I've been thinking about Champion's new clicker bypass for some time. Although it may or may not work well, I'm not particularly impressed by it. Like JPowers, I'm convinced that it's purely a cost-cutting measure since a stamped sheet metal spring is most certainly less expensive than a proven, spot welded, multi-component plunger valve with coil spring. The only advantage I can see is folks' comments about potentially adding electronic bypass detection at some point.
From my occupation I know that "water hammer" within a fire sprinkler system (or ANY plumbing system for that matter) should always be avoided by opening and closing valves s-l-o-w-l-y. And evidently "pulse fatigue" is a very real problem for oil filters as well, mainly during cold starts when oil is thick, and also during throttle jabs. Baldwin advertises that their "heavy duty steel housing provides unequaled burst and pulse-withstanding strength." K&N mentions that their "inner core provides extra structural support to prevent filter collapse." And Mobil 1's filter website mentions "...it has outperformed conventional filters three to one when tested under repeated cycles of pressure impulses." So how does Champion address the pulse issue? By introducing a full-on/full-off bypass valve!!! I suspect a good marketing name for their new valve would be the "Pulsemaster 5000"...."Guaranteed to unroll the baseplate seam within 3,000 miles or your money back." Exactly how is a coil spring's slow opening/closing of the bypass valve a bad thing? I figure Champion's marketing department is doing their best to make lemonade out of cost-cutting lemons.
Also, I suspect folks might misunderstand how the new valve works. Most posts I've seen talk about the cartridge end cap flexing and therefore flowing. I believe that oil forces itself between the cap and flat spring, forcing them apart, eventually causing the flat spring to "click" away from the end cap. If so, this might possibly introduce a higher level of metal fatigue which isn't so pronounced with a coil spring, possibly affecting the clicker valve's operating range over time...? (Imagine bending an empty Coke can back-and-forth until it finally snaps in two.) One potential advantage of the clicker valve is that due to its simple design, it can't seat incorrectly, while a few people have managed to get Fram's coil spring valves (and only Fram's) to stick open while manipulating the cut-open, orange pieces of junk. (For that matter, older Fram medias would sometimes perforate where the pleats meet the inner tube's inlet holes, further demonstrating the ramifications of pulsation.)
As for the "best" filter? In my opinion, to start with, look for one with a proven coil spring bypass valve, combined with a large media area, as well as fine (10 micron) filtration. The Wix variants and Baldwins fit this description, although I just bought some oversized PureOnes as well.
Here's some excellent nudie photos revealing the clicker valve's modus operandi:
http://www.members.aol.com/phundotcom/oil.htm
[ November 12, 2003, 06:46 PM: Message edited by: TC ]
