DF Sales&Marketing
Oil Tech Moderator
Good oil pressure is critical to engine longevity, whether an engine is in a race car or a daily driver. Oil lubricates the bearings, rings, and valvetrain components, and also helps cool the engine internally—especially the pistons and the bearings.
Two concerns from a lubrication standpoint are dry starts and loss of oil pressure while the engine is running. Dry starts are more of a worry in engines that have front-mounted oil pumps with relatively long pickup tubes, which includes such popular engines as the GM 3800 v6, chrysler 3.5l v6, etc. As well as the late model Chevy ls engines, Ford modular engines and the new chrysler hemi. But even engines with crankcase mounted pumps and short pickup tubes can experience dry starts if the oil pump has not been primed prior to the engine’s initial startup, or if the pickup tube or screen is restricted.
Loss of lubrication while the engine is running can also be very damaging and May cause the engine to fail. Loss of oil pressure can occur if the oil pump can’t keep up with the engine’s demands because of internal wear or excessive internal clearances that reduce pumping efficiency, or because of cavitation. High revving engines typically require a high volume oil pump that can deliver more gallons per minute than a stock pump. The same is true of any engine that is assembled with looser bearing clearances. A high volume oil pump is an absolute must. Of course, no oil pump can deliver a steady supply of oil to the engine if it’s sucking air because the oil inside the pan is sloshed away from the pickup during hard acceleration or cornering. That’s why performance engines that use a wet sump oiling system require internal baffles to control oil sloshing.
Some engines also have special oiling requirements that must be taken into consideration when choosing an oil pump. Some late model versions of GM’s ls engines, Ford modular engines and the chrysler hemi have variable valve timing (vvt), displacement on demand (dod), and piston cooling technologies to improve fuel economy and performance. These features will require the oil pump to provide a specific flow of oil which is used to energize or cool particular components. “for today’s oil pump, the original task of providing dependable lubrication has now become just one of its multiple tasks. For today’s engine builder, this means that changing the performance of the oil pump May affect the operation of these systems,” said Mike osterhaus, product development manager for melling engine parts.
Editor’s note:
as an addendum to this article, which was found in engine builder magazine, I would like to add the fact that using a premium quality engine oil can also have a lot of effect on oil pressure and dry start situations.
Higher quality engine oils will have the characteristics of having lower oil pressure when cold (at start-up), and higher oil pressure at operating, or high ambient temperatures. Highly refined oil, such as swepco brand products will display these higher performance characteristics.
Dry starts can occur as explained in the aforementioned article, but it can also happen as a side-effect of the quality of the engine oil.
I have always known that swepco engine oils helped prevent “dry-start” conditions by always providing a film of oil protection on the lubricated parts of the engine, however it was dramatically proven when a race team of a modified stock car changed out the engine in their car one season, and put the old engine in a corner at the back of the shop. As one thing leads to another, the engine sat there for over eight years when the owner/driver saw it, and just for the heck of it, removed the valve covers to find that even after that long, the entire valve train area had “oil on everything! “ don’t wait eight years to find out what a great product swepco engine oil is!!!
Swepco engine oil is made in several different grades and weights. The original swepco 306 supreme formula engine oil is designed for vehicles which are pre-2007, and meets the api-sl/ci-4 classification. It is a high performance, high zinc and phosphorous oil suitable for use in gasoline and diesel engines, and is available in the most popular weights. Swepco 303 & 308 engine oils are for the newer models requiring the api rated sm/cj-4 grades.
Ihon and Isa’s International stock the “306” in several different weights, the “303” and “308” oils are available by special order.
Two concerns from a lubrication standpoint are dry starts and loss of oil pressure while the engine is running. Dry starts are more of a worry in engines that have front-mounted oil pumps with relatively long pickup tubes, which includes such popular engines as the GM 3800 v6, chrysler 3.5l v6, etc. As well as the late model Chevy ls engines, Ford modular engines and the new chrysler hemi. But even engines with crankcase mounted pumps and short pickup tubes can experience dry starts if the oil pump has not been primed prior to the engine’s initial startup, or if the pickup tube or screen is restricted.
Loss of lubrication while the engine is running can also be very damaging and May cause the engine to fail. Loss of oil pressure can occur if the oil pump can’t keep up with the engine’s demands because of internal wear or excessive internal clearances that reduce pumping efficiency, or because of cavitation. High revving engines typically require a high volume oil pump that can deliver more gallons per minute than a stock pump. The same is true of any engine that is assembled with looser bearing clearances. A high volume oil pump is an absolute must. Of course, no oil pump can deliver a steady supply of oil to the engine if it’s sucking air because the oil inside the pan is sloshed away from the pickup during hard acceleration or cornering. That’s why performance engines that use a wet sump oiling system require internal baffles to control oil sloshing.
Some engines also have special oiling requirements that must be taken into consideration when choosing an oil pump. Some late model versions of GM’s ls engines, Ford modular engines and the chrysler hemi have variable valve timing (vvt), displacement on demand (dod), and piston cooling technologies to improve fuel economy and performance. These features will require the oil pump to provide a specific flow of oil which is used to energize or cool particular components. “for today’s oil pump, the original task of providing dependable lubrication has now become just one of its multiple tasks. For today’s engine builder, this means that changing the performance of the oil pump May affect the operation of these systems,” said Mike osterhaus, product development manager for melling engine parts.
Editor’s note:
as an addendum to this article, which was found in engine builder magazine, I would like to add the fact that using a premium quality engine oil can also have a lot of effect on oil pressure and dry start situations.
Higher quality engine oils will have the characteristics of having lower oil pressure when cold (at start-up), and higher oil pressure at operating, or high ambient temperatures. Highly refined oil, such as swepco brand products will display these higher performance characteristics.
Dry starts can occur as explained in the aforementioned article, but it can also happen as a side-effect of the quality of the engine oil.
I have always known that swepco engine oils helped prevent “dry-start” conditions by always providing a film of oil protection on the lubricated parts of the engine, however it was dramatically proven when a race team of a modified stock car changed out the engine in their car one season, and put the old engine in a corner at the back of the shop. As one thing leads to another, the engine sat there for over eight years when the owner/driver saw it, and just for the heck of it, removed the valve covers to find that even after that long, the entire valve train area had “oil on everything! “ don’t wait eight years to find out what a great product swepco engine oil is!!!
Swepco engine oil is made in several different grades and weights. The original swepco 306 supreme formula engine oil is designed for vehicles which are pre-2007, and meets the api-sl/ci-4 classification. It is a high performance, high zinc and phosphorous oil suitable for use in gasoline and diesel engines, and is available in the most popular weights. Swepco 303 & 308 engine oils are for the newer models requiring the api rated sm/cj-4 grades.
Ihon and Isa’s International stock the “306” in several different weights, the “303” and “308” oils are available by special order.