Tech Corner: Oiling System Upgrades for Track Performance

Optimize engine lubrication and maximize your track performance with these oiling system upgrades.

An engine without oil is a hot and violent nightmare. Without it, metal-on-metal contact causes tremendous amounts of damage in just seconds. As a result, oil is one of those rare things that’s hardly ever taken for granted, as it’s so vital to every engine.

That’s not to say it’s never left out of the equation, though.

Lack of oil is often the death of high-performance applications. You can quickly outgrow a stock oil system as power levels and driving styles push a vehicle further and further from its factory self.

Thankfully, there’s no shortage of oiling system upgrades on the market. Though, it’s not exactly the kind of thing you just blindly throw money into and hope for the best. Careful thought must go into the selection of upgrades and modifications you make to your engine’s lifeblood supply. We’re here to help introduce you to the thinking process, so you know where to start.

Who’s Who of Oiling

Despite its massively important role, the oiling system in most engines is actually rather simple. The oil pan is the reservoir in which the oil supply is kept. A sump in the pan is an area that dips lower than the crankshaft, where the majority of oil is kept. The oil pickup is a tube that reaches down into the oil in the sump, allowing the pump to pull from a plentiful supply.

The oil pump is a simple positive displacement pump that’s turned by the rotation of the engine. As it turns, it creates suction to pull oil from the pan, through the pickup tube, and into the pump. Once there, it then pushes the oil into the engine.

It’s important to note that while the pump is often equipped with a pressure regulator, it does not create oil pressure. The bearing tolerances throughout the engine are responsible for that, while the pump produces the volume of the oil supply. The oil is pushed through all the vital areas before eventually returning to the pan, where the process begins again.

Oiling System Upgrades to Consider

Now that we know the basic function of most oiling systems, we can talk a little about available upgrades. Take note however, that this is nowhere near a comprehensive how-to guide. Rather, you should allow it to serve as a list of avenues to consider once you have a better understanding of your current system, what its limitations are, and how much of an issue they are, given the circumstances you’re subjecting the system to.

Keep in mind that not all engines have the same oiling limitations. Some systems are better than others. Some are really good in only a select number of situations. It’s up to you to do the research and find what is best for your engine.

That said, here are some oiling system upgrades that can help maximize your track performance:

Higher Capacity Oil Pan

One of the worst things you can do to an engine is run it out of oil – even for just a second. And since the oil pump spins faster as engine speed increases, the prospect of sucking the pan dry becomes a greater risk as you run it to higher RPMs. A deeper pan offers greater oil capacity to reduce the risk of that happening. It also helps keep the oil cooler, and extends oil life.

Windage Tray

The oil pan’s sump doesn’t entirely divorce the oil from the crankshaft. It is inevitable that the crank will contact some of the oil supply. As it does, oil will be slung into the air, where it will contact the crank again, disrupting its travel. That might not sound like a big deal, but it can cause a considerable amount of trouble at high revs.

A windage tray is a layer that sits between the crank and oil to prevent this issue. It is often a factory option, though, and may not be necessary depending on the engine. Knife edging a crank and adding crank scrapers can help improve the situation in many applications as well.

Aftermarket Pumps & Pressure Release Springs

Moving to an aftermarket pump capable of supplying more volume to an engine isn’t necessary until you make changes to the bottom end and its bearing tolerances. This is generally only the case for dedicated race engines; in which case, the machine shop you’re working with will specify what’s needed, and will likely even handle it for you.

If you want to alter the pressure, you may be able to do so without changing anything inside the engine. Swapping the oil pressure regulator spring inside the pump may be a viable option depending on the application.

Every engine has an ideal pressure range. Too much, and you’ll lose power. Too little, and you risk damaging the bearings. It’s important to determine what is necessary for your engine by doing the research necessary for that application before proceeding.

Modified Oil Passages

The last thing you need to do is dump a bunch of money into an engine just to find that the stock oil passages are restrictive. This is where research ahead of time pays off.

If you find that the factory passages won’t work in the range you plan to push an engine into, you’ll need to make some modifications. Some upgrades are simple and can be done by DIY builders. Others are more complicated and will require specialty equipment to be done in a manner that’s safe for your engine. As you can expect, the avenue you venture down is highly dependent on the application.

Dry Sump System

Dry sump systems are the best solution for the most extreme applications. They remove the oil supply from the engine entirely, preventing the risk of oil drifting away from a pickup under high-G situations, such as hard launches and turns. They also entirely eliminate windage, furthering benefits to your engine.

The high price, additional plumbing, and increased footprint are the primary drawbacks of dry-sump systems. They are entirely irreplaceable under the right circumstances, but simple devices, such as baffles to keep oil in the sump, are a highly cost-effective alternative to applications where the risk is minimal.

Oil Accumulator

An oil accumulator is another cost-effective solution for applications that have oil moving all around the pan, but don’t necessarily warrant a dry sump system. It is effectively a reservoir that offers supplemental lubrication in the case that oil does move away from the pickup.

Sponsored by Moroso

When you do the homework and decide which mods will work for you, take our word for it — Moroso should be your first call. The company has been in the business of supplying aftermarket parts, including a wide array of oiling system upgrades since 1968. Its favorability among racers after all these years is proof that you can rely on it to keep your engine lubricated no matter what.

Moroso offers a long list of high-capacity oil pans, high-performance pumps, windage trays, and much more to make sure you get the most out of your ride. To learn more about the brand and its long line of quality performance products, head over to https://www.moroso.com/