To Front sump or Rear sump

[JohnM]

Hello All,

I am changing out my stock style pan for a lower profile road race style pan. I am looking at the Milodon pan and I am wondering....I have the room... does it make any difference between front or rear sump. Somehow logic dictates a rear sump as the oil would try to slosh back under acceleartion, so with a rear sump the oil is already back there. Or does the long pick up tube of a rear sump cause its own problems?

Any feed back would be most helpful

Thanks

John

[trularin]

Six of one, half dozen of another.

Personally, I like the shortest distance between the oil pickup and the pump. I have 8 quart with five baffles.

The main reason people drag the sump away from the pump is for clearance. If you don't have steering or cross members in the way, run with short and simple.

Just mt view.

[Hotfingrs]

I also have a road race oil pan with 5 baffles, so the oil in the sump isn't going anywhere but to the pump....

[rdorman]

Mine is dead center of the pan. Flat bottom pan divided in four, front to rear, left to right with trap doors around the sump. Works pretty darn good with with Street TDs.

Armando racing pans

Rick

[427sharpe]

I prefer a rear sump with a large cross section. Moroso makes a good quality pan at a reasonable $. I like their 'Stage 2" pans. 9 qt pan capacity with integral windage tray and crank scraper and they clear my stud girdle. Takes my total oil volume up to 13 quarts....

[Rick Parker]

The "G" loading when braking is probably greater (should be) than when under full acceleration. Consequently the ability to force the oil to the front of the pan under braking is greater than the ability to force the oil to the rear under acceleration. My vote is for the front sump, That's how the AVIAID pans were on the race cars.

.........Rick

[speed220mph]

Yes, g loads are higher under braking, but the engine is unloaded. It's during acceleration with cornering thrown in is when lubrication is most critical. We found out front sumps to be a major problem with the TransAm cars in 1969 and '70 that required wet-sump oiling systems. Lost a lot of engines due to oil starvation. So all types of pickups and pan baffles were tried by the guys at Kar Kraft in order to save those high-buck Boss 302s that were twisted at very high revs for the time.

So, if you're going to do extremely hard cornering and accelerating on slick race rubber with a wet-sump system, always go with a front-sump pan providing you have the option. Best of all is still a dry-sump system.