I have heard, although, I am not for sure that w/ a dry sump you run the risk of spun bearings for the simple fact that the crank does not travel through the oil. Although it makes better power by freeing up parasitic loss and doesn't encounter windage you run the risk of a bearing getting dry. Again, that is strictly for a street car. On a race car it makes sense and some of the higher end cars are going dry sump. The new Z06 vette uses a dry sump oiling system, as does the Porsche turbo, Ferrari, etc. Cost is prohibitive as you mentioned. I have looked at it myself but have not gone below the surface to really weigh the pros and cons. For a street application, I would say that a good knife edged lightened crank and possibly a good quality aftermarket oil pan w/ baffles would probably be just as efficient and be more reliable. Sorry you haven't gotten more responses to this, I felt like I would throw that limited bit of info on the table. I don't think that the oil pans are neccesarily any smaller in volume, they are just flared out b/c the pan stays free of oil during operation. The volume is usually higher than the stock oil capacity I believe. Good luck if you decide to go w/ it, it would definately be trick.