Sam's build thread

[sambb]

I just got my 215/50/15 mounted onto the 7 in enkei so that I can do some fitups and check clearances etc. It needed more than 80 psi, multiple attempts and lots of lube before one stubborn part of the sidewall went from rippled to finally cracking into place. That normal?

[Sydneykid]

We run either the standard cast alloy sump with baffles OR we go dry sump. Modern engines have pretty good sumps and they are (in general) integrated into the overall block rigidity, especially for high performance engines. For example Honda has 2 sump designs one cast alloy and the other pressed steel, the engines with the cast alloy sumps have higher rpm limits than their equivalent pressed steel sump engines.

My suggestion would be to look for a baffle insert that you can fit to your OE sump. I know Forge make one Forge Motorsport I High quality performance Motorsports parts & tuning specialists



Cheers
Gary

[Sydneykid]

I just got my 215/50/15 mounted onto the 7 in enkei so that I can do some fitups and check clearances etc. It needed more than 80 psi, multiple attempts and lots of lube before one stubborn part of the sidewall went from rippled to finally cracking into place. That normal?

Yep, I've seen over 100 psi on particularly stubborn tyres.

Cheers
Gary

[sambb]

Thanks Gary. RE the sump yeah I'll start hunting for something similar. All pretty pricey from overseas unfortunately.
RE the tyres the guy freaked me out a bit saying 'the tyre could have taken a hit' etc etc. He never went above 85psi but kept trying basically. He just gave it a bit of time and then the last little bit cracked into place. I'm hoping the tyre is fine and that maybe being a 215 on a 7in rim contributed to it.

[simon k]

We run either the standard cast alloy sump with baffles OR we go dry sump. Modern engines have pretty good sumps and they are (in general) integrated into the overall block rigidity, especially for high performance engines. For example Honda has 2 sump designs one cast alloy and the other pressed steel, the engines with the cast alloy sumps have higher rpm limits than their equivalent pressed steel sump engines.

My suggestion would be to look for a baffle insert that you can fit to your OE sump. I know Forge make one Forge Motorsport I High quality performance Motorsports parts & tuning specialists



Cheers
Gary

I was looking at these too - but then I started looking at just the little teflon flaps that can be bought on their own and make my own plates because monumental tightarse... RCM Anti Surge Flaps for Baffled Sumps and Baffle Plates in Viton 75 | eBay

but I don't think I've found any actual reports of oil starvation in these engines, is it really an issue?

[seangti]

but I don't think I've found any actual reports of oil starvation in these engines, is it really an issue?

Yeah I've not seen or heard of any starvation issues, though have installed a forge sump on mine, just like the one in the image. You could probably find a local machinist who could build baffles into a factory sump and come out pretty cost effective. Dare I say that oil heat is more likely to cause issues over starvation as our sumps aren't overly deep.

[seangti]

So the story with the sump is that this particular one doesn't have the relief cut in the base to house the OEM oil/level temp sensor. The good news is that these do not input at all into the engine ECU, they only go to the cluster/instruments where oil tempis not displayed and oil level is used to bring up the low oil level chime/light on the dash. The car can run without those no worries. I'm going to weld in a bung and fit a dedicated VDO oil temp sender and have a gauge mounted in the cabin. Oil level sensing is no big deal so that wont be used and i'll use an oil pressure sender in the port that currently houses the oil pressure switch that runs to the intruments too. I think an oil pressure gauge with an alarm is a far better method..

Hi Sam,

In the early days of the red polo I somehow burnt through the oil level sensor wire at a track day...turbo heat, bad cable routing, who knows. But anyway, it was traced to shorting that wire down the back of the engine. That short also resulted in loss of power steering and ABS (I can't confirm ABS didn't work, but can confirm power steering didn't, lol). If not already done, try disconnect the sump sensor and drive around to see if it causes any unintended grief.

That sump looks awesome. Is the turbo oil return location the same?? I thought it want into the sump on a vertical plain, not horizontal. Might need a different oil return line as it may stuff up the orientation of the line... But I'm a bit shady on that orientation.

[Sydneykid]

Thanks Gary. RE the sump yeah I'll start hunting for something similar. All pretty pricey from overseas unfortunately.

$US285 retail, say, $A400 shipped, in a motorsport sense that's cheap.

Cheers
Gary

[sambb]

Simon I'm an equivalent tight arse and was going to do the same thing and weld baffles but everyone I spoke to said welding a cast sump that's had oil in it for 12 years is not going to go well, so either a virgin sump would be needed or buy one already done. Maybe my INA one could be made to work by welding really thick billet plate along the bellhousing side and then tying it into the rest of the sump but that's a bridge too far. I'll just sell it to someone who's prepared to do that and go the forge route probably. Its in the classifieds if you want to have a crack Simon - cheaper for you too. Simon in the classifieds link you'll see that the 800 buck version of the sump pictured has the billet flange on it tapped for the bellhousing bolts. Subsequent incarnations of the sump did away with this as the designer believed the sump was not a stressed member and people couldn't run girdles that way. So it is feasible that the end of the sump could be flanged better.
Yeah Sean unplugging the sump sensor had no ill effects other than generating an oil level alarm on the dash (visual and chime). Shorting pins 1 and 3 was meant to kill the dash alarm entirely but I found it only killed the audible alarm and every second time I started the car I'd get the light. I tried copying the resistance values of the level sensing and that didn't work either. I was going to start looking into dash/instruments ecu recoding with VCDS as many in the US had had success with I but I didn't investigate that further as I've have now parked the idea of that particular sump.
Yeah once I sell this sump I'll count my pennies and grab a forge or the like. Just wonder if they modify factory castings or do their own in good knows where with what quality material. Might actually be cheaper to buy an OE sump from VW and weld that.
But yeah for the time being I'll look after temps with Louis' Mocal/oil cooler kit and do the sump after that. I'm going to look at running it but retain the heat exchanger system. That'll force me to run a remote oil filter setup as it all wont fit in a stack against the fans, but I think that might be the way cos I don't want to be trundling around in traffic with 80 degree oil. The cooler will go in where the side mount was and it'll be blanked off to airflow until I track it so hopefully that'll not let it run too cold. If I could run without the heat exchanger I'd prefer that but don't think I'll be able to. With the amount of short trips I do the oil would never come up.

[seangti]

Good to hear about the sump and oil sensor not causing much grief.

I'm yet to fit my oil cooler, it's on the to do list, just haven't found the time and need the car daily. I'm leaning towards paying a workshop just to get it done. My plan is to delete the heat exchanger, but being in QLD isn't as much an issue.

Where would you mount the remote oil filter mount? Not much room down there and I'm apprehensive to have more joins in the oil lines...