media design, total media area etc
List of oil filters with 99% efficiency at 20 microns.
- Thread starter Bill7
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micron rating and surface area=filter life
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I’ve been looking at light spots in media. By far the majority of the media is meshed in well. That’s where the analogy comes from. A particle has much more chance of being captured than finding a hole. So if there aren’t many new particles per circulation, and there aren’t in modern engines with good air filters, the odds of one going through is small. If there are lots of particles dumped in, clearly nearly all the holes get particles. Analogy good.
If two medias were equal design and equal area then there would be no difference between them. If you had two medias with the same surface area and one was designed different than the other, then they will behave differently. Again, it really depends on the exact design of the media. If both were the same area, the one with much higher efficiency could certainly also have higher holding capacity based on the media design. For instance, it it was a good depth filtering media, or multi-layer etc. That's why the general statement of "a smaller micron filter will clog faster" does not always hold true between differently designed filter media, and that's what I said way back in post 176.
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Still a bad analogy because particles going through filter media don't go in a straight line to the hole like a golf ball does on the green.
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When the extended drain high efficiency medias were introduced by Donaldson and Fleetguard, one of the main focuses was on depth filtration. Again, this is all covered in my "what's in your filter?" thread.
The filter that @ZeeOSix is talking about, the only real filter to take that concept downmarket, the OG FRAM Ultra/Titanium had media that looked like this:
Which are two thick layers that each split into two thinner layers, you end up with 4 layers of media. This is true depth filtration, and that's how the filter was able to provide high efficiency, high holding capacity, and extended drain capability.
Of course this filter was the first thing sacrificed at the altar of savings by First Brands, I assume due to it being relatively expensive to manufacture.
The cheapening by First Brands seem to be ongoing without an end in sight.
I had some responses to my post in the BITOG air filters section that confirms that the Fram Ultra Air filter (40,000 mile / 4 year) filter sold exclusively at Walmart has been significantly cheapened.
My concern is that all this cheapening of oil filters which is causing:
[1] Leaks of unfiltered oil (First brands).
[2] Tears of media (Purolator)
[3] Closed louvers, etc, (Purolator)
can become a danger to the engine, so choosing a well built uncheapened oil filter is more important than ever.
Some of the worst offenders (ex: Fram Ultra, Fram Endurance) that have the most leakage of unfiltered oil are also some of the the most expensive filters.
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I am new to learning about filters beyond the basics. How does a filter have leakage of unfiltered oil and where in the filter does it occur?
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I don't understand it either.
There’s a large gap between the leaf spring and end cap that should be sealed. This allows some dirty oil to bypass the media.
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The end cap is sealed though right? So basically it just makes it appear like the filter is longer than it really is.
The end cap is sealed but the gaps in the leaf spring are not. Dirty oil is passing through the leaf spring gaps. The quality of the leaf spring stamping is the problem as it should be sealed.
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I'm wondering if the Fram Extra Guard cheapo with the fiber end caps might be the least prone to leaks?
The softer fiber end cap will seal better even if the leaf spring is ruffled some. A metal-on-metal interface needs to be perfectly flat and smooth on both sides to have any chance of sealing well.
Slightly OT...as I'm interested in the base filter....Which is better, 95% at 20 microns or 99% at 30? I'm believing that 95% at 20 is superior, but I am clueless as to the equation that would tell the story.
The other thing running through my mind is with heat. With normal operating temp, would the slight expansion of the metal and possible very slight increase in pliability of the leaf spring seal off any leakage on the XG/TG/Endurance?
I'm still much more comfortable with the Endurance on my Vette. I don't run it on the track, but it seems high RPM frequently, as I just can't keep my foot out of that LS2.
I did a thermal expansion test in my Endurance leakage thread. Even over 200 degrees the gap wouldn’t seal. I had the same thought as you originally.
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I have never been the biggest fan of the change first brands did to champion's dome end cap. Having a solid end cap and a non-combo leaf spring/bypass valve leaves a lot less room for failure. This unfortunately proves my concerns right. The leaf spring/bypass valve might be okay on a fiber end cap design but a premium synthetic filter needs to be built as robustly as possible. I've never been the most confident of this design since the person with a Ford freestyle had his fram ultra fail within 2k miles of use due to the leaf spring. So many of these designs from nearly everyone these days are being designed to be just enough instead of overbuilt. Sad.
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Is there a hole in the middle where the relief valve is? All that leaf spring does is keep it sealed up against the base plate. If the oil filter gets plugged or the oil is too thick, then usually it has a little button type relief valve in the middle that allows unfiltered oil through. This only occurs on cold starts, high rpm operation etc. Typically if the correct oil weight is used, the engine is maintained, then this isn't an issue. You're making it sound like it has a big opening at the bottom where unfiltered oil is passing through 100 percent if the time.
Are you not seeing the gaps in the leaf spring?
It’s not sealing on the end cap and dirty oil is passing through all the time. No light should be passing between the leaf spring and end cap. I’m not sure how else to show you or explain it, sorry.
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I see it. Was just hoping to see the end of the filter and not from the side. This looks like you took a picture in a dark room.I guess I'll take this filter off and switch it out with a microgard from oreillys
