Do you trust your cold air filter element to protect your motor?
Your average OEM cellulose filter is excellent to good when compared to these oil wetted gauze filters. The easiest way to tell is just look for the word “nanofiber”. Of course that’s key but the matter in which the material is sprayed on is also significant.
Huh? Smaller Holes = More Restriction Then How’s AMSOIL’s filter better?
Below is our new display built courtesy of one of our Omaha customers!
It’s about the air getting around the dirt. Typically larger media is easier to clog whereas the nanofiber (used in clean rooms) allows the air to continue to go around the dirt as the point at which the dirt comes in contact with the media is reduced.
When you stop dirt you retain compression and performance!
Think about a Chain Link Fence vs. Mosquito Netting
A similar analogy is putting a tennis ball into a chain link fence. The whole area of the opening is now cut off. Now add the nanofiber (mosquito netting) over the top of the chain link fence. Place the tennis ball on the hole but observe: the tennis ball only closes off about 5% of the surface and the entire area is still opened up..
More capacity = better performance and as the holes are smaller you get more protection too. The oil wetted gauze filters offer only the slightest protection over their life compared to running no filter at all. Cummins issued a bulletin in the late 90’s to never use these filters.
Comparing typical filter media to ours.
Several Filter Sizes Available
There are 17 different sizes available. We keep most of them in the local store (Exit 73) and Stan Houston’s can have these delivered on site of that location is more convenient.
A filter is supposed to actually “stop” the dirt – lol
Learn more on our page dedicated to this “cone” Cold Air Intake Filter. I keep most of these sizes in stock in Sioux Falls. Call 605-274-2580 to double check.
Oil Filter Questions Answered – Use an Oil Filter Twice?
John Baker|
In theory, your filter has a simple job: capture wear-causing contaminants and hold them in the filter media so they don’t run amok inside your engine.
But lots of factors can throw a wrench into this plan, which can raise filtration questions.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Can I use the same filter twice?
How long do filters last?
I forgot to change my filter when I changed oil. Is it too late?
Should I pre-fill the filter before installing?
Should I use a conventional or synthetic filter?
What’s inside an oil filter?
Can I use synthetic oil with a conventional filter? Or vice versa?
Can I use the same filter twice?
The filter is designed to capture contaminants and hold them within the filter media. Over time, the media fills with dirt particles, agglomerated soot, metal particles and other junk. If the filter plugs, the pressure differential will open the bypass valve, which allows oil to bypass the filter, preventing oil starvation. Sure, dirty oil is preferable to no oil, but it’s not a long term plan you can trust.
A new filter is far less expensive than a new engine. Don’t cheap-out – replace the filter with every oil change.
How long do filters last?
It depends on filter quality and your driving conditions.
A low-quality, cheap conventional filter doesn’t offer the capacity of a filter using synthetic media, meaning it fills with contaminants faster and requires more frequent changes. Plus, if you drive in dusty, dirty conditions, your engine is exposed to increased levels of airborne dirt particles that can enter the engine, especially if you haven’t changed the air filter in awhile or there’s a leak in the intake system.
Some modern direct-fuel-injection vehicles experience elevated fuel dilution, which also takes a toll on the filtration system. In diesel engines, soot particles can agglomerate into larger contaminants and lodge in the filter. This all adds up to more contaminants and more stress on the filter.
Follow the filter manufacturer’s service guidelines. If none are given, go with what’s recommended in your vehicle owner’s manual.
I forgot to change my filter when I changed oil. Is it too late?
No. Just change the filter as normal.
After the new filter is installed, run the engine for a couple minutes, then shut it off and allow several minutes for the oil to settle in the sump. Check the oil level and top-off as needed to make-up for the oil removed with the old filter.
Should I fill the filter before installing?
The Internet is full of pre-fillers and anti-pre-fillers, all of whom seem able to reference a high-mileage conversion van or pickup they’ve serviced for decades either pre-filling or never pre-filling the filter.
Some filter manufacturers say pre-filling the filter isn’t necessary. But remember – they make filters, not engines. There’s a reason engine manufacturers recommend 0W-XX or 5W-XX motor oils, and it’s so the oil flows readily at startup when it’s cold and the engine doesn’t go without vital lubrication while it builds oil pressure.
To help ensure the engine doesn’t start dry, we recommend you pre-fill the filter if you can.
Horizontally oriented filters can pose a problem, but even they can be pre-filled with some oil. I typically pour a little oil into the filter and tip it sideways and check the oil inside. If there’s room for more before it begins to spill out of the opening in the filter, I add a little more oil before installing the filter.
When you remove the old filter, make sure the o-ring comes with it.
Increased efficiency – Efficiency describes the filter’s ability to capture contaminants. You can usually find a filter’s efficiency rating on the package or the manufacturer’s website. It’s reported as a percentage followed by a micron rating (e.g. “99 percent at 20 microns,” which is the efficiency of AMSOIL Oil Filters). It refers to the percentage of contaminants 20 microns and larger the filter traps in industry-standard (ASTM D4548-12) testing. The higher the percentage, the better.
Increased capacity – Capacity refers to the amount of contaminants a filter can hold while still remaining effective. While there’s no industry-standard capacity rating, similar to the efficiency rating noted above, full synthetic media offers greater capacity than conventional media. The smaller fibers in synthetic media allow more room for contaminants to lodge without restricting oil flow.
Improved durability – Hot oil slowly degrades the resins that hold some filter media together. Extreme temperatures also degrade the anti-drain valve and baseplate gasket. Use a filter with reinforcement on the media, such as a wire backing, to withstand increased heat and longer drain intervals. Look for an anti-drain valve made of silicone for maximum durability. This ensures the oil stays in the filter after the engine is shut off, preventing dry starts the next day.
What’s inside an oil filter?
Most spin-on filters contain the following:
Filter media – the heart and soul of the filter. It’s where contaminants go to die. Once they lodge inside the filter media, they can’t circulate throughout your engine and cause wear.
Anti-drain valve – prevents oil from draining out of the filter when you shut-off the engine, ensuring immediate oil pressure at startup.
Gasket – technically it’s on the outside of the filter, but the gasket that creates a seal against the engine block is critical to preventing oil leaks.
Can I use synthetic oil with a conventional filter? Or vice versa?
Yes, it’s perfectly safe to use either type of filter with either type of oil.
If you practice extended drain intervals using synthetic oil, however, a conventional oil filter may not offer the required service life, meaning you’ll have to change it in the middle of the oil drain interval, which is inconvenient.
That’s why AMSOIL Oil Filters are constructed to last up to 25,000 miles between changes, coinciding with the 25,000-mile drain interval of Signature Series Synthetic Motor Oil. AMSOIL Oil Filters designated with product code EA15K offer 15,000-mile change intervals.
Early automobile engines didn’t use oil filters, or air filters for that matter. For this reason frequent oil changes were a must. Motor oil quality wasn’t really that important in those days, anyway. It was the discarded by-product of processes designed to create other products from crude oil, like fuel, benzene and other petrochemicals.
The first oil filters were simple, generally consisting of a screen placed at the oil pump intake in order to keep mice, cockroaches and other debris from getting churned inside the pistons. (OK, just checking to see if you’re paying attention.) It was, however, a fairly crude setup.
In 1923, a pair of American inventors, George Greenhalgh and Ernest Sweetland, filed a patent for a new kind of oil filter that they called the Purolator, which became a handle for “pure oil later.” The Purolator oil filter was the first oil filter invented specifically for cars, generating a whole new industry – the oil filtration aftermarket.
To many people, oil filters are a generic product. Price is the only factor considered when they choose a filter. But just as today’s engines have become increasingly sophisticated, so have many of today’s oil filters. They may look much the same on the outside, but what’s inside can make a big difference.
It’s true that some things are overpriced, like movie theater popcorn, but more often than not the other side of the coin is true: you get what you pay for. That is, quality costs more than going on the cheap. All kinds of sayings come to mind, like “Don’t be penny wise and pound foolish.” Cars cost a pretty penny these days, even used ones if you want something reliable, so I suggest thinking twice before going cheap on maintenance.
An oil filter’s job is to capture contaminants and hold them prisoner.
Let’s start with the filter media
As the oil circulates through the engine, it picks up contaminants. The filter’s assignment is to capture these contaminants and hold them prisoner, so to speak. Some of these contaminants come from the atmosphere, some from wear and some are byproducts of combustion.
The challenge for filter manufacturers is to use filter media that is porous enough to allow good oil flow, but not so impermeable that it blocks flow and causes oil starvation. It’s a big challenge, especially in racing applications, which is why so many manufacturers of auto aftermarket products are involved in racing. Racing pushes product performance to its limits, and manufacturers learn the stress points of engine components, lubricant capabilities and filters, among other things.
The four oil filter families
Filters come in four basic families.
Standard oil filters sold at most oil-change facilities
High-performance filters
Racing filters
Synthetic-media filters
AMSOIL Ea® Oil Filters feature advanced full-synthetic media that traps and holds a greater quantity of small, wear-producing contaminants compared to conventional filters. Because AMSOIL Signature Series Synthetic Motor Oil is designed for a longer drain interval – 25,000 miles/one year/700 hours (whichever comes first) – we recognized the need to offer filters capable of protecting for an extended service life while reducing wear.
Other areas where there can be a quality difference include the gaskets, the canister itself, the back-plate and the all-important anti-drainback valve. But the media itself is the heart of the filter’s effectiveness, or ineffectiveness. If you do a search and read forums on this topic, you’ll find stories about bunched-up material clogging oil passages and see photos of other horrors leading to a filter’s early demise. At one forum, I saw a photo where the filter looked like it had been twisted in a blender (the canister had been removed to reveal this inner destruction.) More startling, though, was that in the background was a fairly new Cadillac. Why would people go top drawer on a car and low-ball it with the filter?
All that to say that there are some pretty good reasons to choose a quality filter. There are already enough problems in the world. Why worry about your filters doing what they are supposed to do.
Perfect Pairing:Signature Series Motor Oil and Ea® Oil Filters
Combining premium motor oil with a premium oil filter is necessary for total engine protection.
Complete engine protection is a team sport. The long-term effectiveness of a quality motor oil is often hindered by poor filtration. At the same time, the superior capabilities of a premium oil filter remain unrealized when combined with a sub-par motor oil. A pairing of top-quality oil and filtration is required for best results, especially with the advanced technology found in modern vehicles.
Protecting the Latest Technology
Variable Valve Timing (VVT)
The majority of vehicles rolling off the assembly line today feature variable valve timing (VVT). Every component in the system must function properly in order to advance or retard valve timing at the correct intervals. The solenoid pictured, from a 3.5L Ford* EcoBoost* engine, contains openings .007 of an inch across, which is about the thickness of two sheets of paper. The slightest amount of deposits in these openings can restrict oil flow and negatively affect the system.
AMSOIL Signature Series Synthetic Motor Oil resists deposits and sludge, while the superior efficiency of Ea Oil Filters traps and holds any existing deposits that could compromise VVT components.
Turbochargers
Turbochargers are predicted to be in most new passenger cars/light trucks by 2020. This technology increases engine efficiency and performance, but at the cost of elevated engine temperatures. Low-quality motor oil increases the risk for high-temperature bearing deposits that lead to reduced turbocharger performance or failure.
Signature Series 5W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil protects against harmful deposits on turbochargers 4X better than Mobil 1® Extended Performance and 3.6X better than Royal Purple® in industry-standard testing**. AMSOIL Ea Oil Filters are engineered to maintain the higher oil flow rate of modern engines, sending the appropriate amount of filtered oil to the turbocharger’s vital bearing. Bearing clearances, in general, have become tighter, making filter efficiency even more important to prevent engine damage.
Tag Team Protection
Working in tandem, AMSOIL Signature Series Motor Oil and AMSOIL Ea Oil Filters provide complete engine protection. Signature Series Motor Oil withstands the rigors of extreme heat and resists deposits and sludge, while Ea Oil Filters provide the capacity and efficiency that today’s advanced engine components require.
The Long Run
Turbochargers and VVT systems are here to stay. AMSOIL products are uniquely positioned to meet the challenges they present.
Signature Series Synthetic Motor Oil
Provides 75 percent more engine protection against horsepower loss and wear than required by a leading industry standard ***
Maximum cleanliness
Exceptional extreme-temperature protection
AMSOIL Ea Oil Filters
Filtering efficiency of 98.7 percent at 20 microns
Greater capacity than competing filter brands
Maximum efficiency without restricting flow
Extended service life
VVT solenoids often contain tiny oil-flow passages that can easily clog with deposits if maintenance is neglected or low-quality oil or filters are used.
*All trademarked names and images are the property of their respective owners and may be registered marks in some countries. No affiliation or endorsement claim, express or implied, is made by their use. All products advertised here are developed by AMSOIL for use in the applications shown.
**Based on independent, third-party testing of AMSOIL® Signature Series 5W-30, Mobil1® Extended Performance 5W-30 and Royal Purple® API 5W-30 in the ASTM D6335 bench test required by the API SN Resource Conserving specification.
***Based on independent testing of AMSOIL Signature Series 5W-30, in ASTM D7320 as required by API SN specification.
