68 HEMI GTS
Well-Known Member
this got interesting while i was gone...
external oiling, is it needed? seems to be a matter of opinion and for some experience. on a wedge, its probably not a necessary item. i would never bother on a iron headed 440 or anything. On a big money motor i look at it as insurance, your running a -12AN hose, basically providing a 3/4" suction. i have a indy headed 440 in my RR and i just run a 1/2 pick up and it goes 7grand on occasion. bearing clearence is also something to consider, a loose engine will require more volume, you need a bad *** pump to supply the oil and that pump needs a big suction. Hemi's are a whole other story, you have valve covers that trap over a quart each side on a pass, you need lots of oil. So you need a big pump, that pump needs alot of suction. look at any SS hemi in the pits, they will all have external oiling. those guys aren't running anything they don't need.
as for running big horse power motor on the dyno with questionable oiling (IMO), you can't compare that to being in a car that does wheel stands and pulls g force. when i worked at Livernois we did engine masters a few times. did pretty good with our BB ford. that motor was set up with a very marginal oil system, even drained out the oil a little at a time till we found how many quarts were needed just to squeak out a dyno pull. would i have stuck it in my car like that, NO...
i run my hemi 7200 all the time, even on the street. the tell tale has been on 7800 a few different time when i blew up the hemi four speeds. this car gets driven 1000's of miles every summer. i run a single line set up and a 10qt pan. last time i had the motor out for inspection the bearings looked so good i just plunked them right back in. if i ran it 8500 to 9500 like the SS guys then i'd add another suction line. but when i relentlessly hammer this engine and it looks like the day i assembled it, thats proof enough for me that my oil system is doing its job. can i say look at my oil pump, don't need to when i can say look at my valve covers
external oiling, is it needed? seems to be a matter of opinion and for some experience. on a wedge, its probably not a necessary item. i would never bother on a iron headed 440 or anything. On a big money motor i look at it as insurance, your running a -12AN hose, basically providing a 3/4" suction. i have a indy headed 440 in my RR and i just run a 1/2 pick up and it goes 7grand on occasion. bearing clearence is also something to consider, a loose engine will require more volume, you need a bad *** pump to supply the oil and that pump needs a big suction. Hemi's are a whole other story, you have valve covers that trap over a quart each side on a pass, you need lots of oil. So you need a big pump, that pump needs alot of suction. look at any SS hemi in the pits, they will all have external oiling. those guys aren't running anything they don't need.
as for running big horse power motor on the dyno with questionable oiling (IMO), you can't compare that to being in a car that does wheel stands and pulls g force. when i worked at Livernois we did engine masters a few times. did pretty good with our BB ford. that motor was set up with a very marginal oil system, even drained out the oil a little at a time till we found how many quarts were needed just to squeak out a dyno pull. would i have stuck it in my car like that, NO...
i run my hemi 7200 all the time, even on the street. the tell tale has been on 7800 a few different time when i blew up the hemi four speeds. this car gets driven 1000's of miles every summer. i run a single line set up and a 10qt pan. last time i had the motor out for inspection the bearings looked so good i just plunked them right back in. if i ran it 8500 to 9500 like the SS guys then i'd add another suction line. but when i relentlessly hammer this engine and it looks like the day i assembled it, thats proof enough for me that my oil system is doing its job. can i say look at my oil pump, don't need to when i can say look at my valve covers