from the search funtion the most common answer i got was with slicks engine is at risk. what about a rs3 style tire? would i still be at risk?or is it once going past a 245 upfront your at risk? i plan on keeping the car long term but never moving up to slicks. track the car 5-6 times a year. thanks

 

You are at risk when your oil pressure datalog tells you that you are at risk.

 

Good question OP. Clearly Honda thinks the car is fine at stock grip levels. How much more grip can be added before this oil pan baffle makes more sense to do?

I'd say if you're running faster than Spec Miata record times for your track, you might want to start considering stuff like that. Otherwise you're not pushing the car hard enough to need it.

 

If you are not losing v-tec under hard cornering then I would just rely on sending oil samples to black stone.

 

Like King Tut said, only datalogging oil pressure will truly indicate whether or not a baffle is needed. I’d be worried with sustained lateral acceleration above ~1G, which will of course depend on the track and setup.

I log oil pressure at 100Hz and have never seen a drop at VIR w/ R-compounds:

 

Fresh RS3s are as grippy as R-compounds... so, consider that.

Also, a baffle won't hurt, it's cheap insurance, even if the grip/driver skill isn't ready to "need" it.

 

a baffled pan is around $300-$500, and another $100 to get it installed if you can't do the work yourself.

A used s2000 motor is around $3000-$4000, and another $1500 or so for labor to get it installed.

If you can't afford a baffled pan, you definitely can't afford a second motor....


To answer the direct question. There are a lot of variables at play for when it's needed.
-Tire compound/suspension/aero - all of which affect your grip levels
-driver skill - how much of those grip levels are you really using
-track configuration (banking, left vs right turns. sequences of turns which cause pooling and sloshing, etc. etc.)

My opinion is that it will be a combination of the three variables above that will have the biggest determination on need.

As for oil logs, my guess is that it will merely tell you at what oil pressure your motor blows up... Before that, you won't know exactly when you need it.

 

this isn't exactly true... Honda thinks its fine at stock grip levels on public roads and maybe a very occasional (which means you won't be going very fast) track day. OEMs don't design cars for constant track use unless its a track special like the Z28 or GT350. and the S2000 is not a track special

 

the S2000 Club Racer, yeah, same oil pan.

 

oh come on, the CR isn't that much of a track special... its just marginally more aggressive...