Racor ABS Particle Count @ 418 miles

[Jim Allen]

Here are the particle counts on my F150 using a Racor ABS. Shown are virgin oil, the oil at 5221 miles before the filter was installed and 418 miles after the filter was installed. Tests were done on a SpectroLNF Q200 optical particle counter, which also analyzes the shapes and types of particles.

Virgin- ISO 4406= 20/19/16

W/O ABS @ 5221 miles- ISO 4406= 24/22/16

W/ABS @ 5579 miles- ISO 4406= 20/19/16

So, the ABS brought the oil back to virgin cleanliness in 418 miles. While the ISO codes were the same, the actual counts were different. I won't type it all here but the virgin oil had more larger particles and fewer smaller ones than the used filtered oil, even though they both still fell into the same ISO ranges. Bear in mind that the Racor LFS I installed is 3um absolute and that the Pareto base is equipped with magnets.

FYI, the truck is just under 35K total miles. I will test again at about 8K miles and also have a used oil analysis done then to test oil condition. My goal is 15K miles the mineral HDEO 10W30 from Motorcraft and longer if I can. I have installed a sampling valve to get samples any any time without using that nasty dipstick tube. The next fill will likely be a 10W30 T5 semi-syn from Rotella.

If you are wondering about how dirty the new oil is, I assure you it's typical. I've been researching this and have found even some Amsoil listed at 22/18/17. Most new appears to be in a range from 19-23/xx/xx. I'm having more trouble finding an established target ISO code for gasoline engines. Based on research, in a thousand miles or so, my oil could be down in the 14/12/8 range.

 

[Griz95]

Interesting info Jim. But one question...what is a Racor ABS filter?

 

[Jim Allen]

Sorry! Google Racor, a part of the Parker Hannefin Corporation, and you will see they are a big player. They mostly dwell in the commercial markets, however. An ABS is bypass system that has a replaceable filter elements that come in 3, 5 and 10u absolute ratings. They are also designed to catch and hold water which reduces the effect of oxidation and the creation of acids.

 

[Griz95]

Sounds good Jim...I'll have to check it out. This is the first time I've heard of a Racor ABS bypass filter.

Griz95

 

[Smokefan1977]

Jim got any pics of the install?

 

[Jim Allen]

You'll have to check out Four Wheeler magazine up ahead to see the pics. ( : < )

 

[Smokefan1977]

let me know when the issue is out. I don't usually pickup magazines unless im doing a build in one also. I recently made the cover of Diesel Power on a 6.0 build.

 

[mangusta1969]

Jim,

Thanks for posting your particle analysis results. Will be looking forward to more test results from your setup, too. I just wish those [censored] Racor cotton stringwound filter elements were a little more economical... I guess you get what you pay for.

 

[Jim Allen]

mangusta: the LFS is the string filter. The ABS is a different type... not really sure how to categorize it. The media looks a lot like a TP filter but isn't. It's cellulose with some twists. As I said, it comes in 3, 5 and 10um absolute ratings. The LFS is 7um absolute.

FYII also did a diesel LFS test in '09 on the LFS and here are the result. I didn't do a followup test because I replaced the LFS with an ABS. Here are the resutls (hope the formatting holds:

Racor LFS, 569 elapsed miles, 6.9L diesel (pore blockage method)

Before After
ISO Code 18/15 16/13

Particles >2 Micron 4393 1250
Particles >5 Micron 1627 463
Particles >10 Micron 450 129
Particles >15 Micron 174 49
Particles >25 Micron 41 11
Particles > 50 Micron 4 1
Particles > 100 Micron 0 0

 

[Griz95]

Very impressive to say the least. It looks like the Racor is doing what it was designed to do.

Griz95

 

[dnewton3]

Very impressive that the ABS can bring down the particulate load in 400+ miles.

I also note that the contamination rate (going from virgin to used oil at 5k miles) really isn't that bad. Clean running engine. Overall, the contamination loading is low enough that it really goes to show how "normal" OCIs with decent FF filters will help an engine last a very long time; typically lasting longer than most any owner would care to have the vehicle. This data (admittedly only one set of data points) shows a few things:
1) today's engines run reasonbly clean
2) the contamination load rate is low enough to sustain these "longer" OEM OCIs
3) BP filtration is an excellent tool for extending the OCI, and can keep the contamination at or near "factory fresh"

 

[Jim Allen]

Dave: Yeah, I agree. What has me more gobsmacked than anything is the relatively filthy state of new oil. By now (another few hundred added to the 418), the oil is probably cleaner than out of the bottle.

I just got my old '86 back on the road after some major engine surgery (related to the heads, but I checked everything) and I'm really glad I have the ABS on it. I am a clean freak when it comes to engine work but as much as I would like to, I don't have a NASA clean room to work in. The bypass will get the Type 1 contamination and break-in stuff out of the oil quickly and as it appears.

 

[dnewton3]

Originally Posted By: Jim Allen
Dave: Yeah, I agree. What has me more gobsmacked than anything is the relatively filthy state of new oil. By now (another few hundred added to the 418), the oil is probably cleaner than out of the bottle.


Yes - new oil really isn't "clean" by some standards.

Continued use of the bypass filter with that sump load will really put that oil in a better state for sure. It will be "cleaner" than new, in reality. Further, as you know, as the filter ages, it will get "better" at catching successively smaller particles.