it just came to my attention that my oil pressure fluctuates as i drive the car...is this normal or is something wrong? i will tell ya that i do have an oil mod on the engine to safely increase the oil pressure. i appreciate any help.

 

Well depending on what RPM you're at, it fluctuates as the engine speed increases, decreases. This is normal. Below 30psi at 3,000 RPM = death though...

 

Normal.

It should be around 30psi at idle and go up to around 60psi.

 

Yes, totally normal. At low RPMs, the oil pump does not spin fast enough to maintain a high oil pressure. At higher RPMs, the oil pressure is regulated by the regulator and it should be pretty steady...

Questions like this are why car manufacturers are no longer installing real gauges...

 

thank you very much. this info eases my mind!

 

mind barely reads at idle once its warm, normal?

 

^ Could be a problem or could be bad gauge.

 

I just got my Oil Pressure gauge replaced with one that actually works. The gauge sits at a decent amount of psi during idle. Once i begin to drive it fluctuates (as discussed) but it goes above 60 and near to the point of 100? This is usually between 3000+ RPM.

As i drive on the freeway going at about 70-80mph at 3000-3400 RPM (if not more) its at that high psi amount too. Is there anything i should be concerned if not looking into?

 

You lilely have a FD oil pressure regulator, it's a 9Xpsi regulator. Mine reads 90ish at 3k or higher.

 

I see, I am not sure if I have an FD regulator. But is there any other possible culprit to this? Reason being that... the car never really had any major performance upgrades and i dont believe to have an FD regulator.

Thanks!

 

Mine varies each time i drive the car what pressure it's at, between 51 and 65 i guess at cruise and 70 and 100 at WOT at high rpms. I just the the stock gauge is crap since most of my gauges dont work right anyway.

 

Mine's read 110 before and I don't have an FD oil pressure regulator. My stock gauge just has... issues...

 

People put too much thought into oil pressure. It varys widely based on the thickness of oil you run, temperature, etc.

Do you have oil pressure? If the answer is yes, then you're fine. You should see above 50 PSI at 3K. More if the regulator has been modified.

If you are crazy like me and have the Weber jet eccentric shaft mod, then 25-30 PSI on light oil (10W30) at 3K is normal, less then 10 PSI at idle and then normal pressure at high RPMs...Running a thicker oil is a must.

 

wouldn't the weber mod causing low oil pressure be a bad thing?

 

only time i had a problem was when the oil control seals went.

 

Oh, yea i see what your saying. But the thing is, this is my first experience with an Oil Pressure gauge, and considering i just got it repaired/replaced. I was wondering what was causing it, and if its something i should of taken a look at.

Now i see that its no problem, as long as i have pressure its ok. Well thanks you guys!

 

That's why it's not for street use. The NA oil pump is smaller then the TII pump so if you run the Weber jets you will have low oil pressure at low RPMs. It's annoying, but not really harmful. I just need to get a thicker oil in there at some point...With the TII pump, the effects are not as dramatic.

The Weber mod is really for high RPM engines as it greatly increases the cooling oil spray to the inside of the rotors. I did it on my engine basically "just because".