Causes of low oil pressure, na vs turbo
 

Got the turbo all installed this past friday and noticed the oil pressure was much lower. Fixed a few leaking items thinking that could be the culprit. However my pressure is still a bit lower driving around turbo vs pre turbo.

I dont have any before pictures but here is now
Attachment 213047
Attachment 213048
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...r/DSC07763.jpg

Oil temp gauge is still not installed although the oil was not super hot, car had been sitting for about a hr before drive.

Before the turbo i would see about 40 psi driving and hwy driving i now see 30 and possibly lower. At idle i would never go below 20 ish and i feel its below that maybe 15?

There is a 5* uphill bend due to a slightly unlevel tap treading in the oil drain line. Could this cause low oil pressure and should i be worried?

Are you still losing oil like you were at first?

At idle, that's actually about where mine is with the greddy kit.

at idle mines a little higher and driving mines around 60, try a "heavier" oil and I have greddy to just my .02

No, i think that bolt must have fixed the majority of it. I now find a few drops in the garage floor coming from an unknown location. Not loosing alot like we had thought.

What pressures do you see while driving, i cant even seam to get mine to rise past 35-40 ish at 8 psi

Not sure but next time I drive it ill pay more attention and let you know. Try finding the source of that little bit of oil, even though it probably won't really help your oil pressure

Nick, take your bellypan off until the oil leaks are sorted out. Any oil that does leak is going to collect and drip from one place; without that pan you will be able to pinpoint leaks earlier. Going to a heavier-weight oil is a bandaid fix.

I was just saying that cause I had the same problem with no oil leaks and Fixed it with heavier oil

looks exactly like mine right now....but this is a new car and i didn't note where it was before i started fooling around with it.

That doesn't look bad, mine acts the same way, albeit no turbo, but it is a very well known fact that our OP gauges are not exactly accurate.

i understand that it may not be accurate, however it has a change of about 10 psi in two days since the turbo install.

Ill take the bellypan off and continue to look for leaks

It's normal. You have added a path of least resistance in parallel with your bearings which is the turbo. So your pressure will drop as the pump hits the relief valve and maintains a particular pressure. You can add a heavier oil or shim the pump for higher pressure but my new built motor with a turbo and oil cooler doesn't seem more than 40psi at redline at the main gallery.

how much of a pressure drop is normal

What you are seeing looks normal. The question is, has anyone contacted FM about this because most cars running the FM kit and oil cooler have this problem.

Spec says they shoot for 38psi at redline and claim that 33psi or below at redline = engine damage.

Just FYI, this is mine from today... a bit higher than yours.

Attachment 213009

Attachment 213010

Yours is about the same as mine

Is that on fully warm oil? What viscosity and type?

Going to a 15w50 will bump up the pressure. FM says your pressure is nothing to worry about as is however.