oil pressure drop -right hand turns

[TX82FIAT]

Folks, I can only imagine that the wide tires help me grip to such a point that downshifting into a hard right hand turn where you feel yourself slide in the seat a little is causing the oil pressure light to come on. This makes some sense as the oil in the pan would be forced to one side just like your body up topid being pushed to a side. Therefore, the pickup tube might not have oil for a split second. I recall reading about an oil pan baffle to solve this. Don't drive the car that hard often and the light will only come on for a second.

I know the pressure must drop drastically for the light to come on. The oil level is good. I guess i can make sure there is a little extra oil in the car if I'm going to drive it in a sporty manner. Do you think a baffle in the pan is warranted to protect the engine during cornering? Or is it such a temporary issue for infrequent sporty use that there is no need to worry about it?

Thanks, Ray

[FiatMac]

A simpler solution that would avoid having to pull the oil pan might be to install an Accusump system. Accusumps are oil reservoirs that connect to the engine's oiling system. They are designed to collect pressurized oil from your engine and store it so that it may be discharged when oil pressure is low. Accusump oil accumulators deliver oil before starting to eliminate dry start scuffing (pre-oiling) and also discharge oil during low oil pressure surges to protect against engine damage during demanding racing conditions.

http://www.accusump.com/
Summit Racing is one of the suppliers.
http://www.summitracing.com/search/Prod ... umulators/

[baltobernie]

I've heard of this occurring in Spiders driven under racing conditions, but never in a street car.

Is there any chance that you or a PO has dented the front of your oil pan?

[TX82FIAT]

No damage to pan or pump. I installed a pan gaurd. I'll look into this accusump.

[So Cal Mark]

the pan should have a baffle in it from the factory, but I see many of them that have been removed since the baffle makes it real hard to remove/install the pan in the car. When that light blinks on, the pump has gotten a nice gulp of air

[Fi8spider]

I guess i can make sure there is a little extra oil in the car if I'm going to drive it in a sporty manner.

Try not to do that, I don't know how much you're refering to as "a little extra oil" though more oil than recommended can result in weeping engine seals. I use to think the same way you have as a solution until one race day I started getting oil leaks fron the front and rear where the engine had never leaked before. I had put about 500ml of oil in extra to try and resolve my low oil pressure issues during cornering (slaps forehead ).

Do you think a baffle in the pan is warranted to protect the engine during cornering?.

If that's your driving style then make the modification to suit, I have on both my Spider 1756cc and Fiat 131 1995cc. Can you find someone locally (in the U.S) that has the templates to do it? I was charged a couple hundred for each though I removed and replaced the sump pans myself. BTW, I'd rather do a sump removal in a 131 than in a 124 any day.

Or is it such a temporary issue for infrequent sporty use that there is no need to worry about it?

Ray, once again, if it is your driving style and you like it then I would recommend doing it. It only takes one time to have the foot down hard while not watching out for the red light for the bearings to run dry and permanently damage them. In my 131 racer I have also wired in a BIG RED low oil pres light ontop of the dash board so I can concentrate on what I'm doing instead of looking out for the little red light oil light in the std gauge.

[Fi8spider]

I've heard of this occurring in Spiders driven under racing conditions, but never in a street car.

Is there any chance that you or a PO has dented the front of your oil pan?

Good point.
There is not a lot of clearance between the bottom of the pick up and the pan.
If the oil pan is depressed enough it could suffocate (so to speak) oil supply to the pick up.

[TX82FIAT]

OK, reviewed the details of the rebuild this morning. I used and aftermarket oil pan that does not have a baffle. Hindsight is 2020.