My Viper reads 55 PSI hot, cold, idle or 6,000 rpm. Turn the engine off and it'll take 5+ seconds for the needle to drop. Very valuable information...... My 1970 Trans Am on the other hand has a oil gauge needle that could double as the tach, i.e. it moves in sync with the engine RPM as one would expect.
I had suspected the same as Jeffrey... new engine, great oil pump and pressure regulation, etc.
The reality is (after hooking up a mechanical gauge temporarily) the factory gauge is worthless. The mechanical gauge responded just as the 30 year old Trans Am gauge, with engine RPM and temp.
After taking apart a donor Viper OEM gauge, I found a thick gummy clear gel heavily dampaning needle movement. No way I could find to remove. Unfortunately, I'd imagine all D/C gauges are similarly handicapped. Surprising that even on their premier performance car they don't trust us enough to expose the real oil pressure. Fearful of warranty claims... my O/P is 30 and his is 50....
My solution is to replace the guts of my factory gauge with a more responsive aftermarket unit in order to keep the stock look.
[ January 22, 2004, 10:41 PM: Message edited by: Ron-Indy ]