RC45

(I am reposting this here as it may get better input than in C6Z)

Title says it all.

What bit of the stock GM dry sump system for the LS7 is the weak link?

The sump, the pump, the tank?

I know they can all be upgraded, but I am interested in what bit/bits MUST be upgraded.

I am looking to do a stock dry sump setup for the LS7 in my C5 Z07 for road course track work.

Apparently my setup (580rwhp, coil overs, functional aero, DOT R tyres etc) could subject the wet sump LS7 to lateral G's that would overwelm the oiling system.

Is the stock LS7 dry sump a usable starting point that I can upgrade if needed?

The cost of a full Stage III ARE is quite intimidating. Is that the only option?

AU N EGL

The New ones are better then the old ones.

The new ones changed the tanks to the LPE design IRC

buyiing a cheap one could cost you an engine.

the AER route would be the better way to go.

sothpaw2

Rumor (no idea the truth to it) I heard was that the subcontractor developing the sump w/LS7 told GM the design concept was not feasible but GM pursued it because of cost. If I were you, I would entertain the possibility that no bandaid will make the LS7 + stock dry sump safe to use with Hoosiers.

PA Z06

Tom do know what year did they upgraded the tank design

TheKomoman

It changed the year the ZR1 debuted, which my hazy memory says was 09.

Glenn and I will be doing the LPE swaps in our '08s later this year.

wtknght1

A lot of T1 guys put the 3-stage ARE dry sump system on their cars and we've had good luck with it - much reduced oil burning and temps, good pressures all the time, etc.

The only thing to pay attention to is the scavenge pump pulley. Make sure you check those tiny little screws, and the pulley key holding it on and in place. That little $0.56 cent part cost me a new LS3!

95jersey

I have done much research. Here is the deal, the dry sump system actually uses a wet sump pan and pickup vs a true dry sump pan and pick up. But that is not the big issue.

What happens under high G load the sump can actually run dry. GM's resolve to this solution, was to add an additonal tank that connects to the main tank that adds approx 3 additional quarts. All this does is provides more volume (which is a perfectly fine solution).

Lingenfelter actually came out with a solution before GM and provides the same kind of tank (they are a bit different), but they weld an additional tank to the side of the OEM tank to add the additional 3 quarts. So in total, you will have 11 quarts of oil vs. 9 on the old system.

Benefiits/downside of each system:

Stock OEM is like $1500 or more
Lingenfelter is like $500 ish and does the same thing.

Everyone pretty much goes with the Lingenfelter tank. You can add a windage tray to the pan and an insert that goes into the tank to keep the oil from foaming, but just the tank itself has seem to pretty much proven that it works.

Joe_Planet

after my engine blew up, i upgraded to an lpe tank with an aviaid baffle insert and didnt have any issues anymore

RC45

So stock 09 GM dry sump, pump and lines with LPE tank is a decent solution?

TheKomoman

For '09 you already have the bigger tank. It's the 06-08 Z06's that benefit from swapping to the LPE tank. I just looked in the '09 owner's manual and under capacities for the LS7 V8 Engine it shows 10.5 quarts(06-08 is 8 quarts). So switching to the LPE tank wouldn't gain you much of anything, waste of money to my mind.

JoesC5

The C6 dry sump oil pan IS NOT the same as the wet sump oil pan. While both the wet sump oil pan and the dry sump oil pan are both 5" deep, the size of the sump itself is much smaller on the dry sump oil pan. That keeps the oil pickup covered with oil even though there is very little oil in the sump. With the small sump, it is not necessary to have multiple pickup points that you see in a shallow oil pan that you typically see in a dry sump system. With the small sump, located far away from the crank, you don't have the problem with the small amount of oil being present, being hit by the crank. Since all C5/C6's have 14" dia flywheel, all have the engine mounted in the same location. What you see in most racing applications, where the rules allow the engine to be lowered in the chassis, is a smaller diameter flywheel and a correspondingly shallow oil pan without a sump. Because of the shallow oil pan not having a sump, like is used on the C6 dry sump system, the multiple pickup points are crucial. Whether the system has the small sump, like the C6's or a shallow oil pan, like most racing applications, they both share the concept of storing the oil in a remote location. This remote reservoir can then be designed to hold as large a volume as is deemed necessary to ensure a constant supply of oil to the secondary oil pump, that feeds the engine.

The original 06 through mid year 08 had 8 quart capacity. In mid year 08, that was increased to 8.5 quarts. For 09 and up, the system was enlarged by two quarts, to 10.5 qts.