My Ongoing Wear Minimization Experiment

[kohnen]

Hello Gents (and Kira),

I've been doing a little experiment with my car. It's a Chevy Volt, so it's possible to drive the car without running the engine (it's electric).

I put a Gold Plug magnetic drain plug on it, a Motion Pro Oil Filter Magnet next to the inlets of the filter, and two FilterMags around a MicroGreen oil filter, and two hard drive voice coil magnets stuck to the end of that filter.

In short, I have as many magnets as I can think of in the oil, or really near it. And, the MicroGreen has a built-in bypass filter that filters down to 2-3 microns or so.

After about 1,000 (engine running) miles on Mobil 1 5w30 EP, I switched to Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5w30 (Yes, too soon, but I've got BITOG-itus real bad!).

I found:

On the Gold Plug, a bit of gray oil that, when wiped on to a paper towel, made that part of the towel attractable to a magnet. To the naked eye, and even using a jeweler's loop, it just looked like gray oil.

Similarly, the Motion Pro Oil Filter Magnet had what looked like gray oil that, once put onto a paper towel, made it ferromagnetic (not magnetic in itself, but attracted by a magnet).

I cut the oil filter open, and I saw the same sort of stuff (but quite a bit less of it) as shown in this picture:

http://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tech-garage-22/filtermag-alternative-45752/

(scroll down towards the bottom of the thread).

both around the sides of the filter (where the FilterMags were) and the end (where the hard drive magnets were).

My guess is that the gray oil that I see stuck to the magnets is oil with iron particles that are only a few microns in diameter (large enough to sneak through the MicroGreen bypass filter).

I'm *GUESSING* that this will help reduce wear in my engine - both the magnets and the bypass filtering in the MicroGreen filter will minimize abrasive material in the oil. I also suspect that, since I only use the engine about 10% of the time, I'll never see this engine burn a detectable amount of oil during the 2-year oil change intervals (the OLM times out after 2 years no matter how little the engine is used).

Thoughts, comments, questions, nags, harassments, etc., etc.?

 

[skyactiv]

Kira is a guy BTW: https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthr..._puppies#UNREAD

Nothing wrong with what your doing if it's all in fun. It's a little overboard yes, but it's sorta a hobby.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Originally Posted By: kohnen
My guess is that the gray oil that I see stuck to the magnets is oil with iron particles that are only a few microns in diameter (large enough to sneak through the MicroGreen bypass filter).


Yep, I see similar material on all the magnetic drain plugs I use in my vehicles. Here's a photo with half wiped off to see the thickness of the layer.

 

[kohnen]

Originally Posted By: skyactiv
Kira is a guy BTW: https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthr..._puppies#UNREAD

Shhhhhhh!! You're letting others in on the secret!

Originally Posted By: skyactiv
Nothing wrong with what your doing if it's all in fun. It's a little overboard yes, but it's sorta a hobby.

Yup! A BITOGer getting a car that only needs oil changes every 2 years is truly a unique form of torture!

 

[OneEyeJack]

Oil probably lubricates better than that stuff that the magnet collects.

 

[kohnen]

Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
Originally Posted By: kohnen
My guess is that the gray oil that I see stuck to the magnets is oil with iron particles that are only a few microns in diameter (large enough to sneak through the MicroGreen bypass filter).


Yep, I see similar material on all the magnetic drain plugs I use in my vehicles. Here's a photo with half wiped off to see the thickness of the layer.



Mine was nowhere as lumpy - it was just a really thin layer of gray oil. It could be due to the low miles, the fact that I have LOTS of magnets in/near the oil flow, or the extra filtering in the MicroGreen filter.

 

[ZeeOSix]

^^^ There were no big particles in the "lumps", it was all superfine ferrous material from wear on the piston liners, rings, cams, etc that are ferrous.

 

[goodtimes]

Three items. First if something like a Trasko or Frantz used in bypass mode it would remove water as well as sub micron particles of any type. Second I wonder if there have been concerns with putting magnets in oil flow areas? It seems to me the magnets would attract iron the filter would take out as well as wouldn't take out. But if the engine goes into a higher flow rate, it seems to me the captured iron could come off the magnet, maybe going through the bypass hole. Making matters worse. The magnet in the pan seems like a good idea. Third what is the reason so much iron is collected besides wear? If it continues, then it is only a matter of time before engine work is needed. With a bypass filter an experiment could be done to see if adding magnets, after the bypass has been in operation for awhile, to see if the filter really does take out virtually every iron particle in the mixture. That should be enough harassment

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
Originally Posted By: kohnen
My guess is that the gray oil that I see stuck to the magnets is oil with iron particles that are only a few microns in diameter (large enough to sneak through the MicroGreen bypass filter).


Yep, I see similar material on all the magnetic drain plugs I use in my vehicles. Here's a photo with half wiped off to see the thickness of the layer.




Looks like those Frams miss a lot.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Originally Posted By: HerrStig
Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
Originally Posted By: kohnen
My guess is that the gray oil that I see stuck to the magnets is oil with iron particles that are only a few microns in diameter (large enough to sneak through the MicroGreen bypass filter).


Yep, I see similar material on all the magnetic drain plugs I use in my vehicles. Here's a photo with half wiped off to see the thickness of the layer.



Looks like those Frams miss a lot.


LoL ... actually, I was running a Purolator at the time.

 

[Wolf359]

Just think, instead of lasting 300-500k miles or more, it might last 1 or 2 million miles. Keep it up, let us know how it goes.

Unless you get rid of it before then.

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
Originally Posted By: HerrStig
Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
Originally Posted By: kohnen
My guess is that the gray oil that I see stuck to the magnets is oil with iron particles that are only a few microns in diameter (large enough to sneak through the MicroGreen bypass filter).


Yep, I see similar material on all the magnetic drain plugs I use in my vehicles. Here's a photo with half wiped off to see the thickness of the layer.



Looks like those Frams miss a lot.


LoL ... actually, I was running a Purolator at the time.

 

[kohnen]

Originally Posted By: Wolf359
Just think, instead of lasting 300-500k miles or more, it might last 1 or 2 million miles. Keep it up, let us know how it goes.

Unless you get rid of it before then.

I'm hoping that the wear is minimized to the point that it never consumes a significant amount of oil.

Of course, that might end up being the case anyway if I only use the engine 10% of the time or so.

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted By: kohnen
Originally Posted By: Wolf359
Just think, instead of lasting 300-500k miles or more, it might last 1 or 2 million miles. Keep it up, let us know how it goes.

Unless you get rid of it before then.

I'm hoping that the wear is minimized to the point that it never consumes a significant amount of oil.


On the other hand, I have no magnets nor MicroGreen filters (only OEM "rock catchers") on any of my vehicles, and I have no significant oil usage. My conclusion from that is there is no benefit to any of it whatsoever.

But maybe that's just me.

 

[CT8]

While this is fun usually with proper maintenance engines outlast suspension and trans missions etc.

 

[kohnen]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
Originally Posted By: kohnen
Originally Posted By: Wolf359
Just think, instead of lasting 300-500k miles or more, it might last 1 or 2 million miles. Keep it up, let us know how it goes.

Unless you get rid of it before then.

I'm hoping that the wear is minimized to the point that it never consumes a significant amount of oil.


On the other hand, I have no magnets nor MicroGreen filters (only OEM "rock catchers") on any of my vehicles, and I have no significant oil usage. My conclusion from that is there is no benefit to any of it whatsoever.

But maybe that's just me.


I tend to hang on to my cars to about the 150,000 mile range and by that time, they start consuming some oil - a quart every 2-3 thousand miles or so. This is an experiment to see if I can break that streak. Now, to be fair, so many things have changed (a mostly-electric car, I don't have a long daily commute any more, etc.) that it will likely not be a meaningful experiment. But it's amusing.

I am surprised to find that the magnetic drain plug collected a significant amount of magnetic material after only 1,000 miles of running, but I'm glad to see that what it did collect was very very fine.

 

[kschachn]

That's all?

Originally Posted By: kohnen
I tend to hang on to my cars to about the 150,000 mile range and by that time, they start consuming some oil - a quart every 2-3 thousand miles or so. This is an experiment to see if I can break that streak. Now, to be fair, so many things have changed (a mostly-electric car, I don't have a long daily commute any more, etc.) that it will likely not be a meaningful experiment. But it's amusing.

I am surprised to find that the magnetic drain plug collected a significant amount of magnetic material after only 1,000 miles of running, but I'm glad to see that what it did collect was very very fine.

 

[circuitsmith]

Originally Posted By: kohnen
I am surprised to find that the magnetic drain plug collected a significant amount of magnetic material after only 1,000 miles of running


Maybe it's still in the break-in stage.

 

[kohnen]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
That's all?

Originally Posted By: kohnen
I tend to hang on to my cars to about the 150,000 mile range and by that time, they start consuming some oil - a quart every 2-3 thousand miles or so. This is an experiment to see if I can break that streak. Now, to be fair, so many things have changed (a mostly-electric car, I don't have a long daily commute any more, etc.) that it will likely not be a meaningful experiment. But it's amusing.

I am surprised to find that the magnetic drain plug collected a significant amount of magnetic material after only 1,000 miles of running, but I'm glad to see that what it did collect was very very fine.


I'm at the top of our family's automotive food chain - the last 3 cars that I've gotten rid of went to one of my kids. I highly recommend this method - then your kid gets a car that has been well maintained, and (since I end up having to repair them anyway) I'm familiar with the car.

 

[kohnen]

Originally Posted By: circuitsmith
Originally Posted By: kohnen
I am surprised to find that the magnetic drain plug collected a significant amount of magnetic material after only 1,000 miles of running


Maybe it's still in the break-in stage.


About 2,000 total engine miles - you might be right. We'll see - that's part of the experiment.