zef
Drag Racing Champion
About five or six years ago before APR got acquired by Driven Performance Brands, they released their "Oil Protection System" that was designed to eliminate oil starvation at the track by having an external system inject oil into the motor when low oil pressure was detected. This technology is nothing new, but APR put their own spin on it by developing a controller that would automatically "arm" the system when it detected aggressive driving. On a typical accumulator system, the driver would manually arm/disarm the system by flipping a toggle switch inside the car.
Another important advantage of this system is a driver can opt to pre-oil the engine prior to starting by turning the car to accessory and hitting the toggle switch. By "arming" the system when the car is off, because there is no oil pressure, the accumulator will dump its contents into the engine reducing wear on cold starts. Once the car is started, the system will begin to refill.
The one disadvantage to this system is it requires use of a sandwich plate, which means an external oil cooler cannot be used (unless someone knows of sandwich plate with 3 male AN fittings where both could be used). I have accounted for this disadvantage by purchasing and installing a Wortec oil pan. It increases capacity by 1 quart, has cooling fins, and the metal material allows for easier heat dissipation. I would be interested to see the effects of the pan compared to an external oil cooler. I'd imagine the cooler would be more effective, but it's better than nothing.
I was fortunate to come across one of these kits for sale and wanted the peace of mind solution at the track. The ability to pre-oil was also a huge bonus, which pretty much had me sold on it. The accumsump accumulator was actually developed by Canton Racing Products, who worked alongside APR to develop the OPS kit. They also happen to be down the road from me, so I paid them a visit with my new-to-me accumulator and had them go over the accumulator and the valve to ensure everything was in working order (and to replace a broken pressure gauge that was damaged during shipping).
After speaking with the guys at Canton, they gave me quite a bit of insight into the APR project and had me consider to opt for the traditional wiring method with a toggle switch inside the cabin over the fancy APR controller. I felt far more comfortable being in control of the system myself versus trusting a computer, so long as I remember to deactivate the system when pulling into the pits. If I forget, when I come to a stop and the car begins the idle, the oil pressure will likely fall below what the electronic valve is set to (which I believe is 37PSI) and will overfill the motor, potentially aerating the oil.
Since the wiring with the traditional method is painfully simple, I decided to cut out the fancy APR electronics and wire up my own solution, utilizing APR's brackets. It was a very tight fit--I had to reroute the SAI piping and flip the ground wire for the starter wire upside down. Even then I had to put some foam tape between the bracket and the transmission to prevent rubbing and some potentially unsettling noises (the development car for this project was a 6 speed, so I imagine that's what this was optimally designed for).
Nonetheless after some fussing and a bit of patience, I got the system fully operational. No leaks yet--I am concerned about the gasket for the sandwich plate as it was a little brittle when I installed it but will keep my eye on it. Hopefully I can obtain a similar replacement should it start to go.
Here's my in-cabin toggle switch setup. It illuminates when activated to help remind me that it's on so I don't forget:
The rear bracket--as you can see I squeezed the SAI pipe behind all the wiring for the battery
A shot of the electronic valve which mounts right below the crash beam:
A birds eye view--don't worry, the green ziptie will be removed for a much cleaner solution soon.
If anyone is interested in having a similar setup, I can see if I can recreate the brackets and do a limited run of kits. They would not have any of the fancy APR electronics. PM me if interested!
Another important advantage of this system is a driver can opt to pre-oil the engine prior to starting by turning the car to accessory and hitting the toggle switch. By "arming" the system when the car is off, because there is no oil pressure, the accumulator will dump its contents into the engine reducing wear on cold starts. Once the car is started, the system will begin to refill.
The one disadvantage to this system is it requires use of a sandwich plate, which means an external oil cooler cannot be used (unless someone knows of sandwich plate with 3 male AN fittings where both could be used). I have accounted for this disadvantage by purchasing and installing a Wortec oil pan. It increases capacity by 1 quart, has cooling fins, and the metal material allows for easier heat dissipation. I would be interested to see the effects of the pan compared to an external oil cooler. I'd imagine the cooler would be more effective, but it's better than nothing.
I was fortunate to come across one of these kits for sale and wanted the peace of mind solution at the track. The ability to pre-oil was also a huge bonus, which pretty much had me sold on it. The accumsump accumulator was actually developed by Canton Racing Products, who worked alongside APR to develop the OPS kit. They also happen to be down the road from me, so I paid them a visit with my new-to-me accumulator and had them go over the accumulator and the valve to ensure everything was in working order (and to replace a broken pressure gauge that was damaged during shipping).
After speaking with the guys at Canton, they gave me quite a bit of insight into the APR project and had me consider to opt for the traditional wiring method with a toggle switch inside the cabin over the fancy APR controller. I felt far more comfortable being in control of the system myself versus trusting a computer, so long as I remember to deactivate the system when pulling into the pits. If I forget, when I come to a stop and the car begins the idle, the oil pressure will likely fall below what the electronic valve is set to (which I believe is 37PSI) and will overfill the motor, potentially aerating the oil.
Since the wiring with the traditional method is painfully simple, I decided to cut out the fancy APR electronics and wire up my own solution, utilizing APR's brackets. It was a very tight fit--I had to reroute the SAI piping and flip the ground wire for the starter wire upside down. Even then I had to put some foam tape between the bracket and the transmission to prevent rubbing and some potentially unsettling noises (the development car for this project was a 6 speed, so I imagine that's what this was optimally designed for).
Nonetheless after some fussing and a bit of patience, I got the system fully operational. No leaks yet--I am concerned about the gasket for the sandwich plate as it was a little brittle when I installed it but will keep my eye on it. Hopefully I can obtain a similar replacement should it start to go.
Here's my in-cabin toggle switch setup. It illuminates when activated to help remind me that it's on so I don't forget:
The rear bracket--as you can see I squeezed the SAI pipe behind all the wiring for the battery
A shot of the electronic valve which mounts right below the crash beam:
A birds eye view--don't worry, the green ziptie will be removed for a much cleaner solution soon.
If anyone is interested in having a similar setup, I can see if I can recreate the brackets and do a limited run of kits. They would not have any of the fancy APR electronics. PM me if interested!
