Your windage tray thoughts?

[Ghoste]

How would the professional engine builders and regular drag racers like to weigh in on windage trays vs screens vs scrapers vs nothing?

[moparnation74]

Good question!   

[justcruisin]

Sorry not a pro builder but I have seen a test on a 440 where no tray cost 7HP above 4000 rpm when compared to a factory tray. I run a tray but one thing that I think about is reduced cam oiling, haven't had a problem yet though.

[HPP]

True. Trays are effective at a relatively low rpm and do produce results.

The effectiveness of trays vs screens vs scrapers, that's more detail than I have.

[AKcharger]

Wind age trays are boss!

[Challenger340]

Strange, but we never did any real valid testing on BB Mopars ? So I can't comment, other than to say on sb Chevs and Canton "Sprint Car" Pans they work well/help power @ rpm.
But IMO,
anytime you can control "parasitic" Crankcase windage it's a good idea ? if even only to lessen aeration(bubbles) in the Oil ?

[firefighter3931]

I allways run them. It's important to keep oil in the sump to keep the pickup submerged. Last thing you want is the crank pulling oil from the pan at high RPM and uncovering the pickup ! 


Ron

[69wannabe]

I allways run them. It's important to keep oil in the sump to keep the pickup submerged. Last thing you want is the crank pulling oil from the pan at high RPM and uncovering the pickup ! 


Ron

[Ghoste]

Any thoughts on the different types though Ron?  Is a screen any better than a tray, does a tray reduce drainback to the pan, is a scraper the only truly good way?

[firefighter3931]

Any thoughts on the different types though Ron?  Is a screen any better than a tray, does a tray reduce drainback to the pan, is a scraper the only truly good way?

The milidon tray has better drainback than the MP version but I've allways used the MP windage tray and had zero issues with oil control/pressure at high rpm. Of course I used the reproduction street hemi pan that holds 6 qts for extra capacity. Mancini sells those with the pickup for under $200 and it is great insurance.

The bonus using the repro hemi pan is that it does not hang below the K-frame so ground clearance is not compromised. The hemi pan fit's perfectly in a 2nd gen chassis as well. 

On an all out race build the scraper with a screen is probably worth a few horsepower.....


Ron

[Dino]

This is for high rpm racing only though right?  No point on installing a windage tray on a cruiser?

[HPP]

IMO, any of these mods are suitable for performance street cruisers as they begin showing gains as low as 4000 rpm and the gains only rise with the rpm levels.

[Dino]

IMO, any of these mods are suitable for performance street cruisers as they begin showing gains as low as 4000 rpm and the gains only rise with the rpm levels.

Good to know, thanks!

Unless there are any risks or other drawbacks I'll install one on mine.

[HPP]

They were factory offered on all performance engines, so I'd say zero downside, minimal cost, significant upside.

[Dino]

They were factory offered on all performance engines, so I'd say zero downside, minimal cost, significant upside.

In that case I may have one already, I never removed the oil pan.   

[ottawamerc]

Great thread, I think I "need" a windage tray now

Scott

[Ghoste]

Like a viscous fan drive, they are free horsepower (a term some hate and some understand).  My understanding is that Smokey Yunick had some sort of pan made made up with a "window" in it so he could watch the windage at even at low rpm the crank would pick oil up out of the pan and whip it into a sort of rope that wrapped itself around the crank.  Don't know if that's true or Chevy urban legend but it seems like the sort of research he was noted for.

[Mike DC]

The bonus using the repro hemi pan is that it does not hang below the K-frame so ground clearance is not compromised. The hemi pan fit's perfectly in a 2nd gen chassis as well.

Wouldn't a stock Hemi pan hang below a wedge K-frame (without the Hemi skid plate)? 

[metallicareload99]

The bonus using the repro hemi pan is that it does not hang below the K-frame so ground clearance is not compromised. The hemi pan fit's perfectly in a 2nd gen chassis as well.

Wouldn't a stock Hemi pan hang below a wedge K-frame (without the Hemi skid plate)?  

Edit:

The K-frame still protects the sump, but the sump is slightly below. My K-frame curves as low as the sump as the K extends to the frame, and the swaybar setup seems to be as low as the sump. I've never had problems with sump clearance with the Hemi pan

[BSB67]

The bonus using the repro hemi pan is that it does not hang below the K-frame so ground clearance is not compromised. The hemi pan fit's perfectly in a 2nd gen chassis as well.

Wouldn't a stock Hemi pan hang below a wedge K-frame (without the Hemi skid plate)? 

Yes, but not much.  I would say about 1/2".  It is about level with the bottom of the tranny bell housing.  I have a few good pictures if anyone is interested.

[Ghoste]

And not too hard to weld the Hemi skid plate onto there anyway.

[Cooter]

Always a good idea to run a tray. Period. How many will spend thousands on a paint job that does nothing but look good, yet that $25-40.00 for 'free' HP escapes them?

[Ghoste]

Do you like a tray better than a screen (or scraper) Cooter?

[HPP]

I believe the most effective set up is a punched screen with a scraper. However, you have to make sure the screen is oriented in such a way to promote drain back and prevent pulling oil up. Scrapers also have to be trimmed to be as close as possible to all reciprocating parts, unless you get a zero clearance Teflon edged unit.

[Cooter]

Do you like a tray better than a screen (or scraper) Cooter?

Not when the perticular engine making 1000 HP is looking for that last 4.7 HP. Then, crank scrapers come into their own. But for the average street engine, a windage tray works well.

[morepower]

beneficial to run a windage tray on everything, cruiser, racer, etc.

[Kern Dog]

I don't want to come across as one of those old timers that always defer to factory stuff, but...
Ma Mopar put the windage tray in applications where they expected the owners to hammer on the cars. Automakers do things for a reason. Every single part on a car costs them money to design and develop. If they thought the windage tray was worthless, they would have never added them to their HP engines.

[303 Mopar]

In that case I may have one already, I never removed the oil pan.   

Dino, no need to remove the pan.  You should be able to see the double gaskets and tray between the block and pan.

[John_Kunkel]

Not one of my favorite people but the late Bill Jenkins did a lot of research on oiling systems and he came to the conclusion that the traditional windage tray had pluses and minuses. While the tray does help prevent oil in the sump from being pulled/sloshed into the rotating assembly it also provides a surface close to the rotating assembly for oil slung from the crank to bounce back up into the rotating assembly. The best power gain he got on the dyno with a wet sump was with a 4 foot deep pan...obviously not practical in a moving vehicle.

He found that a windage tray with screens allows oil slung from the rotating assembly to return to the sump without bouncing around in the sump...better than just louvers.

His book is a good read even for non-Chebby folks.

http://www.amazon.com/Chevrolet-Racing-Engine-Jenkins-Schreib/dp/B001DB7JS6 

[Ghoste]

Smokey Yunick as well, not beloved by all in outside of GM but a smart guy who wrote a book with a lot of insights.