Wet Sump vs Dry Sump: What’s the Difference?
You’ve Likely Heard of Wet Sump and Dry Sump Oiling Systems. But This Handy Video Helps You Understand Their Very Different Intricacies
The oiling system in your car’s engine has a very important job. Much like the circulatory system that carries blood through your body, the oiling system ensures that oil is always where it’s needed most, covering moving parts with a thin coating to ensure that metal-on-metal contact is kept to a minimum.
Today, we’re going to explore the differences between a wet sump oiling system and a dry sump oiling system. You’ve probably heard these terms before, but maybe you haven’t been sure exactly what they meant. This video from Engineering Explained will make things much easier for us.
Let’s start things off with a wet sump system. A wet sump oiling system utilizes a deep oil pan, or sump, and a single oil pan. It’s much less complicated than a dry sump setup, and it’s what you’ll find in most street cars. In general, they also weigh less and are less failure-prone, due to having fewer components.
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So why do most race cars use a dry sump system? With a shallower sump, the engine can be mounted lower for better weight distribution. And with a separate reservoir, the crankshaft isn’t sloshing in oil, so there’s a horsepower benefit, as well. In addition, it won’t risk running dry during hard cornering, since there is an additional pump.
The weight penalty of the the additional components can be offset by moving the reservoir for optimal balance. This also means that the size of the reservoir can be changed to suit the engine’s lubrication needs, or to fit in a specific area. While the simplicity of a wet sump system makes sense for a lot of applications, the flexibility and performance benefits of a dry sump system simply cannot be denied.
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