Wet Sump

As part of the lubricating system of an internal combustion engine, a wet sump is a built-in oil reservoir at the base of the engine. From there oil is pumped into various engine bearings and then drained back down to the sump.

A benefit of a wet sump, as compared to a dry sump, is its simple internal design, using a single pump with no external reservoir or connecting hoses or tubes which may leak. On the other hand a wet sump is unsuitable for high-perfomance applications, such as racing through corners, where the oil may slosh around inside the sump and briefly deprive the system of oil which could damage the engine.


Comments

2 Comments so far

  1. Sump : Motorcycle-Glossary.com on May 31, 2007 1:57 am

    [...] oil reservoir for an internal-combustion engine, which is part of the lubrication system. See wet sump and dry [...]

  2. Dry Sump : Motorcycle-Glossary.com on May 31, 2007 1:54 am

    [...] internal combustion engines that incorporates an additional oil reservoir as compared to a wet sump system. Rather than the oil being collected in a conventional oil pan for engine lubrication, oil [...]

Name

Email

Website

Speak your mind