Has anyone used this method of Oil Filtration?

[RickM]

I'm reffering to the amsoil bypass oil filter system. It certainly sounds interesting....especially the part about using a roll of TP (Read Toilet Paper) to filter the oil. Just curious if anyone here has used it and if so what your experience was/is with the product.

Detailed discussion on the subject is covered via the link below.
(Mercedesshop.com Tech forum)

http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/showthread.php3?s=&threadid=33647

[MotoSook]

While contemplating my oil cooling system add on, I wondered about using one of those adaptors for remote mounting the oil filter on my car. Mount the adaptor on the stock filter mount, then run AN lines to a remount filter that is in series with a t-stat and front/fender mount cooler. Sme theory, just more devices in line. That would negate the need for expensive stock oil lines and fittings...as long as the oil keeps flowing, why would it matter where the filter is???

[TimT]

That sounds like a bypass filter......hmmm tp for my .... ok try racor/oberg this is a real proven bypass filter....

[RoninLB]

Originally posted by RickM

. It certainly sounds interesting....

I did this a long time ago on one car.. never continued using it.. never considered it again..

if you are seriously considering this why not use a different car for the experiment.. do the Oil Man Larry Turner oil analysis before and after.. I may still have it if you want it.. I may have tossed it.........Ron

[Bill Verburg]

We use a version of the Racors on our $40,000 marine diesels. Both for oil and for fuel. They are outstanding pieces of work.

[TimT]

We had a racor on our offshore boat, not only are they outstanding pieces of art they arent really that expensive...one is going to be incorporated into my car(s).

[RickM]

I'm not going to rush out to purchase this technology. However, the fact that many have touted the superior filtration ability has me intrigued.

[HarryD]

IMHO,

Filtration has every thing to do with the pore size of the media and very little to do with how you get the oil to it. I an suspect of claims of many many miles without an oil change since the filter can remoive particles but not stuff dissolved (acids, emulsified water) into the oil. The TP technolgy has been around for ages and depending on how it is implemented, should work. On the other hand, is is superior to the spin on filter technology we have now? I do not think so. If you are concnerned on particle removal, find a spin on filter with a smaller pore size and change more frequently. Our 911's already have a bypass filtration system.

[jmohn]

This is very old, been around since pre-Model A days. Keep in mind this procedure is only filtering a very small amount of oil at any given time and you still need your original filter system. For anyone who changes often it's a waste of time.

Jerry M
'78 SC

[RoninLB]

Originally posted by TimT

We had a racor on our offshore boat, not only are they outstanding pieces of art they arent really that expensive...one is going to be incorporated into my car(s).

yep... 1 or 2 microns w/venturi water removal about $125.. the PMOs won't need the optional alarm.........Ron

[RickM]

If a filtration system will keep my oil cleaner between my oil changes I'm all for it.

Any oil's properties (including additive packages) are going to degrade over time. Although it is sold as a way to extend oil change intervals I wouldn't push it.

[pwd72s]

TP filters...still around? I saw them touted back in the 1950's. Sheesh! You guys convinced me to quit buying Fram & make the switch to purolator on my detroit iron, but this, IMHO, is going a bit too far into the voodoo realm for me to pick up on...

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

The toilet paper thing has been around in the light-airplane biz for half a century and is looked upon as buelchit by the experienced.

Stephan

[pjv911]

I would be worried about oil flow restriction through a tighter filter. 911`S have alot of oil volume compared to most engines.

[RickM]

Just as a sidenote.

I was in the process of comparing a few Porsche oil filters for the board. I'm back on track after a death in the family. I spoke to a "resident" engineer at Mann. He told me, amongst other things, that while Fram filters are constructed in a "minimalist" fashion they do have an excellent first and subsequent pass filtration ability.

Will I go out and buy Fram? Most likely not but I was surprised to hear this gentleman candidly offer this information.

[Geary]

The tolet paper filter was introduced eons ago as a by-pass filter (for engines that had no filter at all), and was never used in a full-flow capacity. (But as a by-pass filter, it very well may have all the others beat, due to the amount of available surface area.)

The multitude of standard (single layer) paper element filters on the market today (even though some may be built better than others) ALL have the same limitations and CANNOT FILTER 100% OF THE OIL ALL OF THE TIME. (Can one really expect more for $5 ?)

Visual internal inspections and comparisons between the name brands may yield a list of "worst" and "best", but ALL of them are internally by-passing a large percentage of the oil most of the time. ALL of them will potentially release captured metal particles when starting a cold engine, and most of them begin coming unglued in the presence of water moisture accumulated in the oil (the large oil reserve in a 911 rarely gets to a high enough temperature for long enough to purge all condensation).

It seems to me that relying on a $5 paper filter to protect the bearings in a $10,000 engine is ludicrous --- especially when there have been TRUE full-flow filters available for many years. Oberg & System 1 are two such filters that use a stainless steel mesh to filter ALL of the oil, ALL of the time. This mesh removes 50 micron and larger particles --- the particles that do the real damage.

Any boasts of 2-3 micron removal are a joke. Firstly, these small particles do nothing detrimental to the bearings; secondly, how many passes through the filter does it take to capture them?. However, one can install a SECOND filter -- a by-pass filter -- to remove all these small particles too, which will make the engine oil look new WAY beyond the recommended change interval.

If plumbing a by-pass filter (alowing the two filter system) is too much trouble, then here's the choice: For oil that "looks" cleaner for longer, but likely carries some damaging metal particles, use a standard paper element filter. For oil that carries no damaging particles, but blackens far more quickly, use a TRUE full-flow stainless steel mesh filter.

[RickM]

Geary, What do you use?

[Geary]

Well, I admit to being somewhat biased -- I use a short, pleated System 1, which probably has 20 times the surface area of the Oberg.

[sweater914]

my dad used an amsoil bypass filter on the toyota 4runner we had, amsoil offers a series of different bypass filters, the one on the 4runner was about the size of a coffee can and wasn't toilet paper but a dense cotton material

the filter added additional capacity and a more dense filter material, changed the bypass filter once a year and the regular filter twice a year using amsoil's extend drain interval

the system worked really well and plumbing wasn't that difficult