Are uneven or wavy pleats that big of a deal?

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It can effect the flow rate of the filter in some cases and even lower its ability to hold particles but this is more of the guessing side of things with no real evidence on hand.
 
Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
I've long argued that it doesn't make a bit of difference.


agree

its the filter media that does the work, -------and the home boys have no way to meaaure its efficience so we get comments like "looks nice"
 
I would say yes they would, however, IMHO, it also points towards lack of overall quality and/or design. Case in point are the MC filters for my PSD. They are very long and the media is wavy to say the least. I think there could be a higher risk of torn media on a long filter where the media is not properly supported (pointing towards design). Most of the WIX and Baldwin filters (certainly all of the CarQuest Blues that I have) all use wire backed media. To me this is a better design or higher quality for the application. YMMV!
 
I don't like them because even the cheapest cartridge filter achieves evenly spaced, straight pleats. So canister filters which don't just tell me that the manufacturer is being lazy and hiding poor quality behind a metal can that we can't see inside.
 
I've wondered about this question too and not understood the concern about wavy pleats. Assuming the media wasn't wavy from the factory, it implies stresses are being applied. So the questions should be where is the stress coming from and is the filter not designed for the associated stresses?

My guess is the media expands as it fills with oil. The long pleats will expand more lengthwise, and with a rigid top and bottom, they're likely to start bending/bowing and creating the waves we see. The media itself is pliable, so I don't think the stress of the moving material loads the top and bottom where it's glued firmly to the metal caps. But maybe it does and this creates a stress point that can start to tear over time.

All speculation without any real science. Would be cool to know if the bends happen soon after installation or over the course of the cycle...
 
Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
I've long argued that it doesn't make a bit of difference.
+1 Only to certain Framboys who can predict the future.
 
Originally Posted By: edwardh1
Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
I've long argued that it doesn't make a bit of difference.


agree

its the filter media that does the work, -------and the home boys have no way to meaaure its efficience so we get comments like "looks nice"
+1 Love the "science" there.
 
Originally Posted By: HerrStig
Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
I've long argued that it doesn't make a bit of difference.
+1 Only to certain Framboys who can predict the future.


LoL, big tears in the media (along with wavy pleats) doesn't matter to Tearolator fanboys either ...
grin.gif
 
Originally Posted By: 2015_PSD
I would say yes they would, however, IMHO, it also points towards lack of overall quality and/or design. Case in point are the MC filters for my PSD. They are very long and the media is wavy to say the least. I think there could be a higher risk of torn media on a long filter where the media is not properly supported (pointing towards design). Most of the WIX and Baldwin filters (certainly all of the CarQuest Blues that I have) all use wire backed media. To me this is a better design or higher quality for the application. YMMV!

+1 Wavy and crooked pleats are a sign of poor quality or a design defect. They filter until the media ruptures. Then the filter operates in bypass depending upon the area of the rupture. In my view this is a filter failure and the filter did not perform as advertised. The wavy or crooked pleats is also a sign that under slightly more stress, the likelihood of a media rupture is higher.
 
Wavy or perfectly straight it filters the same.
I don't think its a big deal.As long as the filter does its job I don't care what it looks like inside.
 
The largest stresses on an oil filter come from cold starts where the oil viscosity is at least 100 times higher than at operating temperature. These repeated pressure surges when the cold engine first lights off at high idle and before the bypass valve can open causes fatigue stresses and deterioration in the filter media. Wavy filter media indicates to me that it is not adequately supported during pressure surges and could release or dump a cloud of very fine (< 10 micron) particulate, that the filter has previously captured, back into the oil stream. Until the filter companies start releasing dynamic filter test data, we will never know for sure and be left relying upon what we can see when the filters are cut open. This is one reason I check Bitog. Does anyone here have any information on the dynamic performance of lube oil filters during real life conditions?
 
Originally Posted By: compratio10_5
The largest stresses on an oil filter come from cold starts where the oil viscosity is at least 100 times higher than at operating temperature. These repeated pressure surges when the cold engine first lights off at high idle and before the bypass valve can open causes fatigue stresses and deterioration in the filter media.


Jim Allen's bypass valve opening experiments (sticky thread at top of this forum) didn't show that happening unless the oil was very cold and the engine RPM was quite high - much higher than just "high idle".

Originally Posted By: compratio10_5

Wavy filter media indicates to me that it is not adequately supported during pressure surges and could release or dump a cloud of very fine (< 10 micron) particulate, that the filter has previously captured, back into the oil stream.


I doubt wavy media has bearing on if it could release a cloud of particles during a pressure surge or not. Besides, most filters don't capture many of the <10 micron particles anyway, and if some were released they should be caught again by the filter after a few passes.
 
Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
... Besides, most filters don't capture many of the div>
That might take more than "a few" passes, given the assumed rupture in the media that released those particles.
 
Originally Posted By: CR94
Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
... Besides, most filters don't capture many of the div>
That might take more than "a few" passes, given the assumed rupture in the media that released those particles.


He never said anything about the media tearing ... only that: "Wavy filter media indicates to me that it is not adequately supported during pressure surges and could release or dump a cloud of very fine (< 10 micron) particulate". My comment was saying wavy pleats have nothing to do with releasing particles.
 
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