REPAIRS PAGE 20
OIL FILTER TESTS REPORTED BY MATTI KALALAHTI
When
reading this article, please keep in mind the date it was written and that the
oil filters in question will have been upgraded and revised. Also note that this
test was done by an independent European car magazine and the test results may
or may not be accurate. k124476@ee.tut.fi
Oil filter test results!
The Finnish car magazine "Tuulilasi"
compared oil filters in its latest issue. The filters tested were all
for Toyota Corolla with A-series engine.
Results in short:
What did they test?
40
30
20
10 Champion
98
91
64
19 Clean
99
91
66
16 Biltema
99
91
62
16 Purolator
97
86
60
11 Teho
96
89
61
17 Fram
98
87
55
9 Motorcraft
99
90
61
12 Mann
98
88
56
10 M-Filter
96
85
50
10 Toyota
88
77
31
0 Vic
87
71
39
4 After 10
minutes, % of each particle size [micrometers] filtered:
40
30
20
10 Champion
97
90
63
18 Clean
97
91
62
13 Biltema
95
88
56
11 Purolator
97
82
52
9 Teho
98
86
56
15 Fram
97
85
51
5 Motorcraft
97
92
62
16 Mann
96
83
50
7 M-Filter
94
80
47
9 Toyota
81
60
25
1 Vic
81
68
39
4 Time until
blocked (bypass valve opens): Champion
16-18 min Clean
21-23 min Biltema
29-33 min Purolator
22-26 min Teho
16-18 min Fram
22-26 min Motorcraft
13-15 min Mann
25-27 min M-Filter
19-27 min Toyota
16-23 min Vic
20-20 min 2) Anti-drainback valve operation
All except Vic held the oil. You
can test this yourself, if you want. Find a bolt that fits on the thread in the filter, fill the
filter with oil, and with the bolt screwed in, turn the filter to its side, like
it is on the engine block. Does it leak?
3) Bypass valve operation
Some filters leaked slightly
through the bypass valve early before the filter elements were blocked,
but at worst only 22ml/min. Compare that to the 25000ml/min total flow in the
test, and you see that it is totally insignificant.
Make your own conclusions. Before
this I thought Toyota filters would be the best one could get
(even though I've used Teho myself because it's 5 times cheaper).
Matti Kalalahti - Toyota Carina Coupe GT-T TwinCam Turbo '82
Visit Mattis Huge Ever growing Website at: http://www.students.tut.fi/~k124476/
Champion C138
Very good
Clean
DO 851
Very good (with size reservations)
Biltema 502077
Good (with size reservations)
Purolator
Micronic
Good
Teho
OK 174
Good (with reservations)
Fram
PH 4967
Satisfactory
Motorcraft
EFL391
Satisfactory
Mann
W68/80
Passable
M-Filter
MH 3347
Passable
Toyota
90915-10001 Inferior
Vic
C-110
Inferior
"Clean" filter was was wider than others, and "Biltema" longer.
1) Filtration
Filters were tested with a test
equipment conforming to standard ISO 4572. The test oil was recirculated
through the filter, and dirt was continuously added to it. The test dirt
consisted of particles smaller than 200 micrometers. I've picked the figures
below from the graphs on the magazine. 15 mg of dirt was added to each liter of
oil passed through the system. Oil flow rate was 25 liters per minute.
After 5 minutes, % of each particle size [micrometers] filtered: