Dry Sump and a Wet Clutch

[Greg]

I was wondering, for those who run a dry sump, do you do anything to accommodate your wet clutch?

We spoke to a motorcycle mechanic about running a dry sump, and that was one of his main issues with it.

Thanks

[jack]

we dump hot oil from the turbo all over it...seems to do the trick http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

[Matthew]

I have to belive the oiling system has provisions for keeping the clutch oiled, so long as you have not altered the gallerys or anything drastic - and it is definatly not as thought the clutch is at the bottom of the sump soaking in oil. We had a dry sump and no clutch problems.

[Handles]

i agree with matthew....afaik the 'wet clutch' refers to the clutch plates being wet with the oil, not necessarily swimming in the sump, which would cause its own inherent problems with the oil becoming aerated and also causing drag on the engine
if the oil level is as high as your clutch plates with a wet sump, then i think youll be running into a whole lot of other problems....

[vinHonda]

We also run dry sump w/ no clutch problems. But interesting that someone brought that up. I think the Honda drips some oil onto the clutch, and that's all it needs....agreed with Handles, it shouldnt' be swimming in oil.

Cheers

Vinh

[Charlie]

On the F4/F4i it is fed oil through the center of the transmission through the pin.

[Sam]

we have run a dry sump and the standard wet clutch for thre years now with no problems. Honda F3

[Mark100]

Any motorcycle engine that I have ever had open has holes in the shaft or the bearing journal to allow oil to get to the back of the clutch hub. The clutch hub has holes in it which allow oil to get to the clutch plates. The oil then escapes in the gaps between the friction pads. Sometimes some people will add more holes to allow more oiling to the clutch plates for cooling purposes. For an FSAE car, I don't see the need for that, especially with a lot of teams using clutchless shifting.

Furthermore, in a dry sump, there is still oil in the bottom and it is hitting the clutch and sloshing around. A "dry sump" does not really mean there is no oil in the sump, nor does it mean there is no oil sloshing whatsoever.