GTI Jake
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Charlotte, NC
Ask anyone whose owned a mk4 how easy cast aluminum pans break. I've personally broken one at stock ride height as well as changed them for others who have
7
BUSTED! - Plastic oil pan...
- Thread starter mentos876
- Start date
Ask anyone whose owned a mk4 how easy cast aluminum pans break. I've personally broken one at stock ride height as well as changed them for others who have
Gawernator
Go Kart Champion
- Location
- Fremont, CA
the GTI is already lower from the factory than the Golf and you went 2 inches lower... that is more than a mild lowering. Pretty low, this is what can happen.
Can confirm my good friends MK4 GTI had her oil pan crack on and leak all over the place.
GTIMK7T
Ready to race!
- Location
- Los Angeles
I had a similar thing happen. Basically cracked oil pan, and oil light came on too late. Causing me to have to replace Engine & Turbo........
Steel Oil Pan is in now. STOCK RIDE HEIGHT
Steel Oil Pan is in now. STOCK RIDE HEIGHT
Consider a few things. An aftermarket pan doesnt follow the same insane oem standards to reduce weight and thus cost. At the oe level they shave ounces to reduce the cost x500k parts. The aftermarket wants a strong pan, they dont much care if it's a pound heavier.
So a blanket statement like you made amounts to nothing. Just because it's from a similar material doesn't make them have similar performance. Yes aluminum by nature is more brittle than steel, but if designed properly it can be far more than adequate in this application.
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sandmangti
Autocross Newbie
I had my VW mechanic suggest this pan.
Sort of a middle ground.
Looks like metal pan with armor plating added.
Around $200 makes it fall in the middle on price also.
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Sort of a middle ground.
Looks like metal pan with armor plating added.
Around $200 makes it fall in the middle on price also.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
I had my VW mechanic suggest this pan.
Sort of a middle ground.
Looks like metal pan with armor plating added.
Around $200 makes it fall in the middle on price also.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Seems like you'd want double thick in the front more than underneath, but some armor is better than none.
golfdave
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Scotland (U.K.)
- Car(s)
- Mk7 Golf GT Estate
Doesn't matter what the oil pan is made of...you hit something at speed & it will put a stress fracture in the pan...
Then it will cause the engine to move on the mounts...in the wrong way & induce all sorts of shock loads...want to play Russian roulette on your engine??
The ONLY way to protect is to use a tough, solid non flexible skid tray ...& one that requires the front two brackets which bolt to the chassis rails...
Anything else is just dancing around the issue...
Then it will cause the engine to move on the mounts...in the wrong way & induce all sorts of shock loads...want to play Russian roulette on your engine??
The ONLY way to protect is to use a tough, solid non flexible skid tray ...& one that requires the front two brackets which bolt to the chassis rails...
Anything else is just dancing around the issue...
GTI Jake
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Charlotte, NC
Cast aluminum is still cast aluminum. Ever crack a wheel?
As for the steel pan with armor it would be nice to have a lip in front of the oil sensors. That's what I worry about ripping off as well
As for the steel pan with armor it would be nice to have a lip in front of the oil sensors. That's what I worry about ripping off as well
I hit some piece of metal yesterday on the highway going 80, went under my front left wheel and I could feel an impact beneath the car through my butt. Not that big, like the size of an endlink or so. Luckily the tire is intact and I couldn't find any sign of the impact but it's got me thinking about protecting my pan now.
Schrick has sold aluminum 8V pans for 30 years without major issues. I would assume the biggest issue is you still have to drive alert. Most lowered people want to set it and forget it. And the aluminum is not as strong as an armored pan.
Nope, never have. This is an area where OE far surpasses the aftermarket because they have to get certs. OE cast wheels almost never fail without a catastrophic hit, and steel or forged wouldnt hold up any better.
Regardless amything can fail, just buy whatever makes YOU feel better.
As an engineer who works in this field, id run that aluminum pan and never lose sleep over it. Spend your $$ as you see fit.
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GTI Jake
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Charlotte, NC
I'm still running the stock plastic pan, just trying to point out my point of view.
I've also never had an issue with oem cast wheels, but they do weigh twice as much as most aftermarket so I'd hope they could handle daily driving lol
I've also never had an issue with oem cast wheels, but they do weigh twice as much as most aftermarket so I'd hope they could handle daily driving lol
TheJokker
Go Kart Newbie
- Location
- jacksonville
Regarding the fins:
I'm an IT guy and in the late 1990's and early 2000's I designed and built hundreds and hundreds of hi-performance PC's (servers and gaming machines). A CPU needs a heat sink to operate properly and by water-cooling or using a hi-performance heat sink it will allow you to run your computer at a higher rate (over-clocking). Aluminum and copper are the preferred materials for heat sinks. Aluminum absorbs heat slower than copper but cools faster. Increasing the surface area of a heat sink will allow the heat sink to cool faster. Those fins in effect make the entire oil pan a heat sink.
Those fins on the aluminum oil pans most definitely are going to aid in the pan remaining cooler and by consequence I would expect the oil to run cooler. How much of a difference is anybodies guess. I would not be surprised if it only ran a half of a degree cooler but I also would not be surprised if it were 5 or 10 degrees cooler.
I would also be interested in knowing whether increasing the oil capacity will decrease the average oil temperature. If anyone buys one of these oil pans it would be great to share your average before and after oil temperatures.
I'm an IT guy and in the late 1990's and early 2000's I designed and built hundreds and hundreds of hi-performance PC's (servers and gaming machines). A CPU needs a heat sink to operate properly and by water-cooling or using a hi-performance heat sink it will allow you to run your computer at a higher rate (over-clocking). Aluminum and copper are the preferred materials for heat sinks. Aluminum absorbs heat slower than copper but cools faster. Increasing the surface area of a heat sink will allow the heat sink to cool faster. Those fins in effect make the entire oil pan a heat sink.
Those fins on the aluminum oil pans most definitely are going to aid in the pan remaining cooler and by consequence I would expect the oil to run cooler. How much of a difference is anybodies guess. I would not be surprised if it only ran a half of a degree cooler but I also would not be surprised if it were 5 or 10 degrees cooler.
I would also be interested in knowing whether increasing the oil capacity will decrease the average oil temperature. If anyone buys one of these oil pans it would be great to share your average before and after oil temperatures.