Plenty of oil pressure to stay alive, but I always like to understand why
Easy to start with a standard oil pump, with anything but standard clearances, you will already start lower. The short gears of a std pump put out less at idle than an HV pump
- What are your bearing clearances? .002-.0025 is good, but also will bleed idle oil pressure compared to the .001 or less minimums for factory FEs, a race build gets looser, bleeds more oil
- Did the builder replace cam bushings? Did they cut the new bushings because the cam wouldn't turn? It works, and effective if the guy is sharp, but in some cases a bearing will get deformed and just cutting can have clearance on the loose side and bleed oil like any other bearing. I try to avoid it
- Do you have new rocker shafts? New rockers with old shafts can bleed pressure, if roller bearing shafts, can bleed pressure too
- Did you verify with another gauge? I have a real nice Snap-on master gauge set and it will make a believe out of you compared to a 1/8 plastic line to a small gauge in both responsiveness and accuracy. Unfortunately the info can make you feel good or worse sometimes LOL
In the end, the numbers you show are fine, but if you don't like it and the oil stays clean, engine stays quiet... restrict a little to the rockers (but don't go crazy they need oil too), try different weights of oil, brands and filters, or throw a high volume pump in at some point if you aren't happy
BTW, an HV oil pump really only adds more oil up to relief spring pressure. After that it just dumps more oil past the bypass. In other words, if you used the bigger HV casting and gears with a STD volume relief, it'd make the same maximum oil pressure but more at idle.
