Oil Pan Baffles

I have a 2000 MR-S that I am prepping for track use. I have heard stories (on here and elsewhere) that the 1ZZ tends to have oiling issues with long sweeping turns.

There is an after market Moroso pan but it runs ~$500. I feel like I could add some sheet metal to the bottom of the pan around where the oil pickup sits and it would probably be fine. Maybe some stainless steel hinges for trap doors if I want to get fancy. Other options include extending the oil pickup so it sits a bit lower in the pan.

So, whose done something like this before?

Lots of people have, use hinges wherever possible and do lower the pickup if there's room. Make sure the oil pan is totally clean of any particles before you put it back in since you'll probably have to drill some holes.

The goal is to block the oil from running away from the pickup under accel/decel or side load. You can see the large hinge allowing free flow to the pickup under accel from the front of the sump. There is another under the upper right - so it allows the oil to flow back under braking but not run to the rear under accel. Then, the rest seals up a pocket around the sump so the oil cannot run away up the side of the block under hard corner loads on slicks. In this case - it's a slant 6 (BMW S52) so the right side is susceptable. The top of the pic... the baffle is sealed to the pan wall to create the largest lip possible.

I tested it in the bathtub with water to both clean it and verify the hinges and lip function as planned. Do this when the mrs isn't home.

You can buy aluminum piano hinge at McMaster-Carr by the foot. The rest is .043 aluminum sheet, tin snips and a touch of welding. Total cost: $16

If your good enough to do the fab work on making an oil pan baffle system you should be good enough to make the trap door as well. Or you can get lucky and find the exact correct flap/hinge at a airplane surplus parts vendor at the EAA convention like I did. They cost $2.00 each.

Make sure your hinges are strong. Dropped a pan to replace a failing oil pump only to find the issue with high rpm oil pressure loss was due to broken hinges. The flaps were being pulled up to the pick up screen and blocking flow. This was a high dollar pan for the MKII Golf.

I have make something like this:

It's a DIY version of an aftermarket part. I made cardboard teplates of the pieces, then transfered to metal. The doors were easy, leave tabs at the top of the baffle openings (see first picture), drill and bend out 90*, make a door, piano wire for the hinge pin welded to the door. The top of the doors where the hinge pin sits should be bent about 30-45-degrees to provide a travel limiter for the door.

Also, a scavenge pump might help you. I forget if the 1ZZ is one of them, but some Toyota engines oil-starve in high-g situations.

I built some baffles for our FWD turbo cars a while back. Tested a variations with some water in the pan and lots of tilting, etc.

http://s148.photobucket.com/user/fiat22turbo/library/Fabrication/Oilpan_baffle

We used an off the shelf crank scraper to help keep oil in the crank and at the pickup. Seemed to work well for us and didn't involve trap doors, etc.

Crank scrapers are a great option if there are affordable ones available for your engine...I know there aren't for any for mine...

I track BMW M20B25 slant sixers that are notorious for the same issue. For me, a simple flat baffle with no trap doors was all I needed.

This is not my photo or page, but it's essentially all I needed. Baffle Pics I have read internet posts from a fair number of Chumpcar teams that said the same baffle made the difference between them grenading motors and finishing the weekend.

If you have the time and flexibility to test something simple, you might be surprised and find it works.

P.S. Yes, I'm using it without a crank scraper.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: You can buy aluminum piano hinge at McMaster-Carr by the foot. The rest is .043 aluminum sheet, tin snips and a touch of welding. Total cost: $16

I really like this idea, didn't know McM stocked so many hinges. I will add them to my weekly order, though the the 1ZZ pan is steel so 304SS instead of the aluminum.

bgkast, you're fist pic was something I had in mind already.

I never really thought a crank scraper did that much but they do make one for the 1ZZ. It shares a lot with the 2ZZ so it's not a surprise really. A quick search pulls up this company. Seems like they make what some here were recommending. Not sure if I'm willing to pay $225 for it though. I will have to look into it more later tonight.

Crank scrapers will help keep more oil in the pan, but a baffling is really more important. Both would be best.

I'm thinking an oversized oil filter can't hurt either, right?

Does oil from the pickup normally go to the filter or directly to the pump? This seems like a fairly basic question but I'm not sure. From a reliability standpoint it seems like the oil pump should only pump clean (filtered) oil. The flow would go from pump pickup to filter to pump to bearings. Am I totally off on this?

Yes, you are off.
Once the pickup starts sucking air, filter size is meaningless.
An Accusump would help some, but aerated oil just sucks for bearings.

In reply to GameboyRMH:

IIRC, there was an article in HotRod Magazine 30 years or so back on making your own crank scraper. Seems it involved using a couple of sheet of aluminium & snipping & test fitting.

Yeah I'm trying to do that, if I can get my hands on a spare engine it would be easy.

ThingWithWheels wrote: I'm thinking an oversized oil filter can't hurt either, right? Does oil from the pickup normally go to the filter or directly to the pump? This seems like a fairly basic question but I'm not sure. From a reliability standpoint it seems like the oil pump should only pump clean (filtered) oil. The flow would go from pump pickup to filter to pump to bearings. Am I totally off on this?

I'm pretty sure it always goes through the pump first and then to the filter. A bigger filter won't do anything for oil pressure consistency.

Thanks for setting me straight on the oil flow path.

Whatever you do, make sure it's robust. There's a heck of a lot of vibration in that area, so tack welds or long unsupported edges will vibrate/crack.