Zoltan Finks wrote: > I know that all that matters is that the engine has sufficient volume of oil > to adequately lube all the parts under the harshest conditions.
Right...the difference between 7.5 quarts and 8 is not going to be a big deal, as far as the oil pump is concerned. > So does this suggest that the reason behind > deep-sump oil pans (as seen on street rods, muscle cars, etc. - like I put > on my war wagon) is simply improved cooling of the oil? And possibly > protection under hard launches which hold the front end up high? A little of both. There's some cooling benefit from the extra pan surface area, but not a lot. More importantly, hard acceleration and hard cornering can slosh all the oil to one end of the pan, uncovering the oil pump intake and starving the engine of oil right when it needs it most. A deep sump helps prevent this, especially if there's some baffling in the pan. On some engines it also helps get the oil away from the crankshaft, which makes it foam less at high RPMs. These are the major benefits, but keep in mind there's also a lot of voodoo and old wives' tales in the muscle car world. :) The first time I saw an OM617 it struck me that the pan had a "deep sump"-like profile. Unfortunately, like muscle cars that have deep sumps, this does put the bottom edge of the pan in a rather vulnerable position. David Brodbeck '83 300D Turbo
