Oil filters are essential in ensuring your car engine and hydraulics stays clean and work efficiently. There is a wide variety of brands available in the American market today.
You need a good oil filter to remove any dirt from your vehicle’s engine oil, transmission, lubricating, and hydraulics oil. Oil Filters present in airplanes, bikes, ships, generators, pumps, and even trains.
The Supertech oil filter is one of the best and most used oil filters in America. Before you use the filter, you need to understand its manufacturer and how an oil filter works.
Let us get deeper into the topic and discuss this;
Who makes Supertech oil filters?
Champion Auto Parts make the oil filters. It is a company known for making oil filters and many other parts for vehicles and even airplanes. They are the world leaders in the manufacture of spark plugs, batteries, and even lights.
Their products have performed well in the market previously, and the Supertech air filter is no different.
How Does An Air Filter Work?
An oil filter will make your engine last a lot longer without repair. Accumulating dirt will eventually become saturated in the oil to form small hard particles.
These particles will ruin your engine after some time. An oil filter will ensure that the dirt doesn’t form any particles in your oil by removing the dirt as it occurs.
So how does an oil filter work exactly? Here is a summary of all the components and how they aid in cleaning the oil in a car;
The outside shell is just a sealing metal that enables the filter to be held firmly against the engine’s mating surface. The base of the filter is perforated, and there is a central hole.
The oil goes into the filter through the base plate and comes out clean through the central hole.
Tapping plate
Oil enters and gets out of the filter through the tapping plate. It is a hole at the center of the filter that is surrounded by other smaller holes.
The dirty oil from the car goes into the smaller holes in the filtering materials. It is cleaned, and then it moves to the center hole where it is channeled back into the engine.
Filter material
The filter material is the center of all the work in an oil filter. It is made of a mesh that is designed to act as a sieve. It will catch any particles that are in the car’s oil.
The synthetic mesh is folded into pleats. Folding increases the surface area on which the oil particles get filtered out. A higher surface area makes the sieve more effective; thus, the oil will be cleaner.
Anti-Drain Back valve
This is a valve that separates the oil filter from the engine. Its work comes in when the car is off. At this time, there is no pressure to pump the oil.
This valve will help prevent oil from flowing back into the filter from the engine. The valve will be pushed open by the oil when the car is running.
End Discs
They are placed on either side of the oil filter. They are there to prevent oil leakages. The discs will ensure that the unfiltered oil doesn’t seep into your engine.
Without the discs, there would be leakages, and your engine would feel the toll with time.
Relief Valve
The oil that is used in cars is sensitive to cold. Under low temperatures, it will become thicker and difficult to pass through the filtering material.
The only solution would be to warm it up. This is the relief valve’s purpose; it releases small amounts of unfiltered oil into the engine to give it time to warm up.
When Do You Change Your Oil Filter?
The answer depends on the make, model, design, and driving conditions in which your car operates. The filter will pick up contaminants, metal, and dust from the oil.
The dirt is not released from the filter; it will eventually clog the filter and bring up your engine problems. To avoid this, you need to replace the oil filter.
A clogged filter will affect efficiency, lifespan, and performance.
There are some signs that the oil filter needs to be changed. If any of them gets observed, quickly change the filter before it does any permanent damage.
1. Metallic sounds are coming from the engine
The sounds would probably be a knocking or pinging sign. It would indicate an oil deficiency. A blockage could cause this due to the clogging of the oil filter.
2. Black dirty exhaust gas is coming from your car
Dirty smoke is a clear sign of a blockage in the filter. This will cause a buildup of sludge in the oil system.
When this happens, you will feel a burning smell in your car. This smell will come from the oil getting burnt as it passes through the exhaust pipe.
In case this happens to your vehicle, bring it to the nearest mechanic. A mechanic would need to clean the oil system to remove any sludge. The filter will also need to be changed.
3. Oil pressure gauge drops low
You can read the pressure when driving. If the pressure steeply drops, you should be concerned. Usually, the pressure should only drop by a small percentage when you are driving.
4. The vehicle’s performance drops
You must have some idea as to how your car operates at its peak. You know how fast it goes and how well the brakes and hydraulics work.
If you notice a drop in performance, it could be the oil filter. A clog would deny the car enough oil to perform how it should.
5. The engine sputters like it is underpowered
This will happen since the oil filter is blocked. It, therefore, cannot release oil at the same pace as your car’s movement.
You need an immediate filter change even if the sputtering is light. The issue could quickly escalate and bring up more problems.
You don’t have to wait for these signs to take action. You should change the oil filter as instructed by the mechanic or manufacturer of the filter.
You should change your oil and filter more frequently if you drive in harsh conditions. If you use your car in a lot of dust, stop and go traffic, or heavy lifting, then oil filter change should be frequent.
How Often Should You Change Your Vehicle’s Oil?
As a general suggestion, most people use the 3000-mile system. This means that the oil gets changed every 3000 miles. The fact is, different vehicles have different needs.
Each car comes with a maintenance manual. This would be the best way to know what is suitable for your vehicle. Follow the manual on oil type, mileage, and every other recommendation on changes.
With the recent advancements in technology, the mileage has been dramatically increased. Some modern model cars can go up to 10,000 miles before they need an oil change.
It is also essential to pay attention to time. You might have a car, but you rarely use it, so the vehicle cannot attain 3000 miles. This would pose a challenge since oil degrades with time.
Its viscosity will reduce with time; thus, it won’t be effective in lubrication. Synthetic oil will last a bit longer than regular oil, but an oil change is inevitable.
So even if you don’t drive often, it is a good idea to make oil changes at least twice a year. Oil will get ruined by moisture that gets accumulated in stationary engines. Make sure you run the engine from time to time.
It is good to physically check the oil. Pull the dipstick out of the engine to see the level of oil. It could be that the level dropped, and it needs topping off.
You can be sure about the interval by doing an oil analysis. They are cheap, around $30, and they will tell you exactly how long your car can run before it needs a change.
If you want to save on oil changes, you might want to consider using synthetic oil.
Synthetic oils are more chemically stable; they maintain their protective qualities longer, they are harder to break down, oxidize or acidify. You will be able to use them for a much longer time than regular oil.
Conclusion
An oil filter is an integral part of your vehicle’s engine. It will help maintain your engine by keeping all contaminants out of it. Inevitably, the filter will accumulate this dirt over time.
You need to change the filter before it completely blocks your engine’s oil supply. Some signs will alert you to the need to change a filter. Ensure you do so as soon as possible.
There is a wide variety of synthetic oils to select from today. Check your car’s manual to know which is safe for your engine before you use one. They will give you better performance than regular oil.
Ensure you make oil changes in your engine at all appropriate intervals to keep your vehicle’s performance at its best.