tabascom16 said:
I find it funny that there is soo much "research and technology" going into oil filters. Most of the good ones perform almost the same, and even most of the cheap ones compare. Now if some really well controlled statistical study could be done to say that the minute change significantly affect the life of an engine then I would be impressed. I don't think this will happen because of too many variables from engine to engine and such. I feel its one of those little things people are too caught up on because of manufacture hype about the importance of an "incredible" oil filter. But then again that is just my $0.02.
This is a very common misconception about filtration. Generally speaking "the cleaner the oil, the longer the life of the engine". I agree that there needs to be a non-biased study of the different filtering media, but if you use some of the information that is presently available then you should be able to make a good decision of what filter to use.
Here is some information from a study I found from NORIA:
AC Delco performed some tests and found that contaminants in your oil smaller than 10 microns generated about 3.6 times more wear (rods, rings, and main bearings) than particles greater than 20 microns. (25 microns = 1/1000th of an inch. Most humans can only see 40 microns or larger) Typical automotive filters remove particles 40 microns and larger.
Silica and alumina coming from your engine's air intake will pass through your air filter (a good case for getting a good air filter as well) and get into your oil. This abrasive dust will pass between pistons, rings and culinder walls and many pairticles will eventually become suspended in the lubricating oil. The typical piston ring to cylinder bore clearance is 5-10 microns. Any particles larger than this clearance will not get caught up but instead will be washed away and will cause no harm. Particles smaller than this clearance will get between the ring and wall and will score the wall. This is where your wear comes from.
There is a chart that describes the effect of filtration on engine life. I hope this formats OK.
Filter Quality Normalized Wear Relative Engine Life
40 microns 1 1
15 microns 0.29 3.4
8.5 microns 0.18 5.5
7 microns 0.14 7.1
Therefore a 7 micron filter will cause your engine to wear 7.1 times slower than using a 40 micron filter.
That is pretty good evidence for choosing a good filter. Another reason so spend an extra few bucks on a good filter is that it will cause your engine oil to last longer. A better filter means longer periods between your oil changes.
If you want more information on this subject I have tons of it. This is part of what I do for a living. We have increased our filtration capacity at our plant and have noticed a significant decrease in the amount of bearing wear and failure. Also our oil analyses have been coming back so clean that we have been using less oil. Cost savings are really increasing with just a little attention to the life blood of our machines.
Yes, the marketing people are going to feed you all sorts of BS to try to sell their products. Look at the facts on their products and choose accordingly.
Scott
