Good idea to have a baffled oil pan?

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Ant

Ant

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As I'm getting closer to having my 318 ready for my 73 Dart, I'm wondering if the oil sloshing around in the pan could be an issue for a possible 12 second car. My experience is mostly with stock stuff at slower speeds, so I want be extra cautious with this one.
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This is just my opinion, but a lot of mother Mopar's stuff was faster that 12 from factory (capable) and I don't believe they had baffles. If you wanted it for peace of mind, get it, but you should be fine with a stock pan. I think that it starts becoming a must when you get near the low 11-10 second times as the force that's created is more likely to uncover (even still rare) the pick up.
 
I ran mid to low 12's with a stock pan for many years, no issues. You'll be fine but if you want a new pan for peace of mind, go for it
 
I'm not aware of any baffled factory oil pans for small blocks, but many big block/hemi pans came baffled from the factory.
The 854, 695, 402 pans come to mind. The factory wouldn't tool these up if they didn't acknowledge there being some benefit on stock motors, especially ones intended for performance use. Just sayin'.
 
SRT_DSTRHOLC said:
This is just my opinion, but a lot of mother Mopar's stuff was faster that 12 from factory (capable) and I don't believe they had baffles. If you wanted it for peace of mind, get it, but you should be fine with a stock pan. I think that it starts becoming a must when you get near the low 11-10 second times as the force that's created is more likely to uncover (even still rare) the pick up.
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dartindanno said:
I ran mid to low 12's with a stock pan for many years, no issues. You'll be fine but if you want a new pan for peace of mind, go for it
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Sounds like the stock pan should be good then. That saves me $140+ and if I decide somtime in the future that I want to go faster I could upgrade then.
 
Every single 340 made came with a windage tray and some 360s as well. I know those aren't pan baffles, but it's kinda goin in that direction. That said, I think it all depends on what you're doing and what you want. I think certainly a baffle of some sort is a good idea to help keep the oil pickup under water so to speak.
 
Ant said:
Sounds like the stock pan should be good then. That saves me $140+ and if I decide somtime in the future that I want to go faster I could upgrade then.
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i'd spend $140 on the peace of mind and to not R&R the pan when i want to go faster.

doing pans insitu sucks donkey balls
 
Yes, do it now, you can’t go wrong. Installing a new or another pan with engine in the car is a pain in the ***, hood off, headers disconnected, maybe more, engine half out to find the reinstall leaks. Then frustration sets in.
 
The issue isn't whether your car runs in the 12s, 11s or 10s. The issue is how many G forces you generate. For most cars maximum Gs occurs during the launch. A hard launch with a clutch or a transbrake can easily produce more than 1 G of force even in a 12 sec car. If you combine that with the car's nose up attitude during the launch it is very possible to uncover the oil pickup.

Try filling your pan with the correct amount of oil (use water instead) minus what would be in the oil filter and minus another half a quart for the oil pumped into the top of a running engine. Then tilt the pan to a 45 degree angle to simulate a 1 G launch. Almost certainly your stock pan will uncover the pickup under those conditions.

Just to check how fast you have to go to produce a 1 G launch, you can look at Wallace racing calculators. Wallace shows that a relatively modest 1.8 sec 60 ft time will be pulling 1 G. The calculator also shows that a 1.8 sec 60 ft time would produce about a 12.95 ET. Not very fast and well with your car's capability.

If you don't want to buy a new pan, then you can simply weld in a baffle into your own pan. Be sure to leave some gap for drainback tho, and check clearance to your crankshaft of course.

I personally saw a young man build his first hot engine with a stick shift back in the late 1970s. He spent a year working on it and put every penny he could save into that car and engine. Unfortunately he used a stock oil pan. On the first trip to the track on his first pass, he launched at 6,500RPM, got good traction, pulled the tires off the ground, lost oil pressure, spun a rod bearing, broke the rod, and destroyed the engine in seconds. He was so disappointed he never recovered, sold the car, and gave up on the sport entirely. Please don't make that same mistake. (FYI it was a small block 1967 Ford Mustang.)
 
Ant said:
Sounds like the stock pan should be good then. That saves me $140+ and if I decide somtime in the future that I want to go faster I could upgrade then.
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What pan were you looking at buying?
 
junkyardhero said:
a baffle is always a good idea.
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I did my own. Called them slosh baffles for acceleration and deceleration.
Wanted to keep from flooding the front and rear seals Could have been better but what the heck.

IMG_1898.jpg
 
MinnesotaMopar said:
The issue isn't whether your car runs in the 12s, 11s or 10s. The issue is how many G forces you generate. For most cars maximum Gs occurs during the launch. A hard launch with a clutch or a transbrake can easily produce more than 1 G of force even in a 12 sec car. If you combine that with the car's nose up attitude during the launch it is very possible to uncover the oil pickup.

Try filling your pan with the correct amount of oil (use water instead) minus what would be in the oil filter and minus another half a quart for the oil pumped into the top of a running engine. Then tilt the pan to a 45 degree angle to simulate a 1 G launch. Almost certainly your stock pan will uncover the pickup under those conditions.

Just to check how fast you have to go to produce a 1 G launch, you can look at Wallace racing calculators. Wallace shows that a relatively modest 1.8 sec 60 ft time will be pulling 1 G. The calculator also shows that a 1.8 sec 60 ft time would produce about a 12.95 ET. Not very fast and well with your car's capability.

If you don't want to buy a new pan, then you can simply weld in a baffle into your own pan. Be sure to leave some gap for drainback tho, and check clearance to your crankshaft of course.

I personally saw a young man build his first hot engine with a stick shift back in the late 1970s. He spent a year working on it and put every penny he could save into that car and engine. Unfortunately he used a stock oil pan. On the first trip to the track on his first pass, he launched at 6,500RPM, got good traction, pulled the tires off the ground, lost oil pressure, spun a rod bearing, broke the rod, and destroyed the engine in seconds. He was so disappointed he never recovered, sold the car, and gave up on the sport entirely. Please don't make that same mistake. (FYI it was a small block 1967 Ford Mustang.)
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I would defenitly would not want to hurt the motor and I do plan using wider tires with more grip, but that is after I blow the 7-1/4 and upgrade that. More traction = G force because I can put more power down, you got a point there.

318willrun said:
What pan were you looking at buying?
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Kevko M323
 
You don't need a baffle (or even a windage tray or crank wiper) if you have a stock or mildly built street engine.
 
^^^^^
Tests show (Old Hot Rod, Mopar Muscle)that the windage tray comes in to play at 6,000 rpm and above.
 
33IMP said:
Windage tray, and pan baffles are designed to do two very different things. If your windage tray is controlling your oil slosh, you have REAL problems!
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Exactly. That's why I worded my post like I did. Needing pan baffles kinda all depends on how hard your car accelerates and how hard you drive it.
 
Ant said:
Well... We got some mixed opinions here.
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If You smoke the hides with ease, You probably won't leave hard enough to uncover the pickup, but what happens when You finally get it to hook?? On the street, no problem, on a well prepped track...big problem. From experience, My 383 powered ex-Popo '83 Dippy was fine on the street w/the stk. Polara pan, 'til I launched it at National Trails during the Mopar Nationals. Then on a dry-hop to test the clutch feel there, the 275's hooked hard enough the gauge went to -0-, and I had to wait a couple seconds for it to come back. When I redid the engine w/a cam etc., I built My 2nd deeper-sump baffled pan, it never did it again...I was using a factory sandwich-style windage tray in both cases.
 
BTW, a windage tray is just that, a tray to shield the oil in the sump from the crank throws & counterweights pushing the oil up the sides of the crankcase & trying to suck it in behind them. Baffles keep the oil You actually have in the sump there, instead of sloshing out of the sump uncovering the pickup.
 
33IMP said:
I'll put it this way..... the shallower your pan sump is, the MORE you need baffles. ( and just about any deep pan will have baffles too).
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^^This.
I would put a baffle in - cheap insurance and easy to do while the engines out. There are a few mobs here in Australia that make laser cut baffles for the stock pans, surely they would be available in the USA too?
20220908_173932.jpg
 
I've been using a Kevko pan (even though they look homemade on the outside), with trapdoor and baffles and I have solid oil pressure always.

With the stock pan on the old engine I could get a pretty severe oil pressure drop when braking hard. Depends on how you use the car but for braking and cornering I'd say you'd want one.
 
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