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shim the oil pump spring?

8377 Views 19 Replies 12 Participants Last post by  RCFRANKY
ok well my dads an old hot rodder and back in the day u could do certan things that u cant do to hondas, ie cutting teeth on syncrohs to make the MT clutchless once rolling. well he asked me to post this question on here for transex, bense, or any other d-series.org god.


Q1: can u shim the spring inside the oil pump housing to rase oil pressure?
Q2: if it will raise oil pressure, wi'll the raised oil pressure cause any problems with lubrication, or create any other problem?
Q3: will the raised oil pressure( if it does work) effect vtec in any way


thanks u. it might be a dumb question but this is the only place i can go to ask questions and not get laughed at

Daniel
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yes u can shim the oil pump spring but it will not benifit u at all that was something that people thought would help u and it donst more oil flow is what u want high oil pressure is not a preformance enhancer.

portNpolish ur oild pump if nething!

RC
im not trying to gain hp by getting more oil pressure just more oil pessure for lubrication purposes only
my pump is shimmed and ported just for insurance. when running a motor to the extreme little details can lead to failure if not addressed right away. its always good to play it safe. a motor is only as strong as its weakest part.
so apparently shimming is a good thing? what did u guys use to shim it with and how thick of a shim was used?
spare snap ring I had laying around, 10 seconds on a grinder = one .030" oil shim.
I don't think it's necessary, or even beneficial to shim Honda oilpumps.
From my experience with D15 and D16, oil pressure is so high even stock that I wouldn't increase it anymore. You should port your oil pump, see what Endyn does for them.

My pump; http://rushi.kapsi.fi/pics/d16z6/oilpump/
I had the oil pump ported/shimmed. I got too much oil pressure now, especially on a cold start. With temps around 45-50 was getting 100psi++. The autometer gauge doesnt read that high it actually went all the way around and hit zero LOL... After a minute or so it would settle to around 90psi at a 1200-1300 idle. Fully hot after a few runs, it'd be normal with about 30psi at idle. I would still see 90psi+ at WOT which is too high so next i'll try to remove the shim...
Port your oil pump FTW. That will do the job just fine. I did mine a few years ago and still works great.
I dont know if this would work, but you could put some washers on the mount that holds the pickup tub. Put about 5 washers on each side and it would push it down in the oil pan more.
I had the oil pump ported/shimmed. I got too much oil pressure now, especially on a cold start. With temps around 45-50 was getting 100psi++. The autometer gauge doesnt read that high it actually went all the way around and hit zero LOL... After a minute or so it would settle to around 90psi at a 1200-1300 idle. Fully hot after a few runs, it'd be normal with about 30psi at idle. I would still see 90psi+ at WOT which is too high so next i'll try to remove the shim...
The reason that some people want to shim the pump for more pressure is you can run thinner oil and still have good oil pressure. The thinner oil will flow through the motor faster(very good on startup)and get into even the smallest places. The thinner oil moving at a higher speed will also help cool the motor. If you are having trouble with the pressure being too high, try running oil that is one grade thinner than what you are using now. I think you will be surprised what a difference it makes.
Port your oil pump FTW. That will do the job just fine. I did mine a few years ago and still works great.

You did?? I don't ever recall you mentioning that. Wish I would have known
spare snap ring I had laying around, 10 seconds on a grinder = one .030" oil shim.


thank you guys for all ure help im going to go with the shim thickness that transex posted do to his knowledge, experience and his power of google. and as motor oil i like to run mobil 1 10w30 in summer and 5w30in winter. any other ideas comments are welcome.
btw sikocivic i rep u, thanks
I had the oil pump ported/shimmed. I got too much oil pressure now, especially on a cold start. With temps around 45-50 was getting 100psi++. The autometer gauge doesnt read that high it actually went all the way around and hit zero LOL... After a minute or so it would settle to around 90psi at a 1200-1300 idle. Fully hot after a few runs, it'd be normal with about 30psi at idle. I would still see 90psi+ at WOT which is too high so next i'll try to remove the shim...
Woah! With no shim I might get 80 when its about 20 degrees out, and when warmed up 10psi idle, 60-65psi WOT 4000rpm+.

I'm gonna have to look into this cuz my y8 doesn't get crap for oil pressure.
I woudn't shim a pre 96 pump, they work just fine like Honda wanted them too.

The 96-00, well those leave alot to be desired.
Thanks for the heads up Trans. I'll def test it with the shim removed in spring. Race Kaa is stored for the winter now...

Just as a side note, with my ol' Race A1, i did some experimenting with a few different oils/viscosities and made a few observations, iirc off the top of my head:

Motul 8100 10-50 synth at around 60F track-side temp.
-After one 20 minute track session, oil pressure at around 70psi
-At the end of the day after 4th session, pressure wouldnt go past 60psi
-Oil temp gauge busted was waiting for a new one...

Same oil at the next autocross
-After 4-6 runs (2 drivers) oil pressure [email protected], water temp 200F

Castrol GTX 10w40 at around 75F trackside temp
-Fresh oil, after first 20 min session, 70psi, oil temp 250F, water temp 220
-After the third session [email protected], 220F water temp

Same oil a week or two later at an autocross
-After 4-6 runs (2 drivers): Oil pressure [email protected] , water temp 200


Castrol GTX 20W50 at around 75-80F track temp

-After two 20 minute sessions (full cooldown in between of course) was still getting [email protected], water temp around 220F

-At the autcross [email protected], water temp 220F


When the engine blew, i was running 10W40 GTX on a 50F day at Devens NT. I even remember saying to myself how good the engine was feeling just as i was lining up in grid and blipping the throttle. Then BOOM!!! right at the finish line...LOL
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You did?? I don't ever recall you mentioning that. Wish I would have known
I did it when the turbo went in for the first time.
I don't think it's necessary, or even beneficial to shim Honda oilpumps.
From my experience with D15 and D16, oil pressure is so high even stock that I wouldn't increase it anymore. You should port your oil pump, see what Endyn does for them.

My pump; Index of /pics/d16z6/oilpump
I saw the this photos and others like it, and in my opinion the important is to port the inlet of the pump so that when rev/high rpm there is no lack of oil to the pump. The pump should not be in any time starved of oil.

Ex. - A pump with a debt of 1 ltr / 1000 RPM, will "ask for" 1ltr, and flow 1ltr
, the same pump at 2000RPM will ask for 2ltr, and all the way like this, as we like to run in high rpm its better to the pump that the inlet is free as possible.

Porting at the pressure side, IMO, is not necessary or important as you only port the pump itself, for a significant "notice about" we would have to port the all block,this is hypothetically speaking, so that oil flow through with no resistence at all .

As for the shimming/pressure, i think if the pressure is enough there is no need to increase it, the shimming will only get your MAX pressure higher, it will not raise your pressure.

As i'm at this forum essencially for the turbo setups, soon i'll start mine, i dont know if we need to have a higher pressure to feed the turbo, wich i think we dont.

Feel free to argue my opinion. :bigok:
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