When does a car need an aftermarket oil pan?

jaxbusa · Apr 18, 2020

I’m wondering when a car needs an aftermarket oil pan. New cars get flogged by every performance related magazine and they don’t fail due to oil starvation (that I know of). Take the ‘79 to present Mustangs, have you ever heard of a damaged motor due to an oil pan? Is an aftermarket oil pan all hype? Can’t I put sticky tires on my car and take it to a road course without the engine sucking air from the oil pan? Years ago I used an aftermarket pan because I had a high volume oil pump and I wanted it to hold more oil, but I don’t know if it would have been fine with a stock one. As the title says, when does a car need an aftermarket oil pan?

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Blkkbgt · Apr 18, 2020

jaxbusa said:
I’m wondering when a car needs an aftermarket oil pan. New cars get flogged by every performance related magazine and they don’t fail due to oil starvation (that I know of). Take the ‘79 to present Mustangs, have you ever heard of a damaged motor due to an oil pan? Is an aftermarket oil pan all hype? Can’t I put sticky tires on my car and take it to a road course without the engine sucking air from the oil pan? Years ago I used an aftermarket pan because I had a high volume oil pump and I wanted it to hold more oil, but I don’t know if it would have been fine with a stock one. As the title says, when does a car need an aftermarket oil pan?

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I debated this for a long time and did a lot of searching. What I came up with was unless your car has a documented problem with starvation at the track or it's a dedicated race car its not needed.

The cars that I think benefit from it are old school engines that have pans without baffles like old 5.0s and other pushrod engines. Back in the day accusumps were common place on road races fox bodies to keep the engines alive due to starvation issues.

MFE · Apr 19, 2020

Put an oil pressure gauge on a road coursed foxbody with a stock oil pan, watch your pressure as you transition from hard braking into and through a corner, and you'll want a trap door aftermarket pan in a hurry.

9397SVTs · Apr 20, 2020

Holding Your Oil: Choosing the Right High Performance Oil Pan

jaxbusa · Apr 20, 2020

9397SVTs said:
Holding Your Oil: Choosing the Right High Performance Oil Pan

I read that before I posted my question. I was wanting first hand experience and maybe where a person logged oil pressure while racing. I hear and see so many people hooning their cars that it raised the question of whether a $400-$500 dollar aftermarket oil pan is needed. Thanks for your reply.

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9397SVTs · Apr 20, 2020

I would suggest talking with race shops and engine builders that have your car/engine and compete in a manner that matches the intended purpose of your car.

blk02edge · Apr 20, 2020

Every single pre s550 mustang ive seen on the road course that has been properly prepped has had either a baffled pan or accusump, lots of guys run S550s off the showroom floor with NT01's or equivalent and have no issues that I have heard of.

AustinSN · Apr 20, 2020

I would play it safe and get a proper pan. Even modern engines can use them.

I was in Utah when a 6th gen camaro on slicks oil starved, vented itself and caught the car on fire.

Although if you are talking about your 16, I have never heard of an S550 oil starving. The only problems I could find for those cars on sticky tires is they can push oil up through the breather and the engine will suck in a bunch, which could potentially hydrolock it.

jaxbusa · Apr 20, 2020

AustinJ427 said:
Although if you are talking about your 16, I have never heard of an S550 oil starving. The only problems I could find for those cars on sticky tires is they can push oil up through the breather and the engine will suck in a bunch, which could potentially hydrolock it.

It was just a general question. I was adding up potential engine parts for my 2001 Bullitt and had sticker shock on the price of an oil pan, as well as everything else, which led me to posting. I know the consensus is going to be to just get one. It seems kind of like asking if you need a forged crankshaft for 550- 600 hp, just about everyone will say yes but they haven’t seen a broken crank at that level. Thanks for your reply.

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AustinSN · Apr 20, 2020

jaxbusa said:
It was just a general question. I was adding up potential engine parts for my 2001 Bullitt and had sticker shock on the price of an oil pan, as well as everything else, which led me to posting. I know the consensus is going to be to just get one. It seems kind of like asking if you need a forged crankshaft for 550- 600 hp, just about everyone will say yes but they haven’t seen a broken crank at that level. Thanks for your reply.

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Call Vorschlag. They would probably have real experience.

Blkkbgt · Apr 20, 2020

jaxbusa said:
It was just a general question. I was adding up potential engine parts for my 2001 Bullitt and had sticker shock on the price of an oil pan, as well as everything else, which led me to posting. I know the consensus is going to be to just get one. It seems kind of like asking if you need a forged crankshaft for 550- 600 hp, just about everyone will say yes but they haven’t seen a broken crank at that level. Thanks for your reply.

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Exactly. The forged crankshaft debate has been beaten to death. The funny thing is there isn't a whole lot of documented broken cast cranks out there but you will always find some people claiming its required above 400hp.

When does a car need an aftermarket oil pan?

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