Oil Pressure Woes
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It's either cavitation or pan issue if it's dropping under load. I'm not saying the cavitation thing isn't a thing, but the 10296 and stock oil pan combo has a rep for not working well together. Considering what you have invested in your combo, I would look at an aftermarket pan that is known to work, Moroso, etc.
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Definitely possible. I can't imagine that these CID heads are bad with oil draining but anything is possible. I will reach out to Cesar and see if he has heard anything.
It feels unlikely to me that it is oil trapped in the heads. For me at least, it is very repeatable behavior across different oil levels and temperatures. RPM and pressures repeat so it must be a fairly mechanical thing. You could try adding some extra oil to the pan and see if the behavior changes. IMO it has to either be aeration from windage/blowby or cavitation, or maybe even a design problem with this pump.
Another reference point, our old SBE L92 drag engine with a ported OEM truck pump would peg the oil pressure gauge at 100+ psi, and we'd watch it drop to below 80 by the finish line turning above 7000 rpm. That pump was even higher volume than the 10296.
It has been recommended to me that every single build coming out of a reputable shop gets a 10295 and the copo high pressure spring. The flip side, when I'm on track and pushing oil temps 250..260, 270*+, my oil pressure at 6000 rpm and higher is in the range of high 40's with 20w50 oil. That is well below the relief spring. Going to a 10295 pump from my 10296 to me would seem to be the wrong move?? I would expect to lose pressure by reducing the volume, and I don't exactly have an excess to where I feel comfortable giving up any oil pressure.
Another reference point, our old SBE L92 drag engine with a ported OEM truck pump would peg the oil pressure gauge at 100+ psi, and we'd watch it drop to below 80 by the finish line turning above 7000 rpm. That pump was even higher volume than the 10296.
It has been recommended to me that every single build coming out of a reputable shop gets a 10295 and the copo high pressure spring. The flip side, when I'm on track and pushing oil temps 250..260, 270*+, my oil pressure at 6000 rpm and higher is in the range of high 40's with 20w50 oil. That is well below the relief spring. Going to a 10295 pump from my 10296 to me would seem to be the wrong move?? I would expect to lose pressure by reducing the volume, and I don't exactly have an excess to where I feel comfortable giving up any oil pressure.
I think Improved sells a drop in baffle kit for it. One thing to think about is your axle oiling lifters are dumping a lot of oil directly above the crank. The scrapper is best thing to have to mitigate that, but the oil might be wrapping itself around the crank when you turn it up. It's all going to be trial and error till you find the solution. Have seen several with a Camaro/Vette pans and a 10296 drive themselves nuts figuring out the pressure problem. A lot never figured it out, but I would search through back threads on here for clues so you are not chasing your tail.I don't think you need a dyno to test it statically. Just pop it in neutral and rev it up and hold rpm for a second or two. Video the gauge so you can see any fluctuations.
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Thread Starter
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I think Improved sells a drop in baffle kit for it. One thing to think about is your axle oiling lifters are dumping a lot of oil directly above the crank. The scrapper is best thing to have to mitigate that, but the oil might be wrapping itself around the crank when you turn it up. It's all going to be trial and error till you find the solution. Have seen several with a Camaro/Vette pans and a 10296 drive themselves nuts figuring out the pressure problem. A lot never figured it out, but I would search through back threads on here for clues so you are not chasing your tail.I don't think you need a dyno to test it statically. Just pop it in neutral and rev it up and hold rpm for a second or two. Video the gauge so you can see any fluctuations.
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Verdad Gallardo My $$$ is on the pan being the main issue, the lifters second, and some cavitation sprinkled on top. I would have a solid conversation with Improved and get their opinion on if their baffle will even help the issue. If I were in your shoes, I would just get a better pan and start their vs a bandaid fix on what you have. Either way, a better pan is going to help overall. You may end up right back at a 10295 and Copo spring like Spanks said. I'm a builder and everything I do short of a Dart block build gets a 10295/Copo. I just don't see the need for the crazy volume, even with the turbos. If you control what you have, it's plenty.
Edit: found this thread
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c6-tech-performance/4889450-improved-racing-c5-c6-corvette-wet-sump-racing-oil-pan-development-thread.html
Last edited by DualQuadDave; Feb 27, 2026 at 02:38 PM.
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Yeah i remembered about that post last night and i commented on it. Still no for sure release date.
Has anyone used one of those Accusump oil accumulators? I may be able to get one off a buddy. That seems like it may be the move. Apparently a lot of the drag race guys are using them to combat low pressures due to the G force during acceleration.
Has anyone used one of those Accusump oil accumulators? I may be able to get one off a buddy. That seems like it may be the move. Apparently a lot of the drag race guys are using them to combat low pressures due to the G force during acceleration.
So the vacuum pump on mine I believe plays some part in the pressure gauge, but mine is an ls2/ls3 wet sump pan with a 10296 pump as well, I forget what spring though.
https://youtu.be/vLVrLeuQSNo
https://youtu.be/vLVrLeuQSNo
I would like to mention, mine was dropping to 20 psi prior to this at WOT. But the problem was a bit more aggressive:
Last edited by kmk9048; Mar 2, 2026 at 08:42 PM. Reason: add picture and story.
Launching!
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From: New Athens IL
Im not saying this is your problem. My oil pressure would drop under WOT. Everyone on the internet told me I was sucking the pan dry with the melling pump. In the video I was running a f body oil pan that has the pick up in the middle of the pan. I tried thicker oil, thinner oil, more oil nothing helped. I replaced the oil pan with a china ebay pan like the holley 302-1 I believe. The pickup was 2.5" further back in the pan and its the only thing that fixed the pressure dropping.
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I got the mechanical gauge on it on Monday. Fired the car up and the gauge immediately jumped up to ~80psi. I was using the front port on the driver side of the engine. Made the adjustment to the sensor in the tune to match the mech gauge.
Also changed the oil. Old oil was a little fuel soaked and thinned out. Opened up the filter and it was clean, no debris in it.
I am going to order a Accusump oil accumulator and install that as a "piece of mind" to help with pressure drop.
Also changed the oil. Old oil was a little fuel soaked and thinned out. Opened up the filter and it was clean, no debris in it.
I am going to order a Accusump oil accumulator and install that as a "piece of mind" to help with pressure drop.
Accusumps are very popular with track guys who see oil starvation due to high G’s. Great insurance. You can also pre oil the engine which is a nice perk.
Lot of swapped RX7 guys ran them due to the shitty LS1 pan and handling capability of the car. Improved Racing baffle + accusump was the mantra. I've gotten by with just the baffle. The accusump isn’t fool proof..ultimately it is still responding to a drop in oil pressure which means there will be a lag time to respond. It’s still way better than not having one.
I imagine you can also run without over filling the pan which would be quite nice.
Lot of swapped RX7 guys ran them due to the shitty LS1 pan and handling capability of the car. Improved Racing baffle + accusump was the mantra. I've gotten by with just the baffle. The accusump isn’t fool proof..ultimately it is still responding to a drop in oil pressure which means there will be a lag time to respond. It’s still way better than not having one.
I imagine you can also run without over filling the pan which would be quite nice.
Last edited by spanks13; Mar 4, 2026 at 10:34 PM.
Thread Starter
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Accusumps are very popular with track guys who see oil starvation due to high G’s. Great insurance. You can also pre oil the engine which is a nice perk.
Lot of swapped RX7 guys ran them due to the shitty LS1 pan and handling capability of the car. Improved Racing baffle + accusump was the mantra. I've gotten by with just the baffle. The accusump isn’t fool proof..ultimately it is still responding to a drop in oil pressure which means there will be a lag time to respond. It’s still way better than not having one.
I imagine you can also run without over filling the pan which would be quite nice.
Lot of swapped RX7 guys ran them due to the shitty LS1 pan and handling capability of the car. Improved Racing baffle + accusump was the mantra. I've gotten by with just the baffle. The accusump isn’t fool proof..ultimately it is still responding to a drop in oil pressure which means there will be a lag time to respond. It’s still way better than not having one.
I imagine you can also run without over filling the pan which would be quite nice.