Quote:
Originally Posted by radz28
I only add this to try to put your mind at ease (even though I know I would feel exactly the same as you if I were in your shoes), but I recall reading (decades ago) that you only need a few pounds of oil pressure at idle. You "only" need enough to float the crank and the rest of the reciprocating assembly. While I'm sure that's all that's needed to float the moving parts at idle, seeing it drop the way you have, and seeing the experiences of many drivers is concerning. It is my understanding that when the LT1 first came out, I recall reading manufacturers are moving toward to these multi-stage-type pumps to increase fuel economy. You don't need 60-psi of oil pressure at idle. So now they move to the kinds of pumps we have now. And - now you have the kinds of problems many have/are facing now.
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Other cars do often idle hot at very low oil pressure, or have more pressure fluctuations. But the ZL1 does have very consistent oil pressure once it's hot, I notice much lower pressure fluctuation even at 250+ F temps coming off track.
So IMHO with a C6 ZL1, if you're seeing hot idle pressure readings near or below 20 psi on the dash gauge during street driving on a warm day, you may have a problem that can become very serious. Knowing that parts like crank and big end bearings are still being lubricated at 10-20 PSI would be little comfort to me. My idle pressure always stays between 25-30 as far as I know.