I have one that came with the engine, but I overtightened it or something so the rod cap bolts hit on it. I could use some washer to space it farther away, but do I really need it? This is for a 500+FWHP 418 stroker.
Is it going to be a strictly strip or street car? MM&FF had an article a while back about and I got the impression it wasn't worth a whole lot on a smaller motor but on a motor as big as yours you would notice the improvement it made. IMO find a way to fix it and use it.
You can ask any major parts distributer that knows what they are doing and they will tell you that it is only worth it if you can turn to at least 7 or higher. That is where you will see your big gain in a windage tray. I was gunna put one on my car but d and d motorsports told me i didnt need one. And they know what they are doing b/c they build pro mod motors and such. Is there anything else you wanna know let me know
I have the DSS windage tray main support system along with the DSS oil pan that has the crankscraper built in and just during the mock up installation I had no clearance issues.
I don't know what brand it is, but I'm guessing it came from chp.
The main studs that the tray bolts to are stepped, and the holes on the windage tray got rounded out a little or something so it was wanting to go flat against the main caps. I just put a couple washers under it to bring it back up to where it should be. Clearance looks ok now.
definately try to keep it. a recent 5.0 mag had an article on oil management that showed that keeping windage down really improved the performance. i can dig the article up if you can't find it.
I asked the guru at my machine shop about it and he said basically the same as above. If you are not reaching in the 7k rpm range it really is negligible. I have a Canton pan which is baffled and that prevents the oil from climbing the sides of the pan from suction under high rpm. A windage tray would have been overkill in my case. If you have it, and can make it work without issues, use it. It can't hurt.