Oil pan baffle - opinions/experience needed
 

Hey guys/gals

I am looking at purchasing and installing an oil pan with baffle installed. I track my car, with 40k miles on my Ap2 motor and the cost of a replacement motor isn’t getting any cheaper...

I’m looking at:
Toda Racing
Js Racing
Mugen

Js and Mugen look the same but toda looks like it perhaps is higher capacity?

Can anyone provide feedback on those and/or suggest other options?

I don’t want a separate weld in baffle, and I want perfect fitment.

Please provide any info you might have!

Thanks in advance!
Casey

I have the Ballade sport bolt in oil pan baffle, with 0 issues. They have made newer version from there old one that had shaving. I have 0 metal in my oil. I am very happy with it.
I know other will say it's not good but 0 issues for me

Thanks bro! I appreciate your feedback.
yeah I have seen some people with bad stories on the metal shavings. For whatever the cost I don’t want the chance of hurting the motor since the goal is to protect it. Same with Canton for some reason I have in my head that either fitment was an issue or quality control in the baffles.

Thats why I was going to go with the JDM tuners, just because they seem to have some of the best quality in aftermarket parts.

I would highly recommend looking at Blacktrax's oil pan, it is a little pricy but super high quality and excellent workmanship: New Product - S2000 Baffled Oil Pan
I have been running this pan for over 3 years with about 3 track days a year running 255 street tires with big aero and am still on my stock AP2 motor. I'm not logging oil pressures but have not had any issues yet.

I originally purchased a Canton pan and ended up selling it due to poor build quality. The flange was very sketchy, super narrow in spots, especially in the corners. The flange was also very warped. I am sure one could have installed it leak free with enough Hondabond but it was extremely important to me to not increase my risk of an oil leak. The Canton pan was also heavy and if you are like most people tracking their S2000's you probably already have an oil cooler and won't benefit much from the additional quart of oil capacity.

I would assume the JDM companies you mentioned that have designs using the OEM pan are comparable to Blacktrax's unit.

+1 for Blacktrax. I have that oil pan also.

It's also race proven - Andrie Hartanto from Prima racing used it in his s2000 that he campaigned in SCCA STU and in USTCC (US touring car championship).
They're a sponsor for him.

https://www.prima-racing.com/

+2 for Blacktrax.
Been using for years without issue and never seen anything off whenever I had my oil tested.

I have the EVS bolt in baffle although its really more of a slosh plate, if I did it again I would go with the Ballade Sports since it has a little more shielding around the pickup. I wanted to avoid the weld in ones since some people had welds brake.
I don't notice any major drops in pressure at the track but I'm not logging or staring at the gauge all the time through corners.

Welds break and bolts come loose. You decide which has a higher probability of occurring, and if it does occur, which has a more detrimental outcome...

The bolt in kits come with crush washers and torqued to a proper spec I doubt they would ever back out on their own (I didn't weld in my oil pan bolts and I don't think they'll back out :). I like that the bolt in kits don't actually make contact with the oil pan so its not going to rub and make metal shavings that can be sucked up which I think would be more likely for a weld in but that's my 2 cents.

i also run the ballad bolt in baffle, also no issue for 2 years now and no shavings issues

This is key.

You don't need a baffle on an S2000. My car had 3 seasons on Hoosier, frequently tested the oil, and monitored oil pressure/temps. Run an oil cooler and keep your oil topped off. The baffle has the potential to create additional oiling issues. Keep it stock.

Different tracks lead to different oiling issues, not always the same results for everyone. I agree overall though, baffles are more harmful than helpful until you really need it. Have heard multiple storys of 86 guys losing motors and they had baffles, and they probably wouldn't have starved without the pan. There's lots of rushed designs with inadequate drainback.

The blacktrax one seems good and specifically calls out that they have drain back provisions.

My experience is from driving Pocono, Watkins Glen, Thunderbolt, Lightning, Pittrace, Summit Point, Mid-Ohio, Dominion, and VIR and holding lap records at almost all of those on Hoosiers. You don't need a baffle. The blacktrax is like any other baffle (really anti-slosh plate) except they start with a brand new pan and quality install which reduces the likelihood of broken welds. These motors are running 80psi+, these slosh plates slow the return of oil back to the pick up tube.

Don't mess with a good design by Honda. Look closely at the bottom of the ban, there is a circular bump out for the pick up and the pick up is basically kissing the the bottom of pan. You will not oil starve an S2000 as long as you have the proper amount of oil. I've seen many blown motor with and without baffles and with stock and aftermarket pans, the problem is usually always running too low on oil.

Honda knew what they were doing with the oiling system and it is best left alone. My statement is based on years of experience and actually monitoring oil pressure/temps while driving these cars at the limit on race tracks and not just regurgitated information that people have read from other people on the forums.

Hmm... I thought I remembered seeing someone that had logged pressure without a baffle and showed a consistent drop at a long left hand turn but now I'm thinking they're could be a lot of variables at play anyway.

Sickdayracing, you're running an oil cooler so maybe the extra oil in the line helps get you through a corner instead of starving? Or the lower temps keep the oil thicker and it doesn't slosh as much. I saw your video and the pressure looked steadier than mine. I have a digital pressure read out and now I'm curious if my pressure will get steadier after my thermostat opens up to my oil cooler at 200F (I should really just use my camera and record the gauge haha).

Lots of people lost engines to what they suspect was starvation but they could be running on the lower side of the oil range or read the wrong side of the dipstick (the passenger side reads slightly higher).

Installing a baffle that rubs (or has welds break) would be the worst thing you could do, followed by one that didn't allow oil to return but I don't think this would be an issue with the EVS or blacktrax (enough people run these without issues) even if they aren't actually needed.

I installed the EVS since I had to remove my pan to replace the oil jet bolts anyway (MY2000), it was only $100 and I considered the design pretty safe. I'll send out for an oil analyses to check for metal at my next oil change.

If I were in your position OP I would just install a temp and pressure gauge and see if your getting any drops.

Agreed, best thing to do is just have a gauge.

The extra oil in the lines isn't doing anything for the motor. There is a small pressure drop associated with adding an oil cooler.

I have to agree. I have done 35 track days in S2000s and have never run an oil pan baffle. I have had multiple people tell me that I need an oil pan baffle and that my oil light would turn on at certain turns but it never did. In fact, I installed an oil pressure sensor so that I could make a data driven decision about installing an oil pan baffle and I never saw my oil pressure drop below about 60 on sustained high g corners. I'm not slow and I'm running Yokohoma A052s which are cheater tires...

The only reasonable explanation I can think of for people that have oil pressure issues is that their cars aren't robust against common track issues. The same track where people told me they would see their oil light flicker is also where S2000s lose up to half a quart of oil in a single session due to the smoke screen / blowby issue. Since I had just modified my valve cover baffle I wasn't losing any oil during the session, ensuring that my oil level was perfectly fine.

A gauge is good, a data logger is better. Most mortals simply can't dive a car at 10/10ths and also monitor all their gauges mid-corner, you need to review logs while you are not busy driving to begin to understand if you have an oiling issue and how big that oiling issue is.

Before investing in a baffled pan on a tracked S2000, I would invest in a good data logger and sensor. That will help you decide where best to invest other money.

Sorry to revive an old thread, but i figured it would be better than starting a new one. @Soviet , have you ever run at Fontana Autoclub Speedway without an oil baffle? I've been told by HPDE folks that i should install one due to the banked turns.

I have not unfortunately. The closest thing to a long banked turn that I've run is probably the riverside turn at Buttonwillow.

I ran 3 track days there without one - while stock everything a number of years ago - was running 2:03-2:04s. Motor is still alive.

Also ran a good number of track days at Streets of Willow through the bowl without a baffled pan - motor survived. Actually, I'm on around 80 track days now on my original motor. I didn't install a baffled pan until about 30-35 track days in.

That said, I'm not logging data, so I can't tell you anything useful other than that my motor survived 30+ track days at all of the SoCal tracks without a baffled pan, and has so far gone another 50 days with one.

i've got the evasive slosh plate, i've only done 3 track days on it but im logging oil pressure. pressures are all good so far, no pick up issues b/c of it that i can see yet.

I figured since it has been revived that if report back. I went with a Mugen oil pan. I assume it has no negative repercussions but have no data on that. I keep the oil at the H on the dipstick. I have coupled this with a RainH8R vc mod.

I assume Mugen puts out quality parts designed to benefit not hurt the motor, per haps that’s naive but I think they have done their due diligence.

off topic but I burned about a quart of oil in one track day in my 40k mile Ap2 due to smoke screen effect before doing the VC mod. I just did both of these as preventative measures to larger issues.

Cheers!
Casey

Huge thanks for this. There's so much conflicting info out there. I know the baffle helps with piece of mind so it's really up to the owner, but being my first time i'd rather minimize my track prep/costs to basic necessities i.e. fresh oil change, helmet, etc.