grimmspeed AOS vs crawford AOS - review

[SubieEngineer]

^ Do you not have the AOS plumbed back into the inlet? Or is this temporary to monitor blow-by...?

I, too have the ETS TMIC and the Crawford, but with a custom bracket made by the shop that built my motor. No clearance issues, but no FSTB, either.

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[Acejam2k]

Originally Posted by SubieEngineer

^ Do you not have the AOS plumbed back into the inlet? Or is this temporary to monitor blow-by...?

I, too have the ETS TMIC and the Crawford, but with a custom bracket made by the shop that built my motor. No clearance issues, but no FSTB, either.

Good catch. This pic was of my old motor, and I was simply monitoring blow-by that got past the AOS temporarily. Driving this kind of configuration on the street would be impossible for me as it absolutely smells awful. (Very strong oil vapor fumes)

I'm also ruining an AMR Inlet now too.

[monkiboy]

Originally Posted by Acejam2k

Good catch. This pic was of my old motor, and I was simply monitoring blow-by that got past the AOS temporarily. Driving this kind of configuration on the street would be impossible for me as it absolutely smells awful. (Very strong oil vapor fumes)

i have an 08 wrx with the crawford v2 FMIC version installed at the dog-bone, with the cusco front bar and the vent line to the right fender with air filter. no fitment issues or rubbing. there's definitely ways to get it done with just a bit of effort.

i also never have the "very strong oil vapor fumes". this is on a high-hp setup but perhaps adding that filter at the end would help you if you have a desire for that design setup/eliminating the opportunity for blow-by to enter the intact tract.

[Acejam2k]

Originally Posted by monkiboy

i have an 08 wrx with the crawford v2 FMIC version installed at the dog-bone, with the cusco front bar and the vent line to the right fender with air filter. no fitment issues or rubbing. there's definitely ways to get it done with just a bit of effort.

i also never have the "very strong oil vapor fumes". this is on a high-hp setup but perhaps adding that filter at the end would help you if you have a desire for that design setup/eliminating the opportunity for blow-by to enter the intact tract.

Stick that hose in your engine bay like I did with no filter and I guarantee you'll smell it at idle. The fender liners will vent the air reasonably well to the sides of the car, hence the lack of smell. I only ran this temporarily because I wanted to see if anything was getting past the AOS. Nothing did - my bottle was clear with just a tiny bit of water vapor. (It was cold out)

[Crawford Performance]

Originally Posted by Acejam2k

Stick that hose in your engine bay like I did with no filter and I guarantee you'll smell it at idle. The fender liners will vent the air reasonably well to the sides of the car, hence the lack of smell. I only ran this temporarily because I wanted to see if anything was getting past the AOS. Nothing did - my bottle was clear with just a tiny bit of water vapor. (It was cold out)

Yea, the smell of the crankcase when at a stop is nasty! Glad to hear the results from your test were good

Team Crawford

[amp0412]

Mine finally showed up in the mail today and will be getting installed in a few weeks when I am ripping into my engine bay again. I bought the tmic aplication for 02-07 sti's and am looking forward to installing it along side of my rotated 3076 and spearco top mount. I will update with photo's.

-Gary

[monkiboy]

Originally Posted by Acejam2k

Stick that hose in your engine bay like I did with no filter and I guarantee you'll smell it at idle. The fender liners will vent the air reasonably well to the sides of the car, hence the lack of smell. I only ran this temporarily because I wanted to see if anything was getting past the AOS. Nothing did - my bottle was clear with just a tiny bit of water vapor. (It was cold out)

i think you misunderstood because i did not specify clear enough. it does not sit IN the fender rather ON the fender in the engine bay. really mounted to the strut tower. i guess from your comments, the small filter at the end of my setup, really does allow me to avoid those noxious fumes. here's a photo of its location to further describe what i'm talking about.

[P-Train]

Originally Posted by monkiboy

i think you misunderstood because i did not specify clear enough. it does not sit IN the fender rather ON the fender in the engine bay. really mounted to the strut tower. i guess from your comments, the small filter at the end of my setup, really does allow me to avoid those noxious fumes. here's a photo of its location to further describe what i'm talking about.

Maybe I'm not understanding the working of this completely, but wouldn't you need to have that top hose connected to the intake duct still and not just a filter? Is there enough crankcase pressure to move the air through this thing fast enough to separate the oil without the extra suction from the intake? Since it's suppose to use centrifugal force and all to separate the oil from the air. Also I was wondering if you keep the PCV valve or if the AOS causes any codes to be thrown?

[SubieEngineer]

Originally Posted by Acejam2k

Good catch. This pic was of my old motor, and I was simply monitoring blow-by that got past the AOS temporarily. Driving this kind of configuration on the street would be impossible for me as it absolutely smells awful. (Very strong oil vapor fumes)

I'm also ruining an AMR Inlet now too.

Gotcha. I haven't logged into IWSTI much in the last month, been making some changes, non-car-related.

Originally Posted by Acejam2k

Stick that hose in your engine bay like I did with no filter and I guarantee you'll smell it at idle. The fender liners will vent the air reasonably well to the sides of the car, hence the lack of smell. I only ran this temporarily because I wanted to see if anything was getting past the AOS. Nothing did - my bottle was clear with just a tiny bit of water vapor. (It was cold out)

I get the oil vapor smell even with the clean air return plumbed back into the inlet. I can smell it if I'm standing behind the car at idle. After having the AOS installed for a few thousand miles, I took my ETS TMIC off to wire some gauges, and while it was 95% dry (save the slightest of shinyness at the bottom of the TB coupler area), it absolutely reeked of oil when I put my head within 1' of the outlet.

[Acejam2k]

Originally Posted by SubieEngineer

Gotcha. I haven't logged into IWSTI much in the last month, been making some changes, non-car-related.

I get the oil vapor smell even with the clean air return plumbed back into the inlet. I can smell it if I'm standing behind the car at idle. After having the AOS installed for a few thousand miles, I took my ETS TMIC off to wire some gauges, and while it was 95% dry (save the slightest of shinyness at the bottom of the TB coupler area), it absolutely reeked of oil when I put my head within 1' of the outlet.

That makes sense - oil "vapor/air that smells like oil still makes its way through the motor and back into the inlet. If there's a strong smell though when the car is running, then you might have a leak.

[SubieEngineer]

Originally Posted by Acejam2k

That makes sense - oil "vapor/air that smells like oil still makes its way through the motor and back into the inlet. If there's a strong smell though when the car is running, then you might have a leak.

Oil level is consistent when not pushing the car hard (like at a track day), so not sure where I'd have a leak. Can't smell anything under the hood while running, it's out the exhaust. I think I've read of others experiencing the oil vapor smell, I just need to read up on it a bit.

[Crawford Performance]

If you are smelling it in the exhaust then you are burning oil in the combustion chamber which is exiting out the back of your car. This is common for a high mileage motor or one that is very loose for what ever reason. If the oil is going into your turbo faster than its draining out the bottom then that could cause the smell as well, this usually happens with rotated turbos that do not have a proper restrictor in the oil feed line.

[SubieEngineer]

Originally Posted by Crawford Performance

If you are smelling it in the exhaust then you are burning oil in the combustion chamber which is exiting out the back of your car. This is common for a high mileage motor or one that is very loose for what ever reason. If the oil is going into your turbo faster than its draining out the bottom then that could cause the smell as well, this usually happens with rotated turbos that do not have a proper restrictor in the oil feed line.

Gotcha. Yeah, I figure I'm burning some off slightly. It's a TopSpeed RR.5 motor with looser tolerances than stock, and they told me to expect some light consumption. I have yet to do a full interval without some type of autocross/track driving, so I haven't been able to get a good idea as to use. Turbo is a Blouch 1.5 XTR with a TMIC.

[Acejam2k]

Originally Posted by SubieEngineer

Oil level is consistent when not pushing the car hard (like at a track day), so not sure where I'd have a leak. Can't smell anything under the hood while running, it's out the exhaust. I think I've read of others experiencing the oil vapor smell, I just need to read up on it a bit.

I didn't realize the leak you mentioned was from behind the car. By "leak" I meant one of the AOS lines in the engine bay being loose, causing a funky smell to seep into the cabin. (such as venting the top hose to atmosphere in my picture)

I also recently pulled my TMIC - it definitely smelled, but it was bone dry.

[Crawford Performance]

Originally Posted by SubieEngineer

Gotcha. Yeah, I figure I'm burning some off slightly. It's a TopSpeed RR.5 motor with looser tolerances than stock, and they told me to expect some light consumption. I have yet to do a full interval without some type of autocross/track driving, so I haven't been able to get a good idea as to use. Turbo is a Blouch 1.5 XTR with a TMIC.

There's your answer then... Rock on!

Team Crawford

[Crawford Performance]

Originally Posted by Acejam2k

I didn't realize the leak you mentioned was from behind the car. By "leak" I meant one of the AOS lines in the engine bay being loose, causing a funky smell to seep into the cabin. (such as venting the top hose to atmosphere in my picture)

I also recently pulled my TMIC - it definitely smelled, but it was bone dry.

It's good to hear that our AOS is doing it's job! Thanks for the positive feedback.

Team Crawford

[SubieEngineer]

Originally Posted by Acejam2k

I didn't realize the leak you mentioned was from behind the car. By "leak" I meant one of the AOS lines in the engine bay being loose, causing a funky smell to seep into the cabin. (such as venting the top hose to atmosphere in my picture)

I also recently pulled my TMIC - it definitely smelled, but it was bone dry.

Yeah, coming out the exhaust. No leaks under the hood (that I'm aware of...).

Originally Posted by Crawford Performance

There's your answer then... Rock on!

Team Crawford

That's why I never worried about it. I expect some consumption with the looser tolerances, but just no idea how much since I haven't been able to really measure it. Just wasn't expecting the oil vapor odor out the back end. Thanks for the feedback!

[Acejam2k]

Originally Posted by SubieEngineer

Yeah, coming out the exhaust. No leaks under the hood (that I'm aware of...).



That's why I never worried about it. I expect some consumption with the looser tolerances, but just no idea how much since I haven't been able to really measure it. Just wasn't expecting the oil vapor odor out the back end. Thanks for the feedback!

I hate to say it, but in my opinion if you can smell oil coming out of the tailpipe, something isn't right.

[SubieEngineer]

Originally Posted by Acejam2k

I hate to say it, but in my opinion if you can smell oil coming out of the tailpipe, something isn't right.

Normally I'd agree with you, but I'm not burning any really noticeable amount of oil, and I've done 7 track days with this motor, using roughly 1/2-1 qt per day. Unless it starts creeping up to something excessive, I think I'm good. *crosses fingers and does a little dance*

[RallySoob]

I am so glad I did not buy the grimspeed AOS for my new 18Gxt sti build. I think I will do catch can(s) instead.

Which is the very best catch can system people? or is there an AOS that actually works. Should I just get the crawford and call it good?

[Acejam2k]

Originally Posted by RallySoob

I am so glad I did not buy the grimspeed AOS for my new 18Gxt sti build. I think I will do catch can(s) instead.

Which is the very best catch can system people? or is there an AOS that actually works. Should I just get the crawford and call it good?

It may be pricey, but the Crawford V2 AOS does work. I chose the Crawford on my setup so I don't have to worry about emptying catch cans.

[Crawford Performance]

Originally Posted by Acejam2k

It may be pricey, but the Crawford V2 AOS does work. I chose the Crawford on my setup so I don't have to worry about emptying catch cans.

Thanks for the support Acejam2k... it's customers like you that have made us who we are today!

Team Crawford