Slalom4me

Armando's Racing Oil Pans is located in Los Angeles and from their
website, it looks as though they offer pans with some nice features,
as well as building to custom order. Armando mentions spending
ten years with Aviaid prior to starting his own firm

Do any CF members have experience with this firm and its products?

Thanks,
Ken R.

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Slalom4me

I just received a very well laid-out oil pan from Armando's. It
was custom-built to better suit my particular needs than
the Canton 15-240T I have been using on my C4 L98.

I get the sense they are small, but they know how to make
a customer happy. I set out what my needs were, provided
some information about my car and then got out of their way
and made sure I didn't try second-guessing them.

The design, workmanship and finish is top-drawer. The
people were pleasant and efficient to deal with. The pan
was carefully packed. They shipped within the time they
initially estimated they would.

I've asked them whether they would mind if I post pictures
and more details.

I looked at several vendors and decided that they were the
folks who were most likely to satisfy me. I'm very pleased
at how my dealings with Armando's have turned out.

.

Slalom4me

The pan was installed yesterday. Fits like a glove, no surprises.

Thanks, Armando's.

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MarkBychowski

Got any pics?

Slalom4me

Armando's replied to ask that I not post pictures of the
baffles. I anticipated this and completely understand.

They are comfortable with posts of the exterior.





I think they'd be in agreement with a general description
of the pan, too.

The sump extends forward further than my previous pan.
I have the OEM cooler and a metal coolant tube for this
passes under the front of the pan - Armando's provided
enough room to retain the tube. We changed the stud on
the pan rail that the tube support bracket attaches to
so as to let the tube hang a bit lower - trivial.

The pick-up is the same kind of rectangular 'match-box'
style but it sits further forward in the pan. There
are six trap doors. The joints where the baffles change
direction are butted and welded together in a way I believe
retains oil in the respective compartments better than the
open wedges formed by my previous pan. There is another
provision I asked for that I believe will better help to
keep oil in the sump under braking.

The windage tray is solid with scrapers and drain provisions.
(The old pan has a combination tray and expanded mesh screen.)

All the work is craftsman-like, this is NOT a mass-produced
pan.

For more information, contact Elizabeth at Armando's. Ask
about p/n# 411. (Unfortunately, they didn't name it the Slalom4me.)

If your OEM pan was equipped with an Oil Level Sensor
and you want to retain the feature, be sure to mention this. By
request, my pan was built without the OLS bung.

Also, if someone was ordering a pan for a stroked engine, they
should be sure to mention this so that Armando's can provide
appropriate clearance.



While the pan was off, I switched to a Moroso 22100 oil pump.
This is a Melling M55 (std volume/std pressure - 50 psi)
pump that Moroso has modified by adding pressure relief grooves.
(It looks as though the bypass hole was enlarged, too. There is
a 1/4 or 5/16" plug perpendicular to the bypass valve in the end
cap that is non-stock, but I do not know for certain that this is
to seal the housing after being bored larger.)

As well, I switched to an ARP 134-7901 Oil Pump Driveshaft
- this has the steel collar and a reduced diameter at the middle
of the shaft.

I used an OEM one-piece oil pan gasket. This was sealed to the
pan with 'The Right Stuff' sealant and allowed to cure overnight.
More TRS was applied to the top side of the gasket just before
installation.

I took the opportunity to switch to the ZZ4 dipstick [P/N 12551144
(Indicator), P/N 12551154 (Tube)] as the bracket on my OEM dipstick
was not compatible with my Stainlessworks headers. The ZZ4
tube bolts to the block where my L98 already had a bolt & ground strap,
IIRC.

Ken R.

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MarkBychowski

Very nice! Sounds much better than the Canton pan. Keep us posted on how it works!

Slalom4me

Let's look at it this way, if an off-the-rack suit isn't
going to work for you, then there is a really good tailor
in town.

A lot of Canton's pans have been used on cars and by drivers
far more competent than my car and I am. Unless someone
is holding back, they installed them as delivered and found
them suitable for their needs.

I feel my primary event creates different oil control issues than
road racing does. The car is braking hard from high speed to a
complete stop every 1.7 mi and from higher speed to low speed
every 0.8 mi. A stockish L98 A4 drivetrain means it doesn't need
the same degree of oil control on acceleration as a more powerful
car. Also, the car's dual-purpose nature makes finding room
for an accumulator a challange.

I wanted to try something different. I talked to Canton first
- that went well on balance but I sensed a reluctance to make
changes. So I continued looking.

This thread is about finding a craftsman who took my particular
needs/wants into consideration. It cost a little more and took
a little longer than a ready-made pan but I got what I was hoping
for and there was no drama in the transaction.

Another user might have similar needs to mine or might have
some other modification in mind for their pan. If so, check
with Armando's.

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Slalom4me

Oil Light on heavy braking with Canton Pan (L98)

Circumstances kept me from getting to most events this season
but I attended the final one yesterday at the course where I
noticed problems and I have some observations.

In short, even with improved baffling, oil pressure drops to
3-4 psi on 100-0 mph stops.

For yesterday's session, pressure was logged so there was no
guesswork. Unfortunately, RPM logging was disabled and I do not
know whether the low o/p was due to the engine being slowed below
the usual 650 idle RPM by windage, or ?.

A change to Hawk pads seems to have been a step backwards.
The logs show that decelleration rates were in the same range
but the feel was worse and I had to work at braking. Blew
the stopbox twice before I changed my approach. If I get back
to where the braking was before, it will make oil control
harder.

Everywhere else on the course pressure was right where it was
expected to be. Despite sub-optimal weather and tires, suspension
adjustments contributed to the highest lateral loads I've recorded
with the car and times were the best that I have received.

I continue to feel that the Armando pan helps improve power and
attribute this to the design of the windage tray - it appears to
strip oil away from the rotating assembly more effectively.

However, to maintain pressure under extended high G braking,
I am going to install an accumulator. The baffling for braking in
the Armando is superior and it may well do the job (was RPM
simply falling too low?). But rather than test further, I have two
2qt Accusumps and am going to install at least one of them this
winter.

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MarkBychowski

Thanks for the update! I was hoping the pan was going to help more than that on heavy braking (as I'm sure you were too). Sounds like it's still an improvement over the Canton pan, though.
I'm still getting parts together for a dry sump attempt. Have the pump, just working on the tank size/location...

Jason

Slalom4me

Mark, it is unfortunate that my methodology leaves so much
to be desired. It would be fair comment for someone to say
that my results are hardly worth the time it takes to read
about them.

A more ideal situation would have been back-to-back testing
with the ability to log deceleration, oil pressure and RPM, at least.
With the Canton, I only had the 'G's and a low pressure light to
base opinions on. Maybe RPM's were low enough there, to pull
pressure way down? I have no regrets because I know the
Armando pan has features the Canton lacked and I am confident
there is an improvement.

I will say that the Canton pan has only a bit of a lip at the leading
edge of the sump to prevent forward slosh. I can think of no good
reason why someone couldn't add a 1"+ strip of 16ga cold rolled
across the inside to provide some measure of retention. Obviously
check to make sure of clearance.

Another improvement that an individual could incorporate in mods
to a Canton is to close the gaps at the tops of the baffling where
corners are formed.

Less easy to change is how the pickup for the Canton pan is located
well back from the OEM location and the baffling prevents/limits moving
the pickup forward without changing the baffling. One of my criteria
for Armando's was that the pickup be positioned further forward and
while it isn't in the stock location, it has moved ahead an amount I
think can be considered significant. (Mind you, powerful cars might
do better to have the pickup rearward in order to have oil under hard
acceleration.)

Folks should keep in mind whether their usage is like mine - regular
braking from highish speeds to a complete stop is not the norm for
RR or HPDE events.

As has already been said many times, a well-made dry sump system
addresses the issues of a wet sump. I hope WNDOPDLR is doing
well with his setup.

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Slalom4me

There is some breaking news about the Melling casting and
pumps such as my Moroso that are based on it. I happened to
find this thread is still open while researching something else and
decided to update the thread with links to the pump information.

Moroso oil pumps

Pics of Melling potential disasters!!!!!

SAVE YOUR ENGINE-Melling has weakened the casting on their SB and BB oil pumps

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