Originally Posted by slick1
Can't find any tests proving the claims made by Magna-Guard e.g.
"When a Magna-Guard Oil Filter Magnet is installed into an oil filter, engine wear is reduced by a factor of 8 to 14-times, fuel economy is improved by a minimum of 3.7 to 5%, and toxic tailpipe emissions and discharge are reduced by up to 18%. "
Emailed MagnaGuard and asked for some proofs:
They referenced some of the same SAE reports quoted above.
However they also included a bit of independent research showing their product did make a difference... although they only provided the summary report not the full report.
One thing to note is that they were already using a high efficiency bypass filter filtering to ~1 micron. That's 40x better than normal.
Despite that they were able to decrease the number of circulating iron particles by 77% by adding a magnet. That sounds like a worthwhile improvement?
Copper decreased 26%
Lead 80%
Silicon 80%
Sodium by 86%
It's not clear if this was all the result of the magnet... as silicon typically comes from dirt being sucked through the air filter.
Sodium is likewise a contaminant... but not sure where it comes from. Salt on the roads?
Copper and lead wear reductions could be because of the reduced amount of abrasive iron in circulation?
BTW: The copper seems to be way outside the normal range for wear. Such a high level suggests a bearing might be on the way out?
It would have been nice to see some repeat oil analysis?
Copper, lead, silicon and sodium levels bounce around a lot... so a couple of repeat tests would show us that the improvement was due to the magnets and not just an anomaly due to the variations in environment and driving?
The test might have been more informative if they weren't using a high efficiency bypass filter?
You would expect an even larger decrease in metal wear with a normal filter?
Attached a couple of their brochures which provide some documentation.
Overall it still seems like it would be worth adding a magnet considering it's minimal cost?
Begs the question... why don't oil filter companies add a magnet to their oil filters if they can make such a big difference?