i am looking to buy a LS1. this car i am looking at only reads around 20 psi at idle but raises with acceleration. however, it does have quite a few mods on the motor. one thing it does have is a ported oil pump and an AMW oil catch can. could this have anything to do wtih this oil pressure being a little low? i think the work was done by lingenfelter performance. it makes sense if it is ported the oil pressure would be less. just checking though......

 

At the required 10psi per 1000 rpm:

20psi at 1000 rpm is fine.

 

I could be wrong however the ported pump may be the reason for the low pressure at idle. Like the experience man above me said as long as it raises 10 psi per 1000 RPMs you should be fine.

 

A ported oil pump will not lower oil pressure. And 20psi at warm idle is fine. You want to see 35-45 psi while driving at normal speeds.

The catch can is only to clear oil vapor from the PCV system so that is doesn't get burned in combustion.

 

Try changing the oil, and filter. When I got my LS1, it would idle around 25 or so warm, and when I would open it up, it would barely hit 50. After doing a search, I found that most guys were seeing more than that, which kind of concerned me. I recently changed the oil, and changed the filter from a Fram, to a new AC Delco one. Now, it idles at about 40 warmed up, and at WOT I see it jump to 60+! I feel much better about the car now. By changing the oil you can make sure it has what it should have in it as well (5W-30).