Couple of newb filter questions

G

Greyroom

Joined
Aug 4, 2022
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First I should say I'm a newb compared to some of the veterans around here. Now to the point:

1. Is there any oil filter that actually filters out the gasoline that gets into the engine oil?

2. What actually separates a 10k mile oil filter from a 5k mile filter? Seems that generally, they both filter down to about 25 microns.

3. Anyone ever install a better filtration system so you could go longer between oil changes? Without any increased engine wear. So it might make use of two oil filters instead of one, and they're both larger than the OEM filter size. Seen it on big trucks. Could it be useful on a car or light duty truck?

Thank you
 
1. I don't believe there is any filter that filters out gasoline and higher mileage filters use a better filtering media. 2. Most use a synthetic media vs a paper/ cellulose media to extend the service on filters. 3. You can install a oil bypass system on a vehicle to extend oil changes along with using oils like Amsoil.
 
If there was a magical filter that seperates gasoline out of motor oil, the manufacturers of the most notorious fuel diluting gdi engines would be using those filters.
Holding capacity is what seperates a "5,000mile" filter from a "10,000mile" filter, but really mileage ratings are just marketing wank, for a car that the manufacturer recomends a 10k OCI even a basic filter should meet SAE standards to go the manufacturers specified interval, the amount of media and the type of media determine the holding capacity. Adding a second full flow filter won't provide much if any benefit, and bypass filters are mostly pointless on lightduty vehicles and on gasoline engines, they're mostly good for HD diesels that have a huge sump that will likely load the oil with soot before they deplete the additives in the oil so adding a bypass to filter out the soot can significantly prolong the oil change interval, on gdi engines the soot produced is too fine to be filtered out by a bypass filter and standard oil change intervals will still be needed, on properly designed modern gasoline engines, generally the rest of the car will wear out before the engine ever will so long as you change the oil at reasonable intervals.
 
I tend to replace things as the rest of the car wears out. Suspension, interior, transmission... I just fix it all as it eventually dies. As such, I have a 22 year old toyota and a 30 year old chevy truck that don't really seem all that old. I'll keep driving them forever if possible, so making the engine last and last is a priority.
 
Greyroom said:
First I should say I'm a newb compared to some of the veterans around here. Now to the point:

1. Is there any oil filter that actually filters out the gasoline that gets into the engine oil?
Click to expand...
No, I highly doubt it ... not even with a bypass filtering system.

1677272575738.png


Greyroom said:
2. What actually separates a 10k mile oil filter from a 5k mile filter? Seems that generally, they both filter down to about 25 microns.
Click to expand...
The holding capacity of the filter determines it's mileage use rating. Some high efficiency filters (99+% @ 20u) are rated for 20K miles (ex, Fram Ultra). You can have both high efficiency and high holding capacity if the filter and media is designed right.

Greyroom said:
3. Anyone ever install a better filtration system so you could go longer between oil changes? Without any increased engine wear. So it might make use of two oil filters instead of one, and they're both larger than the OEM filter size. Seen it on big trucks. Could it be useful on a car or light duty truck?
Click to expand...
Without installing a super high efficiency bypass filtering system, all you can do is run a high efficiency filter that's 99+% @20u.
 
Octane molecules have a shorter chain length than lubricating oil molecules, which in turn are much shorter than a VII molecule. VII are not filtered out so there is no way to mechanically filter gasoline from oil.

There might be another way to get it out but it wouldn’t be simple filtration.
 
Last edited:
Greyroom said:
...
1. Is there any oil filter that actually filters out the gasoline that gets into the engine oil?

2. What actually separates a 10k mile oil filter from a 5k mile filter? Seems that generally, they both filter down to about 25 microns. ...
Click to expand...
1. Oil filters filter out solid particles. Gasoline is a liquid.
2. Mostly marketing and price, although the manufacturer does have to take holding capacity into account before advertising longer change intervals.
 
What vehicle, and what OCI are you trying to achieve?

The Fram OCOD is rated to 10K miles. OEM Toyota filters are rated to 10K miles. Is there anything out there that is less than 10K miles that you would really want to run anyway?

I personally would rather change my oil way, way too early than a day too late, but that's just me. Price difference between a basic oil and something like Mobil1 EP, and a cheap oil filter vs Fram Ultra synthetic is so minimal, not sure why you would use anything lesser if your going to try to go 15 - 20K OCI?
 
Or just run propane. It is known to contaminate engine oil less than gasoline does in an internal combustion engine. Propane burns more cleanly than gasoline and produces fewer byproducts that can mix with and contaminate engine oil.

Gas produces byproducts like unburned fuel, soot, and acids, which can accumulate in the engine oil and cause it to break down and become less effective over time. Propane burns much more completely than gasoline, producing fewer of these harmful byproducts. So the motor oil is less likely to become contaminated, and will generally last longer and perform better than oil in gasoline-fueled engines.
 
In some cases, maybe many cases, there is an oversize filter you can opt for. Toyota for example
can use a Fram #7317 size. Ford engines have several oversize options. Chevy/GMC I'm not sure.
The higher the efficiency the more likely the filter is more restrictive to flow. Usually not a problem and
Champ Labs (nylon cage center tube) will flow better than metal center tubes, IMHO.

My 2¢
 
dwendt44 said:
The higher the efficiency the more likely the filter is more restrictive to flow.
Click to expand...
Not if it's designed correctly. Look at the Ascent filter testing data. Some of the most efficient filters had the best "flow", meaning less delta-p vs flow rate. And a filter with a few PSI more of delta-p won't really matter on an engine with a positives displacement oil pump. Less flow restrictive filters don't give more oil flow to the engine, they just make the pump work a hair less.

dwendt44 said:
Usually not a problem and
Champ Labs (nylon cage center tube) will flow better than metal center tubes, IMHO.
Click to expand...
Base plates and center tubes don't impact delta-p much if they are designed right. The media and it's total area has a much larger impact on the whole filter assembly delta-p vs flow.
 
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SC Maintenance said:
My exceptionally limited understanding of this is that a homogeneous synthetic media with smaller holes can actually be less restrictive than a more inconsistent cellulose media. Read here:

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/whats-in-your-filter-media-types-explained.345164/
Click to expand...
This is one of the main principles behind Fleetguard NanoNet media filters...layers of very uniform, very fine polymer-based fibers which enables extremely high efficiencies with lower levels of flow restriction than conventional filtration media types.
 
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