Quote:
Originally Posted by Baddawg53
My theory is that maybe there was some aeration in the oil and even without a noticeable drop in pressure you still have insufficient lubrication. This is my theory based on absolutely no research into that specifically. If it was an anomaly that these engines fail it'd be a very different approach for me, but it's not, and they do fail. And a dry sump is better than a wet sump, and that's not really debatable. There's a reason no race team chooses a wet sump and it's not only about mounting the engine lower.
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I remember how violent Solo2 can be from my years of chasing the Trans-Louisiana-Autocross Challenge (TLAC) and our courses were mocked as Solo1.5 for the speeds we were reaching at places like Belle Chase with a stop-box and a thrash to the finish using old aircraft runways & taxiways for a course that often was a mile or more! Back then we ran a huge Accusump to remove the aeration of the oil.
Today, I do a lot of tracking at Road Atlanta, VIR and Barber that have elevation changes with the potential to slosh 10-quarts of oil in a pan quite violently. It was with this issue, I designed my oil cooler system using the Porsche RSR crossflow cooler which adds two more quarts of oil to the quantity but this flow of oil is coming straight from the pump, is mounted higher than the engine and in application removes any chance for aerated oil to reach the filter and thus the oil galleries. I am still on the OEM pump at 37k miles total and logging 14,750 track miles now without any failures of any kind... not even a misfire!
I would definitely build a dry sump system for my car as they help increase power, reliability but do come at a significant cost of operation and maintenance. Whether or not you follow your heart and build a most incredible Dry Sump Solo2 Championship winning car... I agree it is a path I will also embark upon. Right now I have conquered the oil cooler system and now working on the closed catch can system for the LT4/LT1 engines.
See the photo below... in any design you build the Dry Sump, you will need a proven oil cooler setup. With that incredible Katech engine, my design will be a benefit you will most definitely realize upon using. I would also use Banks Power's analog sensor to CAN adapter with an oil pressure sensor tapped into the back of the block on both sides to see if you are getting any drop in pressures across the system. It can identify if and where you might be having aeration due to bad casting in the block or design of the system. I did so with temp sending units in the development of the cooling systems.