Filter Mags - Do They Work? Lets Take A Look

[m4tti]

Well Ive seen post before asking whether filter mags work, are they worth the money etc. Obviously the manufacturer says they do, but what do they really do once on the filter in the car..

I rebuilt my engine last year and have done about 1100 miles on mineral oil, with a filter mag in place. The filter mag looks like this.



The underside



I bought this with all the other engine parts I bought last year from RG, it cost 60 quid.It sounded a fair bit of money, but with the amount I spent on parts. what the hell lets just have one. There was always a thought in the back of my mind they could be snake oil.

With the oil draining I took the filter and knocked the top off with a coal chisel. So what did I find... Well the filtermag has intact worked!!

You can quite clearly see here the lines of the magnets on the interior of the filter housing, where metallic particles have congregated.





These "lines" of metallic particles have a considerable thickness. Heres a shot of them where I've run my finger across them, you can see the depth of the particles from the markings made, where Ive run my finger across them.



Opposite side of the filter housing to the magnet.. theres nothing



In conclusion, yes on face value Filtermags do work. Would those fine metallic particles have made it back through the filter paper? who knows. could probably work it out with the spec of the filter but i can't be bothered. It should be noted that the larger metallic particles though were trapped in the folds of the filter element.

Would these fine metallic particles do anything in suspension in the oil, over time yes probably, but change your oil regularly enough.. probably not.

So if your really paranoid about your engine and its longevity a filter mag is probably a decent addition at an oil change, one plus point is you can see more easily whats travelling through the system. Conversely if your engine never sees a filter mag it probably won't die a sudden death

If i remember, Ill hack the next filter open at the next oil change and update this so we see what the filtermags done once the engine is running on Millers nanodrive... super slippery 180 bucks worth of oil to do this oil change..

Edited by m4tti on Friday 10th July 23:56

[fullpull]

Interesting. Thanks for taking the time to share this.
I have a filter mag on my S6 engine's oil filter, too. Have never opened a used filter but will do so next time.

[dvs_dave]

Interesting, although worth pointing out that they are only of any use with respect to ferrous (ie magnetic) materials within the engine. TVR engines have a large proportion made of alloys and other non ferrous metals.

[andy43]

That's really interesting - the quantity of shrapnel is surprising.
You could argue that all that crud may have stayed inside the filter anyway? I've just got a magnetic sump plug that will be fitted on my next oil change and already have some button magnets stuck to my filter. Looks like it's worth doing!
To collect aluminium alloy my local scrap metal place has a couple of East European women permenantly sifting through what everybody else brings in - too big to get them under the bonnet though

[m4tti]

dvs_dave said:

Interesting, although worth pointing out that they are only of any use with respect to ferrous (ie magnetic) materials within the engine. TVR engines have a large proportion made of alloys and other non ferrous metals.

Dave that is true to an extent, but the components that can and do wear such as cams, followers, sprockets, piston rings, crank, they are all ferrous. In fact from memory it might only be the rods, pistons and bearing faces which aren't

[TAM747]

hi matt,

i use this, but also never opened the filter. there is a "small" power-difference between the black & the red filter mags ..

[blitzracing]

You dont really need the fancy packing- magnets will cling quite happily to the outside of the steel canister anyway- you just have to arrange them around it:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5PCS-N50-Super-Strong-Bl...

[m4tti]

TAM747 said:

hi matt,

i use this, but also never opened the filter. there is a "small" power-difference between the black & the red filter mags ..

Hi sascha chop that filter in half next time you change the oil

[TAM747]

m4tti said:

TAM747 said:

hi matt,

i use this, but also never opened the filter. there is a "small" power-difference between the black & the red filter mags ..

Hi sascha chop that filter in half next time you change the oil

hi matt, i will do

[DonkeyApple]

blitzracing said:

You dont really need the fancy packing- magnets will cling quite happily to the outside of the steel canister anyway- you just have to arrange them around it:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5PCS-N50-Super-Strong-Bl...

Indeed. I've always just put a couple of potent bar magnets on the filter. Total cost just a few £. I've also stuck them on sumps on older cars as I've always thought the boys too big for the filter to catch were more dodgy that those too small.

[Byker28i]

TAM747 said:

hi matt,
....there is a "small" power-difference between the black & the red filter mags ..

Loving your work