In practice, the Billet Fabrication check ball invention is most definitely unique. In place of the traditional swinging trap door at the forward edge of the oil pan sump, Johnston devised a system where five large diameter check ball tubes are installed in place of the trap door. Under hard braking, the check balls contained within the tubes slam forward into a seat (each check ball tube has a machined seat). When the ball is seated, a positive seal is created, and there is no way for oil to move away from the sump. Under acceleration, the check balls slam backwards, allowing oil to freely move into the sump area of the pan. Essentially, this is a simple solution to an old problem. But the execution was likely much more difficult than the brainstorm. Johnston had to come up with check balls that were of the right mass to offset the weight of the oil. Too heavy and they might not react quickly enough. Too light and the forces of oil would overcome them. He also had to figure out a way to keep the check or "baffle" balls positively in place. Finally, he had to work out an arrangement where the baffle balls could be positively seated.
The system consists of five check or baffle balls located by an equal number of baffle tubes (although Johnston did experiment with a larger and a smaller number of baffle tubes and different baffle ball dimensions). Once the weight, size and number of the check ball was determined, Billet Fabrication had to figure out a way to easily install and remove the check balls, and at the same time, keep them from falling out. The answer was relatively simple: A pin, similar to a good old-fashioned cotter key runs through each of the tubes (on the sump side). Once removed, the check balls can be taken out of the tubes and of course, easily reinstalled. The pin configuration obviously keeps the check ball from falling out under acceleration. Essentially a simple but elegant solution.
The next small hurdle Johnston had to face was the exact location of the check ball tubes coupled with a method of positively securing the tubes inside the pan. Basically, the new pan baffle arrangement took the place of the final swinging trap door baffle in the oil pan. A bulkhead of sorts was designed, and five baffle tubes were affixed to the piece. In turn, the bulkhead replaced the conventional swinging door baffle. In production, Billet Fabrication offers the baffle ball configuration as an option on a number of production pans (one piece and two piece). And yes, they still offer the traditional swinging trap door pan arrangement. By the way: From the outside, it's impossible to decipher if the pan has the high tech baffle arrangement or not.
Screening The Windage…
 Many of Billet Fabrication’s pans are engineered with oil pan windage screens (shown here). Some well-known engine builders prefer to use no screen, but in many of those cases, the oil pan is very large. See the text for more information. |
Windage trays in one form or another have been around for roughly forty years. Some are solid. Some are fabricated from screen material. Johnston’s pans use them in many applications, but there’s pretty good evidence to prove they aren’t mandatory in all applications. Jeff notes that a kickout-style pan may do a more-effective job of keeping the oil off the crankshaft than a windage tray or screen. One prominent engine builder (and also a Billet Fabrication customer), Ken Duttweiler, believes that, in certain applications, a screen can excessively inhibit oil flow back down to the sump — keeping more of it up near the crank than is desirable.
Drag-racing-veteran Bill Maropulos also points out that he has realized dyno-verified power gains after taking the screen out when using a pan with a large (high) kickout. Maropulos also states that after beginning with perhaps eight to nine quarts of oil in a large pan, and then cutting back to six quarts resulted in more power on the dyno. Dropping to four quarts in the pan proved even more remarkable: The engine saw improvements in the range of 25 to 30 horsepower. Yikes!
Now, Johnston is quick to emphasize these experiments were conducted on a (very) stationary dyno -- not in a racecar going down the track. There are, however a couple of things that help make power inside the oil pan: Keep the oil as far from the crankshaft as possible and use a larger pan so that you provide room to increase the area for crankcase pressure to dissipate. In truth both of these conditions are enhanced by decreasing the volume of oil in the pan, but as Johnston points out, there are limits:
Billet Fabrication doesn’t recommend draining half the oil out of the pan before you venture out on the track. Johnston recommends that if you decide to experiment, do so in gradually. Use a high quality (reliable) oil pressure gauge and keep an exceptionally close eye on the gauge at all times (particularly when you hit the brakes). He also recommends you keep a twitchy finger on the kill switch!
So how much oil should you run in the pan? Here’s Jeff’s advice: “To determine and verify the oil capacity of any pan, position the pan so that the rails are level. Fill the pan with water, in one-quart increments, until the fluid reaches the top of the baffle bulkheads. The amount of water required is the oil capacity of your pan. Note too that oil capacity follows the size of the kickout, with the four-inch maximum allowing 11 quarts to reside in a wet-sump pan.”