Canton Mecca (CM) Absolute No Bypass Oil Filters

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URG8RB8

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OK, newbie on this site. Hopefully, don't need flame proof jacket for first post, so here goes.

Car in question: 1989 Porsche 944 Turbo S (Highly modified, 400-425 RWHP)

I have a question concerning an oil filter I would like to purchase for my street/race car. I have a ton of money and work into this engine and car. I want to install the best filtration possible. Cost is not really a factor, up to a point of course. I thought I had made up my mind with the Canton Mecca 25-484 billet spin on filter, but then I thought about what I had learned from this site. My question has to do with the fact this filter does not have a bypass valve, and is a 100% absolute filter. I am concerned about flow during cold start up. Our cars normally run 20W-50 weight synthetic oil, minimum 15W-50. If it is 50 degrees or less ambient this oil is very thick. I am positive the bypass valve would open on a standard filter. If the oil is too thick to flow at low temperatures through the filter, what happens? I am assuming the pressure will continue to build until the oil pump pressure relief valve opens, but not sure. I am all ears, hoping to hear back from some of the experts on here about this concern. Maybe it is of no concern, if so please let me know why. Thanks!
 
Well, I took a quick look and it says "filters down 8-micron" but doesn't give any other info. Technically, all oil filters "filter down to 8 micron" it's just a matter of percentages. Is it 8% @ 8 um or 80% @ 8 um? Is it 8 um absolute, 8 um nominal or something else?

The unit you chose says it's rated for 45 GPM of hot oil, which is a lot. Find out the max flow of your Porsche's lube system and you'll then have some idea of how that filter stacks up flow-wise against actual lube flow. I think it likely you will have quite an overage to account for thick oil.

The obvious sensible answer is to go easy warming up but it would be nice to know how much differential pressure the filter element can take. The materials give the impression it can take just about everything but I don't like the lack of specifics. They state the CM filters are a "depth filter" which implies a synthetic media and that's good for flow as well as filtration.

Overall, I don't think you have anything to worry about unless you try to go racing from a cold start in cold weather and if you can believe the ad hype, it gives you the impression that even then the filter wouldn't be damaged. Whether you would have enough oil flow to the engine is another matter so again it comes back to easy warmups.
 
Jim:

Thank you for the response. I will do some research and see if I can provide you with some factual answers.

I too, was worried about the differential pressure capabilities, if unable to flow through filter media at low temperatures, thus my post. A fluid is not compressible, but the filter element is.
 
Originally Posted By: Coprolite
If you wanted the best filtration possible, would you have any space to add a bypass filter?

Chok dee khrap.


Saswadee Khrup! Khrup Khun Khrup! Saswadee Bpee Mai Khrup, Happy New Year!

You know I was looking into this, and everyone on the Porsche forum laughed at me and said that is only for big trucks and diesels. Honestly, I have not seen a bypass setup on any sport car personally. Why is this?
 
I think it is a matter of space. If I still had my old 912, I would be finding a place to install it. I would say that it is most useful on the air cooled vehicles that have large sump sizes.

If someone has a vehicle that doesn't need to stay OEM and extra weight isn't an issue, I can't think of a reason to not install one.

Thanks for reminding me about Songkhran. Happy New Year! I will have to tease my wife that she hasn't brought it up yet.
 
Jim:

First I had to educate myself on what a depth type oil filter was. In case anybody else is interested:

Depth Type Oil Filter Elements
Depth type oil filters have elements that are constructed of materials that are referred to as absorbent and these consist of inactive materials such as cotton waste, waste paper, wound paper, cellulose, cloth, wood pulp, asbestos, etc., which are tightly packed together. These types of filters depend on the absorbtion of contaminants as the oil flows through the media. It takes quite a while for the oil to flow through a depth type filter. That is the reason that depth type oil filters are plumbed into an oil system as a secondary, or by-pass, oil filter. If they were plumbed into the full flow system the oil would take too long to flow through and the engine would not receive sufficient quantities of oil volume. Depth type filters typically do not have bypass valves since they are not plumbed into the full flow oil system. If a depth type oil filter plumbed in a system as a bypass filter became plugged the full flow oil filter would remain functional.

Many poorly constructed absorbent depth filters are susceptible to a condition called channeling. Channeling is a condition whereby the oil flow through the media creates a channel or locates a path of least resistance. Once channeling occurs, effective filtration ceases.

Depth type absorbent filters will not remove oil additives (unless the additive is a solid lubricant such as graphite and the particle size is in the size range which may prevent them from moving through the filter).

Another group of materials used in some depth type filters are referred to as adsorbent and consist of chemically active materials such as Fullers earth, clays, charcoal and chemically treated paper. These filters remove contaminants through a chemical reaction with the lubricant, and as a result, may remove some oil additives.

I do not recommend adsorbent type depth filters since they cannot selectively filter out only the harmful materials but in the process may filter out necessary additives that were engineered into the oil by the oil manufacturer.
 
Originally Posted By: Coprolite
I think it is a matter of space. If I still had my old 912, I would be finding a place to install it. I would say that it is most useful on the air cooled vehicles that have large sump sizes.

If someone has a vehicle that doesn't need to stay OEM and extra weight isn't an issue, I can't think of a reason to not install one.

Thanks for reminding me about Songkhran. Happy New Year! I will have to tease my wife that she hasn't brought it up yet.


No problem! I am actually in Penang, Malaysia tonight, but will fly back tomorrow morning for Song Khran. Have to buy my water guns!

I am very space limited, but I think I could find a place for the remote filter. I need to do more research on the bypass unit. I assume the Amsoil unit is one of the better systems?
 
Jim:

It is getting late here and I have an early flight in the morning so I called CM's tech line. Unfortunately, they could not answer any of my or your questions. The owner is away on vacation, but will contact me upon his return. I guess that is not a good sign, but I have plenty of time and will post the responses I get from the owner of CM. I don't care for the fact there is no technical data sheet available for the filter element.
 
I saw the Q&A earlier but it didn't answer my questions. Not much detail on the website at all... something that always makes me suspicious when I see a high price tag.

The info you quoted was speaking mostly about bypass filters, which do indeed have limited flow capability. Depth media in a full flow filter is usually a spun synthetic media, which is now coming on strong in the premium filter market; Fram Ultra, Purolator Synthetic, Wix XP, Amsoil eAO, etc. To be honest, you could do as well day-to-day with one of these for $10-15. For racing and such, extreme filtration is a case of diminished returns unless you plan on running long OCIs.. something not generally advisable for a hard used or high performance race engines that usually have fuel dilution issues which dictate short OCIs. Most of the premium filters mentioned above filter down to 99% @ 20 um and are absolute (meaning they get all the particles) at anything over about 25 um. The benefits of filtration more efficient than that are very, very long term, very hard to measure and such filters are not cost effective from that standpoint alone... UNLESS you factor in long OCIs (>15K). I tried to address your questions from the standpoint of evaluating the CM filter, but there are plenty of easier, less expensive alternatives that are more cost effective.
 
Jim:

Unfortunately, none of the filters you mentioned are made for my application. I have sent E-mails to both Fram (about the Ultra) and to Royal Purple. They said there is not enough demand to make a filter for our cars. I am trying to cross reference for another car with similar dimensions. I believe there was a certain corvette in the 90's that used a similar filter. Our thread pattern is 20X1.5mm, but I am not sure of the O-ring seal size right now. I am on an extended trip and don't have access to a filter to measure. There is little to information that i can find on the factory Mahle filters which is an OC-142 or an OC-75.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: URG8RB8
Jim:

Unfortunately, none of the filters you mentioned are made for my application. I have sent E-mails to both Fram (about the Ultra) and to Royal Purple. They said there is not enough demand to make a filter for our cars. I am trying to cross reference for another car with similar dimensions. I believe there was a certain corvette in the 90's that used a similar filter. Our thread pattern is 20X1.5mm, but I am not sure of the O-ring seal size right now. I am on an extended trip and don't have access to a filter to measure. There is little to information that i can find on the factory Mahle filters which is an OC-142 or an OC-75.


Well, sounds like you did your homework, though you didn't specifically mention Purolator, or Wix XP. I'm running into the same trouble with a more pedestrian piece of equipment... a John Deere combine.
 
Jim:

Yes, need to look into those as well. I have not had a chance to look yet, but did find more detailed information on the factory Mahle filter OC-75

Thread pitch 20 X 1.5mm
Seal ID: 62mm
Seal OD: 72mm
Height: 139.5mm
Can Diameter: 76mm

Hopefully, I can find something to match.

Mahle OC-75 Specifications
 
Jim:

Just checked the Wix XP and the Purolator Synthetic and both are a no go. Don't make them yet, at least.
frown.gif
 
Well, there's a possibility! The K&N is a well built filter. Efficiency is typically not a strong point. I don't know what it is for this part number but for the one I have specs for, NP6001, it's 96% @ 20 um. Pretty average, maybe edging towards above average. It's nearly absolute @ 30 um.
 
The K&N is OK, but not what I am looking for here. I would like to find one of the top 4 100% synthetics. I found an almost match. The Fram XG-3985 will fit, but the bypass valve spring is set to 12 psi versus the normal 32-36 psi. Is running a light bypass spring highly detrimental? Also this is an XG part number, but not an Ultra. What is the difference? I can’t find much literature. XG seems to be rated for 7000 miles versus the 10,000 on the Ultra.
 
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