Now that we have more and more technology at our finger tips we can monitor our engines better than ever during a pass and I know its raising some questions, at least for me it is. First off I was never the guy that could tell you oil pressure, water temp, trans temp, fuel press, O2 readings,and rpm like some guys claim they can. I added a racepak system and I see my oil pressure is really spiking during a run and would like to know what you guys are seeing. I will start out by saying I have 60# of pressure at warm idle and around pits. I will post my pressure during a run after a few posts later in the day. Here are some engine specs. Sorry about the long post.
408 engine with W2 heads.
540 lift solid cam
oil system modified as per old Direct Connection manual.
I tubed oil galley and installed plug going to other lifter galley and redrilled all passages to recommended size. (.283)
VR1 20-50 oil with Zinc additive Wix racing filter.
HV oil pump with Milidon 8 quart oil pan.
.0025 main bearing clearance.
.0025-.0027 rod bearing clearance
This engine has about 12 passes on it the oil looks great and ran a 9.98 in the duster last time out.
Thanks for any info.

During the run its 80#.... a combo of 20w-40 and 10w30
to set my oil pressure when hot
EDIT
this is on a dry sump turning 8200 rpm

um...define spiking. if the pressure is exceeding what the relief valve is set at then i see one of three potential culprits. there's an issue with the sensor (or wiring) and the reading is false, the relief valve is sticking and causing the pressure to go too high or the pump is generating so much volume it's holding the relief valve wide open and exceeding it's capacity. for too long i was of the mindset that bigger was better when it comes to oil pumps when in fact the best size pump is the smallest one that will give the desired oil pressure.

i will say when i was a kid i put the relief spring cup plug in backwards on a small block pump...yea that had oil pressure 150# iirc bulged the oil filter like a tick but was an easy diagnosis and simple fix

I leave on the brake at 4800 and the pressure jumps from 60# to 120# from the the starting line till I leave up at the end of the 1/4 mile. This is the first small block that I have done this modification since the 70's.
I plan on switching to Brad Penn oil this year and with try 10-30 weight instead of VR1 20-50 but it will probably still be reading pretty high. I wonder what a standard oil pump would do instead of the high volume?

if those readings are accurate there's a problem i think that's too high by about 40# especially if there's heat in the engine. that much pressure is beyond what the engine needs and unnecessarily loads all the drive components in front of the pump. honestly i don't watch oil pressure during a run one of the reasons being i have a warning light set around 40#. i don't think i've seen pressures over 80# even with a cold engine (milodon HV dual entry pump) and i use the same oil you're using. i don't want to get into an oil debate but personally i think what i refer to as "boutique" oils are a waste of money and by changing to a lighter oil you're not addressing the root problem. it's been a long time since i messed with SB engines so i'm not versed in the oiling systems or modifications and exactly what effect those modifications would have but if those numbers are correct i'd be pulling the pan and looking at the relief in the pump. i'm sure you'll get a lot of opinions these are mine.

John i have a pressure transducer calibration stand, may be the easiest thing to check first, let me know.

no sense in chasing a problem that may not exsist

John...When it is cool,I run Brad Penn 10-30. As it warms up,I use 2 Quarts of 20-50 and 5 of the 10-30...Thru the traps it is around 75# of pressure. I pegged it once in the garage revving the engine. Yuup...Blew 7 quarts onto the garage floor!! Had to take a couple of shims out of the pump. I use a Wix 5151 R filter. I also had a good freind of mine blow an O ring out of his filter going down the track. If ol Harvey wasn't such a good driver,I think he would have flipped the car. That was in a mid 8 second 69 Roadrunner..

The filters may have that burst stength but the o-rings don't!! And yes....I got an expensive jacket from Summit!

I don't have a data recorder for oil pressure.
I have checked the pressure while in 3rd gear a lot, and often at the finish line during time trials. It has always been 70-75 psi. A warm idle (1200 rpm), it is about 40 psi, cold about 50-60 psi, and when very hot oil (round robin) about 30 psi. The idle pressure is real sensitive to both rpm and oil temperature (not water temperature). A cold start at the beginning of the day it will be about 70 at 2000 rpm while I warm it up.

Jim i'd say all those number are pretty much what i'm used to seeing.

not so funny story one of the last times i had the car out this season my oil light got me cause it's set so high. i'm used to seeing it flicker idling down the return road but we were running round robin at the end of the night so the oil was thinning out. i stage the car in the final round (staged last) and it blinked on and distracted me, i regained my composure but then it blinked again...that was it missed the tree. stupid light cost me the final round and $300

i said to myself "that won't happen again" and tried to set it lower when i got home but the pressure switch i'm using won't really go below 40#, i need to get a different switch.

do you run a vaccum pump that can mess with oil pressure as well good luck

Wasn't there a moparts member that blew-out an o-ring or line ...oil their tires and then WRECKED their car ?

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if i was you...id stfu.

My smallblock idles at 60 hot with 25-50 racing pennizoil and is at 85#s through the lights in qtr mile at 7000 rpm. I run a K&N filter.