Any close-up photos of Wix bypass?

[TC]

Others in these forums have posted some excellent photos of many brands of cut-open filters, including Wix. And THANKS for doing so! Very helpful stuff indeed.

Has anybody posted -- or have the ability to post -- a close-up photo of Wix's unique bypass valve? While other manufacturers' valves are straightforward, Wix's is an enigma of sorts -- it looks like a little flying saucer with sleeves at each end (if flying saucers wore shirts). Better yet, has anybody cut open one of these flying saucers? I'm curious as to what spring/seal assembly they use. One never knows --we might just find little green men inside. Stranger things have happened...

 

[DavoNF]

I would be interested as well, surely someone has a photo somewhere.

Dave

 

[TC]

By chance I stumbled across this site today. Although it's not a cut-apart view, it's nonetheless the best photo/illustration I've seen of a Wix bypass valve:

http://www.twocreeks.net/toby/oil_filters/napa.shtml

 

[edwardh1]

take a look at the size of the element folks

this is why bigger on the outside may not give you more filtering area

 

[Virtuoso]

I think the smaller Napa Gold filters may suffer more from this than the bigger ones..I belive it's just the way they are constructed. There is a good amount of space taken up by other things (bypass valves, springs, ect).

I cut open one of my Napa Gold 1515's, and the element is pretty beefy. Almost as big as the stock size oil filter itself that comes on the SHO (1516, IIRC).

 

[TC]

For what it's worth, that image is of a motorcycle filter. Other than added manufacturing costs, this may be just about the only drawback to open-end bypass valves -- the space they take up which can result in a smaller filter cartridge.

But I suspect that Wix might try to compensate for a smaller cartridge by adding pleats, thereby increasing surface area. At the Honda enthusiasts' website (www.ntpog.org), it's interesting that the Wix (Napa Gold) filter cartridge is one of the smaller of the bunch, yet still manages to achieve decent filtering area by adding pleats. Check out the following. (Numbers are cartridge length, number of pleats, and surface area, respectively.)

Napa Gold: 1.75", 51, 126 sq in
Mobil 1: 1.875", 40, 108 sq in
STP: 1.875", 46, 108 sq in
Bosch: 1.875", 44, 108 sq in
Fram Extra Guard: 2.25", 40, 101 sq in

I didn't include several Honda brand filters they also cut apart, made in the US, Canada, and Japan. These have surface areas of 149, 151, and 169 sq in, respectively, and all three had cartridge lengths of 2.125" or greater.

So, in spite of having a visually smaller cartridge, the Wix nonetheless manages to provide a surface area in the middle range of the filters tested. But edwardh1 is correct -- to use a potato chip analogy, once you open it you might see that a big bag of chips is only half-full!

[ October 07, 2003, 09:09 PM: Message edited by: TC ]

 

[nick]

Great post TC, can we now agree that the Wix is a good filter for Honda's even though it looks small.

Take a look at the filter area for the honda OEM japanese filter, 169 sq inches, very nice. In fact, I just ordered 6 of the new Honda S2000 filters (which fit almost all the other honda models also) that are made by Toyo Ruki in Japan. They were $5.90 each and look to be very well made including the silicon adbv. I will be cutting one up after my first oil change.

NickB

 

[guile]

Nick, where did you order your Honda S2000 filters?

 

[nick]

Ordered the 15400-PCX-004 from hparts.com

S2000 filter at hparts

I ordered a bunch of the Honda ATF and the filters but shipping wasn't bad at all.

NickB

 

[DavoNF]

TC,

Thanks for that photo and the extra info. I am a magnet freak, and would like to put one on the end of the oil filter.

Normal bypass valves down the closed end would be too close to the magnet and may wash some crap out when the bypass opened. The Wix, with the bypass near the open end, would be a better design for a magnet at the closed end.

Dave