Hi Neal
*wavey*Welcome to the madhouse that is Blatchat!
I've had a K series, in various guises, that’s been used on track with a wet sump & sticky tyres. For most of that time it ran with an oil/air separator (aka Apollo tank). This helps to remove the air from the oil, as a K series with shallow sump tends to induce air pick-up. There is also some foam in the sump, which is said to help reduce surge. However the perceived wisdom is to remove it & carry out a small mod to the sump gasket to improve drainage. The foam has been known to break up & block the oil pick-up.
There is no baffling in the sump (other than the foam). A baffle arrangement can be obtained from Hellier. I ran with this, no foam, an Apollo tank & a modified gasket for some time, & when the engine was stripped for a major upgrade the big end bearings were in good condition; I was lucky! However for road use I would suggest you need no more.
Incidentally there is no dynamic problem with a N/S or E/W engine installation. In the Caterham N/S mode there just isn’t enough ground clearance for a standard sump. The standard K series sump is deeper around the oil pick-up & this is fitted in the Elise. Why a properly baffled sump wasn’t made I don’t know.
Dry sump systems come in at around £1500. Caterham have 2 offerings: 1 with the oil tank in the bell-housing & 1 with a remote oil tank. The bell-housing tank is very neat packaging; both use the same scavenge pump & rely on the internal oil pump for pressure.
Pace supply sump & a 3-stage pump for duel scavenge & pressure. A remote tank is required but it is possible to mount a tank in front of the engine. This is what I have.
Hope this helps. Do a search, as there’s plenty in the archives.
Mick