hey i notice a lot of honda engines that have a little filter like a k&N next to the head. what is it for or can i put it in my 97 civic ex

 

i think the one ur talking about is the oil cooler...some people run it to there cold air intakes..yes u can put it on ur car

 

you mean an oil catch can?

 

its to equal out the pressure in the head and the atmosphere. the tube thats usally there just routes the oilly air back into the engine to be burned, you can but its mainly just a dress up item, i just leave good enought alone, one more thing for a cop to point at and go, "thats not legal, heres a ticket"

 

the breather valve?

 

so what it is. is mostly to have the oil from intake cleaned correct me if im wrong. so does it helps to have it in anyway or is just a dress up like some of u said

 

It more or less sends any unburned gasses pent up in the head back to the intake stream to be burned. It's more or less for emissions purposes, but can be remedied with an oil catch-can setup. Along the same lines as a PCV.

 

oh ok i get the process of how it works now but my question is does it help the engine in any kind of way or is just for looks. in other words should i put one in or leave it like it is

 

Leave it the way it is. It should have a line routing back into the intake arm.

 

aight guys thanks for the advise anyways. i think i ll just leave it alone