AJAY
Registered
This is a writeup on the hows and whys of installing a Purolator Pure One oil filter on my 2007 Suzuki Hayabusa. This writeup was inspired by the analysis done by Mike Lawrence on his Oil Filter Comparison web page (Motorcycle Oil Filter Comparison, the “CalSci†page).
I’ve separated this into two separate postings. The first is posting below is a detailed technical discussion (fairly long). If you like techie stuff like I do, maybe this will help you decide if you want to bother with this mod for your Busa. That choice is entirely up to you and I am not advocating anything.
The posting following this one is on the mod installation. (much shorter)
DETAILED TECHNICAL DISCUSSION
Suzuki uses a filter with an uncommon 20 x 1mm thread, which somewhat limits which filters can be used, in contrast to most other motorcycles, which use a more common (and coarser) 20 x 1.5 mm threaded filter. The author of the CalSci page cuts apart and studies the construction details of more than 10 oil filters, and concludes that most of the filters are, at best, mediocre. He also states that the Purolator Pure One model PL14610 is by far superior than all other filters available, stating “This is how an oil filter should be made. The anti-drainback valve is double the thickness of any other here, and obviously seals very well. The media is the best available, and there's a lot of it. The bypass valve is made from a laser-cut piece of stainless steel, and just can't bind or jam.â€
Unfortunately, the Purolator PL14610 uses the standard 20 x 1.5mm thread that doesn’t work on the stock Suzuki engine. The CalSci page references Bales Technical Services, which makes an oil filter adapter to convert a Suzuki to the standard 20 x 1.5mm thread, Bales Technical Service Oil Filter Adaptor for a mere $15 (shipped). Shipping was incredibly quick.
On to the details……
First, I reformatted the table in the CalSci web page to compare only the stock Suzuki filter and the recommended Purolator Filter. Note that some of the data is the opinion of the original author. I added the filter dimensions and the bypass valve pressure to the table, as I think these are relevant. Going through the table, you will see that the Purolator filter is half the price, so this conversion will cost you about $21 with the Bales Tech adapter, and you will reach break even on cost at approximately the second filter change. Cost, however, is a secondary consideration.
AREA OF THE FILTER MEDIA: For a given filter “fabricâ€, the resistance to oil flow will decrease as the area of the filter increases. Thus, a bigger filter will flow more easily, with less pressure drop for a given flow. You will see that the Suzuki filter has 71 sq. in. of media and the Purolator has 92 sq. in. This is a substantial 30% difference.
MEDIA QUALITY: I haven’t torn the filters apart, haven’t examined the filter material under a microscope, and have not assessed the capability of the filter to trap small particles. The rating of “C†for the Suzuki filter and “A: for the Purolator comes from the CalSci website. With that said, Purolator is often considered a top of the line filter. You can read up on that filter here: PureONE Oil Filters
BY-PASS VALVE SETTING: I added this to the table. By-pass valves allow oil to flow to the engine in the event that too much oil pressure is lost across the filter media. This can occur when the engine is cold and the oil is too thick to flow freely. It can also occur when the engine hits peak revs and the oil flow and pressure goes highest and its oiling needs are the greatest. Finally, it can happen when the filter is ridiculously clogged (which will never happen with anybody here on this forum!). Basically, if you could make the filter big enough, you would not need a bypass valve, but since the filter needs to be packaged on the engine somewhere, a bypass valve allows a smaller filter to be used, as most of the time your engine is warm and generally loafing along.
Quoting myself from another posting:
Back to the table, the Suzuki filter is set to bypass at 11 PSI and the Purolator filter is set for 14 to 18 PSI. To be honest, this bothers me a little. Indeed, I had selected a different filter, the Purolator PL14459 which bypasses at 12-14 PSI, but the can OD was too fat to fit past obstructions for installation on my Busa. So now I’m stuck with the higher bypass pressure of the PL14610 filter. This worried me at first, but upon further consideration, this filter has 30% more filter area than the Suzuki filter and is probably less likely to go into bypass in the first place because it should flow more oil for the same pressure drop as the smaller filter. I don’t have any hard data. Lots of people are using this filter on Honda and Kawasaki motorcycles. You’ll have to judge for yourself if this is a mod you want to do.
FILTER DIMENSIONS: The cans of the two filters are the same outside diameter, but you’ll see that the Purolator filter is a full inch longer. I was worried that it wouldn’t fit, but it does fit with room to spare and is quite simple to install.
Next, the installation...........
.
I’ve separated this into two separate postings. The first is posting below is a detailed technical discussion (fairly long). If you like techie stuff like I do, maybe this will help you decide if you want to bother with this mod for your Busa. That choice is entirely up to you and I am not advocating anything.
The posting following this one is on the mod installation. (much shorter)
DETAILED TECHNICAL DISCUSSION
Suzuki uses a filter with an uncommon 20 x 1mm thread, which somewhat limits which filters can be used, in contrast to most other motorcycles, which use a more common (and coarser) 20 x 1.5 mm threaded filter. The author of the CalSci page cuts apart and studies the construction details of more than 10 oil filters, and concludes that most of the filters are, at best, mediocre. He also states that the Purolator Pure One model PL14610 is by far superior than all other filters available, stating “This is how an oil filter should be made. The anti-drainback valve is double the thickness of any other here, and obviously seals very well. The media is the best available, and there's a lot of it. The bypass valve is made from a laser-cut piece of stainless steel, and just can't bind or jam.â€
Unfortunately, the Purolator PL14610 uses the standard 20 x 1.5mm thread that doesn’t work on the stock Suzuki engine. The CalSci page references Bales Technical Services, which makes an oil filter adapter to convert a Suzuki to the standard 20 x 1.5mm thread, Bales Technical Service Oil Filter Adaptor for a mere $15 (shipped). Shipping was incredibly quick.
On to the details……
First, I reformatted the table in the CalSci web page to compare only the stock Suzuki filter and the recommended Purolator Filter. Note that some of the data is the opinion of the original author. I added the filter dimensions and the bypass valve pressure to the table, as I think these are relevant. Going through the table, you will see that the Purolator filter is half the price, so this conversion will cost you about $21 with the Bales Tech adapter, and you will reach break even on cost at approximately the second filter change. Cost, however, is a secondary consideration.
AREA OF THE FILTER MEDIA: For a given filter “fabricâ€, the resistance to oil flow will decrease as the area of the filter increases. Thus, a bigger filter will flow more easily, with less pressure drop for a given flow. You will see that the Suzuki filter has 71 sq. in. of media and the Purolator has 92 sq. in. This is a substantial 30% difference.
MEDIA QUALITY: I haven’t torn the filters apart, haven’t examined the filter material under a microscope, and have not assessed the capability of the filter to trap small particles. The rating of “C†for the Suzuki filter and “A: for the Purolator comes from the CalSci website. With that said, Purolator is often considered a top of the line filter. You can read up on that filter here: PureONE Oil Filters
BY-PASS VALVE SETTING: I added this to the table. By-pass valves allow oil to flow to the engine in the event that too much oil pressure is lost across the filter media. This can occur when the engine is cold and the oil is too thick to flow freely. It can also occur when the engine hits peak revs and the oil flow and pressure goes highest and its oiling needs are the greatest. Finally, it can happen when the filter is ridiculously clogged (which will never happen with anybody here on this forum!). Basically, if you could make the filter big enough, you would not need a bypass valve, but since the filter needs to be packaged on the engine somewhere, a bypass valve allows a smaller filter to be used, as most of the time your engine is warm and generally loafing along.
Quoting myself from another posting:
Back to the table, the Suzuki filter is set to bypass at 11 PSI and the Purolator filter is set for 14 to 18 PSI. To be honest, this bothers me a little. Indeed, I had selected a different filter, the Purolator PL14459 which bypasses at 12-14 PSI, but the can OD was too fat to fit past obstructions for installation on my Busa. So now I’m stuck with the higher bypass pressure of the PL14610 filter. This worried me at first, but upon further consideration, this filter has 30% more filter area than the Suzuki filter and is probably less likely to go into bypass in the first place because it should flow more oil for the same pressure drop as the smaller filter. I don’t have any hard data. Lots of people are using this filter on Honda and Kawasaki motorcycles. You’ll have to judge for yourself if this is a mod you want to do.
FILTER DIMENSIONS: The cans of the two filters are the same outside diameter, but you’ll see that the Purolator filter is a full inch longer. I was worried that it wouldn’t fit, but it does fit with room to spare and is quite simple to install.
Next, the installation...........
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so instead of riding I've been reading up on using car filters and the Purolator Pure One in particular on motorcycles. Lots and lots of users on the forums, many long distance Gold Wingers and such, 100,000 mile types, no reported problems. It appears cutting apart oil filters has become a freakin' national hobby!
