IanT Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 Hi all, I have a standard factory-built Blackbird (10,500 miles, 1998 engine with carbs, dry sump & oil cooler) and have compared oil pressure & temp. with Martin Plant's near-identical car. Martin's engine is reasonably modified however (1200cc, different carbs etc.) so I wondered if anyone out there with a standard engine can compare notes. When cold, idling oil pressure is high (30-40psi) and on the throttle it's around 75 psi At normal oil temp (75'ish) idle pressure is 10-12 psi and on throttle it's 40-50 psi At very high temp (100+) idle pressure is 5-6 psi and on throttle it's 19-22 psi I'm not worried about the idle pressures, these are apparently normal for a 'bike engin, but am extremely concerned about the 19-20 reading at full throttle. There's no obvious oil leak and it's not using oil at any significant rate. So, a couple of questions to those with standard engines & standard Caterham installation (i.e. Blackbird Motorsport dry sump bits + motel oil cooler) ... 1. How do your pressures compare to the above? 2. Do you find it easy to get the oil temp. above 100 deg. C after very hard driving? 3. Which oil do you use and what are its viscosity specs? I'm assuming for the minute that the sender is OK given the normal readings when cold/warm (I'll be replacing it soon anyway to do a remote mount) Luckily the car is still (just) under warranty from Caterham but wanted to get some ideas in advance of having the problem looked at. TIA Ian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Day Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 I would suspect that the sensor's playing up as they do in a K series installation. However best to check. Where's Blackbird Man when you need him 🤔 Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.R. Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 Oil pressure relief valve is set to 65psi, on a cold or moderately hot engine it will reach this pressure by about 6k revs. During race conditions at max revs and high oil temps this can drop as low as 49psi momentarily without problems. Definitely check the sender as above, make sure that it is remotely mounted using a flexible pipe. The pressure relief valve (which is normally inside the engine) is relocated to the end of one of the upper return pipes to the dry sump tank so is easy to inspect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanT Posted July 11, 2003 Author Share Posted July 11, 2003 Thanks J.R. My car's back at Blackbird Motorsport now so hopefully they'll be able to shed some light on the problem. I don't remember seeing a pressure relief valve on any of the return pipes so perhaps my setup is different (mine's a very early factory car) Out of interest, what oil temps do you see on track and what oil do you use? Ian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jude Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 I use Castol R4 in mine. Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross_H Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 rockoil fully synthetic as instructed by andy at bbms. those pressures look low to me. i get about the same when cold, but hardly ever dips below 60 even on track. i had a problem at the top of kemmel at spa on mine when i first got it, but andy fitted a bigger scavenge pump and its fine now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanT Posted July 13, 2003 Author Share Posted July 13, 2003 Where can I get hold of Rock Oil? Also, what oil temps do you guys see on track? Cheers, Ian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.R. Posted July 15, 2003 Share Posted July 15, 2003 Use R4 superbike synthetic oil as it does not have the friction modifiers that "car" synthetic oils have that wreak havok with the bike wet clutches. That said I fitted Bailey Kevlar plates to my other blackbird which has yet to slip the clutch whereas I have experienced slight slip on full power changes on the car using R4. I removed & checked the plates and they were within limits and only worn by about 2 thou each!, refitting another second hand set (with another 1 thou each) has cured the problem for now. For peace of mind I will always use R4 and as & when the plates need changing use Kevlar ones, - but be warned the very last plate is different to the other 9 or 10, the bailey clutch plate set I bought werte all the same so I couldnt replace the last one; which is a real fiddle anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanT Posted July 18, 2003 Author Share Posted July 18, 2003 but be warned the very last plate is different to the other 9 or 10, the bailey clutch plate set I bought werte all the same so I couldnt replace the last one; which is a real fiddle anyway! Yes, don't I know it! Changed the clutch plates myself recently and realised the last plate was so much of a fiddle I decided not to bother. Cured the slipping nonethless (the final solid plate looked fine anyway ... all my others were blue/black). Full set of plates from Honda cost around £200. Are aftermarket kevlar ones any cheaper? Ian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross_H Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 rockoil from most motorbike shops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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