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| Conrad Grunewald's Formula Drift Camaro uses an Accusump. Most drift cars experience high lateral forces north of 1.3 g's, seriously testing factory oiling systems. The Accusump offers some protection against oil starvation under high cornering loads. |
Sarah,
Please help me with this question, even Google has failed me. I have EJ20 (1996WRX) installed in my 1979 911 and to make the install work I had to cut 1.5″ off the bottom on the oil pan. I expanded the pan and tried to set it up to keep the oil around the pickup. That setup has worked on the street so far. However I am worried about tracking the car this way. I have a 3 quart oil accumulator (Accusump) that I have not installed yet. Please help me understand if these units can help me. I know they are great for pre-oiling and they are based on designs for limiting spikes in pressure, not dips. I am sure a well-designed oil pan or going to a dry sump setup is my best bet. I did my best on the pan and I can't afford to go dry-sump. Can these oil accumulators add a layer of defense and really save a motor?
Thanks, Chris Snipes
I’m also assuming a higher volume oil pan is out of the question due to your space constraints. At any rate, a million race teams cannot be wrong. Ok, that may be an exaggeration but Accusumps are used in many race cars, when allowed. An Accusump is basically a remote accumulator for the oiling system. It offers a few advantages. The pressurized canister will pre-oil the engine and if it recognizes a loss of oil pressure (the engine pickup sucks air), it discharges its reserve of pressurized oil to prevent the engine from running dry. Factory oiling systems just can’t stand up to the lateral forces in drifting or on a road course that lead to oil starvation.
The engine’s rod and main bearings rely on oil pressure. They are made of soft metal so they will have good embeddability, which prevents crankshaft wear by absorbing dirt particles between the bearing and harder crank journals. But if there is a loss of oil pressure, the soft bearings will be destroyed by the crank almost immediately and the crank journals will start to score. A slight scoring can be repaired but any more will destroy the crank.
Most people don’t have $3-4k burning a hole in their pockets for a dry sump kit. Obviously if you did, dry sump would be the way to go. It provides the most consistent oil pressure to the engine as well as increasing ring seal (higher vacuum in the oil pan) and better scavenging. Though it provides a supply of pressurized oil to prevent oil starvation for short term solutions, an Accusump is the cheap alternative to dry sump systems and a good way to protect your engine.
Many drifting teams from Dai to Ross Petty use LS engines which are known for oil starvation issues and most of them use Accusumps to provide a “band-aid” against oil pressure loss. In fact, Ross Petty’s decision to use one came after a fateful incident at Road Atlanta. While an Accusump is a band-aid, it’s a very effective method to stop the bleeding.
The WRX engines are plagued by a less than optimal factory wet sump system. If you’re running on a road course, it’s very likely you will face enough G forces to starve the engine of oil and if you run out of oil, you run out of options! Monitor your oil pressure gauge as you’re tearing around the track. Watch as it approaches zero-if only for a second- but usually right when you’re stomping on the throttle. No oil pressure in any situation is just asking for catastrophe. So yeah, dry sump is the way to go but an Accusump is a great backup solution that won’t break the bank. Put that ish on already!
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| This is your engine bearing after a loss of oil pressure. Time for a rebuild! |
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| Go ahead- get baffled by oil starvation. Oil pan baffles like this one from Cosworth can also help keep oil from shifting away from the oil pickup and limit blowby during hard cornering. |
