danger, bad oil filters

I came across another study,for those interested: http://www.oilfilterstudy.com/. This one is notable because it attempts to actually measure the flow and filtration of each filter. A few comments:

- He spends a lot of time measuring inlet holes and center tube holes. The measurements are interesting, but it's important to note that for every filter, these measurements are larger than the outlet area, which will be about .2" in each and every case.

- The rate of flow diminishes in direct proportion to the efficiency of the filter: the slowest filters are the ones that do the best job of filtering, as you would expect. Downloading his spreadsheet, we find that the Fram TG, which is the slowest flowing filter, is also the most efficient at removing dirt: http://tinyurl.com/679sz

Conclusions that we can draw:

- There are people out there with 'way too much time on their hands
- Can openers are fun
- You can't go too wrong with any of these filters

Low bidder to the government does not mean the same as you or I buying the cheapest filter on the market. The government typically, heck - almost always, developes detailed specifications describing the design, construction, materials and/or performance of whatever they are buying. The lowest bidder must meet those specifications. Specifications which may be much more stringent than the same component on the civilian market.

Having purchased for the government I can state with certainty that specifications sometimes seem excessive. I never bought a $500 hammer, but I did once purchase a $500 toilet seat.

Regards, John

Hello John McFadden
RE: Do you really think that anybody buys from the highest bidder?

Yes.
When the job is critical.
When the only competent supplier it high bidder.
When you want the job done right, the first time.
When quality means more than money.

whunter
ASE Master Mechanic
http://www.woodwardauto.com
asemastermechanicjuno.com

Hello Michael Frank
Quality is relevant to all car owners.

Quality in developing markets is bad at best.
I do not trust any manufacturer to be responsible in todayÆs business environment.
Whether or not to buy these products is a personal choice.
I raised the awareness of this issue, it is the readerÆs choice to buy or not.
You're going to see more and more product from these places, and the quality may improve in ten to fifteen years.
I will not touch your Japanese comparison; I donÆt forgive or forget Pearl Harbor.

Personally I think the ISO 9000 compliant system is lies, fraud and the creation of a useless self perpetuating beaurocrasy that generates waste paper.

whunter
ASE Master Mechanic
http://www.woodwardauto.com
asemastermechanicjuno.com

Do you really think that anybody buys from the highest bidder?

Hello Jason Andrews
I have seen and am afraid.
Procurement is wasting our money on low bidder trash, to go on multi million dollar equipment.
RE: No offense dude. But the military still only buys from the LOWEST bidder. If you seen a tenth of the crap I have bolted on to a 40 million dollar jet, You'd be afraid to go outside... ;-)
Jason
1969 Jaguar E-type

whunter
ASE Master Mechanic
http://www.woodwardauto.com
asemastermechanicjuno.com

Hello Frank
I deleted the other post, but your answers are still there.

whunter
ASE Master Mechanic
http://www.woodwardauto.com
asemastermechanicjuno.com

My comments weren't meant to be offensive, I'm just trying to express my view of the subject. So you are correct not to take them personally.

Once again, Mercedes oil filters are unique among all oil filters in being a combination of a bypass and full flow filter in one can. No other manufacturer has a comparable set up. The "original specification" is not on my bookshelf, but I know that every brand of filter I've ever used (including Mercedes labeled)has used this junk in the bypass section. It's not unique to India or Mexico, you'll find the same thing in filters made in Stuttgart. It's an aesthetic problem: as a practical observation, Mercedes engines are the dominating champs in longevity, even with rat dung in the oil filters. But it's not relevant to this forum: no Jaguar uses this type of filter.

I understand fully the issues of quality in developing markets, it's a real problem. But by the time a product reaches the customer a responsible manufacturer has to sort those problems out. Nobody's going to be around long if they blow up their customer's cars. The issue of whether or not to buy these products is emotionally charged, but objectively, lower costs benefit the consumer all else being the same. Again, in this specific case, I think a mountain is being made out of a mole hill: the same junk is used in all Mercedes filters, regardless of origin. You're going to see more and more product from these places, so learn to love it. Remember when Japanese automatically meant "cheap and flimsy"? You'd hardly say that today.

How do I know the aftermarket is meeting OEM spec? The industry complies with SAE specs, and I believe that each of the big manufacturers is ISO 9000 compliant. Further proof? Most cars go through their entire life without an oil related engine failure (except for the Nikasil issue). Cars are junked because they have body rot, or the cost of a set of springs, tires, or a transmission exceeds their worth. Or they're crashed. But few people have engine failures. The whole concept of a full flow filter is fairly bogus, anyway. Any filter that can pass the full output of your oil pump is going to be marginally effective as a filtration device. A paper filter element has to be pretty porous to stand up to oil at 30-40 bar.

You are correct that special quality tests apply to milspec equipment. That's why it costs an arm and a leg. But the fact that a manufacturer makes stuff for the military should not be taken to mean that all it's equipment meets military specification. In fact, it's very unlikely that they would give you the same level of quality in a civie product for "free". Incidentally, my understanding is that the US Army has recently switched to buying civilian spec oil filters as a cost savings measure.

I'm sure WIX is a good filter, I'm also sure there are other good filters, as well. What I don't know is who can really stand up to definitively prove quality or lack thereof. These websites are very subjective: what do I care how a filter "looks" to someone? Show me detailed flow tests, measure filtration efficiency, measure drainback and bypass. Show me measurements at 0 miles and 5000 miles. Don't tell me that someone had a failure with an XYZ filter, give me a statistically significant study (remember there are hundreds of millions of filters sold every year, odds are there are a few that fail). It would take a lot more effort than cutting open a filter with a can openner and recounting a few war stories to definitively apply the word "better".

Personally.. I run WIX filters... Not because of the military, I have cut open a FRAM in the past and wasnt impressed with the guts. Seemed like more meat and potatoes with the WIX and just $$$$advertising with fram

1969 Jaguar E-type

No offense dude.. but the military still only buys from the LOWEST bidder.. If you seen a tenth of the crap I have bolted on to a 40 million dollar jet, You'd be afraid to go outside... ;-)
Jason
1969 Jaguar E-type

Hello Frank
Thank you.
I do not take your words personally.
I would however like to defend posting the links to various forums.
To me a fake oil filter is one that does not meet the correct specification or is intentionally made wrong to save money.

#1. The trash contained in the filters is not OEM specification, cellulose = wood chips and bark is bad news in the oil system.
#2. The oil filter industry is outsourcing much of their production to India and Turkey.
#3. Both locations are known in the business community to have cheap labor and bad or negative ethics and morals.
#4. Any company dealing with these countries is aware of this factor.
#5. The management of these companies does not care about quality, or they would not follow this negative business practice.
#6. How do you know that any filter sold by a parts-R-us store has even been QC tested?
#7. How do you know the aftermarket is meeting OEM specification at all?

WIX is a military supplier and must constantly test their running production and prove it to the US government.

My decision is made simple:
#A. Unknown oil filter quality?
#B. A WIX filter?

My automobiles will have #B a WIX filterà..

whunter
ASE Master Mechanic
http://www.woodwardauto.com
asemastermechanicjuno.com

One other point. Jaguar E-Types use cannister filters, unless they've been converted to spin on. The original factory style elements were felt, which is more likely to decay in service than the "fake" paper replacements you get today.

Before I get started, I've compressed your link, so that it can be viewed:

http://tinyurl.com/4y7q2

Now. Inferring ANYTHING from a thread about Mercedes oil filters is inappropriate. The filter pictured is perfectly good, not dangerous, and not a fake. Not only does Mercedes use only cannister filters with no anti drain valve, their filters are usually two stage. They incorporate a bypass filter and a full flow filter in one case. What appears to be garbage in the photo is the bypass portion of filter. The design of both the filter and the oiling system prevents any of the chaff from getting back into the engine, a perfectly fine application of recyled material. It's not what you expect to find in your engine, but MB Diesels regularly rack up 300,000 miles with this stuff in their filters, no problems. Jaguar could take a lesson. The folks on the Mercedes thread reached this conclusion after a dozen pages of group grope. Here, you get to read about it in a single paragraph.

As for the Mopar thread, this one has been bouncing around for at least seven years. I have no idea how up to date it is, but IMHO the conclusions reached are mostly aesthetic. All of the tested filters meet SAE specs. It may be that some exceed spec to some degree, but maybe not. Specifically, the Fram cardboard ends really irk filter critics, who habitually cut open useful filters, rather than actually using them. If you search around the web, you will find that Fram has repeatedly defended the design.

Finally, there's no such thing as an OEM Jaguar filter. They may be made by Delco or Champion. But whoever and wherever they are made, they are always outsourced, private label products.
\--------\
If your oil filter concerns you, consider installing an auxilliary bypass filter. A bypass filter is sometimes called a "deep, slow" filter. Unlike stock spin on filters, a bypass filter recirculates oil from and to the sump, without it passing through the motor. Flow rate is very slow, and the media can trap extremely small particles. It may take several minutes for the filter to process the full volume of the sump.

By contrast, the standard full flow filter can't do much of a job of filtering, because it has to pass all the flow produced by the pump: the full volume of the sump passes through the filter every few seconds, on it's way to the engine oilways. The need for speed precludes effective filtration. It may be good for trapping a cotter pin or the odd filing, but small abrasive particles pass right through the media. At some point, the element becomes so clogged that the bypass valve opens (not to be confused with a bypass filter), and you are circulating unfiltered oil. You can't tell when this happens, there's no indication light or loss of pressure. As so many have said before, the best insurance for your motor is frequent oil and filter changes.

The combination of a bypass filter and the stock full flow filter will give you a set up similar to Mercedes, maybe better: fast full flow filtering for gross debris, and deep slow filtering for the microscopic stuff. It's a common set up for stationary motors and big trucks, only sometimes used in cars.

I think anyone who drives their Series 1 or 2 E-Type on a regualr basis should chage the factory original filter to the spin-on type found in most auto parts stores. All that is required is an adaptor plate; available at many vendors. Oil filter technology has improved over the past 40 years. And while on the subject, you should be using a synthetic motor oil like Mobil one, and, a couple of bottles of "Water Wetter" (by Redline) or Purple Ice in the radiator.
My 2 cents.

Patrick McLoad
1966 E-Type, Right-hand Drive Roadster
#1E1445