Baffled Sump

June 05, 2020, 12:20:36 PM

The oil sump at the bottom of the engine is the container that holds the engine oil, when the car is running the the pump takes the oil to the top of the engine and gravity allows it to flow through the engine, lubricating everything on it's way, till it returns back to the sump. The circulation of oil is continuous... However, image taking a bend at high speed, this force of acceleration will override the downward force of gravity (G Force) and make liquids slosh to the side. If this happens the feed to the oil pump may be starved of oil. With an engine under load this could be for just long enough to have catastrophic results.

Adding baffles to a sump creates 'walls' so the oil will only 'slosh' against the walls of the compartment. And therefore even out the oil level horizon across the whole sump.

Various designs have either holes, trapdoors or a maze arrangement to allow the oil to flow between compartments.
Some also have horizontal shelves to prevent oil sloshing too far up the sides keeping the oil fluid in the bottom of the sump and reducing splashing.

Mototsports companies such as Schrick produce aluminium baffled sumps:

But for a more cost effective solution DIY welded modifications can be added to a standard sump:

A mock up is a good idea before competing any work. You can check your design doesn't fowl any engine parts.

A simpler maze design, not as impressive to look at but I'm sure some benefits are found:

A simple 'wall' design with large oil ways.

There are no splash guards with this design so I expect it's designed to be used with the windage tray, a stock item found in the diesel engines but a good addition to any set up.

Another take on the splash guard idea, but without walls:

The examples given are taken from the internet, there is plenty of information online so please research the best design for your needs before undertaking this kind of work. Getting it wrong could have the negative effect of preventing oil flow. Any modifications you decide to carry out as a result of reading this page are done so at your own risk. The images shown above are just visual examples, without the feedback of the owner it's not possible to know how successful or otherwise these were. Ownership of these images belongs with the originator, sorry I am unable to credit the original sources as they are unknown, but should anyone claim the rights to these image please get in touch.

The following link provides a bit more information: https://www.carbuyer.com.sg/oil-pan-baffle/