When does a dry sump become necessary?

[Flash68]

Originally Posted by Bill71

Would this be an LSx or a SBC?

It's a SBC

[DaleTx]

Originally Posted by Bill71

I am building a 71 Camaro as a dedicated track car. I'm using 275/35-18 up front. I was considering an LS3 but mynresearch says they have oil control problems using the factory wet sump. Will my car with 275 tires create enough cornering force to cause oil starvation?

I faced the same question a couple of years ago and ended up spending the extra money to run to a dry sump oiling system (3.5 gallon oil tank, and a 4 stage dry sump pump). I spent a lot of money on the engine and wanted to make sure I always had good oil pressure when running hard in the corners on the track. It really does comes down to how the car will be used… if you plan to build a dedicated track car for running on road courses with sticky tires, then a dry sump system would be a good investment in my opinion.

For driving mostly on the street or an occasional autocross then a stock set up is ok. Once you get out on a road course and start doing sustained hard cornering (“left and right” hand turns) with track tires then there will be instances when the oil pick-up tube on the wet sump pump is not submerged in oil. A good oil pan design can help to keep the pickup tube submerged when accelerating or decelerating, but no guarantees when turning hard for sustained periods “right and left” (since the pickup is in the center of the pan).

Other advantages of a dry sump system is you can run a larger volume of oil…. and the oil has more time to deaerate before getting pumped back through the engine. I made the decision to go with a dry sump so I could go out and run hard on the track with no worries of oil starvation in the corners, or when running high RPM for extended periods.

It's a few more bucks up front... but worth it in the long run.

[Zspoiler]

Find a road race pan and pickup for it.

[Flash68]

Originally Posted by DaleTx

I faced the same question a couple of years ago and ended up spending the extra money to run to a dry sump oiling system (3.5 gallon oil tank, and a 4 stage dry sump pump). I spent a lot of money on the engine and wanted to make sure I always had good oil pressure when running hard in the corners on the track. It really does comes down to how the car will be used… if you plan to build a dedicated track car for running on road courses with sticky tires, then a dry sump system would be a good investment in my opinion.

For driving mostly on the street or an occasional autocross then a stock set up is ok. Once you get out on a road course and start doing sustained hard cornering (“left and right” hand turns) with track tires then there will be instances when the oil pick-up tube on the wet sump pump is not submerged in oil. A good oil pan design can help to keep the pickup tube submerged when accelerating or decelerating, but no guarantees when turning hard for sustained periods “right and left” (since the pickup is in the center of the pan).

Other advantages of a dry sump system is you can run a larger volume of oil…. and the oil has more time to deaerate before getting pumped back through the engine. I made the decision to go with a dry sump so I could go out and run hard on the track with no worries of oil starvation in the corners, or when running high RPM for extended periods.

It's a few more bucks up front... but worth it in the long run.

Well done by Dale.

[Vegas69]

Sounds like a budget build? In that case, I'd go road race pan and 3qt accusump for insurance. I will add that the function of an accusump is not to make up for poor oil control, it's to come to the rescue in extreme situations ONLY.

On a road race car, I'd put in an oil pressure dummy light. I never had much time to look at the gauges in the corner!

[The T-man]

Originally Posted by GregWeld

. Maybe for running peanut course AutoX --- it might not be important....

lol...peanut course
Real cars = Endurance Road Racing