What it's for: A tray benefits the performance of practically any engine by improving oil control. Besides the potential for increased power through diminished windage losses, reliability at high rpm is also enhanced, since the tray helps keep oil from getting up in the crank instead of in the sump where the oil pump needs it. Some high-end race pans are designed with baffling and built-in windage-control and should not be run with a separate windage tray.
Installation: Some trays sandwich between the pan and block, but most bolt over the main caps with either a special cap screw, or a stud kit designed to accommodate the tray. The clearance to the rotating assembly must be checked (typically 0.100 inch minimum) and adjusted as required.
Price: Trays start at just over $20, with most in the $50 range, and more elaborate designs at about $100
What it is: Crank scraperWhat it does: Some oil will always cling to the spinning crank, and a crank scraper is a simple device to strip the bulk of it off. Mounted to the passenger-side pan rail, the scraper is a sheetmetal shroud matched closely to the profile of the spinning crank and rods. As the counterweights and rods come past, the scraper deflects the bulk of the oil clinging to the rotating components.
What it's for: Properly installed, a crank scraper is another tool to improve oil control that can equal cheap gains in output in even a moderate-rpm street/strip application
Installation: The scraper bolts onto the block at the pan rail on the passenger side of the engine. Crank scrapers generally must be custom-fitted and profiled for about 0.045-inch clearance to the crank and rods. A die grinder is the best tool for the profiling.
Price: About $10 retail and a few hour's work to fit it
What it is: Hardened oil-pump drive
What it does: Transfers the drive torque from the camshaft/distributor gear to turn the oil pump
What it's for: In a performance application, the stock oil-pump drive can break with disastrous results. Performance drives are made of hardened chrome-moly steel to minimize the potential for failure. Some have non-stock drive arrangements to match specific performance oil pumps, such as hex-drive Chevy small-block drives to replace the weaker stock slot drive. Shown here is a Milodon 440 drive with a bronze gear for use with a roller cam.
Installation: Like the stocker
Price: Under $20 for a Chevy- or Ford-style drive, to over $100 for units that carry a gear
What it is: Lifter-valley baffle
What it does: Keeps hot oil from splashing the underside of the intake manifold. It also prevents lifters from flying out of their bores in the event of a valvetrain failure, which can uncover the oil gallery and result in a loss of oil pressure and lead to engine failure. Not a mandatory item, but in some cases it's a worthy addition.
Installation: Drilling and tapping is required for the mounting bolts
Price: $30
What it is: Pan baffle
What it does: Mounts under the oil pump on a Chevy V-8 and keeps the oil from climbing the rear of the pan and getting caught up in the crank under hard acceleration
Installation: Sandwiches between the main cap and oil pump
Price: $6 to $7
What it is: Performance oil pan
What it does: A lot more than just hold oil. There are pans specifically designed for most wet-sump performance applications, from road race to circle track to drag or street performance. The objective is to provide capacity and control under the conditions it was designed to operate in.