Date: Sat, 11 May 1996 13:06:50 -0700
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: jwakefield@4dmg.net (john wakefield)
Subject: Oil filters, general & specific
Patrick Flynn asked about differences between oil filters. I wish I
had VW specific information I could pass along to help make purchases,
but I don't. However, I'm certain there are big differeces between
competing products that can be simply screwed onto the same application,
or for that matter, inserted into the filter carrier, depending on the
motor's design.
While I'm not able to give to you a specific citation, I've seen
several published oil filter tests comparing different brands, and
probably one of our list participants knows of a few which may be read.
Hopefully, something along this line now exists as an I-net resource. If
anyone can help in that, please do so. Thanks.
Now the first time I really knew that oil filter differences were real
and could have amazingly apparent real world differences, occured back in
1974 when I changed oil and filter in our Fiat 124 Sport Coupe. The
foreign parts store I liked well enough to pay somewhat higher prices
because they knew so many tricks and product specific differences, had
just added the Hastings brand of oil filters to their line. I mentioned
that I was about to go on a 3000 highway trip to Florida and back, and I
was told that I should consider trying a Hastings, as they'd really been
impressed by the demo, and that had prompted them to add it to their
line. The Hastings cost and weighed aboutwice what I'd been accoustomed
to paying there. Directly after the oil change, oil dip stick
observations appeared normal, which is to say there was only the normal
darkening from high detergent oil mobilizing any trace contaminants left
from the previous oil. Skip now to a truck stop in Georgia, nearly a
thousand miles away. I'd been Interstate running between 85 and 100 mph
for many hours with the AC on while watching the sky for spotter planes
and running my radar detector. On this fuel stop I decided to make my
first oil check.
I still remember how hurt and amazed I was to see that I apparently had
NO OIL SHOWING. Over and over I ran that finger burning, hard to insert
without fowling the tip by touching surrounding parts, oil dip stick.
Finally, taking it over to show to my mate, she said she thought it
looked shiny on the end. Now this oil was so clean that in that bright
sun light, the only way several people who looked at it could tell that
it was there, was to lay the dip stick on a clean paper towel and see it
wick out. I'd used no observable oil but that Hastings filter had done
the most impressive cleaning job I've ever seen.
Later, I learned that this same filter did not do so well when the
motor is not run at long continuous high speeds. Someone said the paper
media type act as a positive trap whereas some other types can
reintroduce some of it's load if they are run in typical daily cycles. I
don't know. Lots of folk lore out there and not enough actual
observations that don't have reporter conclusions woven into them.
Now my 1983 Mazda B2200 diesel pickup has two oil filters, a full flow
and a bypas filter. If you look it up in the big Fram book, you'll see
that there are two options for the full flow filter. The expensive one
is about twice as big as the more commonly available small one. This is
one manufacturer and one application. So even there, you aren't
necessarily free from being forced to make choices.
Between brand differences are significant. The petroleum industry has
standards, filter companies have standards, the military has standards,
and if that weren't enough already, some vehicle manufacturer's have
their own private standards! Sheeeeees! Enough already. In oils, not
filters, a recent example of this was Mack. Drop $125,000 on your new
top of the line Mack triaxel dump truck and Mack guarantees that big slow
turning diesel for the first half million miles. Frankly, at that
milage, one I own and lease out (just an invenstment), still burns
virtually no oil. BUT there's a "gots-you." If you failed to run oil
compliant with Mack's private oil specification standards, your warrantee
was history. Mack saying sorry Mack:) Now other oils have adoped
the additional standard to break Mack's captive oil sales monoply. Back
to the filter test standards. Some tests reporting maximum particulate
size pass seem to invent their own standards just for the article.
Frustrating.
In the really expensive motor installations, and they do exist, the
resources that can rationally be allocated to maintaining clean oil are
in a very different class from our little cars. Recently I talked with a
person who managed two boats used for regular service runs. Unscheduled
down-time was just not an elective option. He had these old motors
pulled and replaced even though they'd never been rebuilt and weren't
giving a lick of trouble. Each was sold used for $8000 dollars and
replacement motors cost $68,000 each before labor. The amazing thing was
their hobbs hour readings. One showed an astonishing 53 thousand hours!
Let me tell you there is a market for specialty oil filters. Some of
them are almost like the oil rerefiner cleaning process. Even the Mack
runs one that spins like a centrafuge, and what comes out if you cut it
apart after replacement, is nearly solid and could not be more black.
Particle size is down where visible light wave lengths are not reflected.
Not that this is directly applicable to our VWs, it's not. But it's
context which illuminates what's possible.
Even the techniques used to clean oil on an engine vary and can be
ganged to gain benefits from several approaches. I mentioned the dual
filter Mazda diesel, but some single filter packages actually build in a
bypass filter, rather than just a bypass. Recently, at a FLAPS I looked
at the Fram (which has great test results) and compared it with a WIX
brand filter claimed to be for the same application. The WIX demo had
each cut apart so you could see physical differences. The WIX appeared
to have about twice the available paper surface area accordian-folded up
into their can. If these were truely representive of across the product
lines comparisons, WIX certainly wins the wetted filter surface area
contest. I don't know which is better, I only know enough to know it's
really frustrating trying to get truely adequate information.
If you consistantly do the same kind of driving and run the same kind
of motor and the same oil, you are in a position to benefit from oil
analysis information. Ok, so I can already feel you thinking that I'm
about to hit you with something that's not reasonable. "The cost isn't
justified." Right? Look at it this way, this is a one time investment
from which you will derive a permanent payback stream. Got your
interest?
By carefully documenting your miles since last oil change and sending
in a progression of samples for analysis every 1000 miles starting with
what ever figure you'd use as a minimum, you can establish what's right
for YOU, rather than for some general population of all drivers. My
friend in Stamford Ct. had a daily commute of about 3 miles each way for
years. Guaranteed that her oil analysis would change for the better when
she's commuting into New York soon, with a roughly 40 mile trip each way.
Those cold starts with short runs are oil killers. The worst example I
know is this lazy woman I know who starts her car cold, runs it to the
front mail box of her husband's 5 acre home, gets the daily mail,
then drives back and lets it get cold. Idiocy. She rides a bicycle for
exercise. I've been told that further input from me on this issue is not
welcome.
Once you learn how long you and your oil with your routine driving can
safely go as revealed by analysis, that's permenanat information and you
don't need further analysis. Nice huh? If anyone has performed this
rational proceedure and would care to share parameters and results with
list members, I'd think that would be wonderful.
If anyone knows of any great information sources to which they can
point WHICH ARE NOT RUN BY PRODUCT VENDORS AND THEREFOR ARE PROBALBY
BIASED TOWARD FAVORING THEIR PRODUCTS, please post it. Hope this
motoivates some of our best informed to help inform the rest of us.
John Wakefield
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