$50. Oil filter

brien23

brien23

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Brien
CH-48110-1 oil filter $48.50 Tech automotive oil filter $3.85 or a Fram $12.97 Just how much better is the Champion filter. The people that make the filters are they the same just paint the brand name on the filters .
 
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The aircraft filters are better quality. They have a thicker steel in the can, as the pressures tend to be higher in aircraft engines. The media is better. But $50 is a little rank.
 
Walboy said:
Use a Tempest instead. $34.75 at Spruce.

Switch to Tempest spark plugs too if you haven't already.
Click to expand...
This. Tempest filters and plugs are a bit cheaper and imho just as good, if not better.
 
I’ve switched to tempest with no ill effects.
 
I did a oil change on my nephews pickup truck a while ago. He had been going to the Valvoline quick oil change down the street.
The oil filter I removed was ridiculously tiny and was so thin it collapsed when I went to remove it.
I didn't even know you could buy em that cheap and tiny!

I just gave away 3 champion 103 filters that I had sitting on my shelf because I was not going to use them.

I fly 200-250hrs a year so plenty of oil changes for me. Love this filter and it works so well.
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IMG_4598.jpeg
 
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It won’t work for you “certified” aircraft guys, but in an experimental there is a lot to be said for the “toilet paper” side stream filters… just saying. ( I still regularly driving a 1947 Chevy two door sedan that had one installed back in the 1950’s or so, I’ve owned it for close to 30 years with zero major work knock on wood) and the oil still stays amber.
 
Painting with broad brush strokes here, but the aircraft and automotive filters are not the same. I’ve cut tons of both open to inspect. The K&N automotive filter is the closest in construction and quality to aircraft filters that I’ve found to date.

As an aside, not all Fram filters are constructed equally. It is easiest and best to just avoid them however. There are also a lot of counterfeit filters and parts showing up on Amazon and EBay, so when shopping if the price seems too good to be true it probably is.
 
I was talking with my mechanic yesterday and my mentor pilot friend also yesterday about the high cost of aviation today.
It makes me very concerned and sad what has happened in the last 3 years.

They were both pushing me to upgrade to a 182. Sure wish I would have started with a 182.

I have so much invested in my 172 now at prices from 3-4 years ago that I feel I would be crazy to let go of my plane at any cost and start all over on a 182 at todays prices.
This is my receipt from my new engine early 2020.

Then this what it cost in Dec 2021 and then today as I just it in the mail a couple days ago. I am in shock!
I don't know how we go forward from here, even well funded pilots. Alternator rebuild was 300 bucks 2.5 years ago and now $550. for the same alternator. Mag inspection went up a bunch,. Oil and filter are up a bunch. Makes me mad and sad.
(edited)_(edited)_(edited)_IMG_4797.png

Top one is from 12-2021
Lower one came in the mail 8-15-2024
(edited)_IMG_4801.png


One year lead time for a H2AD, I got one in 3 months in 2020. WTH?
Would you sell now and start over?
 
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Gary Ward said:
Would you sell now and start over?
Click to expand...
No, I wouldn’t.

For comparison, a major overhaul was just done on the O360-A4M in the Archer. It was $32,198.33 out the door from Columbia Aircraft in Bloomsburg, PA. They should be shipping it back this week or next. Frankly, I didn’t think that was awful.
 
I have a Lyo O-320 and use KN 1002 filters. Always good results from Blackstone and they are reasonably priced. I change about 25 hours or 4 months so they are not on that long.
 
Flatiowa said:
It won’t work for you “certified” aircraft guys, but in an experimental there is a lot to be said for the “toilet paper” side stream filters… just saying. ( I still regularly driving a 1947 Chevy two door sedan that had one installed back in the 1950’s or so, I’ve owned it for close to 30 years with zero major work knock on wood) and the oil still stays amber.
Click to expand...

The reference is likely to a “ Frantz” oil filter. As a former dealer I can
assure you they tend to be misunderstood. Some points:

1. They do NOT take the place of the existing “ Full Flow”
or screens. The unit is a “ Bypass “ filter that is plumbed in
parallel with the existing Full Flow. Best to think of it as an
Engine Cleaner.

2. Any bypass filter takes a small amount ( 2 quarts /min) and passes
it through a rather dense media to remove solid contaminates and
water. Since a Full Flow filter has to handle 40-50 qts/min it cannot
be as dense as a Bypass Flow.

3. While difficult to sell someone on installing a Bypass Filter it
would be IMPOSSIBLE to get a trucker to remove the LubeRefiner
or other bypass filter that is OEM.

4. There are many types of filtering media revealed when a bypass filter
is cut open. One brand used shredded newspaper ( including the funnies).
If you visualize oil passing lengthwise through 4 1/2 inches of the
“ Toilet Paper” element I’m sure most folks will understand the filtering
capability.

5. It is absolutely essential that current production TP not be used
in a bypass filter. All (?) are biodegradable which would restrict or
stop oil flow through the filter only. Use only factory provided elements unless you have a stash from the ‘50’s.

6. The aircraft version was known as the “ AeroFrantz” and was STC’d for
most aircraft. I installed several of these and no one ever wanted it
removed. The folks operating Bell 47’s really liked the unit.
 
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Magman said:
The reference is likely to a “ Frantz” oil filter. As a former dealer I can
assure you they tend to be misunderstood. Some points:

1. They do NOT take the place of the existing “ Full Flow”
or screens. The unit is a “ Bypass “ filter that is plumbed in
parallel with the existing Full Flow. Best to think of it as an
Engine Cleaner.

2. Any bypass filter takes a small amount ( 2 quarts /min) and passes
it through a rather dense media to remove solid contaminates and
water. Since a Full Flow filter has to handle 40-50 qts/min it cannot
be as dense as a Bypass Flow.

3. While difficult to sell someone on installing a Bypass Filter it
would be IMPOSSIBLE to get a trucker to remove the LubeRefiner
or other bypass filter that is OEM.

4. There are many types of filtering media revealed when a bypass filter
is cut open. One brand used shredded newspaper ( including the funnies).
If you visualize oil passing lengthwise through 4 1/2 inches of the
“ Toilet Paper” element I’m sure most folks will understand the filtering
capability.

5. It is absolutely essential that current production TP not be used
in a bypass filter. All (?) are biodegradable which would restrict or
stop oil flow through the filter only. Use only factory provided elements unless you have a stash from the ‘50’s.

6. The aircraft version was known as the “ AeroFrantz” and was STC’d for
most aircraft. I installed several of these and no one ever wanted it
removed. The folks operating Bell 47’s really liked the unit.
Click to expand...
I use a Frantz to clean the condensed moisture and oil residue out of my shop air for painting. The toilet paper soaks up a lot of stuff. That old Frantz used to be on my '91 Chev S-10.

I had to machine a couple of aluminum collars so the current TP rolls would snugly fit the Frantz's core. The TP roll cores have gotten larger as part of the shrinkflation we see everywhere. Less paper. Some manufacturers emboss the paper heavily, too, to increase the bulk with less paper. It doesn't clean as well, being so porous now.
 
brien23 said:
CH-48110-1 oil filter $48.50 Tech automotive oil filter $3.85 or a Fram $12.97 Just how much better is the Champion filter. The people that make the filters are they the same just paint the brand name on the filters .
Click to expand...
I use Tempest S/N 48103-2.
Champion costs +60% more and affords no benefit to me in an arrow. They installed it at annual and it irked me a little. Seems like unnecessary cost.
The filter still gets swapped out at the same oil change interval so it's not like it lasts longer...

I will say the Champion was substantially more difficult to cut open with my airwolf oil can cutter during oil chg last week. I suspect it's thicker metal on the outside.
However, that durability is not a practical advantage. Short of crashing my plane and causing blunt force impact to the oil filter - I'm not sure how that extra thickness benefits me.

Re: FRAM. Only thing I buy from them is my engine/cabin air filter(s) for my economy car :)
 
Gary Ward said:
I was talking with my mechanic yesterday and my mentor pilot friend also yesterday about the high cost of aviation today.
It makes me very concerned and sad what has happened in the last 3 years.

They were both pushing me to upgrade to a 182. Sure wish I would have started with a 182.

I have so much invested in my 172 now at prices from 3-4 years ago that I feel I would be crazy to let go of my plane at any cost and start all over on a 182 at todays prices.
This is my receipt from my new engine early 2020.

Then this what it cost in Dec 2021 and then today as I just it in the mail a couple days ago. I am in shock!
I don't know how we go forward from here, even well funded pilots. Alternator rebuild was 300 bucks 2.5 years ago and now $550. for the same alternator. Mag inspection went up a bunch,. Oil and filter are up a bunch. Makes me mad and sad.
(edited)_(edited)_(edited)_IMG_4797.png

Top one is from 12-2021
Lower one came in the mail 8-15-2024
(edited)_IMG_4801.png
Click to expand...

Indeed, I kept getting those flyers until the registration changed names in OKC post mortem. I walked away over it after 13 years. The last 4 years jumped the shark. For me the cost of overhaul plus the R/R would have exceeded the insured hull value of the aircraft. Doubling the nut was a price risk I was unwilling to endure, especially given an ultimately recreational use-case (definitionally underutilized).

In your case, yeah you're probably handcuffed. No way I'd enter 182s in today's prices. I think your sector of the hobby is going to the grave with the boomer generation. Flight school fleet types (PA28/172) will price-endure because they're work airplanes in most contexts, but in the aggregate this thing is toast for the recreational space.

On a positive note, in spite of all the pricing fatigue, I just snagged a brand new, econo-sedan stickshift (it was hard to find not gonna lie) to have fun and make more life memories teaching my wife (and my son when he can see over the dash) how to drive a stick. Under 22k out the door, in 2024, which is about what I would have been willing to put on an engine to go fly (25K, installed). The economy is finally tanking, so 2025 may create some pricing deflation in some recreational sectors, where I may be able to regain some purchasing power parity.

ETA: Just checked my email inbox, and for the first time in 18 months I'm getting counteroffers approaching 15% discounts, without being cursed out (a particularly common response unfortunately; the hobby is not filled with "nicer people" compared to the at-large population, OSH myth of pilot solidarity can go get bent). So the market is softening in my anecdotal experience. OEMs aren't budging, and that continues to be the larger problem for solvency.
 

Oil Filter Testing

It's the new year, so let's get 'er done... Subject is oil filter testing. Specifically, we're hiring a respected test lab to run ISO 4548-12 filter tests on a Champion 48108, a comparable Tempest 48108, a Wix 51515 (aka NAPA 1515), and a K&P S-15. Previous discussion here...
vansairforce.net vansairforce.net
Enjoy, tons of info and surprizes.
 
In perusing “ Oil Filter Testing” it seemed the focus was on Capacity.

The statement regarding all media the same puzzled me.

What about contamination type/ size and moisture removal ?
 
Magman said:
In perusing “ Oil Filter Testing” it seemed the focus was on Capacity.

The statement regarding all media the same puzzled me.

What about contamination type/ size and moisture removal ?
Click to expand...
More perusing in order :)
Particle size. See Post 111.

Moisture removal via oil filter, is new to me. I learn more every day.
At what temperature does water start to evaporate from oil? (breather tube)
 
Post 111?

One advantage of a Bypass Filter is it will remove a substantial amount of

water.. A Full Flow will remove very little. This would be particularly

significant If there are short flights or low oil temp.

There was talk of a combination Full/Bypass Flow unit as a spin- on.

AFAIK it never happened.

Incidentally , a Crankshaft makes a great centrifugal Oil Filter.

Common to find the ID with a coating of clay like material about

1/8 inch thick. Older Lycomings had “ sludge tubes” to capture this

In the ‘70’s unleaded mo- gas , synthetic oil and longer change intervals

were introduced . This cut into the demand for bypass filters.

Newer “ auto type” oils were not compatible with the amount of lead

that is in av- gas.

Someday?
 
I had a Fiat 850 Spider in the early 70s. The "oil filter" was built into the crank pulley. It was a chamber that the oil flowed through and was subject to centrifugal force from the spinning crank.

There was a removeable cover to clean it out. Mostly a grey sludge that was likely lead from the leaded fuels.
 
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