glasgow Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 Hello all. Was just reading the recent thread on oil https://www.lotus7.club/forum/techtalk/oil-7?page=1 and it made me wonder if I am using the right oil for my 2003, 1.8L, K engine. I "think" (but not sure) it is not vvc.I use comma 5w-50 and the car is used for road and blats. However, I notice a couple of things during recent blats:A) when the oil temp rises to let's say above 95C, I notice the oil pressure drops to 1.8 or 1.7psi on idle. (If oil temp is less than 92C, oil pressure on idle is 2psi or above)B) after hard driving in blats sometimes I hear some slapping noise on idling. This doesn't happen after every blat and certainly not with normal road driving.Are these normal observations or the oil is too thin? Could this be related to the removal of the sump foam baffle and may be the 2 modification holes in the gasket are not enough for corner acceleration? Car has wet sump and the oil pressure during driving range between 4-5psi. Is 5w-50 the correct oil for me?Regards Ahmed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM25T Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 Ahmed .... I hope you mean bar ... not psi !! The VVC engine has an extra timing belt at the rear of the engine ... And part of the VVC mechanism on top of the engine at the front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM25T Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 Do you have an Apollo tank ... vertical cylindrical tank at the front of the engine .... this gives another 2 litres of oil to help feed the bearings during acceleration and cornering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glasgow Posted October 23, 2017 Author Share Posted October 23, 2017 Hi Ian. Sorry meant ant to say bar. No extra timing belt at the rear of the engineno apollo tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glasgow Posted October 23, 2017 Author Share Posted October 23, 2017 There is a sticker on rear of the car says X-Power. (Whatever this means ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM25T Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 When I bought my car, I was told it was related to the higher spec engines from MG at the time ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sussex Mid AR Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 Please post a photo of your engine so we can be sure if VVC or not. Oil required does change! Julian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glasgow Posted October 24, 2017 Author Share Posted October 24, 2017 https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2947/15385443095_4b034aed38_c.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4474/37874947582_877119af4c_c.jpg https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3880/15385442855_afdb87d817_c.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glasgow Posted October 24, 2017 Author Share Posted October 24, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM25T Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 As we determined yesterday .... It is not a VVC .... So 5W-50 oil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlesElliott Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 I agree with 5W-50.A) when the oil temp rises to let's say above 95C, I notice the oil pressure drops to 1.8 or 1.7psi on idle. (If oil temp is less than 92C, oil pressure on idle is 2psi or above)This sounds normal pressure behaviour. How hot does the oil get?B) after hard driving in blats sometimes I hear some slapping noise on idling. This doesn't happen after every blat and certainly not with normal road driving.Slapping? I would suggest a slapping noise would come from some engine ancillary or vibration. Is it slapping and not tapping? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlesElliott Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 And when was the oil last changed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave J Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 slapping after a hard blat ??....... leave the mrs at home and see if it happens again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elan_fan Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 The oil pressure sender is notoriously unreliable. Mine never used to show much on tickover when hot. It shot up when the engine was revved. Pressure is fine on the gauge now i'm using a mechanical gauge. The gearbox rattles a bit when hot at idle, that might be the slapping noise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glasgow Posted October 24, 2017 Author Share Posted October 24, 2017 thank you folks. Slapping may not be the correct word. My English is not my mother tongue so i asked Mrs Glasgow who said ticking may be a better word to use.I did some youtube search and found the engine sound in this clip very similar to my engine sound after some blatting. I have digital SPA digital oil gauge which is supposed to be very accurate in measuring the pressure and the temp.Temp on normal driving is around 88C. on blat usually around 92 but can go on occasions to 98,99 or even 102C on very odd occasions.Oil is changed regularly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sussex Mid AR Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 As others have said, that's not a VVC. 5W50 fully synthetic Comma Motorsport oil IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlesElliott Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 Sorry, didn’t mean to criticise your English. I don’t recognise the noise in the YouTube clip though. As the K series has hydraulic tappets, if the oil gets aerated then it can create ticking noises. The Apollo is designed to remove the aeration. Also, if your oil level is high/too high then the crank will be thrashing in it which increases the aeration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glasgow Posted October 25, 2017 Author Share Posted October 25, 2017 Charles, no need to apologies I was just joking about my English No particular noise in the clip it is just how the engine sounds. After some baltting I experienced the engine having similar sound to the engine in the clip (I edited my text in post 15 to try make it clear)So is areation danger? I am not really keen to do modification, is it ok to leave it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadsport06 Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 Apollo would be worthwhile. The sump is very shallow on the Caterham k series. It will help to some degree with oil starvation in the sump as well as expelling air from the oil (oil+air isn't as good for lubricating as just oil). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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