Hard cornering

[Cino]

I have noticed recently that my oil pressure light flicks on and off quickly when I do hard corners, especially powering out around the exit of roundabouts. It only does this when I push it hard, the light doesn't come on in normal/medium speed corners. Has anyone else had this and if so is it normal? Cheers

[MiniDiva]

If it's the same light as the one that comes on when you put your handbrake on (circle with exclamantion mark), then it means your brake fluid level is running low. I'm getting the same at the moment, just need to top it up - the resevoir is under one of the service panels at the front.

[Grinzzz]

111R? Thats going some to do it on the road - it happens on track mainly and is not a good thing. Basically the design of the sump is crap and when cornering hard the engine can get starved of oil. In the states theres an aftermarket replacement sump available that someone should import over here. The lotus solution is the accusump kit as fitted to some of the motorsport cars (cup maybe?) but its expensive and eats boot space.

[SimonK]

I know the OP says oil light but I cant help thinking MiniD's suggestion is more likely. Presumably best to bleed the brakes rather than just top up tho?

Have you ever seen the oil light on track Andy? I never have in probably 50 odd days now and i *think* id notice it as i do notice the brake light coming on when they need bleeding/toping up/whatever.

[jondude]

I agree it is more likely the brake fluid, coupled with you trying to outbrake Schumaker in the bends

Another item to check is the oil filter. A blocked one or even a low quality one can have this effect. Especially if you have old or worn oil in there.

I presume you have checked the oil level and it is on FULL??

[999]

I'm suprised you can see the light flickering when driving hard out of a corner. Usually my eyes are on the corner exit if travelling at any sort of speed. Mind you, having said that, I find the warning lights difficult to see at the best of times even if I'm looking straight at them coz they're not very bright.

[Gooby]

Have you checked the oil?

[tricky 100]

I presume you know the differance between oil and brake lights , so check the oil level as said , if thats ok then get the car checked by a garage because you shouldn't get the oil light to come on with road driving .

[Grinzzz]

SimonK said:

I know the OP says oil light but I cant help thinking MiniD's suggestion is more likely. Presumably best to bleed the brakes rather than just top up tho?

could be right there.

SimonK said:

Have you ever seen the oil light on track Andy?

Yes - but I was looking for it in long sweeping turns. I doubt I'd have noticed it if I wasnt looking as its not exactly that bright and it is only a flicker.

And before someone says something, yes I am that slow that I can look AND write text messages while on the track too.

[wetny]

Perhaps the oil is surging to one side, does the sump have a baffle or foam or anything?

[Paul RN]

The toyota engines can suffer oil starvation during hard cornering, especially with sticky tyres and a decent suspension.

[Cino]

Thanks for the helpful advice. It could be the brake light rather than the oil light, difficult to see as they are both red and close to each other. I only dare look down for a split second! However, I just checked the brake fluid and it is in line with the max mark. Oil is also correct, as I would expect as I only got it a few months ago and it was serviced before it went out. The only thing I can think of is if the force could push the brake fluid over to one side for a split second (it seems quite liquid), momentarily making the sensor think that the brake fluid is lower than it actually is. The light only comes on very briefly. Although if that were the case, presumably it would be a common thing in other cars. I am not braking at any point in this manoeuvre, so I am not clear on why it would trigger a brake warning light (probably me being thick). The car is a standard 111R, no mods.

I don't think I am cornering so hard in relation to the car's abilities; the drivers at Hethel (in 111Rs) were going way faster than that around the bends. I'm curious that MiniDiva has had the same thing - has topping up the brake fluid made it go away? How low was the fluid anyway?

Edited by Cino on Friday 27th July 19:18

[denyer]

I was told that it was the brake reservoir sensor pressing on the panel above it causing the brake light to comes on when cornering hard.

[Janitor]

Yep, had exactly the same thing - I'd put fair wedge on it only needing a tad more brake fluid

[aelord]

I have the same thing - and it's only just been serviced....

[GreenV8S]

Is it feasible to disable the brake fluid warning and reproduce the problem? For example by unplugging the wire to the sensor in the brake fluid reservoir. Obviously only briefly for the purposes of tracking the cause down, and only after confirming that the brakes are all AOK.

[Paul RN]

Cino said:

so hard in relation to the car's abilities; the drivers at Hethel (in 111Rs) were going way faster than that around the bends.

Wouldn't surprise me if they have accusumps fitted. The carousel on the nurburgring always claims a few victims through oil starvation, last time I heard of a Exige S2 doing its engine in was around there.

[aussiebeano]

I'm getting the brake warning light momentarily come on too when cornering, especially in long roundabouts. I'm not going that hard as I've only had the car a week and still getting used to it. Checked the fluid level and it's spot on the max mark. A mate with a VX220 suggested topping up the fluid almost right to the top of the resevoir. Thoughts anyone? The max line is there for a reason from the manufacture...

[Digital]

aussiebeano said:

I'm getting the brake warning light momentarily come on too when cornering, especially in long roundabouts. I'm not going that hard as I've only had the car a week and still getting used to it. Checked the fluid level and it's spot on the max mark. A mate with a VX220 suggested topping up the fluid almost right to the top of the resevoir. Thoughts anyone? The max line is there for a reason from the manufacture...

It could be a problem with the fluid level sensor, I had mine replaced under warranty with my VXT

[Cino]

Still having this issue with mine. I guess that if it is just a case of the sensor temporarily reading the brake fluid level incorrectly then it isn't anything which is dangerous or likely to affect driving, but I still want to get it sorted. I'm a bit wary about warranty claims after getting stung for something the company wouldn't pay out for, especially if it's not actually causing any real problem