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Thanks for the follow up data….that helps me to understan.
What are those performance parameters? Certification requirements often include corner case operating conditions that few will ever see. I have been running Wix filters for years on all my aircraft engines even knowing the PN I use does not have quite the burst strength of the Champion, and the bypass pressure is a little lower. But I’m also not going to let my airplane sit on a frozen lake for a week and then do a cold start and immediately do a full throttle takeoff. Point being, as homebuilders, we have the power and responsibility to determine the performance parameters that apply to our mission. If that includes every corner of the certification envelope, so be it. If not, that’s OK too.
The down side of that filter is that it is somewhat smaller. Dan's plots show that toward the end of the tests, the filter efficiency started to drop more quickly even on the standard sized filters. How many engine hours correspond to that drop? I don't know, maybe a hundred? So maybe the somewhat smaller filter is fine for us. Certainly the burst pressure and the bypass valve setting are more like what we are really looking for.
..a K&P body or similar with a removable paper inlet filter? That would be a nice solution.. good filtering and easy to inspect. My guess is, the body would need to get much bigger to accommodate the proper size of the paper filter element.
I agree. Similar to what some of the newer vehicles are using. Twice the money for 1/2 the filter
I had been running K&N HP1002 based on recommendation of Casper Labs. They were sold at Walmart. Walmart stopped carrying them and I think they changed manufacturers. Went to Wix 51348HP which crossed to the K&N HP1002 but no provision for safety wire. Cut every filter, every one pristine inside. Oil analysis from Blackstone says oil is clean.
…yet the same Champion filter is specified across a wide range of engine sizes - with the larger ones likely to load the media at a higher rate. This leads me to believe the media size is largely irrelevant for our typical use case and time change interval.
I have been using the wix/napa 1515 for years and it was encouraging to see that it was the most effective filter in this test. Kind of surprised you wouldn't say the test would drive more people toward the Wix filters. 1/5 the price and better performance compared to the aviation filters.
But there are many Wix filters! Which one is the best application for our Lycoming engines?
is there any way to safety wire the wix filter?
I ran the K&N HP1002 on both Lycoming 0320 and IO360s. I cut the filter every time and washed the element then strained through filter paper. The filters looked new when cut and I only got a miniscule amount of what looked like carbon in the filter paper (wasn't magnetic). You could easily run the filters twice as long. The Wix filters ending in "XP" have synthetic element that gives even better filtration.
Put a worm clamp on the filter and use it as a safety wire anchor.
I have been trying to find a photo to show how to do what Sam is talking about. It can be done but if you never have done it, you may have a difficult time with an image in your mind on the how to. I know how to do it but am at a loss for words on how to explain it so that you can do it.
This is using a cable instead of safety wire.... The cable (wire) just goes under the screw head. Any extra band is cut off after fitted to filter case.
You would need to generate a flow rate. For this 4548-12 test, it was 6 GPM. We usually assume 7 GPM for a Lycoming with a standard size pump.
Back in 1950 when most cars didn't have oil filters (first Chevy oil filter in 1956) engines seldom ran 100,000 miles and the oil change interval was 1,000 miles.
Indeed, but in a radical departure from much of the content on this forum, this one provides hard data. I welcome all threads with real data.
Wix list the specifications of their oil filters to include dimensions and bypass settings. There is a website that deals exclusively with oil and oil filters which is a wealth of information.
.....and that data is not even remotely confidential.
No. IMHO, there is no need to safety wire an oil filter if one knows how to properly install it. Opinions may vary, but this style of oil filter has been installed on literally 100's of millions of cars over the last 100 years with no safety wire. If the filter falls off, the engine seizes and becomes a door stop, so pretty sure if there was a real risk of this happening, we would have heard about it by now and someone would have started using safety wire. Heck I cannot buy a car with will start or go into gear unless my doors are closed and foot is on brake. Manufacturers will no longer let me do things in my own car that can result in a lawsuit. I can't believe they would sell me a filter that could fall off and result in a very large claim or lawsuit,
Because that's the way we've always done it! Obviously not the mantra of the Experimental Community! I swapped out my 'permanent' filter for a Champion yesterday and was amazed what 15-17 ft/lbs felt like!!
I have one of those Fancy Wrenches that hooks on to the nut thing at the end of aviation filters. I hand-tightened it and then hit it with the Fancy Wrench. It turned and turned and turned and I thought Is this right? I went so far as getting out my old 1" crow foot I used before the Fancy Wrench to make sure I was torquing it correctly. And it kept turning!! The 1/4 turn the permanent filter took from hand-tight was still in my mind, I guess. I had already forgotten how much a 'real' filter needs to turn to compress that chunky gasket! There is NO FREAKING WAY that filter is going to somehow work its way off of that engine! Did I safety wire it? Yes. Why? Because that's the way we've always done it! 
need to be cautious about over doing it though. The rubber gets harder during the heat cycling and has the effect of increasing the torque. If you do a lot of these, you begin to notice that they are only tightened by hand, yet require significant force with a spanner tool to get them off. I helped a neighbor get a filter off his 172. It was REALLYYYYY tight. Owner had long since ripped off the hex nut on the end of the filter trying to get it off and I bent at least two different tools trying to get it off, though I eventually did. Please don't fall into that " if tight is good, REALLY tight must be REALLY good" trap.Because that's the way we've always done it! Obviously not the mantra of the Experimental Community! I swapped out my 'permanent' filter for a Champion yesterday and was amazed what 15-17 ft/lbs felt like!!
The Champion filter has "Torque to 16-18ft/lbs....' printed on the filter itself. The Fancy Wrench ticks off at a pre-loaded 17ft/lbs. I've used the Fancy Wrench for years without any problems removing the filter. I suppose less than that would be sufficient but just following the manufacturers recommendations. My point was the difference between the 'permanent' filter movement to torque specs and the Champion filter movement.
PS: I did not pay $104.75 for the Fancy Wrench as it is listed in the ACS catalog! Sure is handy, though!
Not even NASCAR safety wires oil filters.
The Champion filter has "Torque to 16-18ft/lbs....' printed on the filter itself. The Fancy Wrench ticks off at a pre-loaded 17ft/lbs. I've used the Fancy Wrench for years without any problems removing the filter. I suppose less than that would be sufficient but just following the manufacturers recommendations. My point was the difference between the 'permanent' filter movement to torque specs and the Champion filter movement.
Tips For Changing Your Spin-On Oil Filter | Lycoming
The filter should then be installed and hand-tightened until the seating surface makes contact with the lubricated gasket. The filter should then be turned with a torque wrench until a torque of 18-20 foot pounds is reached. The 20-foot pound maximum torque should not be exceeded.
View attachment 60820
www.lycoming.com/content/tips-changing-your-spin-oil-filter
Do we really need to safety wire?
To be REALLY cautious shouldn’t the safety wire run thru the slot in the worm gear screw head, to keep it from backing off?
Sure......why not. But this thread has already taken the position that safe tying isn't necessary.
And . . . . some very good possibilities in the Baldwin line too. Burst, pulsation, and bypass are up to diesel standards so, that would not be an issue.
