Oil Level

HP HUNTER · 09-02-2019, 12:34 PM

Heres my situation.

The previous owner of this particular car ran 10-30 Valvoline syn oil at a certain level, can't remember if it was 4 or 5 quarts total, but I never saw the oil pressure fluctuate during a run. I went through the engine and was running a 30 W break-in oil at the same 4-5 quarts, now with my engine and oil I noticed the oil pressure dropping the middle of the run, then come back up during the end of the run. My thoughts were the 30w oil couldn't drain back as easy as the 10-30 syn oil. So I pulled the engine out to have a look, the bearings were ok despite the oil pressure drop, so I stretched the pan for more capacity and was able to get 6 quarts in there while maintaining the same oil level to crank as the old pan set up. I put it all back together exactly as it was the first time, but I've lost .10-.15 in the 1320. Is it possible the lack of oil in the engine was the reason the car was so much quicker the first time around? On the dyno, oil pressure was never a problem due to the short duration of the pull.

09-02-2019, 12:34 PM	#6
HP HUNTER Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Colorado Springs Colorado/Thousand Oaks Ca Posts: 629 Likes: 72 Liked 278 Times in 110 Posts	Re: Oil Level Heres my situation. The previous owner of this particular car ran 10-30 Valvoline syn oil at a certain level, can't remember if it was 4 or 5 quarts total, but I never saw the oil pressure fluctuate during a run. I went through the engine and was running a 30 W break-in oil at the same 4-5 quarts, now with my engine and oil I noticed the oil pressure dropping the middle of the run, then come back up during the end of the run. My thoughts were the 30w oil couldn't drain back as easy as the 10-30 syn oil. So I pulled the engine out to have a look, the bearings were ok despite the oil pressure drop, so I stretched the pan for more capacity and was able to get 6 quarts in there while maintaining the same oil level to crank as the old pan set up. I put it all back together exactly as it was the first time, but I've lost .10-.15 in the 1320. Is it possible the lack of oil in the engine was the reason the car was so much quicker the first time around? On the dyno, oil pressure was never a problem due to the short duration of the pull.