Turbo oil system??

[jrc90240sx]

My friend and i were thinking about some difrent things that we will need to do when we turbo your cars. He did not want to make a oil drain plug in his oil pan, so he thought what if the turbo used its own oil. do you all think this system would work? say if you get a oil catch can, filter, some sort of pump (fuel), and a oil cooler. and just have the turbo on its own oil system. that way you would have cooler oil feeding the turbo, so you should get a more reliable setup shouldnt you?? go a head and post your thoughts on this, if its would even work (cant think why not), or resons why just using your engines oil system is better?? thanks

Joe

[WDRacing]

Why the hell would go through all that work instead of drilling one hole. Theoretically it would work, but what a nitmare.

WD

[95_240sx]

I have to agree with WDRacing on that one. Do it the easiest way possible.

Rick

[themadscientist]

It would work and would likely result in a cooler running turbo and if the pump was timed to run for like three minutes after killing the ignition would help extend the life of the turbo. It sounds involved and probably expensive if you don't have the skills and tools to fab it yourself but I think it's a great idea. I will of course research it for BigEvil and if I can do it I will definately steal your idea and say I thought of it!

[jrc90240sx]

I really dont think it would take much more work then a oil cooler system. just pice out the braded stainless lines, a 1-2 quark catch tank, inline oil filter adapter, Pump (would be the most time spend finding this one), oil cooler, and maybe a pressure regulator. locat it all up front, driver side fender, with put the catch tank, filter, and pump in the engine bay, with the oiler cooler located in the fender up front to have air flow though it. what way to dont have to modify your engine oil system, and have a cooler runing turbo. And like themadscientist said, have it run when the car is off to cool down the turbo.

And yes i understand that it is more work then just taping into your engines oil system, but it seems that it would have some very nice beifits as well.

[themadscientist]

I saw some Miata turbo instructions that told you to drill the pan in place but "coat the drill bit with grease or petrolium jelly to catch the shavings". Yeah sure..How about not! I like the seperate oil system idea, it would help you engine too; it wouldn't have to pressurize all the extra plumbing or pick up heat from the turbo cartridge. I have everything but the regulator and electric pump but I think it's worth trying.

[themadscientist]

And let's not forget now we can run another Oil Temp and Pressure gauge! More guages equal power!

[jrc90240sx]

Sounds good, i am about a year off from going turbo so i am not close to doing this. give it a try if you can and let use know how it works out.

[themadscientist]

I am still trying to get together enough scrap Titanium mufflers so I can have them melted down and cast into a CA18 block muwahahahaha!

[WDRacing]

You could always just run run a transmission cooler inline to your turbo. Have it mounted where the Skyline side mount intercooler goes. Similer affect without as much hassel.

WD

[SSDwellah]

If you're afraid of drilling a hole in the oil pan and you plan on getting a digital ignition (like MSD's) you can return the oil from where the distributor was. But seriously, if you're going to get an oil cooler, why not plumb the turbo properly and cool your engine's oil as well???

[TARs14]

I've thought about this as well. My reasoning in favor of this is not to avoid drilling a hole but just because it makes good sence.

The purpose of engine oil is not only to lubricate the internals but also to carry away the products of combustion, i.e. carbon and such from the cylinder walls. This is why your engine oil turns black and must be changed often and why engine oils contain detergents. If you run a separate oil system for the turbo using synthetic turbine oil your turbo gets clean oil and can run for a very long time without changing the oil.

This is the way Aerocharger turbos are set up and I believe that they are advertised as lubed for life. They use some kind of a wick system to get the oils to the turbo.

This also allows you the ultimate flexability in mounting positions because the turbo does not have to be elevated well above the oil level to make gravity drain it back to the pan.

I talked to a guy at Aerocharger and he actually said that they made a turbo system for a Ford Focus that was cat-back! In other words the turbo was practically on the ground. Must be a plumbing nightmare but interresting none the less.

Not a stupid idea from where I'm sitting.

[jrc90240sx]

well i am not the one not wanting to drill into my oil pan, thats my friend. the pore kid has a v6 mustang and has less room for a turbo then i do. he actule has to mount the turbo infront of the engine, and pipe around the belt.

That site has everything, got it bookmarked for when it might come in handy. thanks

[macdaddy]

You could use an LSD cooler like the ones thay use on the 200SX in europe, its a little pump which takes oil from the diff, pumps it through a diff cooler (located in the right rear in the aft part of the wheel well) and than sends it back to the diff. Its a very easy concept,which should be tested first!!

[C-Kwik]

This actually has a few other advantages. A turbo only needs a small amount of oil pressure. Since an oil pump is typically driven by the motor, pressure tends to increase with engine speed. Too much pressure will cause oil to leak past turbo seals. Using an electric external pump, you could keep pressure constant.

Another benefit is that to cool the bearings, instead of leaving the motor running, you can just use a timing device to keep the oil pump running for an additional amount of time.

As far as the idea about routing oil back to the distributor opening, you would need to use a small catch tank under the turbo to allow the gravity drain, and have to use a small pump to push the oil up to the distributor opening. I see no real advantage to this set-up and no cost effectiveness to it.

Actually either idea is a lot of work for only a small benefit. It's your money though, so do what you want...