Do You Need a Deep Sump Oil Pan for the Track?

What’s the worst possible thing you can do to your engine? Well, there are a lot of things that can lead to catastrophic engine failure. However, it’s probably safe to say that running an engine out of oil is among the top things to avoid at the racetrack.

When searching for ways to avoid running the bearings dry, you’ll certainly come across the idea of tossing in a deep sump oil pan. It’s obvious that more oil capacity has its benefits, but is it really necessary? After all, plenty of guys both in your own class and above are rocking stock pans.

Well, the answer to the question is: it depends.

Keep reading and learn why a deep sump pan definitely has a place at the strip, so you can decide if it’s what you need to keep things lubricated.

The Obvious Benefits

Let’s start with some of the more obvious reasons for upgrading to a deeper oil pan. First and foremost, you’re increasing oil capacity. That means cleaner, cooler oil is more readily available to the engine. It also means longer intervals between oil changes. That’s all well and good, but you might change oil between passes or after each day at the track anyway.

In that case, you’ll be happy to know that there is an actual performance advantage to be had as it does reduce windage. Lowering the oil’s position in relevance to the crankshaft keeps it from being whipped around, going through the “golf-ball” effect, and slowing the crank down.

On a street engine, reducing windage with a windage tray is often good for as much as 15 horsepower. On a race engine, where higher-RPMs are achieved, you can see even more than that. It really does depend on the application and how much windage affects it in the first place, though. But, let’s be honest – come race day, every last pony you can free up counts.

Oil Starvation

How can a deep-sump oil pan help with oil starvation?

Well, what happens when you launch off the line? What do you feel? The power pulls away from you. That’s why you sink into the seat. Well, oil feels that same force, and it’s a lot easier to displace than you are.

This is just one reason that some racers want a deep sump oil pan in their cars. Having more oil around the pickup keeps it from running dry, and dry bearings from throwing a fit. However, as you remain close to street classes, it’s easier for baffles in the oil pan to prevent the issue. Many factory oil pans already have baffles, and it’s not worth moving to an aftermarket pan solely to achieve that goal.

That’s not all a deep-sump pan can do to prevent oil starvation, though.

It’s a general rule that you want to have 10-psi for every 1,000 RPM an engine will turn. If your engine can spin out to 8,000 RPM, you need a pump that can supply roughly 80 PSI of oil pressure. That’s much more than a typical stock pump can generate and swapping to a high-volume alternative can pose major issues.

Once the engine gets up to speed, the high-volume pump can suck the stock pan dry, which is obviously no good. So, if you build an engine to wind out to higher-than-stock redlines, you’ll likely need to move to a deep-sump pan so it can survive.

A Little History Goes a Long Way

It’s no secret that searching for deep sump pans will always funnel you to one supplier. The name is Moroso, and there’s a reason why it’s the go-to in this department.

Jack Moroso, the founder, set up shop in 1968 to answer the demands of fellow racers. Remember that folks couldn’t exactly buy everything they needed off the shelf. A lot of things had to be made by hand. It was obviously a good time to start a business that made things a little easier, and Moroso’s claim to fame was producing the first commercially available deep-sump oil pan.

It’s not 1968 anymore, though. Over the past half-century, Moroso has remained close to its roots. It has focused more on making the product better whenever possible.

When it comes to its oil pans, Moroso’s are undoubtedly some of the best on the market. It’s a no-brainer to run to the folks there whenever you need more oil for that high-revving monster.

What about Wet Sump vs Dry Sump?

Dry sump systems have a place in both street and race applications. We say street because modern Corvettes and other performance applications do come with dry-sump systems from the factory. Does that mean it’s worth the trouble of installing it in your track car?

Not exactly.

Don’t get us wrong. A dry-sump system is serious business. It eliminates any and all concerns of windage or running the system dry due to a pump sucking the life out of it or G-forces ripping oil away. They’re also superior in terms of reliability. It’s an obvious upgrade for hardcore race applications in any division.

You should also keep in mind that moving to a dry-sump system eliminates the low-hanging fruit that is a sump. So, applications that need to remain as close to the ground as possible also benefit from the tried-and-true dry sump. Don’t just think asphalt applications either. Circle track cars such as Midgets and Sprint Cars also put the dry-sump system to work.

That doesn’t mean the same is true for applications closer to a streetcar than a hardcore race vehicle, and they are much more complicated – not to mention expensive. It can still be tempting to go to a dry-sump system to stack up as many horses as possible, but are the performance advantages worth the additional weight?

That’s all dependent on the application. So, we’ll leave you by saying success at the track is based on doing the homework and the right execution of a sound game plan.