1:14 - How your oil accumulator works 3:03 - Activating the Moroso accumulator 3:59 - How your Moroso accumulator is protecting your engine 7:08 - Massive oil pressure fluctuation protection
Clear accumulator is great to show how it works. Have one in our time attack Silvia and 700hp GT-R. It has saved our engine in the time attack car and stopped G-Force related oil surge. Every car enthusiast should get one of these
I've heard reports from people with RBs that they are good but that sometimes they just don't respond fast enough to a sudden pressure drop so you still have some time without the bearings fully protected. Granted its less than a second. What are your thoughts on this from your experience?
Thanks for putting that clear accumulator together. The idea of not having dry starts is definitely the way to go if you want to protect your engine! Dry starts are usually the worse thing for an engine, or cause the most internal damage and over time really can shorten its life.
I've run these in my Nova BBC drag car and I can witness this is the only way to go. I have a '73 'vette pro street also that I have in it. This guy is good!
What is not covered here, is that if you add an air accumulator tank on the back side, you can run a higher pre-charge, but get a larger volume discharge at the same time. I run about a 1 quart air tank, tied in with a 'T' fitting where the pre-charge gauge is hooked up. (35 years of compressed gas, & hydraulic experience)
It is, indeed, a good idea - big reduction in the delta pressure as the oil volume changes. I was thinking a long spring with a lot of pre-load to give a fairly constant pressure over a longer range of valume - maybe in conjunction with the air pressure. The concern I have is people relying on this when, in practice, there is a fairly narrow range where the big ends will have a supplemental oil supply - I mean from normal operating oil pressure to the point where the centrigugal force in the main bearing oilways prevents oil flow into the oil feeds to the big ends - at high rpm, that may be a 20-30 PSI drop range, which is going to be a lot less, proportionally, of the nominal oil volume in the accumulator. Still, some is better than nothing, isn't it! ;-)
@@gordowg1wg145 3Cressidas is correct in what he is saying but its the amount of oil you will end up with in the sump as it will take a while to fill the accumulator to refill the video shows a clear tube but in real life you won't be able to see inside it so you will have to look at the pressure side of the gauge to work out how much oil is in your engine sump so to make sure you have enough to check on the dip stick and enough to fill the accumulator i think it will blow more engines in the long run as they will be running with a lower oil pressure over time maybe dragsters might benefit but it would have to have 60 psi + and be activated on take off and it would be all over in a few seconds
@@helicopter269 Re-read the thread, and consider the delta P. Hint - relative volumes of pressurised air/gas Vs oil. I would agree with you if the oil flow was un-resticted both ways, but what is usually done is to have a relatively un-restricted feed from the accumularor to the oil system, but a partially restricted feed from the oil system to the accumulator, there will be a small potential drop in pressure, due to the bleed off, but it should be using the oil flow from the pump that would have been passed through the pressure relief valve to fill the accumulator instead.
Looks like a great product. Super clever. A few questions 1) have you considered manufacturing/do you manufacture a smaller version for daily drivers 2) have you done any cold climate engine wear studies? 3) have you considered using 100% nitrogen to stabilize the pressures in different conditions (ie temperature and altitude) 4) how does the accumulator change the capacity? I’m slightly unclear on how this doesn’t put the pump at risk of scavenging air… it seems like it both solves the problem but also maybe could cause a problem? 5) why the additional oil filter?
great video thanks I have seen them at the drag strip but never understood how it worked I didn't realize it was a constant watch dog I always thaught it added an extra 3 qt to the engine every pass that had to be drained out and then re added to the accumulator I didn't realize it was selfe sufficient I just bracket race but engins are spendy oil is cheap I think this would be a great investment thanks.
@Paul Wilson Apologies we previously missed your question, Paul. There is no problem using an accumulator with a vacuum pump, people do it all the time!
Love these, have one in my drag car and one in my pro-street car. Both big motors. But to make these 100% useful you need to bench set them up. Then on the INITIAL startup they do their job. It's not that hard to do. After that they continue to do the job. Got to have electric solenoid valve or a wife that will open the valve. Good Luck with that.
Shouldn't accumulator should ALWAYS be on the post side of the oil filter so that the oil charge from the accumulator is prevented from flowing backwards into the filter by the non return valve in the filter? Otherwise in a cold start situation some of the charge could be wasted in filling any hoses that have drained back into the sump?
I assume some thought has to be put into the size of the accumulator in relation to the capacity of the oil sump (if using stock sump, not dry). As if the accumulator is too big it could steal capacity from the engine sump when its nearly full, reducing the oil level, and also on the other end, if it dumps all its capacity it could overfill the sump (and cause oil foaming etc). This is just an assumption. Please advise.
Sorry for the delayed response! By design, a 3 quart accumulator holds about 2 quarts in the cylinder. This volume is enough to feed an engine that is flowing 9 gallons a minute at 7000 rpm (typical wet sump small block chevy) for about 2.5 seconds. Often when an accumulator is in use, it’s during de-acceleration, the requirement will be less, and thus take longer to empty the oil into the engine. As far as the capacity question, when the two to three extra quarts is added, it goes to the accumulator and the plumbing involved, so it doesn’t affect the oil capacity in the oil pan when the engine is running. And when the accumulator releases oil into the engine, it will never over fill the sump. If the sump was “full enough” there wouldn’t be a drop in oil pressure. So once the sump regains enough oil to submerge the pick-up, it will take the extra oil and refill the accumulator and bring the system back to its original condition. Hope this helps. If you have any other questions, please ask!
The accumulator will not rob the engine of oil as long as the accumulator is pre-charged properly and the correct additional amount of oil is added into the system.
Hello, an accumulator can indeed be used with a thermostatic sandwich plate to adapt it to an engine. Something to note, the accumulator would need to be plumbed into the Pressure In side; if you are looking to use the accumulator to pre-lube the motor on a cold start a closed thermostatic valve would not allow it to do so.
It won't hold but will drain till the pressure in the oil side is balanced with the precharge. Once rpm (and pressure) comes back up, the oil quantity will increase
How long does it take to fill the unit wit normal engine oil pump? This concerns me. as if its slower than normal, the oil pressure will lag behind the rpm rise. EG: if you blip throttle, the oil pressure won't rise past the pressure in the back side of accumulator until it's full . It seems this is quite some time. delaying oil pressure increase, that should have happened instantly with rpm.
The fill time is dependent upon the air pressure that the accumulator is charged with. We only recommend an air charge of 5 to 10 PSI so that the engine’s oil pump can quickly refill the accumulator once it picks up a prime. Our display rig is intended to show routing and functionality of the system, and is not necessarily reflective of response time since it is not actually connected to an engine.
We are racing a Acura v6 engined Miata and we are experiencing an issue where in long left handers the oil pressure drops to about 20 lbs (with the 2qt. accumulator set at 10psi) and as we exit the corner and start picking up the rpm's the oil pressure is still below the 57lbs needed for the ecu to activate the VVT solenoid and it puts the car into limp mode. Can you advise on a possible solution? Thank you.
You never discharged it at 20psi, and now I'm sad. Do you set the precharge more based on engine bearing clearance and oil volume instead of application (drag, circle track, road race, etc.)?
AR G A 20 p.s.i. precharge would cut into the amount of oil that the Accumulator will hold. Yes, a 20 p.s.i. precharge will make the Accumulator discharge a little quicker but a 7-10 p.s.i. precharge will discharge almost as quick with more oil going from the Accumulator to the engine.
Someone told me that oil accumulators are only appropriate for track dedicated cars tuned to idle above 2k because the pressure in the accumulator is more than in a fairly stock motor at idle. I'm not an expert but is there any truth to that?
Accumulators can be used on full racecars or street cars. ZERO ISSUE! In fact, we recommend them on street cars that don't get driven much, because one of the added benefits of the system is pre-oiling before start up! Also, the back charge (air pressure on one side of the piston in the unit) is usually about 10psi, nothing crazy at all. Once the engine is spinning the oil pump and making good pressure, the accumulator should read what your engine oil pressure reads, give or take 5 to 10 pounds. Even at idle, unless your engine makes below 10 psi at idle, then you may have to drop the back charge pressure. Hope this helps!
Hello does it come with a one-way check valve? I Don't want the morosso accumulator pushing oil back to the oil pump and the pickup tube where it is not needed.
A one-way check valve is typically only required if the accumulator is plumbed in an external return loop with a remote filter, cooler, etc. We do offer one separately, P/N 23875
This is the exact same concept most jet engine aircraft use to start their engines. The accumulators are abused much heavier on them. Those o-rings ~almost~ never fail. I can’t imagine that would be much of a problem on these. Although… it’d be crazy to accidentally over charge the thing and twist that skirtless piston….
If you used this in a street application would you run into a situation where you were dumping 1.5 quarts of oil into the pan at every stop light as the car idled hot and oil pressure fell to around 15 - 20 psi? Most engines gain about 10psi per 1000 rpm of engine speed from idle to about 5500rpm. I like the idea of installing one of these on my Suburban but now im rethinking the the 3 quart for the 1.5 quart since that works out to only 3/4 to 1 quart capacity with a 5 psi back charge. Do you recommend using more temperature stable nitrogen as the charging gas or do you feel this is completely unnecessary?
The accumulator will release additional oil into the motor during situations of rapid pressure loss, such as hard braking or acceleration. As long as the air charge side of the accumulator is charged to the recommended 5-10 PSI, you will not run into instances of it frequently overpowering the pump pressure and dumping the reserves into the motor. This will only happen if the vehicle is regularly experiencing high g-force maneuvers. While nitrogen is generally more stable than normal air, we have not done any testing with it in our accumulators as of yet and would not be necessary. We generally recommend using a 3 qt model on large displacement 6 cylinder and V8 applications, and the 1.5 qt on smaller motors.
***** Thanks for answering all of my questions.. I like the idea of installing this as a pre lubrication unit prior to startups.. Seems like it would eliminate a major source of engine wear.
How will it not rod oil pressure and volume during cold start? I cannot see how that is possible.For a racecar this may be an acceptable tradeoff but for a everyday Highly tuned street car that runs winters that does not sound like a good solution.
Thank you for your interest in our products. Accumulators will not rob oil pressure and volume during a cold start, one way that is accomplished is by the Accumulator having a manual valve that the driver of the vehicle opens right before starting the vehicle (electric valved Accumulators work on the same principle releasing the reserve of oil into the oiling system and the path of least resistance. This pre-lubes the engine, once the engine reaches normal operating oil pressure the accumulator will fill back up. When the driver of the vehicle is done driving the car; they either close the manual valve or close the electric valve by either a switch or tied into the ignition and turning off the ignition, will capture a reserve of oil in the Accumulator that is used to pre-lube the engine on the next start up. Having a manual or electric valve on the Accumulator is important if the driver wants to capitalize on the benefits of pre-lubing an engine with an Accumulator.
@@MorosoPerformance it would absolutely still rob oil volume, when the car is first started. (especially if the accumulator has been emptied) if you have a weak oil pump this may be a problem. it would be much better if the accumulator had a restricted inlet port. what happens when you are in a sharp corner for a long time, and the accumulator has been almost emptied?.. well when you are out of the corner and really hitting it, then not only do the oil pump have to supply the engine with oil, but also it have to supply the accumulator with 3qt of oil. i can't imagine this is good.
@@NickiLasse , When setting up an Accumulator after installing it or after an oil change, extra oil is added to the system to compensate for the volume of the Accumulator and the line going to it. Remember an Accumulator is like a brake booster, it pushes the fluid that is already in the system. On a non-Solenoid Pressure Valved equipped Accumulator, the Accumulator will release all of it's storage of oil into the system when it senses a pressure fluctuation. The non-Solenoid Pressure Valved equipped Accumulator then refills when the engine reaches it's normal oil pressure range. The engine's oil pump will always overcome the Accumulator wanting to refill because of fluid dynamics, the Accumulator's path is more restrictive than the pull of the engine's oil pump. A weak oil pump was mentioned, if this was the case, the oil pump would have to be so compromised that the engine would blow in a stationary/idling mode. On an Accumulator equipped with a Solenoid Pressure Valve Kit, the Accumulator discharges and fills only the needed volume of oil to be released for quicker discharging and refilling.
@@MorosoPerformance Thanks for the quick response. I am having a slight rattle at cold start with my 06 4.0 ranger. Pulling the fuse for the fuel pump and turning the engine over for a few seconds eliminates the rattle. But this accumulator is what I need long term.
Very cool video! Tech question: if you had a location you could mount a narrow accumulator vertical with the connection at the bottom, would it not need an internal piston?
Well used to sell a design of accumulator that was to be mounted vertically and had no internal piston. The reason that we stopped selling that design is because its only effective in a situation where it is static and not in a moving vehicle. Thanks for watching!
Thank you for your interest in our products. Accumulators will not rob oil pressure and volume during a cold start, one way that is accomplished is by the Accumulator having a manual valve that the driver of the vehicle opens right before starting the vehicle (electric valved Accumulators work on the same principle releasing the reserve of oil into the oiling system and the path of least resistance. This pre-lubes the engine, once the engine reaches normal operating oil pressure the accumulator will fill back up. When the driver of the vehicle is done driving the car; they either close the manual valve or close the electric valve by either a switch or tied into the ignition and turning off the ignition, will capture a reserve of oil in the Accumulator that is used to pre-lube the engine on the next start up. Having a manual or electric valve on the Accumulator is important if the driver wants to capitalize on the benefits of pre-lubing an engine with an Accumulator.
Hi Sharon, You would know by the accumulator not holding pressurized air. To rule out that the pressurized air is not escaping through the air gauge, spray the air gauge and fittings with soapy water or windex to check to see if you see any air bubbles. The same concept that you would use to check for a leak in a tire.
Great video, will be getting one for our vintage car. One question, still not clear on cold start after not running engine for a few weeks or longer. Do we open the valve before turning on engine, put bigger charge? Looking forward to detailed answer, and thanks!
Yes that's in the video. Open valve before starting, because your engine is not running there is no oil pressure so the accumulator will "fill" the engine, but inly to the point where you have connect the pipe (probably near filter). Once engine is started accumulator with control the volume based on your pressure
I have a 2008 Toyota Highlander with a 3.5L 2GR-FE V6 engine. I have a noise on cold start. Do you have one of these for my car? If so where can I get it? I’m in the Chicago area.
Hi James, Thank you for your interest in our products. For the Accumulator I would recommend Part # 23901, 23905 electric solenoid valve and mounting clamps Part # 23920. Since that engine uses a cartridge style oil filter, our spin-on oil filter accumulator adapters would not work for your application. So your best option is to plumb the accumulator into an oil galley or into the return line on the factory oil cooler. In the Chicago area: A PLUS DISTRIBUTING 108 E ST. CHARLES ROAD VILLA PARK 60181 17.84 miles T&A PERFORMANCE 2937 INDIANAPOLIS BLVD SCHEREVILLE 46375 28.81 miles WHITES PIT STOP 350 E. US30 SCHEREVILLE 46375 28.95 miles BOOK RACING ENTERPRISES 214 INDUSTRY AVENUE FRANKFORT 60423 29.66 miles WINNERS CIRCLE SPEED & CUSTOM 207 NORTH SCOTT JOLIET 60432 33.57 miles
so wait what does the "cansiter" psi gauge read under oil (80psi max in my case) presser just wondering so i can replace/match the other gauges in my car?
sean maga Once the Accumulator has been installed as per our instructions and cycled through a couple of times, the gauge on Accumulator should read within 5 lbs of the engine's actual oil pressure.
I'm interested in running one of these on a 2.0L turbocharged engine putting out over 200hp per liter. Stock oil capacity is 5.5 quarts of oil. I'd like to run the 3qt model with a higher air charge in order to rapidly discharge roughly 1qt of oil when needed. I'm concerned that using the 1.5qt accumulator and using a higher pressure air charge will result in the accumulator only discharging a small volume of oil. What are your recommendations? What kind of "engine oil pressure" were you using in the video with the 20psi air charge? Thanks!
Randy, Thank you for your interest in our products. Your assessment is correct, yes in your case you should use a 3 quart unit. In regards to your question "What kind of 'engine oil pressure' were you using in the video with the 20psi air charge?" - 65-70 psi Sincerely, Moroso Racing Products
Moroso Performance Thank you for the prompt reply, great customer service and I haven't even purchased anything yet, I look forward to using your product!
Thank you for your inquiry, Alfred. While there is no way to show the exact difference, you can see how much more the Accumulator fills with the lower pre-charge amount. The rate at which the accumulator will move the oil out will vary on the temperature, and viscosity of the oil, and the resistance going into the engine.
@@MorosoPerformance I was a little dissappointed the you didn't release the last cylinder of oil at the 20psi charge. I was currious to see how fast it discharged relative to the 5psi charge for comparison.
Pre charge of 20psi means only 20psi oil pressure on a bend not a lot or 10 psi even worse but better than nothing though ,while the accumulator is filling you will also have low oil pressure as you accelerate out of the bend when the engine is under load so it helps a little but a true race engine needs good pressure all the time at least 60psi and all of that extra oil in the sump not good for engine breathing. so it may help a little but you will be running a engine with a lower overall engine oil pressure Dry sump is the only way.
helicopter269, Are you certain that you watched the whole video or perhaps you missed part of the video? To fully understand the concept of how the Accumulator functions let's start with the basics. The Moroso Oil Accumulators are oil storage tanks, connected into the engine's oiling system. Outer body of the Accumulator is a heavy wall tube with an inner piston that separates the oil from the air within the tube. As oil enters the Accumulator when connected to the engine's oiling system, the piston is pushed back thus compressing the air pre-charge in the other side of it. The inner piston will always move so that the pressure on the air side of the piston equals the oil pressure entering the Accumulator. When the engine's oil pressure fluctuates due to oil surging away from the oil pump pick up during hard acceleration, severe cornering and/or hard de-acceleration, the stored oil will be released into the engine's oil supply. After the fluctuation is over and the oil pump is once again primed with oil, the engine's oil pressure forces this reserve of oil back into the Accumulator. When it is time to shut down the engine, the Accumulator will hold whatever pressure your engine has at the time it is shut off. On manual valve equipped Accumulators you will need to close the valve before shutting the engine off. On electric valve equipped Accumulators the valve will close automatically when the engine is shut off. If the engine has low oil pressure at idle you may want to hold the engine at a higher speed as you close the valve to develop more oil pressure for pre-oiling. Hope that helps to clear up any confusion. Thank you for your interest in our products!
Before I start my engine. I turn on the accumulator. I like to watch the stationary engines' oil pressure rise on the gauge. Your demonstration doesn't show this.
These are a bad idea in my opinion. As you get on the throttle and the oil pressure increases, the oil is filling the accumulator instead of flowing to the bearings.
+Mike Healy When there is an interruption of oil pressure, the Accumulator will release it's reserve of oil contained in the Accumulator and in the line that is between the valve and the Accumulator. This stockpile of oil feeds the engine and it's bearings. When the engine's oil pressure comes back to normal then the Accumulator will refill with the additional oil that is in the complete oiling system.
+Moroso Performance Here's a scenario. lets say we have 20psi at idle and 70psi at 1500+ rpm. You now drive up to the burnout box at an idle. As soon as you start your burnout the oil is headed to the accumulator. Then your staging (at idle) the oil is draining from the accumulator. Then as you get on the trans brake (the highest engine load) the oil once again is on its way to the accumulator. I had an accumulator on one of my cars some 20 years ago, until I realized this. I now use good oil pan design or a dry sump system on my customer engines.
+Mike Healy The reason the Accumulator fills is the oil pressure created by the fact that the bearing is being oiled and creating a resistance (i.e. Oil Pressure). There is no favoritism to what part gets oiled first in the system. All segments are being evenly oiled and filled. Its a closed system, so the oil pressure and volume is what determines the rate at which the Accumulator fills, and the oil being at the bearing determines that pressure. These systems have been around for decades, and are nothing more than a safety reservoir of oil to feed the engine.
+Scott Hall Scott, your reply and the reply from Moroso above are 100% true. These replies however are not addressing the actual problem. We both agree that the system has equal pressure in all areas of a closed system. Pressure is determined by volume and leaks. The bearings are one source of leak, another is the spring loaded check valve in the oil pump. If you watch the gauge in the video labeled accumulator oil pressure (remember equal pressure though out). This gauge shows 32 psi at the 3:13 mark in the video. the pressure at the 3:17 mark is at 42 psi. That's 4 seconds right there were a 6500 rpm engine at full load on a trans brake is being starved of high pressure lube. 32 psi might be fine on a SBC with small main bearing journal diameter, But its hell on engines with large 3 inch journals. I'm also guessing there is another accumulator behind the scene used with compressed air for this demo (hardly the same as an actual oil pump). I'm a betting man. I bet you will not try the following instructions. Attach this clear accumulator to a running engine. Then attach an oil pressure gauge at the opposite end of this engine as far from the oil pump as possible. A big block Chev as pictured behind you has these provisions. Then attach the accumulator line just above the filter boss (where most of the ones I see are attached). Next, run the engine as you would in the above scenario. Now video this and attach to youtube. After this is completed, I'll not need to explain further why I think an accumulator is a poor idea. I invite anyone to try this and post results.
+Mike Healy This video and the clear accumulator is simply a demonstration of how the accumulator works. Up until now no one had ever invested the time and money into building something like this. When I built it I tried my best to duplicate the actual conditions in a simple to use bench model that could be activated by compressed air and show as accurately as possible to see what is happening in the accumulator itself. The only way we could see results from your test is to put the clear accumulator on an actual running car that is one the track to see it work. The dyno is stationary and we could not duplicate the actions of g-force causing a lose of oil pressure. Obviously you have had a negative outcome from using an accumulator, but we have thousands of people who are satisfied with there accumulator and how it works. The way the system is so simplistic, I have a hard time over analyzing it considering the alternative is simply losing oil pressure and waiting for the oil to re-prime the pump and build volume again.
If you say “Moroso”, you automatically think racing. I would beg to differ in today’s powertrain design to increase fuel economy and reduce emissions. I am talking about a gas engine with a “Stop/Start” feature. A battery will drive a pump in the automatic 4 or 6 speed line pressure to stay in drive, clutches engaged and ready to go. When you take your foot off the brake pedal, the engine cranks over and starts up. Yes, certain accessories have to be off but the oil pressure on a tight engine will see oil pressure drop to zero. Even though oil passages & galleries are not completely emptied, it still takes 1-3 seconds to build oil pressure to a degree of hydraulic wedge or film of pressurized oil on bearings and other wear parts. If a typical housewife was to drive to get kids to school, stop at the store for tonight’s dinner, doctors appointment, visit mom or other family or heaven forbid had to go to work, pick up kids at relatives house and pick up dinner, drive home. Park this car. Now...How many times in one day did the engine shut off, restart and repeat? 56 times? 112 times? 184 times? Not to mention the wear & tear on the starter, but the total engine life! I think this is a huge market that would perhaps require a redesign for limited real estate, design with multiple kits requiring only a line, fitting, mounting and instructions that would fit certain high selling models, usually a run of 5 years before it is redesigned & new model introduced. Perhaps year, make & model as a kit that some owner with skills could install or have a professional installation. Hey, worse case is a manufacturer who has data on bearing failures or premature wear failures would buy these to install on the assembly line, promoting increased longevity. A GM engineer told me something never published. 5,000 hours is the threshold for a standard, equal to 150,000 miles of use. Are the worn out and useless & worn out after that! Only a group of 5-6 GM’s, 6-7 Fords, 4-5 Honda’s, etc. Honestly, the only reason I bring this up is because I bought my wife a 2015 Malibu that has this feature. As a certified automotive ASE Master Tech since 1978, now retired. My knowledge of engines has pushed my brain to think outside the box and worry about what I may be asked to deal with in the future. If you want to retire and you are handy w/4 SnapOn tool boxes, move! I have a seven day per week challenge I don’t want. Go fishing, hunting or just ride your motorcycle across several states is never going to happen. I am looking models that I could use on this vehicle wired to hold pressure when commanded off, then on, by going to one of two circuits of starter controls. This is late October 2021 and the vehicle is not here until Monday or so. Living in a large city is or can be great. But, watching our budget as a small business, in the city, they want top money and they all have 100k or more miles with exceptions. So, I shopped 280+ miles into rural areas. I found what I wanted for her with 37k and $1,490 dollars cheaper. So you can understand my next step. I look forward as a business should do. 1 year plan, 2 year plan, 5 year plan and 10 year as most should. I will do my home work once it is here. Regards. NIASE Master Tech since 1978, Retired!
You guys went to all the trouble to do this - and you didn't discharge the 20 psi scenario ! Come on guys - you can't get so caught up in talking about the product - that you don't show everything. It's obvious some money and time were spent - watch your video more than once - you'll see its a really obvious flaw in the video.