Dry sump oil viscosity

[1972ho]

Any of you guys/racer/engine builders give me your choice of oil viscosity that you run in your dry sump engines that will get the oil temp up in a decent amount of time.I have a 6 qt tank and have been running valvoline 10w30 racing oil,I have tried 20w50 but that takes a really long time to get up to temp.I run some of the nhra events and sometimes after the engine has been warmed up I have sat in the staging lanes long enough for it to cool down.I have thought about some 0w20 or 10w20 oils but they may be to thin.Thanks

[hoffman900]

Any of you guys/racer/engine builders give me your choice of oil viscosity that you run in your dry sump engines that will get the oil temp up in a decent amount of time.I have a 6 qt tank and have been running valvoline 10w30 racing oil,I have tried 20w50 but that takes a really long time to get up to temp.I run some of the nhra events and sometimes after the engine has been warmed up I have sat in the staging lanes long enough for it to cool down.I have thought about some 0w20 or 10w20 oils but they may be to thin.Thanks

Run a heater on the tank. You'll also never have to worry about running cool oil through the engine again.

[user-17438]

Depending on your clearances and how much time between rounds can help you in the viscosity department.

I have run 0wt 5wt 20wt.
Like mentioned above use a heater on the tank.

[andyf]

Viscosity is related to clearances. If you know your bearing clearances then call your favorite oil tech line and ask them about viscosity. Heat is a different topic. Use a heater if you need to keep the oil warm or insulate the tank and the lines.

[mk e]

Viscosity is related to clearances...... Heat is a different topic.

That's the problem though, viscosity is a function of temperature. If you pick oil thin enough to be optimal cold or cool, it will be too thin once it warms up and could do very bad things to the engine. But drag racing it so quick it's temping to run low weight oil that will make more hp on the line.....but it will warm up on the run so higher weight oil with heater is a much safer better.

[user-17438]

What temp do you leave the line at? The colder the engine is, the thinner the oil can be. Why heat the oil up to thin out a 50wt, when you can start with a 20wt and start cooler.

Is this a comp, super comp/gas or top sportsman deal?

Pressure is resistance to flow, the thinner the oil, the more you can get to the parts that need the heat taken out as long as you have sufficient pump. Not enough volume can also cause problems with high viscosity and pressure. The lower viscosity racing like are designed with optimal extreme pressure additives. Trust the engineer that designed the oils. Don't cheap out

[hoffman900]

What temp do you leave the line at? The colder the engine is, the thinner the oil can be. Why heat the oil up to thin out a 50wt, when you can start with a 20wt and start cooler.

Is this a comp, super comp/gas or top sportsman deal?

Pressure is resistance to flow, the thinner the oil, the more you can get to the parts that need the heat taken out as long as you have sufficient pump. Not enough volume can also cause problems with high viscosity and pressure. The lower viscosity racing like are designed with optimal extreme pressure additives. Trust the engineer that designed the oils. Don't cheap out

Not a drag racer here, but why not use a heater, lower viscosity oil, and just make the process more repeatable?

[Warp Speed]

Cold engines and hot oil. That is what we want, but they fight each other for real estate! Hahaha

[Newold1]

Seen this done with good success.

Take the tank and have a 1" NPT bung welded in the bottom first few inch side wall and a 1/2" NPT bung welded a few inches down from your running oil level. Then purchase a 12 volt -300 watt fluid immersion heater (1" NPT) from Dermond for about $25 on Amazon and purchase a bulb type adjustable thermostat 1/2" NPT threaded from Stemco.

Wire the pieces with #10 or #8 wire (25amps) and set the thermostat to keep the oil at about 150- 160 degrees with engine off. This should keep your oil temps at a sweet spot until your ready to blast.

[user-17438]

Cold engines and hot oil. That is what we want, but they fight each other for real estate! Hahaha

[Warp Speed]

Seen this done with good success.

Take the tank and have a 1" NPT bung welded in the bottom first few inch side wall and a 1/2" NPT bung welded a few inches down from your running oil level. Then purchase a 12 volt -300 watt fluid immersion heater (1" NPT) from Dermond for about $25 on Amazon and purchase a bulb type adjustable thermostat 1/2" NPT threaded from Stemco.

Wire the pieces with #10 or #8 wire (25amps) and set the thermostat to keep the oil at about 150- 160 degrees with engine off. This should keep your oil temps at a sweet spot until your ready to blast.

Back in the 90s, when we were running lard for oil, temp was such a big deal, I had 6 500w probe heaters in our oil tank. That way, if we got "delayed" in the tech line, proper oil temp could still be reached for qualifying. It would take 3 gallons in the dry sump tank from 100* to 400* in 10 minutes! Lol

[MadBill]

Four hundred?

[hoffman900]

What temp do you leave the line at? The colder the engine is, the thinner the oil can be. Why heat the oil up to thin out a 50wt, when you can start with a 20wt and start cooler.

Is this a comp, super comp/gas or top sportsman deal?

Pressure is resistance to flow, the thinner the oil, the more you can get to the parts that need the heat taken out as long as you have sufficient pump. Not enough volume can also cause problems with high viscosity and pressure. The lower viscosity racing like are designed with optimal extreme pressure additives. Trust the engineer that designed the oils. Don't cheap out

Not a drag racer here, but why not use a heater, higher viscosity oil, and just make the process more repeatable?

Fixed a typo

[Warp Speed]

Four hundred?

I know right?!? Lol

[Warp Speed]

What temp do you leave the line at? The colder the engine is, the thinner the oil can be. Why heat the oil up to thin out a 50wt, when you can start with a 20wt and start cooler.

Is this a comp, super comp/gas or top sportsman deal?

Pressure is resistance to flow, the thinner the oil, the more you can get to the parts that need the heat taken out as long as you have sufficient pump. Not enough volume can also cause problems with high viscosity and pressure. The lower viscosity racing like are designed with optimal extreme pressure additives. Trust the engineer that designed the oils. Don't cheap out

Not a drag racer here, but why not use a heater, higher viscosity oil, and just make the process more repeatable?

Fixed a typo

I thought you nailed it the first time! Lol