THE TRUTH ABOUT FULL FLOW OIL FILTERS VS. COMBINATION FILTERS

by Zafar Hussain, Senior Product Engineer at Luber-finer

The true test of any heavy-duty vehicle is its ability to perform under extreme weather conditions that are common in Canada. The same is true for the various components that help keep these vehicles running at peak performance, particularly the oil filter. While many oil filters on the market today rely on combinations of media technology that limit oil flow, Luber-finer’s full flow filters allow for minimal restriction of oil in harsh, cold conditions without sacrificing efficiency.

However, many heavy-duty Canadian fleets still avoid using them in favor of oil filters with combination media. That’s because confusing manufacturer warranty language and a misrepresentation of recently developed filter technologies have created a major misconception about heavy-duty oil filtration lately. Many fleet, maintenance and parts managers falsely believe they must use combination filters with both bypass media and venturi technology or risk voiding their engine’s warranty. This misconception has prevented many of them from achieving the highest levels of oil filter capacity and efficiency by using full flow filters with more media area compared to combination filters.

At Luber-finer, we’re committed to helping fleet, maintenance and parts managers maximize the performance of their vehicles, so we’d like to clear up the misconception. When used in accordance with OEM warranty prescribed replacement intervals, full flow oil filters will not void original equipment warranty requirements.

Before we get into the specific benefits of Luber-finer full-flow oil filters over competitors’ combination filters, it’s important to remember that the true purpose of an oil filter is to remove the particulate and contaminants detrimental to an engine. This particulate is typically foreign matter such as dirt, dust and debris 5 microns or larger.

Some manufacturers promote their filters’ ability to combat soot and sludge. While this definitely helps overall oil performance, modern synthetic oil blends are designed to prevent the soot agglomeration and build-up of these contaminants. As a result, this build-up should not be the core responsibility of your primary oil filters. Instead, they should only be judged on three metrics: efficiency, capacity and restriction.

 

Enhanced Efficiency

A filter’s efficiency rating is the key factor in determining how well it can protect your engine from damage caused by foreign matter. The higher a filter media’s efficiency rating, the greater percentage of particulate it is proven to capture, preventing it from entering your vehicle’s vital lubrication systems. The Luber-finer LFP9001XL and LFP9001 full-flow oil filters are 100% more efficient than competitive combination bypass filters at removing particulate 5 microns or larger (as evaluated in the Cummins ISX engine using ISO 4548-12 in-house testing vs. competitive filters).

 

High Capacity

Not all filters are engineered to effectively capture the same amount of particulate. Once a filter’s media reaches its capacity limit, the filter’s ability to protect an engine is severely compromised. A filter reaching capacity can cause one of two critical filtration issues to occur: an oil system with reduced flow of oil to critical engine components, or abrasive particulate flowing freely into an engine’s core components. The Luber-finer LFP9001XL offers 45% more capacity than competitive filters, and even our standard full flow oil filter provides significantly greater capacity than comparable alternatives (also as evaluated in the Cummins ISX engine using ISO 4548-12 in-house testing vs. competitive filters).

 

Reduced Oil Restriction

As mentioned earlier, fleets rely on their vehicles and their filters to deliver reliable performance when conditions are at their worst. In cold start situations, less oil restriction equals more performance. The Luber-finer LFP9001XL and LFP9001 have shown 8% less restriction than competitive filters on an engine’s oil flow under harsh test conditions (at 25 gallons per minute flow rate using ISO4548-12 in-house testing vs. competitive filters).

Oil is the lifeblood of any heavy-duty engine. Luber-finer full flow oil filters provide maximum protection from oil contaminants with minimum restriction to help reduce wear, guard against system failure and increase uptime. Our filters meet or exceed OEM requirements for service life, efficiency and contaminant removal. All Luber-finer heavy-duty filters and their parts are tested in the lab following SAE and ISO standards before they are launched. They are manufactured in production facilities which are ISO 9001, TS16949 and ISO 14001 certified for quality and environment.

As you can see, there’s no reason to sacrifice the performance that matters most based on misleading competitor claims about voiding an engine’s warranty. You can count on Luber-finer to provide trustworthy full flow filtration for your Cummins, Mack, Volvo, Detroit Diesel, Caterpillar or Paccar International engine. We offer a complete line of products to maintain and protect your equipment investment, backed by reliable service. Visit luber-finer.com today and use our interactive filter reference guide to find full flow oil filter options for your engines.

 

Zafar Hussain

Zafar is a Senior Product Engineer at Luber-finer, one of the world’s most trusted filter brands. He has worked in the filtration industry since 2002 and has multiple patents under his name, including Luber-finer’s Heavy-Duty Time Release Technology (TRT™) Oil Filter.


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