oil sump cooling

[lunarhighway]

i'm building an undertray from this anluminum sheet, but in it's curent configuration it covers half of the oil sump and touches the curve of the exhaust. aerodynamically that's great , but these thigns both get hot, so i'm wondering if

A: is haveing the undertray touching the exhoust a problem or should a make a cutout, and what clearence whould be needed
B: would i need to restore cooling of the oil sump wich an air intake in the undertray? how big would this intake need to be and what would be the best solution (naca intake, small scoop?)


the undertray curves down from the bumper so i could still have direct ram air on the sump if needed

[DRW]

I don't believe the sump does much cooling. It might not be a bad thing to have slightly warmer oil anyway. I think you'll be OK as long as underhood air is moving out of the engine bay.

I'd leave at least 1/2" of clearance around the sump and exhaust simply because the motor will move on it's rubber mounts during normal use. I can say from personal experience that it's extremely annoying to constantly hear motor and exhaust parts banging and scraping against a metal undertray.

[GasSavers_RoadWarrior]

Aside the annoyance, it will probably rub/bang a hole through the exhaust in a few months.

[COMP]

the exhaust need clearance

[lunarhighway]

thanks for pointing out the engine movement, it's pretty obvious but i hadn't thought of it!

i'll see if it's worth makeing holes for these components or if id just make the tray a litte shorter.

[GasSavers_BluEyes]

Unless your car has an oil cooler, the sump is the oils major source of cooling. I would recommend looking into an axillary oil cooler, preferably with an inline thermostat so the oil doesn't stay thick in winter.