Oil Sump Pan Testing

For many years, we (smartmods.co.uk) sold an oil sump with a drain plug for the 450 and Roadster. We bought them from a German manufacturer and they were excellent quality. The drain plug design was unique and allowed all of the oil to be drained from the sump.

I’ll gloss over the part where we got screwed over by the supplier and were forced to buy from a 3rd party seller in the UK despite the fact that we were the original retailers.

In 2020, our UK supplier let us know that they could no longer get the sumps. We contacted our original supplier and were told that the manufacturer had stopped production and all stock had been sold. So I started looking for a supplier for a new oil sump pan with a drain plug. A model of drain sump that was at least as good as the previous model, one that we would be happy to fit to our own cars.

I had no idea it would be so hard. I also had no idea how horrifically shit the alternatives are! Here is a round up of what I have found.

FAI (PAN020)

Pros:
Cheap

Cons:
Amount of oil left in the sump – 100ml

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Meyle

Pros:
Cheap

Cons:
Amount of oil left in the sump – 100ml

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Ridex

Pros:
Cheap

Cons:
Amount of oil left in the sump – 260ml (ridiculous)

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BGA (SP8200)

Pros:
Cheap

Cons:
Amount of oil left in the sump – 100ml

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eBay Special

Pros:
Cheap

Cons:
Amount of oil left in the sump – 150ml

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Metzger

Pros:
Cheap

Cons:
Amount of oil left in the sump – 100ml

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Plastic/Composite

These are normally sold in black but have been available in several colours such as blue. It’s just paint so don’t expect it to stay on for years.

This is the only one tested with a flush mounted drain port which allows the oil to drain fully.

Pros:
Amount of oil left in the sump – 0ml
Very light

Cons:
More expensive than the others
Doesn’t aid oil cooling
Reports of them cracking
Wouldn’t take much to smash it open

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Conclusion

I have looked at other sumps and it looks like many brands just buy from the same manufacturer and rebrand it to theirs. Just look at the drain port design of the FAI and Meyle and you’ll see they are the same.

If you see anything different and available, let me know and I’ll take a look.