Regarding Jason's comments...
Thanks for referring me to that "Question of the Day." Very interesting and enlightening. I guess I could use to clarify something. The industry test determined that with a bearing/journal clearance of 20 microns, the measured oil film thickness varied from 3.8 to 10 microns, depending on the oil weight used and possibly other factors as well. So they're saying that the actual clearance, bearing-to-journal, ranged between 3.8 and 10 microns, correct? The OIL FILM was that thickness, but I wanted to verify that they were also referring to the actual METAL-TO-METAL CLEARANCE as well. If so, this would seemingly suggest a need for filtration down into the single digits (such as 3.8 microns), correct? Very interesting. If so, this would suggest that even the best full-flow media readily found at your local parts store (Mobil 1, Wix, etc.), with filtration supposedly down to the 10 micron level, might be insufficient...??? Quite the connundrum. Maybe I'll start commuting on my bicycle -- no oil filter there, so I don't have to worry about particle counts, but just wipe the dirt off the reflectors every so often.
