DCT pan ·Nov 29, 2022

Meet the new me, same as the old me.

"These build journal entries are part of a special series on the DCT major service, updated GTS filling specifications and upgraded, oversized, DCT pans.

This journal entry documents the unboxing impressions of the prototype OE+ GTS DCT pans along with features to be finalized."
- Matt

The backstory.

Earlier in 2021, I had organized a group buy for a Russian company that machined upgraded pans.

It was a great design and is what I currently run on my car.

Unfortunately, the company is ran by a guy with dubious ethics that overpromises and under delivers.

He doesn't pay his bills, gouges prices, ships late, give you the silent treatment until your product shows up months later and he illegally uses 7 different paypal accounts of some of his US influencers to process payments.

Added to the current geopolitical context, that's enough to just say no.

It's your money, you do you.

Meet the new me, same as the old me.

In similar fashion to the the Snap-In Vanos covers, I worked with Abdul & Majdi at EuroPowerMotorsports to get this solution retro engineered and made in the USA.

Do I feel any shame in doing this to this Russian company? No.

Let this serve as a warning to any shady company with bad intentions.

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, fuck the peace signs, load the chopper and let it rain on you"
- a variant of President Bush's, by JCole.

This project has been on the backlog since June as they changed their brand from MPower to EuroPowerMotorsports.

It's finally back on schedule. I received the prototype pan last week via UPS.

Reviewing the specs.

Gasketless design.

The design eliminates the need for a rubber gasket like the OEM design. You instead use high temperature gasket maker to be applied in precision machined grooves on the edges of the pan.

Improved Oil Flow.

The main pan features internal anti starvation walls that solves the low oil pressure problem due to oil outflow on hard turns and acceleration.

Increased Oil Capacity.

The pan is enlarged over OEM. It sits lower and allows 0.8L extra fill over GTS spec, and 1.8L over OEM spec.

Enlarged Fins.

It also has additional extended radiator fins up to 10mm in length to provide additional cooling surface.

While enlarged over OEM and fins are extended, the pan remains compatible with the OEM transmission pan felt cover.

Extender for oil pick up tube.

As the pan is deeper, a machined aluminum extended is included for the oil pick up tube. This allows the DCT to pick up its oil at the lowest point of the pan.

I documented the installation of the extender here.

Fits with OE magnet and drain plug.

You re-use the OEM magnet found at the bottom of your OEM plastic pan.

The threaded section for the main drain plug is machined. I want them to include a drain plug for the production version.

Features to be finalized.

OEM GTS style Banjo Bolt.

I'm working with Majdi to source a GTS style banjo bolt.

The E92 M3 GTS used the OEM plastic pan with an overfilling spec of 1 liter over a standard E92 M3.

There are 2 ways to achieve this:

Tilt the car by raising the passenger side to overfill via the drain plug.
Use an OEM, GTS style Banjo Bolt to overfill.

When combining the GTS filling specifications and the extra 800ml capacity, you can overfill your main DCT oil pan by 1.8 liters over a standard E92 M3.

Side pans.

The side pans can also leak as they use a rubber gasket like the OE main pans. The design will be a replica of the OEM yet feature the same gasketless design of the main pan.

Peripheral Hardware.

I am working with Majdi to provide the gasket maker in a syringe, bolts and the main drain plug for those looking to DIY.

Next: we continue development and it gets test fitted before an official product launch is set up.