The Great Oil Filter Cross-Spec Mystery

Joined
Sep 9, 2016
Messages
225
Location
North Dakota
My goal isn't to be one of those forum guys, but here I am anyway. 😗 This isn't really that big of a deal, exactly, except it's a mystery and one that I can't figure out. Maybe there's a missing piece of information, maybe I'm missing something besides a good portion of my cerebellum, but here's the rundown for this "mystery."

I bought some Fleetguard LF17531 oil filters because I wanted to try them and they cross-referenced to my application. After the fact, I decided to request some filter data directly from the manufacturer because it's not easily found online. I received a PDF spec sheet showing this:

Anti Drain Back Valve Yes
Valve Opening Pressure 144.8 kPa
Element Collapse/Burst Minimum 0ISO 4548-3
Hydrostatic Burst Minimum 0ISO 4548-6
Capacity 11.8 ISO 4548-12
Rated Flow 11.4 L/min ISO 4548-12
Efficiency 30.8 @ 21.0 micron (c)


The main point of interest is the stated efficiency rating. If it's a percentage, it's awful. If it's a βₓ then it's pretty normal, like ~94-95% at 20μ. Since I was confused by this, I contacted the manufacturer directly and this is the response I received:

"I confirmed the information is 21 microns @ 30.8%. The filter was crossed from a Wix filter, and meets the specifications of that filter."

On one hand, they provide a percentage, which objectively, is pretty awful. On the other hand, they reference crossing with the Wix application (57502). There's even a thread here that asks, and answers, the stated percentage efficiency for the Wix 57502 filter. That percentage/micron rating corroborates my theory that this is a βₓ rating. I'm man enough to admit when I'm confused with this conflicting information. If you folks can shed some light on this, I'd be grateful. Because I'm really on the threshold of either using these filters or just putting something else in when I change my oil.
 
Well you seem very standoffish.
Did you ask questions seeking to understand and improve your knowledge base and perspective?

Or did you stir the pot to encourage internet outrage?
 
Well you seem very standoffish.
Did you ask questions seeking to understand and improve your knowledge base and perspective?

Or did you stir the pot to encourage internet outrage?
I'm trying to figure out how to respond to this without reinforcing your misinformed opinion. However, I'm sure you'll interpret whatever I say to fit your view. I'm simply a customer trying to get a straight answer. You could have saved us both our wasted time and not commented in the first place, despite being fully entitled to do so.
 
My goal isn't to be one of those forum guys, but here I am anyway. 😗 This isn't really that big of a deal, exactly, except it's a mystery and one that I can't figure out. Maybe there's a missing piece of information, maybe I'm missing something besides a good portion of my cerebellum, but here's the rundown for this "mystery."

I bought some Fleetguard LF17531 oil filters because I wanted to try them and they cross-referenced to my application. After the fact, I decided to request some filter data directly from the manufacturer because it's not easily found online. I received a PDF spec sheet showing this:

Anti Drain Back Valve Yes
Valve Opening Pressure 144.8 kPa
Element Collapse/Burst Minimum 0ISO 4548-3
Hydrostatic Burst Minimum 0ISO 4548-6
Capacity 11.8 ISO 4548-12
Rated Flow 11.4 L/min ISO 4548-12
Efficiency 30.8 @ 21.0 micron (c)


The main point of interest is the stated efficiency rating. If it's a percentage, it's awful. If it's a βₓ then it's pretty normal, like ~94-95% at 20μ. Since I was confused by this, I contacted the manufacturer directly and this is the response I received:

"I confirmed the information is 21 microns @ 30.8%. The filter was crossed from a Wix filter, and meets the specifications of that filter."

On one hand, they provide a percentage, which objectively, is pretty awful. On the other hand, they reference crossing with the Wix application (57502). There's even a thread here that asks, and answers, the stated percentage efficiency for the Wix 57502 filter. That percentage/micron rating corroborates my theory that this is a βₓ rating. I'm man enough to admit when I'm confused with this conflicting information. If you folks can shed some light on this, I'd be grateful. Because I'm really on the threshold of either using these filters or just putting something else in when I change my oil.
Just install a filter and forget it. ANY filter.
 
I would take the response from the manufacturer of "21 microns @ 30.8%" as exactly that and not Beta.
If you feel their response left some confusion, I'd contact them again with what you asked here. No matter how many e-mails or how annoying I may end up briefly being for that customer service department, I would at least know I got my information straight from the horses mouth.
 
I would take the response from the manufacturer of "21 microns @ 30.8%" as exactly that and not Beta.
If you feel their response left some confusion, I'd contact them again with what you asked here. No matter how many e-mails or how annoying I may end up briefly being for that customer service department, I would at least know I got my information straight from the horses mouth.
I agree with you. I followed your suggestion and checked with another contact I have in the company. He said he'd look into it to see if he could find a more concrete answer. When or if I hear back, I'll share what I find out.
 
Can we see the PDF sheet? Might help answer some questions
Sure thing, I'll attach a picture below. By the way, I did ask the technical support person for further clarification on the efficiency besides what's stated. He said there is no other information available besides the Wix spec crossover. 🤷

2022-11-02 09_30_22-https___mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com_attachment_u_0__ui=2&ik=4ecd...jpg
 
The way it's expressed it has to be taken as stated ... "Efficiency -- 30.8% @ 20 microns". If it was a beta ratio, I'd think they would have used the words "Beta Ratio" instead of "Efficiency", or say "Efficiency " and then show "Beta Ratio 30.8 @ 20 microns". Just have to take the words at their face value unless someone at Cummings can say it's not shown correctly in their documentation. If it was me, I'd be looking for a different filter is efficiency is one factor you're looking for in a filter.
 
The way it's expressed it has to be taken as stated ... "Efficiency -- 30.8% @ 20 microns". If it was a beta ratio, I'd think they would have used the words "Beta Ratio" instead of "Efficiency". Just have to take the words at their face value unless someone at Cummings can say it's not shown correctly in their documentation. If it was me, I'd be looking for a different filter is efficiency is one factor you're looking for in a filter.
I think that might just be all there is to it.
 
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