines)

• Reduced performance and throttle response

• Knock and detonation risks from oil-contaminated air-fuel mixtures

• Long-term reliability issues

An oil catch can captures that blow-by before it re-enters the intake, helping to keep your engine breathing clean—especially under boost.

Why It’s Especially Important on Turbo Cars

Turbos increase pressure in the system, which means more blow-by and more oil vapor. This isn’t a maybe—it’s a guarantee, especially on higher mileage engines or cars being pushed beyond factory boost levels.

Installing a catch can early on helps:

• Extend the life of your turbo

• Keep intercoolers and throttle bodies cleaner

• Reduce oil contamination in the combustion process

Most People Skip It—Don’t Be One of Them

It’s easy to overlook a catch can because it doesn’t add horsepower on the dyno or make your car louder. But it plays a key role in preserving the performance you’ve built.

At 5ive Performance, we’ve seen enough valve gunk and oil-soaked charge pipes to say this with confidence: if you’re running boost, you need a catch can.

If you're not sure what setup works for your platform or if you already have blow-by issues, reach out—we’ll help you choose the right solution for your build.