Low oil pressure hot lapping, oil cooler setup recommendations

[nick_d_240sx]

Originally Posted by doridoridori

That i have not, but is that more of a "band-aid" type of fix?

This is a common technique used in rotary engines. You could call it a 'band-aid' or you could call it a 'mod'. I have not done it on a SR20. The spring in the relief valve could be weak or faulty or this could be another issue all together. Seems like it's only sold as part of the front cover oil pump assembly. Just a suggestion. An oil cooler is always a good idea for track and drifting. Good luck.

You can search, oil pump shim, or oil regulator shim or oil relief valve shim for more info.

[jedi03]

you basically want a certain pressure at a certain temp and RPM range...if you are doing something that causes that to exceed those parameters eg tracking, there needs to be other items in place to help maintain everything within those specs...cant just throw parts at it...prior post is great read for all to learn more!

[doridoridori]

Originally Posted by spooled240

You can have ok coolant temps and very high oil temps at the same time

that is true, at the time i wasn't thinking about that. Usually the thought process is (the hotter the coolant temps the hotter the oil should be) however, I forget the oil temps don't drop as soon as the coolant temps do

[doridoridori]

Originally Posted by nick_d_240sx

This is a common technique used in rotary engines. You could call it a 'band-aid' or you could call it a 'mod'. I have not done it on a SR20. The spring in the relief valve could be weak or faulty or this could be another issue all together. Seems like it's only sold as part of the front cover oil pump assembly. Just a suggestion. An oil cooler is always a good idea for track and drifting. Good luck.

You can search, oil pump shim, or oil regulator shim or oil relief valve shim for more info.

roger that, hadn't heard of that before but i'll keep it in mind. Going to try the oil cooler out first and see how it goes, next event isn't until march so I have a little bit of time to fix what needs to be fixed and test everything in due time. I definitely appreciate the help and info

[Kingtal0n]

holy shit its 2020

1. SR oil pumps fail, even with all original engines. I have a friend who did the swap back in 2001 using an S15 engine no less. He drove that car daily until 2018.

In 17' He asks me about this noise his engine was making. The VTC rattle, of course, getting worse. He already had a next VTC gear to swap on, but when he started the engine I heard it at idle in such a different way than they do when they are bad. It was like the oil couldn't stay inside it. I realized the engine must have 200k on it and told him to change the oil pump, right away.

A year later oil pump failed, toasted the bottom end while cruising, engine is trash now, gone.

2. 'higher level engines' (cough* "serious" racing) don't set oil pressure, they set oil flow. Pressure is just a consequence and not a measurable quantity concerning oil flow. e.g. cold oil, higher pressure, less overall flow, that sort of nature/relationship may go against common sense to some.

3. Oil coolers are great but there is one thing I warn everybody about. I've seen more than one engine failure because an oil cooler line got pinched. For whatever reason people love to use that bendy rubber braided hose shit (cheap?).

If you really love your engine, you will use the stiffly teflon style lines that do not bend or close up easily.

[doridoridori]

Originally Posted by Kingtal0n

holy shit its 2020

1. SR oil pumps fail, even with all original engines. I have a friend who did the swap back in 2001 using an S15 engine no less. He drove that car daily until 2018.

In 17' He asks me about this noise his engine was making. The VTC rattle, of course, getting worse. He already had a next VTC gear to swap on, but when he started the engine I heard it at idle in such a different way than they do when they are bad. It was like the oil couldn't stay inside it. I realized the engine must have 200k on it and told him to change the oil pump, right away.

A year later oil pump failed, toasted the bottom end while cruising, engine is trash now, gone.

2. 'higher level engines' (cough* "serious" racing) don't set oil pressure, they set oil flow. Pressure is just a consequence and not a measurable quantity concerning oil flow. e.g. cold oil, higher pressure, less overall flow, that sort of nature/relationship may go against common sense to some.

3. Oil coolers are great but there is one thing I warn everybody about. I've seen more than one engine failure because an oil cooler line got pinched. For whatever reason people love to use that bendy rubber braided hose shit (cheap?).

If you really love your engine, you will use the stiffly teflon style lines that do not bend or close up easily.

1. - exactly, it's crazy someone thinks an oil pump isn't a part that can actually fail but it isn't beyond the realm of possibilities, everything on an engine has an expiration date.

3. thanks for the info, im looking at a few oil cooler kits, do you know where i can get those lines? maybe have any photos of them? maybe whatever kit i get i can upgrade the lines before i install the kit

[Kingtal0n]

It's sold in ebay just like the cheap braided synthetic rubber stuff, but under the name PTFE which is teflon. And the price is similar.

Unlike the synthetic rubber you can't just clamp it anywhere (with a hose clamp) as the inner lining is very stiff PTFE material.
PTFE lines require a ferrul and different kind of fitting so be sure you get the right ends.
example listing
https://www.ebay.com/itm/PTFE-Seal-H...gms-G7k43ot5og