A great deal of misinformation here.
The problem with routing the PCV to the exhaust is that this will then create suction and draw the PCV gas out.
While this is good (healthy) for your engine, you will see an increase in oil consumption and will have to top off more often.
You're right about it being healthy for the engine. You're wrong about it increasing oil consumption. To the contrary, it greatly decreases oil consumption. I've installed over a handful of these systems on Mk5 GTI's and that is always the story. I myself bought my car new and had to regularly add oil the first 80,000 miles, eventually about 2 quarts every oil change. The 100,000 miles since then I've never added oil. In the course of a 6,000 mile oil change interval, my oil level drops from the MAX to middle of the dipstick range indicator. This is because vacuum is very much decreased compared to what the factory PCV experiences.
If you have a boost gauge, you know the factory PCV is experiencing about 20 inches of vacuum at idle from the intake manifold. When crusing on the highway, it's about 8-10 inches of vacuum. While this amount of vacuum is healthy and greatly reduces oil degradation, it causes a relatively high amount of oil consumption.
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, you have the VTA setups which experience atmospheric pressure. No vacuum requires the PCV gases to 'push' their way out of the engine. No vacuum also greatly increases oil degradation and increases acidity rates as atomized fuel particles are not evacuated quickly from the crankcase.
In between the above two extremes, you have the exhaust-routed PCV setups that reduce valve buildup just as much as a VTA setup, but benefit the oil and engine health by alway putting a small amount of vacuum on the crankcase. Saaber2 on vortex actually hooked up a vacuum gauge and was experiencing about 1 inch of vacuum at idle, 3 inches at cruising speed, and slightly more during acceleration. These numbers compare to the 20 inches of the factory PCV and 0 inches of VTA. 3 inches is perfect IMO as any amount of vacuum will be far superior to no vacuum at all. And it is low enough to greatly reduce the ridiculously high oil consumption many people experience.
Don't do that. It's not legal and it will stink. Leave the pcv alone and drive it hard for 30 min every once in awhile.
It will not stink. It is a slight smell of fuel... the same you would smell if a cars air/fuel ratio was running slightly rich. It's not anything like a catless downpipe in the smell itself or the smell intensity. The worst part is having to clean exhaust tips that get dirty more quickly. The only other issue is a couple of the guys had the silicon hose tear where it connected to the exhaust nipple, 2-3 years after install. Probably because I had overtightened the hose clamp with its sharp metal edge that dug into the hose. That's it. No other issues experienced.
I find this an ongoing debate, how else would your valves get dirty if you don't run pcv to it? please explain.
All engines experience valve weep. As the valve moves up and down, oil runs through the valve guide and down the valve stem.
I've cleaned my valves twice on my personal GTI. Once before the exhaust-routed PCV and once after. Both times the engine had 80k miles and the second time (with exhaust PCV), the valve buildup wasn't even half. I'd say 30-35% the buildup it had the first time and what I usually see when cleaning valves. This coincided with curing my oil consumption problem I had, so not too surprising. Also, my intercooler piping was dry this time. Cars with stock PCV and even recirculating catch cans always have oil buildup in piping and you can poor out liquid.
It reduces valve build up and reduces oil consumption. It increases oil degradation.
