was reading this on k&p website and if this is true even a stock oem filter isnt good enough heres what it said.
4) How does this type of filtration compare to paper oil filters?
We use ASTMF316 testing procedures which eliminate many of the user variables found in the SAE procedures. Basically, the filter media is pressurized from one side, and when the media starts passing particles, that is the micron rating. We sent filter media from several common brands of paper filters to the lab to be run through the ASTM test. We sent the media to the lab with no names, just numbers for identification so they wouldn't have any idea what brand filter they were testing. The results for the paper filters ranged from 48 microns for the best filter to over 300 microns for the worst filter. Our tests were right in line with other testing results we have researched that have paper media filters passing particles anywhere between 50 and 90 microns. What does this mean? Paper filters are rated on averages, percentages of efficiency (also known as beta ratios) and multiple passes, so a 10 micron rated paper filter (as advertised on the packaging) may be letting particles 50 microns and larger through. The medical grade stainless steel cloth that we use is consistent across the entire media surface and is rated at 35 microns, meaning nothing larger than 35 microns should pass through the material. The bottom line is we meet or exceed the filtration performance of OEM filters, eliminating any warranty issues.
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5) What Are Microns?
A micron is one thousandth of a millimeter. That's approx. .00003937 inches.
35 microns is about .00138", (just over one-thousandth of an inch).
The lower limit of visibity to the human eye is about 40 microns.
Pollens range from about 30 to 50 microns
A white blood cell is about 25 microns
Cigarette smoke is about 10 microns
ASTM F316 is a test for screening materials and consistency checks. completely meaningless in a real world filter. The rest is cherry picked and hugely anectdotal. May be and should's are red flags.
Only multi-pass testing will do. Beta Ratios rule.
so does the microns rating help develope the proper oil pressure? it doesn't seem that oil pressure is affected much by micron size or is it?
It can be, everything is a balance. I can take a piece of very coarse filter material, use a little of it, and have a crappy filter with almost no pressure drop across the filter.
I can use a LOT of the same stuff and buil;d a great filter, that has a horrid pressure drop.
The skill is in the compromise. Come up with a material and media depth that provides good cleaning and a reasonable pressure drop. You can juggle size to an extent, but it has to fit the area, or you have to find the right combination of material, layers, pleats, etc, that do the job.
so yes, filter rating can effect pressure. But we are not likely to go buy a completely bad combination unless we go to some weird no name off brand at the local convenience store.
the point of the discussion of microns isn't how small a removed particle is but the back pressure in the system that gives the under-piston jets their quality of spray, without the pressure they plug and don't function correctly.
Sorry, microns count too. Wear debris and contaminants in the oil act as cutting agents. Polishing wear on the check balls, seats, and nozzles would be detrimental.
For roller bearings, you also want cleaner oil, the clearances under load are sometimes non existent. (the metals of the ball, and races will actually deform under high loads, with the tiny bit of oil in between actually turning into a solid for a very brief instant, not much room for crud.
