spiller

Question semi related to this topic...with the engine idling after a session at the race track the oil pressure on my car reads about 1.5-1.75 bar. Is this normal?

It's always fully pegged at 5 over about 3000 RPM in any gear but I wondered about the idle pressure. Usually sits a whisker below 2 bar at idle when at street operating temps.

NaroEscape

Technically your oil pump can't "die"...ok, it can but that woudl be the least of your worries at that point. Your oil pump is mechanical and runs off the intermediate shaft which is driven by the crank. If the pump fails, it's because something else broke in there and you will certainly hear it! Or even if the gears in the pump fail, they will make a hell of a sound at they are floating around in your engine!!

To the OP, replace the oil pressure sending unit, all will be good. Many of us have had this exact same 'scare'. Common problem. Relatively easy (and cheap!) to fix on a GT3...

porschedog

Spiller, I did a DE at Homestead today and had the same experience; oil,pressure at about 1 to 1.5 bars when idling after about five "spirited" laps around the 2-ish mile track. No big deal. Car ran fine and was ok on the 60 mile drive home. I did get a low oil pressure light for about 2 seconds when I came off the track, but several subsequent checks showed a full load of synthetic dead dinosaurs in the engine.

I had the sender unit changed a month or so ago and switched to Motul 5w. The car loves that stuff.

spiller

Thanks for the reply, I've never seen an oil light on my car (thankfully, as that would scare the **** out of me) but at least I won't freak out if I do now.

weC4S

I just got an oil failure indicator, the engine sounds normal, oil is topped, and there are no oil leaks, my heart already skipped a few bits. Is it the oil sending unit ? as it is stated here?

Gofishracing

there are also some replaceable springs and pistons on the oil pumps. 2. I had my shop replace them . I saw an increase in idle oil pressure. I had a low oil pressure warning last year. Inexpensive .I'm using Motul now as well

mistermct

different oil sump system between C4S and GT3, I'd do a bit more research to see if there are any other common causes for your engine before committing to this fix

DRPM

rodneyr

I had an experience of the low oil pressure light coming on during a hot day at the track. The light came on as I would be pulling into my parking spot in the pits. I had everything tested and no real issues where found and car was always operating properly. My fix was to use a higher weight for the oil and I have not seen the light come back on.

DRPM

black04

A heavier oil is not a "Fix". What were the numeric results of your tests?

Low oil pressure when oil is very hot is a symptom of worn crank bearings. It's worth exploring. One can drive thousands of street miles in that condition. I don't know about track use.

Do you do oil analysis? I am considering doing so to help detect things like bearing wear. I am learning more about it. (don't mean to turn this into an oil analysis thread)

Gofishracing

This I did not know " Low oil pressure when oil is very hot is a symptom of worn crank bearings" I'll verify if true- interesting..

UPDATED. seems answer is " No then oil pressure would be low consistently ". . When I was chasing this I changed the springs and pistons.

multi21

I've read all the posts and will add a new variable. The oil in my car was recently changed and after driving it and warming up the oil, it read 1/2 way on the dash. I've been schooled to never over fill a GT3, so I put oil in it until it read full and had a track weekend.

Low pressure light came on as I was pulling into the pit in lane with the car in neutral and then went off by itself as I pulled into my pit spot. I added some more oil and went out for another session and it did the same thing. All in all, I put in about 600ml from when it was at home and topped off. In addition to the "don't overfill a GT3" mantra, is the "a little extra oil is fine" school of thought.

I suspected that being on full throttle/high revs for long periods of time and then putting the car in neutral in the hot pits naturally drops the revs immediately and therefore the oil pressure -- so I kept the engine at about 2k in the rpm range and had no issues after that session. As soon as I repeated what I had done the first couple sessions and taken the car out of gear instead of keeping the revs up, the oil pressure light came back on -- again, until I pull into the pit box. I'm not sure if it's the oil sending unit or if I'm still low on oil for track usage.

Stephen Tinker

A few hundred mils of oil added to the system of 11 /12 litres is not going to make the slightest bit of difference to the oil pressure.

The drop in pressure is usually because of the elevated oil temperature - especially after a track session. When the oil pressure light illuminates, its because the oil is especially hot (maybe 130/140 deg C) and much less viscous compared with the same oil being driven on the street. Heat soak also has a part to play in elevated temperatures, that why a cool down lap is a good idea.....
During & after a track session, you will probably find that the oil pressure gauge reads lower than normal both @ 4000rpm and idle, so when the oil light illuminates, the gauge will probably indicate less than 1 bar (14.5 psi) @ 700rpm engine idle speed.

Most of the better competition oils have a higher (and more stable) viscosity / flow rate @ +100 deg C than the everyday synthetics - Mobil 1 being a typical example. Compared the what it was several years ago when it was the world leader in oil technology, its track performance has been bettered by many oils.......

Gofishracing

CFGT3- If you manually need to add pressure to accelerator pedal when you come in off the track because pressure drops too low- that is an issue I feel. Suspect the oil bypass- which are these little springs. All it takes is some same debris to cause a sticking action causing drop in oil pressure below proper level I was told by * How many miles on car? I'll know better when track season starts - Last year was the first time it happened to me in 9 years with this car. I have old springs downstairs. Will post photo later. I requested my shop change. If nothing else - piece of mind.