What's the story behind them? Another gimmick?

 

if you need it you know why
if you don't don't worry about it

 

So i guess its just another un-needed accessoy to add more bling bling in the engine bay?

 

Depends. I am not sure exactly what you are asking here.

They can be pretty valuable to engines that have high crankcase pressure, they will clean your blowby. You would be supprised in how much oil some engines will spit out, and oil in your intake/turbo system is never fun. It also prevents oil from excaping onto the track if you are running a breather.

Overpriced? Probably.
Needed? Not necesarily.
Gimmick? Sorry, but they have been around a while and serve a purpose.

 

Probably something i should invest in then. My intake isnt clean at all. Theres black oil stains leading into the throttle body sometimes.

EBay sells them all day for like $30 but thats the bubble brand.

 

this becomes more important as the motor nears the end of its life. My 150-180k ka-t (unknown miles due to buying car with busted odo then fixing it) needs this bad, but then again it also needs a rebuild too. :/

 

I see these usually installed on the drivers side, between the cam cover breather, and the intake. Under normal driving, I think this is actually an intake to the crankcase breather system. The suction side is on the intake plenum...hose goes to the PCV valve in the passenger side of the cam cover. I would think that a catch can on this side, would be as beneficial. Under boost, the other tube will become an exhaust, due to blow by, so catching oil over there, before it gets back to your intake (if that's how you have it plumbed) would also be a good thing.

In short, I think you need two of these cans.

 

hmm, interesting

 

save some money y0!
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=417081