BAE hemi. Wet or dry sump?

I currently run a BAE screw blown hemi in a mud dragster. I bought the engine used, and ran it last summer. Ran well. This engine currently has a wet sump oiling system and Keith Black pump. Unknown pan manufacturer, holds 15 quarts. Never knowingly had oiling issues, bearing etc look good. Is it worth my while to invest in a dry sump system for this? Keep in mind we only on throttle for 2-2.5 seconds. I realize that most poeple feel dry sump is better on dragstrip. The simplicity of my wet sump is nice if it is an acceptable system.

 

You're good to go if you can run the big pan with that many quarts. F/C pans are different issue as they are usually low profile and can only hold 8-9 quarts. I have to run a drysump in my altered because of low clearance, but ran the same engine in a rear engine dragster with big pan and wet sump for two years with no problems.

 

I feel the dry sump is incredibly more reliable if done with an external pump. We've always ran one on our car and not once had an oiling issue. I've seen many times a valve spring or other like part gets into the mag drive shaft and it twists off, that problem doesn't exist for us. If you really get after it you can find out just how much oil you need to run the motor, get an appropriately sized tank, and save 20-30lbs. of unnecessary weight. From what I've seen on cars going 1/8th mi. w/ similar setups you'd need less than 9 quarts; that's in the entire system not just the pan.

Brandon Booher
NHRA TAD #323
Torque MGMT. - Owner

 

Wouldn't the dry sump make more power?

 

Personally , I wouldn't run a belt driven pump on a car that races in the dirt.
It would get real expensive if you got something in there and broke or spit the belt .

 

wetsump

BAE told me the wetsump setup with the regular pump has become the standard in 1/8th mile and provides a 10lb weight savings.
My drysump setup runs 15 qts so there is a lot to lose. I haven't seen a drysump system that really scavenges correctly on a hemi.

 

Oil system

Nothing will turn a thread into crickets quicker than bae oil systems or rocker gear.obviously a lot of ways to skin a cat based mostly on "my stuff works and I don't care why".
If you have a deep pan everything will be easier just carry more oil to cover up the problems.
The adrl guys are mostly wetsump but I've heard of pressure problems.ive seen all kinds of impressive oil pumps but nothing on scavenging the oil that traps up top.
The dry sump is obviously the best way to oil and engine but the 15-20 qt setup is not really dry and its heavy.

 

How deep are the wet sump pans on the ADRL cars?

I just tried to put a 5" deep sump pan on my car and it is 1" below the frame. I am going to have to run a dry sump to get the pan high enough to load and keep it off of the track and up above the frame-THANKS! Jim