Accu-sump

[619E30]

Anyone ever had experience with an accu-sump?

[Emre]

I've got a 3qt set-up going in my E30 track car. What do you need to know?

[george graves]

Do you have a pressure gauge as well? Guess I'm asking if you can "see" it working. Hope that's not a thread jack.

[Tom Olsson]

Had one on a former race car. It was effective at keeping the oil pressure up in the corners, but was a PIA, as inevitably you'd pull into the pits and realize you haven't shut the valve. Gotta rev the motor to get all the oil back into the sump, shut the valve, then shut down the motor. We ended up pulling it out when we found an effective oil pan baffle. With the baffle, I've never seen less than 50# of pressure in the corners.

[erik325i]

I have a 2qt one in my M3. I like it.

Erik

[Rigmaster]

Had one on a former race car. It was effective at keeping the oil pressure up in the corners, but was a PIA, as inevitably you'd pull into the pits and realize you haven't shut the valve. Gotta rev the motor to get all the oil back into the sump, shut the valve, then shut down the motor. We ended up pulling it out when we found an effective oil pan baffle. With the baffle, I've never seen less than 50# of pressure in the corners.

You had the manual valve version then?

You can get one with an automatic valve that you hook up so it closes the valve when you turn the engine off- that way you maintain pressure in the Accusump so it helps next time you start the car.


FWIW, even a 3 Qt system is only gonna provide a couple of seconds of pressure at high RPM's- but even that little bit extra can help mean the difference between engine damage and none.


But a good pan baffle is a good idea too- and cheaper than an Accusump.

[619E30]

So it would be a good investment?

[erik325i]

So it would be a good investment?

It can't hurt to have. I like the having the extra protection from oil starvation.
If you consider the cost of the all the fittings and lines, it's not as cheap as it seems though.

Erik

[Emre]

I spent a lot of time talking to the people at Canton when I was setting up the system in my E30 track car. So maybe I can offer some "inside" info.

You had the manual valve version then? You can get one with an automatic valve that you hook up so it closes the valve when you turn the engine off...

They absolutely do NOT recommend the electronic valve for track use. They say it reacts too slowly to prevent oil starvation. It was designed for pre-oiling only. For track use, they say only the manual valve will work.

FWIW, even a 3 Qt system is only gonna provide a couple of seconds of pressure at high RPM's- but even that little bit extra can help mean the difference between engine damage and none.

I guess it depends on how you define "a few seconds." According to the guys at Canton, the 3qt system hooked up to an M20B25 will maintain oil pressure for at least 20 seconds at max rpm...and probably closer to 30 seconds. That's far longer than it will take you to get through even the longest sweeper you'll ever come across.

But a good pan baffle is a good idea too- and cheaper than an Accusump.

Depends. Paul Poore charges over $600 for an M20 baffled oil pan. My complete Accusump setup wasn't much more than that.

If there's a cheaper source for a baffled pan, I'd like to pick one up. Between the Accusump and baffled pan, I think we should be OK.

[guibo09]

Had one on a former race car. It was effective at keeping the oil pressure up in the corners, but was a PIA, as inevitably you'd pull into the pits and realize you haven't shut the valve. Gotta rev the motor to get all the oil back into the sump, shut the valve, then shut down the motor. We ended up pulling it out when we found an effective oil pan baffle. With the baffle, I've never seen less than 50# of pressure in the corners.

which baffle are you using?

[booostit]

are the IE baffle trays any good?