Interest in an aftermarket oil pan?

yoshimitsuspeed
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Interest in an aftermarket oil pan?

Postby yoshimitsuspeed » Thu May 30, 2013 3:16 pm

In my interest threads this is probably one of the bigger more interesting projects that has gotten some attention.
I also found this thread which looks like it ended up falling though in the end despite having a decent bit of interest.
http://forums.club4ag.com/zerothread?id=107929&page=3

I could make steel pans as discussed in that thread and or TIG welded aluminum pans. Since I enjoy playing in CAD and need whatever work I can get right now the initial development costs will be considerably less than Moroso's.
If we managed to get good enough volume my per piece cost should be competitive as well.
Post up your interest level here.
I am primarily interested in three levels of interest.

Would probably buy it within a year of it being available
Would definitely buy it as soon as it was available
Would go in on a group buy right now to make this happen

Also as within that thread, if anyone could spread this around to other boards I'm not on in order to gain more interest that would be great.

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Re: Interest in an aftermarket oil pan?

Postby gaijin_rokurunner » Sat Jun 01, 2013 4:47 am

That was my custom pan...think u should stick to steel as aluminums properties start to break down over time of contant heating and cooling and will eventually start to crack at the welds... Also aluminum cant take a hit on the street as well as steel can...some advice man because ive seen alot of your post is dont invest to much into this community as you will end up folding like multiple vendors and "shops" before you including myself. This is a cult community meaning its very small and moat people dont invest or purchase big ticket stuff...young people no money and theres only a few of us here that push the bubble but we all custom make our own stuff...cars just to old brother
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Re: Interest in an aftermarket oil pan?

Postby oldeskewltoy » Sat Jun 01, 2013 8:55 am

http://www.hachiroku.net/forums/showthread.php?t=22556

although it won't work on a transverse application.... the one from Japan(with the square extra sump) will
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Re: Interest in an aftermarket oil pan?

Postby yoshimitsuspeed » Sat Jun 01, 2013 9:55 am

gaijin_rokurunner wrote:That was my custom pan...think u should stick to steel as aluminums properties start to break down over time of contant heating and cooling and will eventually start to crack at the welds... Also aluminum cant take a hit on the street as well as steel can...some advice man because ive seen alot of your post is dont invest to much into this community as you will end up folding like multiple vendors and "shops" before you including myself. This is a cult community meaning its very small and moat people dont invest or purchase big ticket stuff...young people no money and theres only a few of us here that push the bubble but we all custom make our own stuff...cars just to old brother


Thanks for the input. Looking at the end of that thread it appears the group buy never went through, is that correct?
Going off that assumption I am surprised more people haven't jumped in this thread.

I figured steel would be the way to go, especially for the depth of this communities wallet. If the interest was there though I would be more than happy to make an aluminum pan.
What you say about aluminum is somewhat true but it depends on a lot of variables. AL blocks, heads and valve covers generally last hundreds of thousands of miles with no issue. Many manufacturers have used AL OEM pans and they seem to last forever unless they get hit or the dumbass at the quicklube overtightens the bolt. Steel can flex a lot further a lot more times before fatiguing but AL would still have to be moving quite a bit to fatigue and fail.
I am sure it would be more common for an AL pan but it still shouldn't be common.

I also appreciate the input for my business. I have been around these boards long enough to know I'm not going to get rich trying to offer support for these communities.
Supporting the Aw11/AExx and 4AGE communities has always been more of a side project/hobby. The main focus of my business is custom fab, R&D and prototyping. Locally I focus on custom fab and welding and repair. This was never meant to be a primary source of income. It did seem like a logical supplement income since I know the cars, I know the motors and I have a ton of 4AGE stuff everywhere so mocking up parts, prototyping and making one off parts is about as easy as it could be. Unfortunately the welding, fab and everything else has also been so slow this winter I have been forced to look for income anywhere I can find it.
Although I am quite used to it at this point it can definitely still be frustrating when you see so many threads of people complaining about unavailability of replacement parts, aftermarket support, custom parts, etc etc. Yet when you try to put something together no one can actually rub two quarters together to make something happen. The best thing I have going for me is I have insanely low overhead and operating costs. I can afford to make one offs that are close to competitive with high end production parts and low run production parts that are reasonably competitive with some of the more affordable parts. You would think if anyone could at least break even here I should be able to.

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Re: Interest in an aftermarket oil pan?

Postby Rogue-AE95 » Sat Jun 01, 2013 11:38 am

I know someday I'll be contacting you about a turbo manifold for my build. I think we were sending PM back & forth on the previous C4AG forum. Oil pan with more volume might interest me, especially now that I'm doing a turbo build. But I have a transverse setup in my AE95, and not a lot of spare room to work with in the engine bay.
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Re: Interest in an aftermarket oil pan?

Postby Deuce Cam » Sun Jun 02, 2013 10:47 am

I remember someone tried do a group buy for a modified stock pan from Moroso on the old site not too long before it went down. Unfortunately it didn't seem like there was a lot of interest.

I'm surprised that there isn't a good performance oriented wet sump pan available considering how many people track these cars, and also considering how much development has gone into the 4age. If done right it's a very worth wile upgrade.

I'm interested, but the time frame and commitment you mentioned for the group buy doesn't sound very appealing.

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Re: Interest in an aftermarket oil pan?

Postby yoshimitsuspeed » Sun Jun 02, 2013 11:18 am

Deuce Cam wrote:I remember someone tried do a group buy for a modified stock pan from Moroso on the old site not too long before it went down. Unfortunately it didn't seem like there was a lot of interest.

I'm surprised that there isn't a good performance oriented wet sump pan available considering how many people track these cars, and also considering how much development has gone into the 4age. If done right it's a very worth wile upgrade.

I'm interested, but the time frame and commitment you mentioned for the group buy doesn't sound very appealing.



The thread you are reffering to is linked to in the first post of this thread and talked about several times more.
There actually appeared to be a decent amount of interest in that thread at least by my standards. Maybe not enough to get Moroso motivated to do it.

I already have someone sending me a 7A pan to add a larger sump on. I don't need a ton of people. In fact one person willing to pay enough is fine. It's all a matter of numbers. If a few people sign up and allow me to do it as a run it will cut the cost down. The more people the more efficiently I can do it and the less I will need to charge per part. The steel modified pan will require a lot less development so it's much more practical for low volume. It looks like I will probably need to draw up the pieces to make the pan for the one I have coming in. That's a big part of the R&D. At that point I can just get them cut out and weld them on a pan. Once I work out the kinks on this one I'll be able to have a set price for a single pan and then just have a discount if anyone wants to go in on a small run together.

I'm interested, but the time frame and commitment you mentioned for the group buy doesn't sound very appealing

I'm not sure what you mean. I was just asking if anyone was interested in going in on a group buy right now. If not then I was curious what their time frame and level of interest was. I left the lowest level at would probably buy one within the next year because that already is vague and unlikely. Anyone with less interest than that would have no impact on my desire or motivation to commit to this project.

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Re: Interest in an aftermarket oil pan?

Postby Deuce Cam » Mon Jun 03, 2013 10:39 am

I skimmed the original post too quickly and misinterpreted what you were asking. My mistake.

To answer your question: I'd buy it within a year of it being available only because I have already have a long to-do list, but a nice looking prototype could change that.

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Re: Interest in an aftermarket oil pan?

Postby jmaz87 » Wed Jun 12, 2013 3:16 am

Bazda from http://www.mrpltd.co.nz/

is working with moroso right to produce an oilpan suited for his dry-sump setups.

I would just box a stock pan otherwise.
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Re: Interest in an aftermarket oil pan?

Postby jmaz87 » Wed Jun 12, 2013 3:18 am

Tuneshttps://truck.it/p/1Dl1ejMkZq
85' AW11 MS3/X Full Sequential w/ COP (DD)
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Re: Interest in an aftermarket oil pan?

Postby yoshimitsuspeed » Fri Jun 14, 2013 9:50 am

jmaz87 wrote:Bazda from http://www.mrpltd.co.nz/

is working with moroso right to produce an oilpan suited for his dry-sump setups.

I would just box a stock pan otherwise.

Ugh, frustrating.
Thanks for the link though.
They are doing an oversized wet sump and a dry sump. Since they are already putting this together I will be able to get these pans as well.
If anyone is interested in one let me know.

I will probably pursue a cheaper steel option based off the stock pan as you said.

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Re: Interest in an aftermarket oil pan?

Postby gaijin_rokurunner » Fri Jun 14, 2013 10:43 am

That pan is the same design as the custom pan i had made by Moroso...think barry at MRP had some changes made to suit fwd applications though...as far as the group buy was going there was interest but people seemed to want to buy in a few months or year time frame and as most people know with custom stuff u pay upfront per order...i wasnt going to fork up payment for 10 pans and then have 9 people back out after they were made...happens all the time here....with that said i canceled the group buy but the other half of the story was the guy at Moroso Randy....2 weeks turned into 4 then 6 then 8 had to threaten to cancel the order before he finished..he apparently is the only one making import pans and will complete the big money pans first when orders come in even if your pan is on the table..which is why MRP dont have their pans yet ...the design was already done with mines...no development needed just a few mods for FWD...couldnt support a group buy with service like that from moroso....lastly pans are cheap here and the source for the pans already coated them and Moroso didnt want to have to sand the paint off to modify them...bunch of factors went into play so as of now im the only one with the pan and u can see pictures of it on my build log...
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Re: Interest in an aftermarket oil pan?

Postby yoshimitsuspeed » Fri Jun 14, 2013 11:02 am

gaijin_rokurunner wrote:That pan is the same design as the custom pan i had made by Moroso...think barry at MRP had some changes made to suit fwd applications though...as far as the group buy was going there was interest but people seemed to want to buy in a few months or year time frame and as most people know with custom stuff u pay upfront per order...i wasnt going to fork up payment for 10 pans and then have 9 people back out after they were made...happens all the time here....with that said i canceled the group buy but the other half of the story was the guy at Moroso Randy....2 weeks turned into 4 then 6 then 8 had to threaten to cancel the order before he finished..he apparently is the only one making import pans and will complete the big money pans first when orders come in even if your pan is on the table..which is why MRP dont have their pans yet ...the design was already done with mines...no development needed just a few mods for FWD...couldnt support a group buy with service like that from moroso....lastly pans are cheap here and the source for the pans already coated them and Moroso didnt want to have to sand the paint off to modify them...bunch of factors went into play so as of now im the only one with the pan and u can see pictures of it on my build log...


Oh dang. You just drew my attention to the material. When I saw the price, the design and the drawings with the hella thick flange along with the aluminum sample image of the Moroso pan I just assumed they were making them out of aluminum. Totally missed the part where it says made out of steel.

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Re: Interest in an aftermarket oil pan?

Postby gaijin_rokurunner » Wed Jun 19, 2013 9:48 am

Yeah the pan is a stock pan cut out and replaced with a chambered baffle with trap doors and extra room for oil capacity...this was the cheapest and most reliable setup...could of did aluminum but they cant take a hit or scrape on the street only in cast possibly but not the ones Moroso makes thats welded.
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Re: Interest in an aftermarket oil pan?

Postby CIPHER GARAGE » Sun Jun 23, 2013 12:26 am

I've always wondered why nobody made a baffled STEEL oilpan and crank scraper for the 4AG engine. Especially for all the guys who drift or road race their AE86s. I'd love to get one. How much might it cost for a steel version?

If you end up making it, LMK. I can help you promote and sell it. I know lots of people who would want one.
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Re: Interest in an aftermarket oil pan?

Postby Deuce Cam » Sun Jun 23, 2013 10:11 am

Crank scraper and windage tray are covered. Link thanks to gaijin_rokurunner: http://www.crank-scrapers.com/Toyota_4a.html

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Re: Interest in an aftermarket oil pan?

Postby yoshimitsuspeed » Sun Jun 23, 2013 10:48 am

CIPHER GARAGE wrote:I've always wondered why nobody made a baffled STEEL oilpan and crank scraper for the 4AG engine. Especially for all the guys who drift or road race their AE86s. I'd love to get one. How much might it cost for a steel version?

If you end up making it, LMK. I can help you promote and sell it. I know lots of people who would want one.


It doesn't look like there is the immediate interest required to do a group buy. Fortunately my overhead is low enough that I can produce one offs and low run projects pretty competitive to production scale companies.
Hopefully a friend will be sending me a 7A pan to modify in the next couple weeks. I also have a 4A pan I can play with. As soon as I get some time I will look at it and materials a little more and come up with an estimate on price.

I was planning on using metal baffles as that appears to be pretty standard but my friend told me they were not ideal and suggested rubber baffles similar to this Tomei kit.
http://image.nengun.com/catalogue/1024x ... _plate.jpg
I could probaby use this kit or I was thinking I could make my own pretty easily out of oil resistant rubber.
It would also be about as easy to offer both options if anyone had a preference.
Does anyone have opinions on baffles?

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Re: Interest in an aftermarket oil pan?

Postby yoshimitsuspeed » Mon Jun 24, 2013 8:01 pm

Got a bit done today. This design is pretty similar to gaijin_rokurunner's.
I think it should clear everything but if anyone sees anything questionable let me know.
If it looks good to everyone I'll probably draw up the parts and send them out to get cut and bent. Then I will weld up a prototype pan.
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