Has anyone seen the Filter Mag advertised? Saw it today and looks like ot will collect more contaminates than the magnetic oil drain plug, If interested go to www,filtermag.com. I am thinking about puchasing the one for the high performance application.

The Big Dog

 

I have one fitted. If you've ever seen the demo you wouldn't think twice about the $$.

I think they are a no brainer

 

I think the corvette engine block is aluminum and uses aluminum rings and parts. I dont think a mganent will attrack aluminum

 

Everthing inside and all the moving parts are steelo...except pistons

The Big Dog

 

i bought magnets at a hardware store put em on filter and drain plugs...

bolts and filters are metal.

Mod End Cost: $2.25

 

Change your oil more often, dont try to set the worlds record on how long you can go without an oil change. 2500-3000 miles no matter what the bottle or DIC tells you for normal driving*

and get an oil analysis done to look for ware and contaminates.

blackstone labs is one place to examine the oil.

When I change my oil I run an extra 1/2 qt though the block with the drain plug out. This helps get all the bottom clinging oil crud out of the oil pain.

Then there are us few crazies whos car seldom goes below 3000 rpms ( on the track ) and we change every 500 miles or 6 hours of use.

 

The cam is made of iron, bearings are made from lead, and the sleeves are also made of iron. Most of the valvetrain is also iron. The rings are made from chromium. These are all the things that wear inside an engine.

If you look at oil analysis results on an LS1 engine, there is very little aluminum in the oil (my last report showed a miniscule 3ppm of aluminum in 8000 miles) Think about it, the block and heads are what's made from aluminum and those don't wear.

 

You're sort of contradicting yourself there. You're saying to go 3k no matter what, but then you mention oil analysis. An oil analysis is going to prove to you that 3k oil changes are a complete waste of money. As I mentioned in my last post, I went 8000 miles on my last interval, and the amount of wear metals in my oil was very low. The condition of the oil was still completely servicable too. It's not like I'm trying to set any kind of records, it's just that through oil analysis I've determined that there is no benefit at all for me to change my oil every 3k. My engine is wearing out at an extremely slow rate.

 

GM offers a magnetic oil plug for the Vette. It cost me $2.50.
Looks just like the stock plug.

 

Click and Clack (the Magliozzi brothers) recently replied to someone who asked whether magnets on drain plugs or around oil filters are worth the money. They answered, "No". The little bit of ferrous particles that may find ther way into the oil will ultimately get trapped by the oil filter.

I bought a magnetic drain plug only because there was a service bulletin a while back that warned GM mechanics to look out for roller bearing pins in the oil. (back in 01 or 02). Even though I change my oil once per year (about 5000 miles), I have yet to see any ferrous "stuff" on the magnet.

 

This is an interresting one.

We have a core of members who swear that you need to change the oil every 3000 miles even though its synthetic and doesn't break down like the old style oils. Its obvious that the filter will catch most larger particles but some smaller pices smaller than the filter can handle may migrate around the engine.

The fliter mag is a one off buy and for about $30. You can switch it to the new filter at every change. Any ferrous particles are trapped (and I mean trapped) around the edge of the filter. My guess is that with modern engineering standards and good oil its not going to catch much. That said, for $30 it looks like a great insurance policy to me.

And btw, I have no vested interest.

 

There are several oil analyses labs out there. One told me I could go 4000 miles even the with the hard track use (not racing but close). another lab mentioned I was ok at two weekends or about 500 miles but three weekends would be pushing it. Both labs recieved samples from the same oil change with two different reports. Oil was Mobil 1 15-W50. Now I have gone to Mobil 1 0-W40 as I dont like the new extendied , formulations of the 15-W50, car ran 10 degrees hotter and oil looked worse after that change. I should have sent that oil in.

I later send these two labs oil from the DD-pick up / tow vehical and 1500 HD Silverado and my wifes 04 vette. Oil was changed at 5000 mile for the truck and 3000 miles for the wifes vette. Reports came back that it was about the right time to change and minimal ware to each. Both used Mobil 1 5-W30. A little crazy as I use the truck all the time and went further on the oil change then the wifes vette, which is not driven hard at all.

There are several oil analyses labs out there. It is inexpesive to have you oil tested. Find what is comfortable oil change intervel for yourself.

My personal opnion is the oil indicator is fairly good down to about 30%. Below that I am not to sure about.

 

Something to think about...

I am an engineer. I work for a company that specializes in lubrication.

If you go to the store and buy a filter, the best automotive filter you can buy will filter down to about 15 microns or so. The clearences inside of todays engines range from 3-15 microns. There in lies the problem.

Let's think about this for a second. Think of 2 surfaces with a 3-15 micron seperation. A particle that is 25 microns is not going to fit between the 2 surfaces, thus not causing any problems. A particle that is 2 microns will pass right through the oil film and also not cause any damage. The particles that we need to worry about are the ones that have a size that is very close to the clearences in the engine. These are obviously not being caught by the filter.

Just for a refrence, the smallest particle your eye's can see is about 50 microns.

Something more on topic with the use of magnets. The only thing a magnet is going to catch is wear metals. The biggest killer of machinery is silica, or dirt. Silica is much, much harder than any metal on the inside of your engine. So again lets think about the 3-15 micon clearence. If I force something that is 17 microns into a 15 micron clearence, which one do you think is going to deform? The softest of the 2 right?

These are some very simplified concepts that I work with. There are obviously a lot more to lubrication/filtration, I just wanted to make some of you guys aware of some things you might not have thought about.


Just some food for thought.

Jeremy

 

Food for thought indeed. Thanks

 

If the filter catches 15 microns, the 17 micron analogy doesnt really fit. Obviously it will pass since 2 microns mean nothing outside of a transmission valve body, but some will do the math.

What's a micron? Ok, when your finger goes through the paper (Yeah, that paper). You rub and rub until everything looks clean. Then you rub some more. No soap - use water, and rub some more. The smell that's left behind. That's a micron.

 

Thanks for the great write up. But you didn't end it with a "Solution". The magnets...etc, or whatever is discussed here, are some solutions that people are looking for. So, its nice to figure out a problem, but even better when you share a solution to it - if there is any...