HP Guesstimate

[Ronnie Russell]

Okay, now Mabeauchamp is completely confused. Sorry for my part. I hope you guys are not trying to solve my problem. cause I got no problem . Since I changed to low pressure spring several years ago , I havent had any leaky intake seals. As far as oiling the engine, After 400 runs the bearing patterns were as good as I have ever seen. I will continue to use the high volume pump with std. spring because it works for me. Is it best? Dont know-dont care. What is safest for street engine? If it were mine, I would use std pump . Good luck Mabeauchamp.

 

[JimKwiatkowski]

Ok I'll put my 2 cents in,I've run a roller cam with roller rockers for over 20 years.I've also ran a high volume pump for over 20 years and I have no oiling problems

 

[mabeauchamp]

Ronnie's right. I'm a bit confused. Ya'll are talking entirely to fast and miles above my head. I'm trying to stay up though. I spoke with showcars today and they tended to agree that there may be a problem. They said that they had heard of the problem using a standard big block pump. (I thought the 409 used a small block pump.) However, they said the high volume pump they offer is the standard pump with a different spring, which bumps it up.

 

[Mr Goodwrench]

spring

spring would change pressure only, not volume.

 

[models916]

better too much

Volume is not a problem if all the clearances are correct. At the worst you waste a little HP spinning the bigger oil pump gears. If on the other hand you have loose clearances and the standard pump cant keep up, Bye Bye bearings. Bearing clearance and oil pressure determine the amount of oil pushed through the engine not the pump, The pump just supplies the needed oil. Lifter bore wear is a big leaker of oil and pressure. For my money I use a HV Melling pump just to be safe. If clearances are on the tight to middle side of spec, it doesnt matter what pump you use. All sbc pumps are good.

 

[Bubbletop Bel-Air]

As I understand it, the problem with the high volume pump lies in the fact they tend to flood the valve covers, and if you have ever looked real close at the oil return holes in the corner of the heads you will see they are a big restriction for the oil trying to flow back into the valley so it can drop back in to the pan.

 

[models916]

not volume

high pressure will flood the valve covers not high volume. High volume pump is just the capacity of the impellers. Excess pressure forces too much oil thru the lifters and up the pushrods. I think 10psi per 1000 rpm is what Chevy recomends in high performance use with 65 psi the max on a street engine?

 

[BC409]

this topic is always a fun one. i was recently involved in same topic regarding small blocks on another site. my experience is on 3 seperate occasions ive worked with sbc with hv pump and STOCK oil pan that developed oiling problems after extended hi rpm use.it seemed to me like an oil return problem.all three times i pulled the hv pump and installed a 302 z28 pump.problem solved every time. I think the hv pump is overkill most of the time.but the car show crowd guys dont drive hard enough long enough to notice the problem.i think an hv pump should also get,larger capacity pan,windage tray,crank scraper etc too work with it. if a stock or mild mod chev engine NEEDS a hv pump, there are other issues.yah i heard about smokeys test,but my guess is that was a stationary engine not affected by accell or deceleration or sliding around corners at a high rate of speed.