Oil pan baffles require replacement?

[VL3X]

The Evora 430 (UK) and Evora GT (US) feature a baffled oil pan system to prevent oil starvation during high G cornering. The gate flaps in the GT are rubber and require replacement every 2 years. I assume this design carried over to the Emira. Can anyone confirm? Possibly the dealers have it noted in the maintenance schedule.

The flaps themselves are ~$15 each but requires dropping (obviously) and disassembling the oil pan. Something to keep in mind for your Emira.

More info on this here: https://www.lotustalk.com/threads/oil-pan-baffles.535839/

 

[kitkat]

That doesn't sound like fun to replace.

 

[Concept24]

What if you don't track the car?

 

[KJD]

Pretty sure the Emira doesn’t have the baffled sump.

There’s no mention of it in the service notes which describe an Evora 400 type standard sump.

I also seem to remember it’s painted bright red so should be easy to tell.

Doesn’t need it anyway. Only got 400 horsepower. 😁

 

[VL3X]

Pretty sure the Emira doesn’t have the baffled sump.

There’s no mention of it in the service notes which describe an Evora 400 type standard sump.

I also seem to remember it’s painted bright red so should be easy to tell.

Doesn’t need it anyway. Only got 400 horsepower. 😁

Yeah, I'm not sure. I know the GTs had the red pan from the factory but I remember reading something about the upgraded sump system being recommended for all Evoras eventually. It would be nice to get confirmation about the Emira.

 

[Porter]

The image of the detached pan in the service notes is sort of weirdly blank in the middle. It's possible that it has a flat plate horizontal baffle? That would explain the flat blank look of the image, if it was actually showing a flat baffle plate that goes full width.

See:

The service manual illustration showing the underside of the pan looks more formed, and twice the depth:

So, no idea what's actually there without dropping a pan on an actual car to take a look.

 

[Nova]

Why couldn't the baffle be made out of metal?

 

[kitkat]

Why couldn't the baffle be made out of metal?

You can think of this as just a valve to slow down the flow of oil moving in and out of the area where the oil pickup is. It could be made of metal but it’s probably harder to design, more expensive to fabricate, and heavier.

 

[TomE]

I’d be surprised if it’s baffled on the Emira. It’s only on the Evora GT430 and GT, not the other 4xx cars and it’s not mentioned in the Emira service notes or schedule.

 

[Porter]

I’d be surprised if it’s baffled on the Emira. It’s only on the Evora GT430 and GT, not the other 4xx cars and it’s not mentioned in the Emira service notes or schedule.

If it's baffled, it's likely permanent metal baffle structure in the pan, not the gated baffles like the "red" pan. I'm personally not a fan of gated baffles on a street car anyway, too many ways that they can go wrong without appropriate maintenance. Plus, if a car is being used in race conditions where a fixed baffle setup is insufficient, it's probably better to convert the thing to dry sump.

That being said, there are nice upgraded baffled oil pan kits that should fit the Emira (they fit the Evora) from Lotus Motorsport, Moroso, and others. The Lotus Motorsport one looks like a work of art, their p/n ALS5E0147J.

There's even a baffle kit that you can add to the factory oil pan for only $160 that likely gives much of the benefit of the "red" pan. I have no idea regarding quality. https://wilhelmraceworks.com/2gr-baffle


Honestly though, if there are fixed baffles in the factory oil pan it may be quite effective to just add a pre-oiler like an Accusump, rather than chasing a passive solution.

Accusump Accumulator

For over 25 years the simplicity and effectiveness of the Accusump has made it the accepted method for providing more continuous oiling and adding longevity to road race and drag race engines. Today supplying oil pressure to the engine before startup for the purpose of pre-lubricating engine...

www.cantonracingproducts.com

 

[VL3X]

Here are pics of the baffled pan:

 

[Porter]

Here are pics of the baffled pan:

Looks like the red Evora pan? That is different from the Lotus Motorsport one.

 

[VL3X]

Looks like the red Evora pan? That is different from the Lotus Motorsport one.

Correct. That's the OEM Evora GT pan.

 

[Martylemoo]

Any news regarding the baffled sump? Dave at seriouslylotus seems to think it is baffled from the factory.

If it’s not baffled then I will be fitting one but it could be an expensive operation to find out it already has one fitted.

 

[Porter]

Any news regarding the baffled sump? Dave at seriouslylotus seems to think it is baffled from the factory.

If it’s not baffled then I will be fitting one but it could be an expensive operation to find out it already has one fitted.

Not expensive at all, during an oil change you can thread a fiberotic inspection wand up through the drain plug hole, and take a look. They're literally well under 100 bucks nowadays on Amazon if you don't know someone who owns one already.

 

[VL3X]

Any news regarding the baffled sump? Dave at seriouslylotus seems to think it is baffled from the factory.

If it’s not baffled then I will be fitting one but it could be an expensive operation to find out it already has one fitted.

The current Emira pan is not baffled. It's sealed from Toyota and Lotus doesn't touch it.

 

[Martylemoo]

Would this fit if it’s a standard sump? https://wilhelmraceworks.com/shop/2GR-FE-Oil-Pan-Baffle-p572321964

 

[VL3X]

Would this fit if it’s a standard sump? https://wilhelmraceworks.com/shop/2GR-FE-Oil-Pan-Baffle-p572321964

It should. I ended up buying the Moroso pan with metal gates for my Evora GT.

 

[VL3X]

I started the Moroso install today and the OEM gates looked fine. More details in my journal post here.

 

[Speedy Emira]

Doesn’t need it anyway. Only got 400 horsepower. 😁

The Emira is mega aerodynamic and cuts through the air so fast the oil doesn’t have the chance to move around. 🤣