No more drone - Ford Racing Catback!

A few months back, I bought the Cobb 4" catback because it was beautifully handcrafted, great design, and backed by a fantastic name in 4-cyl turbo tuners.  While it all went in great - my ageing ears were struggling with the drone that a 4" catback gives on a 4-cylinder turbo car... just too much for my taste, although it did sound fantastic!

Next up - is Ford Racing 2.5" catback that is actually built by Borla and stamped with Ford all over it... not quite as shiny as the Cobb, but the size difference removes all the drone!

Now, mind you it's not cheap - heck nothing is cheap anymore!  But the quality of this catback is great, everything bolted in quickly and efficiently.

The catback uses clamps to seal the tubing together and it fit snugly together - not unexpected for Borla who makes great quality products!

The Ford Racing design also includes a front resonator to cut back on drone and give a mellow, sporty sound.  The standard Borla part doesn't have the extra resonator and will be louder by design.

The exhaust tips - what everyone sees after you pass them - are a cool fluted design, and while they 'look' slick - we shall see how easy they are to clean...

Driving impression:  The exhaust note is louder than OEM which is great - even initial startup sounds good.  Compared to the Cobb, it's MUCH quieter.  The turbo spool and BOV sounds are more pronounced as well.  Absolutely NO drone when you're in 6th gear and going uphill around 2,500 RPM - this is where the Cobb would remind you that it was there...

Even though it's pricey - this catback gets two 👍👍

Let there be light! (in my hatch)

Some of the simplest (dumbest) things that we take for granted is lighting, sure everyone thinks of headlights - but what about the interior?  You know, you just got back from the store and you pop the trunk/hatch and you can barely see...

A simple, inexpensive mod is to upgrade to lights with brighter lumens and longer life - so you do this ONCE, not many times...

Diode Dynamics has a great reputation, we love their driving lights Mountune MP275 FMIC Installed so I opted for some 194 HP5 Cool White LEDs from DD.

Diode Dynamics

Super simple install, I'll let the pics do the talking...

OEM 194 bulbs (incandescent) about 4300K  - under cover (normal) on left and exposed right

NEW HP5 LED installed (exposed) these are 6000K

this is the HP5 installed behind the lens

left is OEM incandescent - right is the HP5 LED

and the final result with both HP5 installed!

as you can see - it's a much brighter, whiter light and visibility is increased at probably 1/4 of the power draw and should last the lifetime of the vehicle!  

Definitely Two-Thumbs Up! 

👍👍

Boomba Racing Stage 2 Oil Catch Can - finally installed!

Finally got around to installing the Boomba Racing Boomba Racing Stage 2 Oil Catch Can.  I bought it around Christmastime from a good sale, but never had time until this weekend.  

For turbocharged cars, the purpose of an oil catch can is very important. The can should work to prevent blow by of oil, which could lead to dangerous situations of coating couplers, causing them to slide off under boost, coating the fins inside an intercooler which drastically decreases its efficiency, and ultimately end up cooking inside your turbo, contributing to a nasty condition of what is called “oil coking” where the oil turns to a charcoal like substance in the turbo over time. In addition, you don’t want any blow by on your pistons either.

To do this, a catch can works by having one line running from the PCV valve (connected to the block) into the inlet on the catch can. From there, it goes into the can, and past a filter. The oil should collect at the bottom. The Boomba catch can is 350ml (pretty good size) to hold more oil and junk. The filter inside is used to prevent any oil from then escaping back out of the catch can through the other outlet and hose that will run back to the intake manifold. 

The installation 'looks' simple - and looking back, had I done the install before it's not too bad.  The instructions are here.  Undoing the bolts for the intake is REALLY simple, 6 bolts - no brainer.  Disconnecting the connectors is EASY.  The hardest part is getting to the PCV connector behind the intake and cutting the hose to the block.

Mounting the catch can takes a little work since it's a tight spot, but there's plenty of play in the coupling to adjust - be sure to tighten everything well :)

I will be checking the can each oil change and 1/2 way in between changes as well.  Will report back on the junk found!