Should I run a 10 micron or a 30 micron oil filter?
A micron rating is given to show the efficiency of the oil filter (one micron is a millionth of a meter).
This leads consumers to believe that the 10 micron filter must be better for their bike. Here is where it can get confusing though. The 10 micron filter may have a higher filtration rating it does not allow the oil to return to the tank as fast. With this in mind, the 10 micron and the later (newer) 5 micron filter filter was developed for use with the Twin Cam style engine which has a different oiling system that allows oil to be forced through a more restrictive oil filter.
The reason for the tighter filtration was explained by the manufacture as necessary to assure all of the smaller passages in the Twin Cam style engine like the piston oil jets, would stay clear of debris. If you run the 10 micron filter with an evolution style engine it will not be able to return oil through the filter fast enough causing the oil to back up into the lower end (sumping) robbing power and/or causing oil to puke out of the lower end and into the air filter housing.
The 30 micron filter is designed to work best for your Evolution style engine, the filtration is still excellent and it will not cause oiling issues.
When it comes to filtering oil, application is very important. There have been a lot of changes and updates to many filters on the market, with claims of better filtration, don't be fooled into using a filter that might not be the best for your bike.
The difference between the TC engine and the Evo engine oiling system is one is high pressure low volume and the other is low pressure high volume, thus the reason for the 10+ micron filters on the older engines.
Here's a page from Hot Bike Magazine with an ad for Fram filters. Notice the micron rating of their filters and compare to the harley filters of 5 micron. This is why I use the HD filters.
Here's some interesting info on the various filters.
Oil Filters Revealed - MiniMopar Resources
OIL FILTERS EXPOSED! - Introduction
A micron rating is given to show the efficiency of the oil filter (one micron is a millionth of a meter).
This leads consumers to believe that the 10 micron filter must be better for their bike. Here is where it can get confusing though. The 10 micron filter may have a higher filtration rating it does not allow the oil to return to the tank as fast. With this in mind, the 10 micron and the later (newer) 5 micron filter filter was developed for use with the Twin Cam style engine which has a different oiling system that allows oil to be forced through a more restrictive oil filter.
The reason for the tighter filtration was explained by the manufacture as necessary to assure all of the smaller passages in the Twin Cam style engine like the piston oil jets, would stay clear of debris. If you run the 10 micron filter with an evolution style engine it will not be able to return oil through the filter fast enough causing the oil to back up into the lower end (sumping) robbing power and/or causing oil to puke out of the lower end and into the air filter housing.
The 30 micron filter is designed to work best for your Evolution style engine, the filtration is still excellent and it will not cause oiling issues.
When it comes to filtering oil, application is very important. There have been a lot of changes and updates to many filters on the market, with claims of better filtration, don't be fooled into using a filter that might not be the best for your bike.
The difference between the TC engine and the Evo engine oiling system is one is high pressure low volume and the other is low pressure high volume, thus the reason for the 10+ micron filters on the older engines.
Here's a page from Hot Bike Magazine with an ad for Fram filters. Notice the micron rating of their filters and compare to the harley filters of 5 micron. This is why I use the HD filters.
Here's some interesting info on the various filters.
Oil Filters Revealed - MiniMopar Resources
OIL FILTERS EXPOSED! - Introduction
