Well Hink, Cam and Warren...
As you can see in my avatar pic, I run an IMCA Dirt Modified on 1/4 to 3/8 clay circle tracks. We run 20 all out laps from 3500rpm in the corners to 8000 down the straights.
We run 8 qt flat pans with right side kickout and offest pickup into the kickout. These 7 or 8 qt pans have numerous gated baffles, scrapers and windage trays in them, some costing over $500 with the pickup tube.
Where are you goning to put 8 qts of oil in the top end you ask...? Right out the breather tubes, that's where! There is no place else for it to go other than blow out the valve cover gaskets or out the breather tubes. And No, I do not run screens, tubes or plugs in my galley.
Yes... valve cover gaskets blown-outs are another big problem, even with the high dollar rubber ones with metal laminate in them...
The left valve cover has two tall tubes with K&N breathers on top, on the left bank only.
With everyone on the brink of 8K rpm pushing oil out thru the breathers, most guys are going to a NASCAR style remote breather oil catch can, hosed off completely sealed crankcase and valve covers via -12an fitting and line off the left bank valve cover. The excess oil is then drained out of the catch can after each race. I have been noticing more and more different catch can setups from race parts outlets, because apparenly this is a huge problem for everyone running circle track engines over 7K rpm for long periods of time.
Notice on Hink's engine pic with the oil spraybar tube fittings...?
No valve cover venting...? Hink, where do you vent your crankcase?
It seems that everyone installs the Melling M55-HV (or M77-HV big block pump which only makes matters worse), because nobody wants to chance a stock style pump in a $10k race engine...? (No, we cannot run a dry sump system, our rules don't allow it).
I have even seen several oil filters sucked so hard at high rpm that they collapse/implode, cutting off oil supply until splt second failure at 8K.
I have lost two engines the past five years because of this, the first one using a Fram PH5, then another using a Fram HP4 racing filter. I have thousands of people tell me that is IMPOSSIBLE, and I couldn't hardly believe it myself until it happened to me...TWICE!
Now I use only WIX racing filters.
Guys, one thing I cannot understand... WHY are you messing with drilled out 1/4" plugs, when for a just a couple bucks you can buy proffesionally built screw in oil restrictors with the proper length and o-rings and size for your application from any race parts outlet?????
They make sets specifically for flat tappet, or roller cam setups, and they work exactly the way they should...
Well, bottom line, in all my years experience with high revving circle track engines, alky and fuel alike, is that bottom end oil loss is the #1 reason for catastrophic failure. Valve train failure is #2 because of turning these engines so tight. Now that IMCA is allowing 'after-market' blocks, most everyone is going to the DART SHP or Little M blocks with priority oiling to help eleviate this problem.
Again, Hink, how are YOU breathing your engine...?
Jim