An insight into Filtration
Your car’s state of mechanical health – and even the well-being of your passengers – relies on decent filtration. Rob Marshall liaises with the leading brands to discover how you should buy and fit them correctly.
We liaise with the leading brands to discover how you should buy and fit them correctly.
When working on a car at home, you place a degree of trust in the components that you install. Diyers tend not to be experts in how these parts are made and evaluating filters’ quality especially is far from easy, when there tends to be no obvious visual clue to determine whether they will protect, or harm. Many people will buy solely on price but this can prejudice quality. Yet, even the best quality filter cannot perform, should it be installed incorrectly.
Why are filters important?
Damaging contaminations that are produced either by the combustion process, or introduced from the atmosphere, can not only shorten component lifespan but can also make them less reliable. Motorcar filtration has evolved over many decades to offer affordable methods of removing particles from, most commonly, the engine oil, fuel and the incoming air. As engines and their associated management technologies have become more sophisticated, they have also become more vulnerable to contamination. Filter technology continues evolving to meet these challenges.
Filters have also grown in numbers as well as complexity. Aside from the oil, air and fuel filters, virtually all modern cars possess cabin filters. Dependent on equipment levels, filters may be fitted outside and deep within the gearbox, rear axle and even suspension systems. Therefore, being aware of your car’s specification and budgeting time and money to replace any renewable filters are wise moves, especially if the vehicle is a recent used purchase.
The filter brands have their say
Jonathan Allen, Regional Marketing Manager of Federal-mogul Motorparts EMEA, owner of the Champion brand, advises CM readers: “Poor running, reduced performance or even an allergic reaction; plus not swapping your car’s filters with Oequality replacements on time can have a devastating effect on the health of your vehicle, bank balance and you. Filters undergo the same rigorous testing as any other component and failing to replace an ailing filter can lead to premature wear of other, more-expensive-to -replace parts such as piston rings.
At the very least, a badly clogged cabin filter can undermine all the extensive research and development work that is carried out by vehicle manufacturers attempting to improve NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) levels and ambient cabin quality.”
First Line, via its Borg and Beck brand of filters, warns that, “There are varying levels of quality in the aftermarket, driven by the constant drive-down of price. Therefore it is advisable to stick with reputable, established brands that manage and control the specification of the products, as we do at First Line Ltd, to protect the buyers and installers of our products from experiencing any types of problem.”
UFI Filters confirms that buying and fitting a cheap aftermarket filter can seem like a great idea at the time and may save you a few pounds initially – but it is a false economy. The company reasons that a poor-quality
oil filter can fail to trap damaging particles, causing them to remain in the engine and increase internal wear. Low-quality fuel, or air filters, can introduce contaminations into sensitive components, if not captured beforehand. Therefore, cheaper poorquality filters can compromise optimum engine performance, reliability, fuel consumption, exhaust emissions and increase repair costs that might have been avoided, had decent filtration been used in the first place.
MAHLE Aftermarket, a company that supplies spare parts using its expertise as a producer of original equipment (OE) components to the motor manufacturers, reports that filters can look almost identical on the outside but the often-unseen intricate differences inside define the quality standard. Using oil filters as an example, the filtration media must neither degrade on contact with acids, soot and bio-fuels, nor should it affect oil pressure negatively throughout its operating life.
In its research on how cheap filter makers cut manufacturing costs at the expense of performance, MAHLE
Aftermarket states that the quantity of filtration media tends to be reduced. In the case of spin-on oil filters, this can be achieved by reducing the height of the outer casing, or by increasing the diameter of the centre support tube. It highlights that its branded filters use taller cartridges and longer paper length to guarantee performance and reliability. However, the grade and quality of the filtration medium must also be studied, because they too define both the filter’s efficiency and service life. Build quality is also relevant because, should the media pleats bond together as the filter ages, the workable surface area reduces.
The company also states that a hardening process is needed to prevent the filter from collapsing under pressure. Yet, other issues must be considered, including replacement intervals, air/oil/ fuel flow-rates and the size of particles (measured in microns) that must be captured. These parameters tend to be specified by the car manufacturer (OE), which is why choosing filter brands that claim (and are trusted) that they meet original equipment (OE) quality must be your priority.
UFI Filters also emphasises its strength on research and development as an OE supplier. Like MAHLE Aftermarket, it argues that correct cartridge dimensions permit optimum filtering efficiency and highlights advances in materials used as filter media. For example, cellulosic media (paper) has been the most popular to date but, to provide optimum protection to the latest turbocharged engines, in particular, UFI highlights that it uses different constituents, such as glassfibre, or those based from polymers. It also highlights OE targets and environmental impacts, with which it complies.
Whom should you trust?
Buying all of your filters from a franchised dealership (presuming your car brand is still current) is a way of guaranteeing OE quality, but it may be an unnecessary expense. Even so, do not discount the dealer network completely, because their filters may be surprisingly affordable, especially if you bulk-buy. Consider that manufacturer branding on the filters (or their boxes) does not mean that car-makers manufacture them; they rely on a series
of OE suppliers to develop and produce the filters to their specifications, as detailed earlier. Buying filters direct from these OE suppliers may be a more cost-effective way to ensure that Oe-quality is met for your car, but do not presume that companies without contracts with the car manufacturers should be avoided.
Comline, as an example, may not be an Oe-supplier but it takes the quality remit extremely seriously. After all, any company can say that its filters meet OE standards – who is going to check? The Luton-based company insists that its filters range, which covers 95% of the European, Japanese and Korean aftermarket vehicle parc, ensures that it can back-up
its Oe-quality claims. Not only does it work with only OE filtration suppliers but also it carries-out regular audits of those partners. Quality control checks in Comline’s independent laboratories also verify filtration media quality and depth, dimensional accuracy and even anticorrosion finishes. Additionally, Comline also told CM that it has partnered with the International Filter Testing Service (IFTS), membership of which tends to be reserved typically for OE suppliers. Effectively, this independent organisation provides its members with in-depth, impartial analysis and its test laboratory complies with ISO 17025. This ISO standard, incidentally, is the calibration standard to which all laboratories must adhere to be recognised as ‘technically competent’ in the production of ‘precise and accurate test and calibration’ data.
While Comline admits that, in order to protect the intellectual property of the organisation and its members, the IFTS findings are not publicised, it enables Comline to benchmark itself against its competitors in an impartial manner.