We have already discussed ways to improve your carter. We have kept one improvement for a separate post; the accumulator. In this post we will tell you how an accumulator works and what the advantages are.
We have already told you the importance of supplying the oil pump with oil at all times. We hebben al verteld dat het van groot belang is om de oliepomp ten alle tijden te voorzien van olie. The best thing you can do is install a dry sump, but this is also the most expensive option. It might be possible that you do not have the budget for a dry sump engine build. If thats the case, then an accumulator is the way to go. An accumulator is not called the 'poor man's dry sump' for nothing.
An accumulator works pretty easy. When you corner brake hard the oil in the sump wil slosh. It might be that for a small moment the oilpump will not be getting an oil pickup. Because of this there will be a bit of air in the oil channel and this is not good for the lubrication of the engine. The accumulator is nothing more than a separate pressurised chamber. the accumulator holds oil untill the pressure drops in the sump. as soon as this happens it pumps oil back to the engine and starts again with refilling the chamber. This all can happen in a few milliseconds.
There are two kinds of accumulators. A gravity assisted accumulator and a piston based accumulator. the gravity based accumulator must be mounted rather high and vertically. A piston based accumulator can be mounted in any way. You can switch the accumulator on automatically or you can do it manually. A lot of racers prefer to do it manually because this way they can have oil pressure before the engine has even started.
Another way you can use accumulators for is cooling turbo's. This way it releases oil in the turbo lines after the engine stopped. You can also have separate accumulators for the engine and the turbos but in this case the turboplumbing should be rerouted. This way the accumulator does not need a shut off valve when the engine is turned off.
Sometimes you can hear racing cars rev their cars one more time before they get turned off. This is not because it is 'cool' but because they can increase the pressure this way before shutting off the accumulator. This way it is ready to be used again in the next round.
The easiest way to install an accumulator is to use a sandwichplate for an oil filter relocation or oilcooler for example. This way you can install the accumulator within one hour.
An accumulator is a pretty cheap way to insure a constant oil supply. Besides this it is also easy to install. In case you do not have the budget for a dry sump this is the way to go.
Klik hier om bericht in nederlands te lezen