mountainbiker2

Spun a bearing last weekend. Crate LS6 with headers. 6800 redline. Autocross only. Hoosiers A6's. Aero. 10-40 Amsoil. Looks like my choices are.
1. Dry Sump. If I understand correctly they cost around 5k. Not in the budget.
2. Accusump. Looks like racers either have problems with them, or selling them. ??
3. I was told the LS2 pan has no bat wings, so the oil stays in the center more.

What should I do?


Thanks,

Steve A.

Cobra4B

No "batwings" but also less capacity. The batwings have trap doors anyway. I'd keep my C5 pan, install a higher volume pump, and an accusump. That's really all you can do short of a drysump.

RX-Ben

Did you overfill by 1qt?

Accusump should be fine for your app. I find it hard to believe you spun a bearing auto-x'ing considering the life that people are getting out of LS6s on the track. Check the threads on the forum; plumb to the block (oil pressure sensor port or port in front). Use a 35-40psi switch, manual. The electric valves are what cause issues.

The C6 pan is regarded as a downgrade. Wings work well.

Have you logged oil pressure with a "real" datalogger?

C66 Racing

Steve,
Sorry to hear you lost an engine. I lost one due to spun bearings my first season (2003) in SCCA racing while running M1 15w50. Post failure engine teardown indicated the factory bearings only had 0.001" clearance. Though the M1 15w50 was recommended to me by much more experienced racers, using that high a viscosity with that small a bearing clearance gap probably did not help. I had an accusump as well.

Since then I have come down in viscosity first to a 40 grade in about 2005, and about four years ago to a racing 30 grade. I have also taken off the accusump though many of my competitors still use them.

I'd suggest something like the oil I use:
AMSOIL Dominator Synthetic 10w30 Racing Motor Oil (Product Code RD30QT)
(zinc – 1575 ppm, phosphorus 1474 ppm)

As a 30 grade, this oil will flow better at the oil temps I suspect you see in Auto-x than the 10w40. Better flow might help the oil fluid film protect the bearings. This oil also has high levels of ZDDP which form the last layer of defense against failure like spun bearings.

I agree with RX-Ben - I think the best pan is the stock LS6 pan short of a dry sump. In SCCA T1, the LS2 and LS3 are no more reliable than the LS6 - the LS3 particularly. The SCCA changed the class rules for the LS3 allowing a dry sump as so many were being lost.

MySR71

I too would recommend logging oil pressure if you have a data system. I have spliced into the wires on the stock oil pressure sensor. Below is some interesting data from my car, a C5Z06. It has an LS6, oil cooler, and accusump with the 35-40 psi EPC valve. The oil pump is stock and the engine has never been opened. Oil is Mobil 1 5W30, half a quart over filled.

The data is from Gingerman Raceway on some very worn out Hoosier A6's. Starting around 53 seconds into the lap is right hand sweeper followed by a left hand sweeper at about 62 seconds. See the small track map on the right. I have tried to annotate the picture where the interesting oil pressure data is for the left turn. You can see the engine RPM is rising through the turn but the oil pressure is falling.



A couple of laps later, here is more data. Partway through the turn, the engine RPM is held constant but oil pressure falls.



Others can decide if this oil pressure is sufficiently high for the RPM. My point is that my car's oil system seems to be challenged.

Cobra4B

You're never really below 40psi. I personally wouldn't be worried about that at all.

RX-Ben

+1.

I think that could function as an Accusump ad as your oil pressure bottoms out at 35psi and no lower.

I wouldn't worry until you are in the 25psi range.

apexman

If you are doing the work yourself, just buy a used LS1 block. Super cheap. No need to spend crazy money on a dry sump. Save that for a big money motor. Maybe add an accusump. Good luck!

froggy47

Sorry to hear that dude.

I am probably the least expert of all these guys, but here's how I run my car. 50k on oem ls6, run pretty hard, not as hard as yours.

Not a fan of the thicker oils due to tight tolerances. I run 10w-30. I do get high oil temps (over 250f on track only 230-240 autox) , but press stays good.

I won't run an oil cooler unless a pump upgrade is included.

1 qt overfill always & that includes street. I don't think it hurts any on the street.

I favor Redline, but would run Amsoil also, what Brad suggested. High zddp.

I do OC @ 25% life left, use one of the best filters, I want flow even more than filtering. Probably chg too soon, but hey for me that means 2x yr, big deal.

For how you run the car with high rpm throughout 60 sec. run and severe transitions both directions, I would look at cleaning up the heads so they drain back oil better/faster (like port/polish). One possibility is oil trapped up high both sides (unlike track where it goes to one side). A better oil pump is no good if there's no oil to pump.

See if you can get hold of a top national SOLO Vette Jocky , SOLO has some differences from track. Maybe someone who runs SSP & can touch the engine.


FWIW

sothpaw2

This scares me in that I run 10W40 even on the street since I tend to leave the HPDE oil in there rather than changing after & before ever HPDE. What's the max safe track temp (viscosity wise) for the Amsoil 10W30? 250F? My guess is 10W30 and a bigger radiator to keep it cooler makes more sense than 10W40 and 275F oil.

mgarfias

THIS.

Unless your mount loosens a bit, you don't notice and it blows the end off the accusump. That was awesome.

mountainbiker2

Thanks guys for all the input. I order a Accusump with manuel valve, and cable kit. From what I gather the electric valve can cause problems. I'm going to go with a C6 oil pan. I know what your saying, but I had two shops tell me that the C6 will work better. I hope I don't let you guys down, but I'll do what the shops says. In a couple of weeks it should be good to go.

I'll order some 30wt. oil too.

thanks,

Steve A.

On a side note, this car might be for sale. PM me.

RX-Ben

some people have paid exorbitant sums of money for batwing pans that were specially constructed by GM to work on LS2s and 3s. Kind of odd to go in the reverse direction.

trackboss

"Theoretically", the electric valve with the pressure switch should work the best (if used with the lowest offered 25psi switch) because the accusump will be released at it's full pressure when needed. A manual, always open valve is well, always open so there is never a surge of pressure. I have the 25psi switch and still get oil starvation. I may have an oddball (stock '99) motor, but I am not so sure I want to ever track it again without a proper dry sump. I'd hate to explode the motor and oil the track down which can be a disaster=lose the car and the ones following.

mgarfias

I found the electric switch to be unreliable. If I did use it, I'd make sure t was mounted inside the engine bay where it was easy to work on.

C66 Racing

There is no magic viscosity (or temp) below which is "safe" and above which is not. Like any fluid, the viscosity will continue to drop as temp climbs. I do have a DRM radiator and an external oil cooler on my car and running the 10w30 mentioned above my oil temps at most tracks run 245-255F - right at the high end of where I feel comfortable with a 10w30. But, I've been running that oil for many years now (but only about four events per year) in ambient temps well into the 90s (Watkins last summer and Summit a few weeks ago) and the oil temps are pretty consistent. I have two engines - one in the car, one spare. I swapped them this winter after tearing down the spare. Bearings were all well within factory specs as were the rings. So, outside of the potential of true oil starvation, the 10w30 seems to be working well for me.

Cobra4B

Do not go with a C6 pan!