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Testing is complete! Although we would still like to be cruising through twisty back roads logging R&D miles, it is time to bring the Focus RS back to the stables to examine our catch can. When we test our catch cans, we try to put a wide variety of miles on the car to best replicate normal driving situations. We send one of our engineers out into the wild to put our development vehicle through its paces and ensure our products are functioning as designed.

Focus RS catch can testing

Blow-by Meets it's Match

Although our compact baffled oil catch can has been tried and tested numerous times, we still want to put it through the ringer to ensure that it functions just as nicely on every application. Just like

It's the year of the horse"power, that is, wherein the land of the aftermarket, power modifications are king. They are the body builders of the modifications stomping around yelling about protein, bro. We all want to beef up our cars and hear them roar in the face of their stock counterparts. Understandably, it is easy to get caught up in the excitement of dyno charts and power numbers while overlooking the little guy in the background. This little guy, probably talking about something nerdy, is our good friend the catch can. He doesn't scream horsepower, but instead whispers about carbon buildup on valves. And for this post at least, we are going to hear him out.

If you missed our last post, we discussed the importance of using a catch can on our brand-new Focus RS. If you want to read more about the horrors of blow-by check out  our complete write up on Blow-By

Having already obtained precise dimensions from the factory piping and our test vehicle, our engineering team has begun the arduous, but rewarding process of developing and fabricating intercooler piping for our '11-14 F-150.

Cold-Side Intercooler Pipe Fabrication

Fabricating the cold side appears to be less of a challenge than dealing with the hot side, so we decided to start there to get the ball rolling. Following the path of the factory piping, we began fabrication at the intercooler side of the pipe and worked our way up toward the throttle body.

Ford F-150 EcoBoost intercooler pipe fabrication

Finally!! Ford has teased us with the prospect of an all-wheel-drive (AWD) Focus RS for the US since the early 2000's. Now, in 2016, it is finally here and in our garage. This is pretty groundbreaking considering that no Ford with an RS badge ever made its way to American soil, and they were not hot-hatches to ignore. The label had particularly dominated the rally world. Who can forget the infamous Escort RS Cosworth rally car with its countless podium finishes or the Focus RS WRC that won back-to-back manufacturer titles in 2006 and 2007? We at Mishimoto haven't, and we're glad to be reveling in all the mechanical glory that is Ford's newest, AWD, turbocharged hot hatch.

Besides Ford providing us with a vehicle name that carries endless puns and name plays, this RS is packed with goodies, making it hard to pick an area to focus on because there are so many awesome features (I promise, that will be the only pun.). Although this RS shares its heart with the Mustang EcoBoost,

There's nothing quite like plopping oneself into the car to leave work on a summer evening, beach-bound and brimming, windows down, to the tune of the sunset vibes that arrive hand-in-hand with the heavy midsummer air of July. Our Mishimoto R&D facility is located in New Castle, DE, and around here, people tend to favor numerous seaside towns in Southern New Jersey or in Delaware.

A true slice of Americana, an evening stroll down the main drag of a typical east coast beach town is sure to leave anyone with a faint smile, humming "Surfin USA" and craving more frozen custard, or maybe another gin and tonic. The competing smells of crisp, briny sea air and sweet, fried funnel cake assuage the senses, while the voices of The Beach Boys emanate lazily and intermittently from the windows of passing cars. That's right west coasters, we have beaches here too, and we also have surfer girls, boardwalks, waves to catch, and even the occasional deuce coupe or

Chevy really decided to make history with this brand-new Camaro. It has the smallest motor ever offered in a Camaro and also marks the first Camaro with a four-cylinder power-plant since the third generation. This is also the first time any Camaro has been offered with a factory-installed turbocharger. To put that in perspective, the last time any Chevy even offered a factory-turbocharged, rear wheel drive vehicle with a manual transmission was back in the 1960's with the Corvair! My parents weren't even out of grade school yet!

This 2.0L turbocharged LTG Ecotec motor puts out a factory-rated 275hp with 295ft-lbs of torque at the crank. If you haven't already, see below for a quick clip of the stock dyno pulls we made on this car to see what numbers we were able to get!

If you follow our Engineering Blog you have probably seen the exciting array of vehicles that come in and out of the Mishimoto garage for some R&D. The luckiest and most interesting of the bunch get to stay around as our SVP (Special Vehicle Project) cars. This means that upon arrival at our facility, they are evaluated from head to toe for a complete offering of Mishimoto parts from cooling to power products, we want to cover them all. The 2.0 Camaro was the last to be welcomed to our Engineering headquarters, but it wasn't the new kid on the block for long"

Here at Mishimoto, we know the importance of a good catch can as far as preventative maintenance goes. For most vehicles, installing a catch can means protecting your engine from the silent monster that is blow-by. Blow by can consist of excess oil, fuel, moisture, and pure evil. Engines with direct-injection, like our good friend the Titan XD, are prone to blow-by creeping its way back into the engine through the intake, and caking debris on valves which can be very harmful to an engine over time. To read more in depth about blow-by, check out our complete write up on Blow-By 101.

Stock Titan XD engine bay

Not to worry gentle Titan, we are here to

Along with creating an awesome intercooler for the EcoBoost (EB), we also want to improve upon the pathways through which air travels to and from the charge air cooler. This will involve replacing factory components that route from the turbocharger to the intercooler and from the intercooler to the throttle body with engineered aluminum pieces.

Factory Ford F-150 EcoBoost Intercooler Piping

The factory piping setup on the F-150 is essentially a rat's nest of molded plastic and rubber couplers that, evident upon removal, is complemented by an internal coating of oil. No wonder catch cans are so popular for these trucks!

Our engineers felt like teenagers again with all of the oil on their skin as they removed the piping in order to inspect each piece, keeping in mind that they would need to replicate all connection points to ensure that our piping is a bolt-on setup.

Check out the cold-side pipe, below.

One of the best parts about a small, dynamic company like Mishimoto is that there is never a dull moment around our R&D facility. Change happens frequently, and no two days are the same. At any given time, we've got a solid fleet of engineering vehicles at our disposal that serve as development platforms for our exciting new products, and over time, we become intimately acquainted with each vehicle's characteristics and quirks; each develops a personality and earns its own place on the Mishimoto team. This makes it tough to see them go, but it is always exciting to welcome on a new team member.

This week, it was time for our 2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost to move on to bigger and better things. We had the car around for a decent amount of time and grew quite fond of it, but our engineers could never quite relax in its presence, particularly when they were gathered in large crowds for meetings.

However, the circle