Providing pressurized oil to the engine is one of the most critical parts of engineering a high-performance powerplant. While most efforts go toward keeping the right amount of oil in the right places within the engine while running, there has also been significant by Canton Racing Products efforts to ensure that the engine is properly oiled during start-up – which is a time when engine oil pressure is at it’s lowest.

In addition to being a pre-oiler, the Accusump also acts as a reserve oiling system. Should you lose oil pressure while the engine is operating, like say due to pickup starvation during aggressive driving, the Accusump’s internal pressure will discharge a steady flow of pressurized oil until the engine’s oil pressure returns. Or, in the case of a complete failure, will provide a crucial few extra seconds to safely shut the engine down.

While the installation of the system might seem intimidating, in actuality, it’s a fairly simple and straightforward process as shown in the video above. There are three types of valves which can be utilized when installing an Accusump system. The manual valve is, as the name suggests, a manual quarter-turn valve that must be opened manually before starting the engine to pre-oil and closed before the engine shuts off to lock in the pressure.

The electric pressure control valve uses a pressure sensor incorporated into the solenoid to control the opening and closing points based on oiling system pressure. It also allows for an automatic arming and disarming of the system if wired into an ignition source.

The second type of valve is a standard electric valve, which behaves just like the manual valve, but is actuated electrically via a toggle switch inside the cabin. The third type is the type used in the video above. The electric pressure control valve incorporates an on-board pressure sensor. This not only allows for setting a specific oil pressure at which point the Accusump will discharge and accumulate, but can also be wired into the ignition system to allow the system to be armed and disarmed with the starting and shutting off of the engine in the normal course of operation.

Plumbing the Accusump into your oiling system is relatively simple, requiring only a few common AN fittings and potentially a check valve, for most common situations. With mounting the unit, plumbing the system, and wiring the valve out of the way, the only thing left is to charge the Accusump’s pressure side with compressed air, to act as the “spring” behind the piston in the accumulator.

Regardless of whether you have a budget powerplant or a high-end race engine, if you are pushing the engine, you can benefit from an Accusump system. Besides ensuring that your engine always has oil pressure, it can be an insurance policy, giving you a few extra seconds to get it shut down and be the difference between just a tow off track and a full engine rebuild.