GZ Motorsports Offers Insights To Vaccum Pumps
1/10/2012
Volcano, CA
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GZ MotorsportsGZ Motorsports has been manufacturing quality, economical vacuum pumps for Race and High performance applications since 1995. GZ has been located in the Sierra Mountains in Northern California since 1999. Their 5000 Square foot shop houses both the business as well as our racing branch of the company. The owner of the company, Greg Zucco races a 1958 Super Gas Corvette and Bill Huntington the second in command, races a 23T altered in Super Comp and Super Pro bracket. Goth Greg and Bill are at the races regularly and know the problems many racers have had in the past with other brands of vacuum pumps.

GZ developed their vacuum pumps with minimum friction in mind requiring less cleaning. The vanes actually run on an eccentric pin with bearings so that they move in and out of the drum without touching the case. This allows them to maintain vacuum at all RPM ranges.
 
GZ introduced their brand new Super Pro vacuum pump (VP104) in December of 2010. This new pump has been received very well in both the racing and street community as it works equally well in both as it has an extremely long maintenance free life in either use.  The Super Pro pump is currently being used on engines with HP rating of 700 to more than 2000 with great success. Just last December, their Super Pro vacuum pump was used in the BLP Carb Shoot out in Orlando. The test engine was a 613 CI BBC with over 1200 HP supplied by Steve Schmidt Race Engines, in which the vacuum pump pulled a consistent 20 inches thru out each pull, as a result Steve Schmidt has become a dealer for our pumps.
 
One of GZ’s claims to fame is vacuum pumps longevity. GZ previously tested a Super Pro vacuum pump on a test stand running at 3500 rpm for a grand total of 500 hours without failure of the critical Rulon wiper and vane components.
 
GZ Vacuum Pump     GZ Vacuum Pump
 
Picture on left is the new VP102 -  and on the right is the VP104 with mounting plate and pulley
 
Based on that success, GZ is introducing a brand new Sportsman vacuum pump (VP102) which is based on the design of the Super Pro vacuum pump but shorter in length by about 1”. The new Sportsman vacuum pump was designed to provide air flow out of a crank case up to 22CFM which will generally provide pan vacuum of 12” to 15” or more in engines with up to about 700 HP. The new Sportsman vacuum pump provides the same inlet and outs on the side of the case as the Super Pro vacuum pump as well as an additional inlet and out let on the back face. This adds a great deal of versatility to the typical problems associated with installation and the location of inlet and outlet lines, especially in street driven vehicles.
 
Along with vacuum pumps, GZ has developed their own line of mandrels, pulleys, breather tanks, vacuum relief valves, lock in oil caps along with breathers and other items.
 
You can visit them at GZ Motorsports or contact them at:
 
GZ Motorsports, LLC
22338 Shake Ridge Road
Volcano, CA 95689
(209) 296-3793
 
 
 Frequently asked questions:
 
  1. I use my car on the street also - will my GZ pump be ok?
Generally all of our vacuum pumps work fine on the street as long as the engine has enough blow-by to send some oil mist thru the pump. For low HP daily drivers we do offer a “street” kit that merely uses the breather tank as a reservoir and cycles the oil in the tank thru the pump to keep it oiled. However, we have found that even a bone stock LSX engine makes enough blow-by to keep our vacuum pump oiled.
 
  1. What can I do to prevent so much oil in the evac tank?
Any vacuum pump, will pull whatever oil is passing by the inlet location. Therefore, the inlet location is paramount to minimizing the amount of oil pulled. Generally the front vertical face of the valve cover is the best. However valve oiling systems, spray bars, etc. will affect the amount of oil pulled. Sometimes a baffle correctly placed inside the valve cover will solve the problem, adding some scotchbrite inside the baffle can also help.
 
  1. How much vacuum should I run:
We recommend asking your engine builder, they all have an opinion. However, we have found, in our own race cars, which are all BBC powered that 15” is fine. Many engine builders suggest between 10” and 12”.   You can achieve this with a vacuum relief valve or pulley size.
 
  1. The vacuum pump I received is really tight, is there something wrong with it:
No, we assemble all vacuum pumps in our shop to as tight of tolerances as we can. This results in better maximum vacuums. We also test every pump on our pump dyno before it goes on the shelf. Tight tolerances also result in a tight pump until it is broken in. Once our vacuum pumps are broken in they will turn freely.

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