Unlike wet sumps, dry sump oiling systems scavenge oil from the oil pan and use remote oil reservoirs.  This brings considerable benefits to engines used in motor sports of all types.  Their additional cost and complexity make them less suitable for a typical daily driver vehicle.  We at Borowski Race Engines, Inc. are always looking for the best parts for our builds and have selected Dailey Engineering of Temecula CA as our preferred vendor. Their dry sump oiling systems feature both billet oil pumps and billet oil pans thereby adding additional benefits albeit at a higher cost.  We like that trade-off on our engines, as it greatly improves both form and function.  More on that later.

Engines need constant oil lubrication.  The oil should ideally be delivered froth-free and at the correct temperature and pressure.  The wet sump in a grocery-getter handles these issues very well because they are not hitting extreme operating conditions of either g-forces or rpm.  Motorsports applications typically do operate at extreme conditions and often for extended periods of time.  Competitive engines are therefore likely to benefit significantly from a dry sump oiling system.  While many of these benefits accrue from dry sumps in general, this blog will focus on the benefits from Dailey Engineering systems in particular.

Consistent Oil Pressure: High lateral and in-line G-forces cause oil sloshing in a wet sump.  This in turn can cause possible loss of suction with resultant interruption in oil flow.  Dry sumps have comparatively shallow oil pans with scavenging pumps rather than an oil pickup.  The Dailey Engineering billet design is extremely shallow besides being very strong (and looking great).

Degassing: Froth comes from exhaust gas blow-by being whipped into the liquid oil by the crankshaft.  The higher the rpm, the more froth you'll generate. Frothy oil is far less effective than froth-free oil both at lubricating and cooling engine parts.  The cutaway photo below shows how the Dailey Engineering pump combine a Roots style pump with a centrifugal section to separate the froth from the liquid oil.  The two videos at the end of this blog demonstrate the problem and show how the Dailey Engineering systems address the issue.

Improved Oil Cooling: The oil reservoir can be placed anywhere in the vehicle.  This eliminates constraints on both the volume of oil and design of the oil cooling system.

Center of Gravity: The shallow draft of the dry sump oil pan allows the engine to sit lower in the vehicle.  Since the oil reservoir is separated from the engine, it can be shifted rearward to improve front to rear weight balance.

More Horsepower: Wet sump engines suffer significant parasitic loss of power due to the constant interaction and drag of the spinning crankshaft through the oil.  The reduced pressure in the oil pan can also help keep the rings seated thereby reducing blow-by.

Turbo Lubrication: Turbos spin at very high speeds and see very high temperatures.  The addition of more stages to the pump allows for much improved turbo oiling. through their ability to combine both consistent pressure and scavenging.

Possible Concerns: Piston oilers may be needed in certain engines as their pistons and wrist pins may be reliant on lubrication from oil splashing up from the wet sump.  Oil temperature might also be lower than optimal if too much oil cooling is applied.

Summary

Dry sump oiling systems in general and the Dailey Engineering's offerings in particular are not for everyone.  Their greatest utility is on expensive engines used in competition.  A great oiling system is an outstanding insurance policy and performance upgrade for most any competition engine.  The greater the investment into the engine, the more compelling the case for using the best available oiling system - a Dailey Engineering dry sump.  The build below virtually screamed for one!

Borowski Race Engines, Inc is an authorized dealer for these products and we have a wealth of experience in installing them on our own engine builds.  These units are available either standard equipment or upgrades on most all of our LS, BBC and SBC engine builds.  Please give us a call at 815-725-2727 if you are interested in getting one for yourself.

Dailey Engineering Videos