Anyone here have an informed opinion on the Fram HP1 Racing filter? I just bought an old car that has one installed. My immediate thought was to consider it an OCOD and replace it with a Baldwin B253 or a Wix 51515. I have since learned that the HP1 is very fashionable in Europe among the Aston Martin and Lotus crowd. Maybe they know something I don't or maybe it's just a fad. The filter allows about 30 gallons per minute of flow, so it probably does relatively little real filtering. I'm thinking that at that rate there'd be little chance of its failing from too much pressure. Anyone here use one of these?
Fram HP1 Racing Filter
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The Hi-Po VW crowd has used them for more than 30 years. Gene Berg Ent has sold them in his full flow filter kits, warning that if people use the cheaper Fram PH8-A could result in a ruptured filter housing. I do not use them from the readings here as to Fram's low quality. I guess they flow great and compromise filtering. I choose other filters such as Purolator. I believe the Fram HP1 cross references to Purolators L39001. If you don't need the protection of a strong housing, there are better quality filters out there to choose. I am sure others will suggest alternatives. By the way, what are you using it on and what mods to justify the "HD" filter.
Those are nice cars. Does your car have the oil filter relocated using braided lines and AN fittings? Did you get a spec or "build sheet" for your small block? The full size Ford filter has many choices such as Purolator, Wix, Motorcraft, Baldwin, Donaldson, etc. Filter media avail are standard and synthetic. High end filters to dis-assemble and clean are the Cannon Mecca, System 1, and Oberg. If your engine has a flat tappet cam get educated on avail oils to protect the cam/lifter surface.
A true story from my friend, Ben Alameda of small block Ford fame. Apparently, this guy buys a cobra replica and has some knucklehead shop change oil and filter. Well I guess they thought it had a standard 5qt oil pan. Owner picks up car and after a spirited drive, wipes out the main/rod bearings (don't recall if cam was hurt). Word of mouth sends this frustrated owner to Ben's shop in So Cal, and they determine the crankcase was underfilled as the engine had an aftermarket pan installed. Expensive mistake.
Your intended usage, climate, and industry rule of 10psi per 1000rpm (warm oil) should guide you to an acceptable viscosity. Hope this helps, Bill
A true story from my friend, Ben Alameda of small block Ford fame. Apparently, this guy buys a cobra replica and has some knucklehead shop change oil and filter. Well I guess they thought it had a standard 5qt oil pan. Owner picks up car and after a spirited drive, wipes out the main/rod bearings (don't recall if cam was hurt). Word of mouth sends this frustrated owner to Ben's shop in So Cal, and they determine the crankcase was underfilled as the engine had an aftermarket pan installed. Expensive mistake.
Your intended usage, climate, and industry rule of 10psi per 1000rpm (warm oil) should guide you to an acceptable viscosity. Hope this helps, Bill
Bill,
Thank you for your observations.
The filter is remoted between the engine and the radiator and has the braided lines and AN fittings you mention. Many of these cars have oil coolers mounted low and ahead of the radiator. This one does not, but it has an aluminum racing pan. The system holds 8.5 quarts. The oil in the car now is Castrol Syntec 5W-50. The car came from Arizona where the PO states the car usually ran about 180-185* in 100* ambient temperatures. Here in Hawaii the Cobra runs cool at about 160*F and with the oil pressure at 65 or 70 psi at 2500 rpm with the ambient temperature in the high 70s.
Yes, I have the buildsheet. The engine was built for road racing and street use. It is a cast iron 302 bored and stroked to 347 CI, blueprinted and balanced to within 1/2 gram. The top end package consists of Edelbrock aluminum heads, Edelbrock Performer RPM dyno-matched intake manifold and hydraulic camshaft topped by a Holley 650 double pump carb. Intake manifold and heads were port matched. The crankshaft is cast steel with a 3.400 stroke. Rods are 5.400 long H-beam design. Pistons are SRP forged aluminum with 125 inverted dome and floating pins. There are roller rocker arms with heavy duty valve springs with stainless steel valves. The flywheel has been lightened and balanced, the compression ratio is 10.1 to 1, the ignition is electronic MSD 6AL and the distributor is an electronic Mallory Unilite. The car dyno'd 453 HP on the stand and 333 HP @ 5150 rpm at the rear wheels. Max torque comes at 395 ft.lb. at 3900 rpm. Since the car weighs only 2400 lbs., you could say it has more power than I know what to do with.
The proper care and feeding of this beast is important, which is why I'm asking about the Fram HP1 filter. I will be changing the motor oil to Shell Rotella T6 5W-40 initially. It is my "go to" oil because of its suitability across a broad spectrum of applications. I've even thought of dropping down to a robust 10W-30 (like the Shell T5), but I think i'll just take it one step at a time.
If I don't replace the Fram with a racing filter, I'll probably use a big Wix or Baldwin. I have lots of machinery and buy Wix filters in bulk from Filter1 in New York. The exception is for my two old Italian sports cars, which get Baldwins. My Ferrari 328 spends much of its life running 85 psi of oil pressure and the Baldwin B253 has never shown any strain.
Any other comments are most welcome.
Thank you for your observations.
The filter is remoted between the engine and the radiator and has the braided lines and AN fittings you mention. Many of these cars have oil coolers mounted low and ahead of the radiator. This one does not, but it has an aluminum racing pan. The system holds 8.5 quarts. The oil in the car now is Castrol Syntec 5W-50. The car came from Arizona where the PO states the car usually ran about 180-185* in 100* ambient temperatures. Here in Hawaii the Cobra runs cool at about 160*F and with the oil pressure at 65 or 70 psi at 2500 rpm with the ambient temperature in the high 70s.
Yes, I have the buildsheet. The engine was built for road racing and street use. It is a cast iron 302 bored and stroked to 347 CI, blueprinted and balanced to within 1/2 gram. The top end package consists of Edelbrock aluminum heads, Edelbrock Performer RPM dyno-matched intake manifold and hydraulic camshaft topped by a Holley 650 double pump carb. Intake manifold and heads were port matched. The crankshaft is cast steel with a 3.400 stroke. Rods are 5.400 long H-beam design. Pistons are SRP forged aluminum with 125 inverted dome and floating pins. There are roller rocker arms with heavy duty valve springs with stainless steel valves. The flywheel has been lightened and balanced, the compression ratio is 10.1 to 1, the ignition is electronic MSD 6AL and the distributor is an electronic Mallory Unilite. The car dyno'd 453 HP on the stand and 333 HP @ 5150 rpm at the rear wheels. Max torque comes at 395 ft.lb. at 3900 rpm. Since the car weighs only 2400 lbs., you could say it has more power than I know what to do with.
The proper care and feeding of this beast is important, which is why I'm asking about the Fram HP1 filter. I will be changing the motor oil to Shell Rotella T6 5W-40 initially. It is my "go to" oil because of its suitability across a broad spectrum of applications. I've even thought of dropping down to a robust 10W-30 (like the Shell T5), but I think i'll just take it one step at a time.
If I don't replace the Fram with a racing filter, I'll probably use a big Wix or Baldwin. I have lots of machinery and buy Wix filters in bulk from Filter1 in New York. The exception is for my two old Italian sports cars, which get Baldwins. My Ferrari 328 spends much of its life running 85 psi of oil pressure and the Baldwin B253 has never shown any strain.
Any other comments are most welcome.
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HP filters are sieves. Use them if you're primarily racing and will be refreshing the engine every 3 or so seasons (how does one use the term "season" in HI?). They're lousy at filtering. They're a reliability component. It would be really sad if you managed to get 12 extra hp out of a worked engine ..put out some ungodly rwhp ..only to have a filter burst at some critical moment.
Originally Posted By: marco246
...Anyone here have an informed opinion on the Fram HP1 Racing filter?...
I used Fram's racing filters since the late 60's on my race engines, but never on the street even for high performance engines. I seem to remember test data that showed the racing filter's media had a 98% efficiency on 40 micron particles on second pass. The filter is built to withstand high pressures, i.e., 40 and 50 weight oil pressures on cold start ups, and maintain a continuous flow of oil for racing engines - not filtering out small particles on daily drivers or street engines.
I think that swapping out to the Baldwin or Wix filters would be better suited for your planned use of the vehicle. Just make sure that your oil is at operating temperature before you start jazzing the throttle or take a little 4000 RPM burst down the highway for fun.
BTW, with 8.5 quarts of oil in the sump, it will take about 1/2 hour or so to full warm up all the oil. Did the Cobra replica come with an oil temperature gauge? If not, you may want to add one. (For most small block engines seem to run best when the oil is at least 185F from my experience.)
Have fun and enjoy the car!
...Anyone here have an informed opinion on the Fram HP1 Racing filter?...
I used Fram's racing filters since the late 60's on my race engines, but never on the street even for high performance engines. I seem to remember test data that showed the racing filter's media had a 98% efficiency on 40 micron particles on second pass. The filter is built to withstand high pressures, i.e., 40 and 50 weight oil pressures on cold start ups, and maintain a continuous flow of oil for racing engines - not filtering out small particles on daily drivers or street engines.
I think that swapping out to the Baldwin or Wix filters would be better suited for your planned use of the vehicle. Just make sure that your oil is at operating temperature before you start jazzing the throttle or take a little 4000 RPM burst down the highway for fun.
BTW, with 8.5 quarts of oil in the sump, it will take about 1/2 hour or so to full warm up all the oil. Did the Cobra replica come with an oil temperature gauge? If not, you may want to add one. (For most small block engines seem to run best when the oil is at least 185F from my experience.)
Have fun and enjoy the car!
Gary and Beachcomber,
Based on your advice I'll replace the Fram HP1 with a heavy-duty non-racing filter, and I'll ensure the oil is warmed up before placing demands on the engine. I've got to be the only Cobra owner complaining his car runs cool. The car has a huge custom Fluidyne 3-row radiator with a 165* thermostat. Maybe changing to a 185* thermostat makes sense in my application.
There is no oil temperature gauge. I'm considering substituting one for the ammeter, which is almost useless.
Cheers!
Based on your advice I'll replace the Fram HP1 with a heavy-duty non-racing filter, and I'll ensure the oil is warmed up before placing demands on the engine. I've got to be the only Cobra owner complaining his car runs cool. The car has a huge custom Fluidyne 3-row radiator with a 165* thermostat. Maybe changing to a 185* thermostat makes sense in my application.
There is no oil temperature gauge. I'm considering substituting one for the ammeter, which is almost useless.
Cheers!
I would run a K&N or Wix for street use for your application.
They have nice sturdy construction and will provide better filtration for street use.
They have nice sturdy construction and will provide better filtration for street use.
You mentioned you had a hydraulic cam but did not mention if it was a flat tappet or roller. As an example, Comp cams has hydraulics cams in both styles. Shell oils are a fantastic complement to the Italian sports cars, but if your build sheet lists the cam grinder and/or part number, would you go with the cam grinder's recommendations? Rotella's are probably the most robust of the diesel oils but with your HD springs, is this enough without an additive?
X2 with regards to Gary's and MrBeachcomber's comments. Ther are a lot of options for a quality full size Ford oil filter. Check this from Wix's site;
51515- 21 micron filtering, 290lbs burst psi
51515R- 61. " " Not stated
51622- 28 ". ". 500lbs. " "
51452- 21 " " 415lbs. " "
All the other data on these 4 are similar. The 51622 is listed as a trans filter for Allison trans on HD trucks. I believe the 51452 is the V-10 Dodge filter. INTERESTING !
And the HP1 crosses to a L39001 on the Purolator site,(pureoil.com). Motorcraft has the FL1-A and the FL1-A HP, which looks [censored] on a Ford engine. And I am sure the Baldwin B 253 is an adequate part.
X2 with regards to Gary's and MrBeachcomber's comments. Ther are a lot of options for a quality full size Ford oil filter. Check this from Wix's site;
51515- 21 micron filtering, 290lbs burst psi
51515R- 61. " " Not stated
51622- 28 ". ". 500lbs. " "
51452- 21 " " 415lbs. " "
All the other data on these 4 are similar. The 51622 is listed as a trans filter for Allison trans on HD trucks. I believe the 51452 is the V-10 Dodge filter. INTERESTING !
And the HP1 crosses to a L39001 on the Purolator site,(pureoil.com). Motorcraft has the FL1-A and the FL1-A HP, which looks [censored] on a Ford engine. And I am sure the Baldwin B 253 is an adequate part.
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The 302, is it a late-model block or early block?
For filter, I'd say Donaldson PL169071.
Really, what you have there sounds like a decent H/C/I 347. Makes good RWHP numbers, but it is not "high strung" or exotic by any means, at least going by your description. The top-out RPM point is well within the "normal" range for even a stock 86-2002 roller block.
As far as oil:
Delvac 1 5w40 would be my choice.
We've run it, as well as PC 0w40 in my buddy's 302, which makes probably a bit more power than your 347. He's got TFS heads, Camshaft Innovations roller cam, 500lb valve springs, ported Victor Jr. intake and a Holley HP750.
For filter, I'd say Donaldson PL169071.
Really, what you have there sounds like a decent H/C/I 347. Makes good RWHP numbers, but it is not "high strung" or exotic by any means, at least going by your description. The top-out RPM point is well within the "normal" range for even a stock 86-2002 roller block.
As far as oil:
Delvac 1 5w40 would be my choice.
We've run it, as well as PC 0w40 in my buddy's 302, which makes probably a bit more power than your 347. He's got TFS heads, Camshaft Innovations roller cam, 500lb valve springs, ported Victor Jr. intake and a Holley HP750.
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