FilterMAG Oil Filter Magnet

SS Series: Light Duty Automotive, Truck and Metric Motorcycles

• SS250 - Filter size range: 2.50"-2.75"
• SS300 - Filter size range: 2.90"-3.20"
• SS365 - Filter size range: 3.50"-3.80"
• SS375 - Filter size range: 3.50"-3.80"

RA Series: Hi-Performance, Large Diesel, Racing, Heavy Duty Auto For 2.90" to 5.50" diameter standard oil filters The RA Series of FilterMAG™ can be used for both standard and Hi-Performance engines. This baby is built for the demanding needs of large diesel trucks, racing, and heavy duty applications. The RA Series provides extra power where its needed most.

• RA300 - Filter size range: 2.90"-3.20"
• RA365 - Filter size range: 3.50"-3.80"
• RA450 - Filter size range: 4.25"-5.50"

TM Series: Suitable for all vehicles with a steel transmission oil pan. The FilterMAG™ Transmission Magnet (TM360 and TM180) are designed to magnetically attract and hold the millions of steel particles that are circulating in your transmission oil. Unless stopped these particles will damage the delicate parts in your transmission. Snap either the large TM360 or the smaller TM180 on to the bottom of your steel transmission pan. Either one will immediately begin cleaning your transmission oil without restricting oil flow. So Simple!, So Effective !!!

MC / SC Series: Harley Davidson and Custom Motorcycles For 2.90" - 3.20" diamter standard oil filters The MC Series of FilterMAG™ is geared toward the motorcycle industry. It comes with a polished chrome or flat black facing to fit the individual needs of the discriminating bike owner. (picture shows the front and back of one FilterMAG)

• MC300 - Filter size range: 2.90"-3.20"
• MB300 - Filter size range: 2.90"-3.20

The FilterMAG™ Engine Protection System

Imagine a system providing hundreds of pounds of magnetic force removing damaging particles from your engine's oil. Even particles as small as 2-micron. Imagine no more. The FilterMAG system is here.

"FilterMAG've tried it, and it works."
HOT ROD MAGAZINE

Easy and Effective

FilterMAG magnetically removes metal particles from your engine oil as soon as you install it. FilterMAG easily attaches to common metal canister oil filter cartridges by touching it onto the filter's outer housing — the ultra magnetic force snaps it into place. Solid as a rock.

That's it! No special tools or training are needed. FilterMAG immediately starts removing damaging particles. Far smaller particles than your oil filter is EVER capable of capturing. There is simply no comparable oil filtration enhancement system on the market.

"There's no doubt... It is extremely effective. It works."
Fidel Gonzales
www.off-road.com

The FilterMAG Patented Neodymium filtration System

A Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) study on both diesel and automotive engines found that "compared to a 40-micron filter, engine wear was reduced by 50% with 30-micron filtration. Likewise wear was reduced by 70% with 15-micron filtration."

A grain of table salt can be around 100-micron. By using patented technology to generate and focus a powerful magnetic field to capture steel particles as small as 2-micron, FilterMAG magnetic filters significantly diminish effects of wear by controlling the size of particles circulating in engine oil.

How They Work

The greatest amount of wear in your engine is caused by contaminants missed by your vehicle's oil filter. The steel particles created by normal wear cause the most damage. FilterMAG holds steel particles against the inner wall of the oil filter before they can cause engine damage.

The heart of FilterMAG's patented design system starts with unique precision-ground and arced Neodymium magnets aligned in series to generate enormous force. This force is measured at hundreds of pounds of magnetic attraction. Metal particles are forced out of your engine, dramatically extending engine life.

FilterMAG has developed unique proprietary technology to construct the immensely powerful magnets needed to hold particles as small as 2-micron. No other product can match FilterMAG.

Who Can Use Them

There is a range of FilterMAGs suitable for all types of applications for automotive & marine use. FilterMAG have a Standard Range for all kinds of family cars, light trucks and 4wds (the SS Series). FilterMAG have a High Performance Range protecting diesels of all sizes and many racing applications (RA Series). Also a Motorcycle Range (MC Series). FilterMAG applications span many industries including Agriculture, Aquaculture, Military, Forestry, Mining, Shipping, Construction etc.

And FilterMAG doesn't only work on engine lubrication systems. FilterMAG technology is also supremely effective on fuel systems. FilterMAG call it double protection. A FilterMAG on your oil filter, one on your fuel filter. FilterMAGlcome to a new era of vehicle protection — a super magnetic force field removing metal particles from your engine.

What is a FilterMAG Oil Filter?

The FilterMAG magnetic filtration system uses advanced technology to deliver the next generation in engine protection. A FilterMAG is an ultra powerful magnetic device which clamps onto your existing oil filter. You simply snap it on — hundreds of pounds of magnetic force instantly hold it in place, solid as a rock. And this same enormous force immediately starts work forcing particles out of your engine oil, 24 hours a day, year after year.

Current oil filter technology is good. FilterMAG makes it even better. Many engine components are made of hard steel that shed sharp-edged shavings as they wear, leading to microscopic damage to the softer metals in the cylinder walls, rings, bearings etc. By magnetically removing these metals circulating in the lubrication system, FilterMAG reduces abrasive particles in your engine to virtually immeasurable levels.

FilterMAG provides an inexpensive, highly effective and measurable solution to protect your machinery investment from performance robbing wear & damage caused by the circulation of metal particles. If your lubrication system uses a cartridge-style oil filter, there is a FilterMAG built to fit your application.

Why FilterMAG, Why Now?

Automotive and equipment manufacturers have tried using small, marginally effective magnets to capture metal particles suspended in lubricants for decades. An example of these is magnetic sump drain plugs. These have little impact. These magnets were and still are too weak to retain the particles, allowing them to break free and re-enter the lubrication stream whenever the oil begins to circulate at operational velocities.

FilterMAG solved this particle reintroduction problem by developing a super powerful flux amplifier to harness the magnetic field from both sides of the Neodymium magnets.

More on Neodymium in a moment.

The field is focused precisely towards the center of the host filter facilitating maximum capture and retention of the damage-causing particles. This is achieved without impeding or restricting the oil system's flow capacity.

The problem was simple, yet difficult. Engineering research has shown that tiny particles as small as 2-micron (a thirtieth of the size of a human hair) cause significant damage to engines. This is because current oil filter technology neglects most particles below around 30-micron. And to make things more challenging, the smaller the particle, the greater the magnetic force required to attract it.

How Did FilterMAG Find the Solution?

How would FilterMAG engineers solve this problem? The answer was found with new magnetic technology and by using the rare earth element Neodymium (number 60 on the Element Chart). With unique precision-ground and arced Neodymium magnets aligned in series to generate unbelievably powerful force. Neodymium has superb magnetic properties. So powerful that our industrial strength units (with a pull force of 1000 pounds) need to be unscrewed off the filter — human hands aren't strong enough!

Flux bands act like an amplifier by maintaining and applying magnetic energy into the inside of the oil filter instead of externally. The result is a remarkable achievement in engineering. A super magnet with up to 1000 pounds of pull force precision focused inside the arc, yet barely able to hold a paper clip on the outside.

Only FilterMAG offers a series of products that adapt to the wide variety of oil filters on the market while maintaining an extremely high level of particle removal efficiency. There is simply no comparable filter enhancer available today.

Where Do the Unwanted Particles Go?

Magnetic devices constructed with FilterMAG technology utilising the rare element Neodymium create magnets with up to 1000 times more gauss (pull force) than earlier conventional magnet designs. FilterMAG's patented technology generates and focuses an enormous magnetic field inside traditional oil filters to trap the ferrous particles hard against the inside filter wall. The particles stay there — the FilterMAG's force field is far stronger than the competing velocities within the lubrication system.

And when your equipment's oil and filter is due for a change, you simply slide the FilterMAG off the old filter and snap it onto your new one. Your FilterMAG will continue to work for you for 50 years.

Cleaning your equipment's oil and protecting your machine doesn't get any easier.

FilterMAG finishes the job your filters started.

A Little Oil Filter History

Modern oil filters remove particles by forcing the oil through paper-based media with very small ports. The technology behind this filtering media is a compromise that has remained relatively unchanged since the 1930s. While oil is necessary to remove these damaging particles, it is equally important that it flows back into the engine fast enough to lubricate all the moving parts.

A perfect oil filter media would stop all the particles down to a tiny 1-micron size (about 1/70th the thickness of a human hair). Unfortunately, a filter with ports that small would restrict the oil from returning to the engine fast enough, resulting in catastrophic equipment failure.

Filter media developments over the years have certainly increased the life cycle for oil filtration cartridges, but fluid dynamics require the ports in the media to remain 25-micron or larger.

Oil Filter Technology Today

Industry tests have found that a 30-micron filter reduces abrasive wear by 50% and a 15-micron filter reduces up to 70% of the component wear in the system. (Source: SAE Report, David R Staley, General Motors Corp.)

The same report states:

"Controlling the abrasive contaminants in the range of 2 to 22-micron in the lube oil is necessary for controlling engine wear."

And also:

"The smallest particles most popular filters captured with high efficiency are sized 25 to 40-micron, depending on the filter brand."

These tests also confirmed that removal of particles down to 2-micron in size virtually stops the abrasion wear cycle. FilterMAG routinely removes significant ferrous particles down to 2-micron in size and some non-ferrous particles through associated capture from the lubrication stream using its extremely powerful magnetic force.

FilterMAG Technology

In order for FilterMAG to remove minute steel particles from the oil system, its magnets must have enough energy to hold incredibly fine particles against the velocity of the oil flow. That takes an enormous amount of magnetic energy and is only possible with FilterMAG's patented design. FilterMAG employs a focused magnetic force field that amplifies its incredibly powerful Neodymium magnets, to generate the immense force needed to forcibly remove tiny particles below 20-micron from the oil flow.

This technology developed by FilterMAG engineers showed the magnetic force of the magnets alone, which while extremely powerful, were not enough to hold 2-micron steel particles against the pressure of the oil flow. To retain increasingly smaller particles requires a geometric increase in magnetic force to counter the oil velocity.

FilterMAG's patented magnetic flux amplifier technology redirects the magnetic energy normally present on the far side of the magnet towards the inside of the filter canister. The flux amplifier has to be of a precise thickness to maximise the magnetic field. The circumference is adjusted to allow for manufacturing variances to result in a precise fit & alignment of the series of magnets to the filter canister. This focuses the maximum amount of magnetic energy within the oil flow. The successful and proven result is a masterpiece of automotive engineering.

In real life, FilterMAG works by placing it onto the outside of the filter housing where the magnetic force automatically snaps it into place. The ultra strong magnetic force starts work — forcibly trapping unwanted particles "locked" against the inside walls of your traditional filter.

Inside a FilterMAG

FilterMAG is a world leader in magnetic engineering.

The heart of FilterMAG's patented design system starts with unique precision-ground and arced rare element magnets aligned in series to generate the greatest possible amount of force. This gives each FilterMAG unit unparalleled power to trap and hold metal particles against the force of lubrication circulation.

Research has shown that very significant engine wear occurs due to the abrasive effect of tiny, even microscopic, particles circulating within the oil flow. However, standard oil filters in common use today around the world are not capable of controlling particles smaller than around 30-micron to any significant degree.

Paradoxically, the smaller the particle, the greater the force needed to hold it out of the oil flow. This is why FilterMAG engineers developed the impressive technology needed to control and hold 2-micron particles.

FilterMAG's Amplified Magnetic Engineering

Each FilterMAG magnetic filter represents the culmination of ground-breaking research & development by FilterMAG engineers. The filters are the most powerful of their kind in the world. Each filter demonstrates an ingenious engineering solution to a serious problem in the automotive field — a solution which can be accurately described as an amplified magnetic filter. FilterMAG filters combine powerful magnets with technology which acts to "amplify" the magnetic power precisely where it is most needed — where damaging steel particles circulate in traditional oil filters.

The Neodymium Magnets

First, super strong magnets made from Neodymium (rare element #60 on the chart) were developed and designed in a curved series to suit the canister style oil filters used in almost all petrol and diesel machinery. Second, a flux band design was developed to focus and amplify the magnetic energy generated.

Each magnet in series is precision radiused and arced to a tolerance of ±0.001. Each radius works in a similar way to a magnifying glass, and concentrates even greater power at the edges of the magnets where they meet.

After machining, the magnet segments go through pre-treatment and a four-stage plating process to provide protection from chemicals and the environment. Magnets are aligned North-South (like batteries in a portable radio) to create the greatest amount of magnetic force. The greatest holding power occurs when a piece of metal comes in contact with both the North and South poles.

That's why FilterMAG precision grinds and aligns our magnetic system in series.

Amplifying Magnetic Power With Flux Bands

The multi-layered flux bands comprise low-carbon corrosion-resistant galvaneal steel. The individual layers allow for flexing of the band to ensure direct contact of the magnets with the filter. This eliminates power loss inside the filter. By placing the magnet segments directly on the flux bands this short-circuits the outward magnetism and drastically increases the magnetic energy by redirecting power back into the oil filter, where you really need it.

Flux bands act like amplifiers by maintaining and applying magnetic energy into the inside of the oil filter, instead of out into the surrounding air. The flux arc is controlled with such precision that even our most powerful model, which has a remarkable magnetic pull force of around 1000 pounds within the curve, is barely able to hold a steel washer on the outside.

A proprietary nylon composite casing provides insulation from -45 degrees F to +150 degrees C while allowing the unit to flex and conform to your oil filter's exact diameter. This results in perfect fit and function.

Applying The Technology

Patented FilterMAG technology removes steel particles as small as 2-micron from engine oil. A Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) study has demonstrated a 70% wear reduction when particles 15-micron and larger are removed. Huge advances are anticipated at the 2-micron level.

FilterMAG in practical use traps and holds harmful contaminates within engine oil, extending engine life and reducing vehicle emissions. FilterMAG is re-usable and will last many, many years. In fact, it will outlast the life of your engine. When you change and dispose of your old oil filter, you simply slip your FilterMAG onto your new one — FilterMAG's patented advanced technology starts work protecting your engine.

New Magnetic Protection Technology Can Reduce Engine FilterMAGar by up to 70%

Consider points made by the important paper "Correlating Lube Oil Filtration Efficiencies With Engine FilterMAGar" written by David R. Staley of General Motors Corp. (Society Of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Paper #881825). It is a documented study on both diesel and automotive engines between AC Spark Plug and Detroit Diesel Corp. This study found the following relationship between the level of engine oil filtration and rate of engine wear:

"Compared to a 40-micron filter, engine wear was reduced by 50% with 30-micron filtration. Likewise wear was reduced by 70% with 15-micron filtration."

A summary of this important paper appears on our Engineering page.

The study definitively demonstrates the significance of extremely small particles as factors in the process of engine wear.

FilterMAG leads the world in magnetic oil filtration technology with its ability to trap particles as small as 2-micron. In order for FilterMAG to remove minute steel particles from oil, its magnets must have enough energy to remove particles as small as 2-micron from the flow. That takes an enormous amount of magnetic energy and is only possible with FilterMAG's patented design. This represents a masterpiece of advanced engineering — FilterMAG's most powerful product for heavy vehicles ships with a magnetic pull force of 500 kg (over 1000 pounds)!

Gauss is the way magnetic strength is measured just as electricity is measured in volts. The higher the gauss, the stronger the magnet. FilterMAG products have a magnetic strength many times greater than conventional magnets.

2-micron Level Filtration — the Next Generation of Protection Technology

In the last decade a revolution has been quietly taking place in the field of Tribology (the science and technology concerned with interacting surfaces in relative motion, including friction, wear, erosion and lubrication). Tribologists have focused their investigations on discovering the causes of engine failure and to developing maintenance systems to maximize operational time.

Particle contamination is recognised as the most destructive enemy of machinery.
What Tribologists have discovered is that while “particles, moisture, soot, heat, air, glycol, fuel, detergents, and process fluids are all contaminants commonly found in industrial lubricants and hydraulic fluids, it's particle contamination that is widely recognized as the most destructive to the oil and machine".

This explains why "the particle counter [has become] the most widely used instrument in oil analysis today.” (Practising Oil Analysis, Sept/Oct 1998 issue)

The "FilterMAGar Chain"

The destructive mechanism set in motion by particle contamination is known as the "FilterMAGar Chain".

Existing engine lubrication systems prevent most damaging metal-to-metal contact, but there is still some contact at the molecular or microscopic level. Metal to metal contact at this extremely delicate level is the mechanism by which small steel particles are torn and gouged from the metal surfaces and introduced into the engine’s lubricating system.

James C. Fitch, P.E. is the author of numerous lubrication focused articles including “Proactive Maintenance is the 90s Cost Reduction Strategy for Diesel Engines and Gas Turbines" (Maintenance Magazine, July, 1994).

According to Mr Fitch high local stresses in diesel engines associated with sliding contact wear result in abrasive removal of material surfaces. When loads are concentrated on the effective area of a small particle, the resulting surface stresses can be greater than 500,000 PSI, far beyond the elastic limit of substrate materials.

Oil film thickness, between which particles can reach and attack surfaces, is typically in the 10-micron range.

Small Particles Can Create Proportionally More Damage

This explains why particles smaller than 10-micron generated 3.5 times more wear (rods, rings and main bearings) than particles greater than this size, according to a wear study by Cummins Engine.

The lubrication system of a typical auto engine is designed to provide a film of oil mere thousandths of an inch thick on which the engine’s moving metal components glide. Some areas of the engine, such as the main bearings, rod bearings and valve train, use part of the engine’s power to pump oil to these areas to provide a thicker film, thus maximising protection. The main bearings and rod bearings are even designed to capture a pool of oil which under oil pump pressure prevents the bearing surfaces from coming into contact. Even against the high force levels of maximum engine output.

However some areas, such as the timing chain, cylinder walls and the piston rings rely on oil splashing from the sump to provide lubrication. The areas relying on a splashing oil bath are most prone to generating microscopic particles of steel that are then carried throughout the engine by the lubricating system. The oil film is extremely thin at these metal-to-metal interfaces. Unfortunately, this allows the microscopic-sized particles to gouge and act as an abrasive — removing material from these surfaces.

This process produces small, 2 to 5-micron hardened steel particles that cause significant wear damage to an engine.

Why Small 2 to 5-micron Steel Particles Cause So Much Damage

First, and most important, they are able to flow into all areas of the engine, including the timing chain, valve train, main and rod bearings and in the ring to cylinder wall space.

And second, they generate additional particles to produce proportionally more engine wear.

Oil, contaminated with these super-fine particles of steel, is abrasive. The sharp, hardened steel particles flow rapidly over the soft bearing surfaces — gouging them along the way. These pieces of soft metal are captured by conventional filter elements, but the bearing material doesn’t do its job if it’s trapped in the filter canister instead of remaining on the bearing surface.

The "Chain Reaction to Failure" in the FilterMAGar Chain

The soft bearing surfaces are the most vulnerable to this aspect of the FilterMAGar Chain. Maintaining proper clearances is vital to proper engine performance especially in such critical areas as the main, rod and cam bearings. This is the process that has been confirmed by important field and lab studies. These have concluded that oil contamination is the primary cause of engine wear and is the beginning of what is known as "the chain reaction to failure", says James C. Fitch.

Canister style filters do not remove the most abrasive and damaging lube contaminate — microscopic steel particles.

According to the Vicker division of Trinova/Aeroquip:
“Abrasive wear accounts for about 90% of failures due to contamination.”

Such abrasive wear comes from microscopic steel particles that common 40-micron range automotive paper filter elements do not remove. These filters therefore do not control the FilterMAGar Chain.

Furthermore, Mr Fitch states that the rate at which contamination enters the hydraulic and lubricating fluids of machinery is greatly under estimated, while the effectiveness of filters at removing these contaminates is greatly over estimated. He also notes that manufacturer tests show that filters have great difficulty achieving this task in the field, where they are subjected to conditions of frequent and large changes in temperature, fluid viscosity, pressure, and flow surges, plus the effects of shock, vibration, and fatigue. Other common problems are filter bypass valves that get stuck open, damaged or missing filter gaskets and filters that are improperly installed.

In addition to the above obstacles that prevent typical paper element filters from doing their job, steel particles pose a technical obstacle of their own. The very method by which they are formed produces a sharp-edged knife-like shape. So once the microscopic particles have circulated long enough to do considerable damage, they begin to produce work hardened knife-edge particles that are larger than the pores of the filter element. They are stopped only briefly by the element before the oil pressure forces the sharp edged particles to cut through and re-contaminate the lube system.

How FilterMAG Circumvents the FilterMAGar Chain

By using patented technology to generate and focus a powerful magnetic field to capture steel particles as small as 2-micron, FilterMAG significantly diminishes the momentum of the FilterMAGar Chain by controlling the size of particles circulating in the oil. Abrasive wear is kept to almost immeasurable levels, substantially improving engine life, efficiency and performance.

The revolutionary FilterMAG ultra magnetic protective device has been proven by scientific tests to be effective at removing steel particles that pass through conventional filters, thus extending engine life and performance. The improvement is so significant that it signals the next generation of engine protection technology.

Installing a FilterMAG is a Snap!

No special tools or training is needed. Magnetic force snaps a FilterMAG into place — you just have to touch it onto the outer surface of your oil filter — then slide it into the best position!

Instructions

Please read these instructions carefully, or print this page out and give it to the person changing your oil.

Each FilterMAG comes with printed instructions. Install the oil filter following these manufacturer's instructions, or have a qualified person do it for you.

After you place the FilterMAG close to the oil filter, it snaps firmly into place by magnetic attraction. Position the FilterMAG in a central position between the top and bottom of the oil filter.

Vertical oil filters

If the filter is mounted in a vertical position, locate the FilterMAG away from the direction of your engine's exhaust. This is the optimum position for the FilterMAG to work most effectively.

Horizontally positioned or angled filters

If the oil filter is mounted in a horizontal or angled position, install the FilterMAG toward the ground but still in the mid-section of the oil filter. Do not install on the top or sides of your oil filter. Following this principle increases the power of FilterMAG by working with gravity, not against.

Remove a FilterMAG

To remove a smaller model FilterMAG from an oil filter, simply slide it off away from the base of the filter to break the magnetic field. Larger models have screw holes and are supplied with a jack screw so you can unscrew the unit off. (That's right, the magnetic force field is THAT immense, but only within a centimetre of the inner surface!)

IMPORTANT NOTE: Removing your FilterMAG is not recommended unless you are also replacing your oil filter.

Re-use it after an oil/filter change!

FilterMAGs retain their magnetic power for many, many years.

When you want to replace your old oil filter, remove it from your engine with the FilterMAG still attached. Slide the FilterMAG off the oil filter and throw the old oil filter away. Use a cloth to wipe your FilterMAG clean of dirt and oil.

Install a new oil filter in your vehicle. Re-install your FilterMAG on the new filter as described in the instructions above. Just like new, your FilterMAG will continue to give your engine years of magnetic protection for years to come.

FilterMAG Precision Technology

FilterMAG extends engine life & performance by forcibly restraining damaging metal particles as small as 2-micron.

FilterMAG employs a focused magnetic force field that amplifies a series of incredibly powerful Neodymium magnets to generate the force needed to hold tiny particles against the velocity of oil flowing in lubrication systems.

These particles are in the crucial sub 30-micron range and can range down to a microscopic 2-micron in size (around 1/35th of the width of a human hair).

This technology was developed after testing showed the magnetic force of the magnets alone was not enough to hold such tiny steel particles against the pressure of the oil flow system. To control increasingly smaller particles requires a geometric increase in magnetic force.

FilterMAG's engineers applied new and patented technology to amplify the magnetic field of already powerful Neodymium magnets to create a brilliant engineering solution to the problem of the primary cause of engine wear.

Independent Case Study (Pontiac V8 Engine)

To demonstrate FilterMAG's effectiveness, FilterMAGstech Performance Group In Mira Loma, California was contracted to perform a series of independent tests. This respected test lab is used extensively by the high performance automotive press in the USA and true to form used a fresh 400 Pontiac high performance V8 built by Rock’n’Roll Engineering of Riverside, California. FilterMAGstech performed two tests.

1. Double filter test - brand new V8 engine

This test pitted FilterMAG against two conventional filters, plumbed in series, on the initial break of the engine. The FilterMAG unit was placed on the second filter, so that all engine oil would be filtered before it was exposed to the FilterMAG. After only 15 minutes of low engine-speed operation (the engine never went more than 2,500 rpm) significant amounts of steel particles, as small as 2-micron, were collected in the 575-lb magnetic force field on the interior wall of the filter canister.

2. Single filter test - near new V8 engine

In this test, the dual oil filter test rig was removed allowing oil to flow through the stock oil filter arrangement. In this phase of the test the carburettor and timing were adjusted and several full power dyno pulls were performed for approximately 3 hours of engine operation.

After the test session, the oil filter canister was cut open for inspection. The result was a serious accumulation of steel particles in the magnetic force field of FilterMAG.

These tests show clearly that FilterMAG removes steel particles that conventional paper element filters miss.

This was demonstrated in the first test as the particles captured by FilterMAG passed through the paper filter before being caught. The second test demonstrated that FilterMAG has the magnetic energy required to retain particles against the flow rate of oil encountered in the filter canister and under all normal engine operating conditions.

The picture of a cut open filter with a FilterMAG still attached demonstrates a build up of thousands of metal particles from 2 to 30-micron that passed through the oil filter.

This is a critical feature of FilterMAG, since other products do not have the sheer force to retain captured particles against the significant speed and power of the oil flow.

This is the crucial point. If the magnetic force of the device is not sufficient to retain the particles against the oil flow, then those particles will be reintroduced into the lubrication system when the engine is running.

Comparison Test — Twin Mercruiser Sterndrives

HOT BOAT MAGAZINE tested an Advantage 32 Victory powered by twin Mercruiser HP 575SCi Sterndrives (with about 100 hours of use on the clock). HOT BOAT fitted a FilterMAG on the starboard engine and left the port engine without. Each engine was filled with brand new Valvoline Racing 20W50 oil and fitted with new oil filters. The boat was run for just over 15 hours and oil samples taken from each engine. For comparison, brand new oil was also examined.

“FilterMAG sent three oil samples to Analyst Inc. in Hoffman Estates Illinois, a very respected independent national testing laboratory, for an analytical ferrography report:

'Compared to the port engine (no FilterMAG) sample, there is 6.2% fewer particles larger than 2-micron in size; 33.6% fewer particles larger than 5-micron; and 74% fewer particles larger than 15-micron in size.'

There was simply significantly less harmful debris in the oil of the engine with the attached FilterMAG unit when compared directly to the results of the engine equipped with only a standard filter. FilterMAG then cut open the oil filter... the inside wall of the canister was defined with minute ferrous particles mirroring the exact imprint of the magnetic pattern of the FilterMAG on the outside."

Download the full Hot Boat article on the Press page.

Oil analysis — brand new Valvoline Racing 20W50 oil. (60kb PDF)
Oil analysis — sample without FilterMAG after 15 hours. (100kb PDF)
Oil analysis — sample with FilterMAG after 15 hours. (80kb PDF)

SAE Research Paper Summary

The following is a summary of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Paper #881825:
Correlating Lube Oil Filtration Efficiencies with Engine FilterMAGar
By David R. Staley of General Motors Corp.

AC Spark Plug and Detroit Diesel Corp. performed a joint study of the relationship between the level of engine oil filtration and Engine wear rates, and found finer filtration significantly reduced the rate of Engine wear.

Diesel and gasoline engine wear rates were established by building both a diesel and a gasoline engine with fully inspected wear components, and then inspecting them after the test. In both engines, the upper and lower main bearings, oil rings and compression rings were inspected. In the diesel engine, the cam lobe profile and cylinders were also inspected, while the piston pin bushings, piston pins and cylinder liners of the gasoline engine were inspected.

Contaminants were added for test purposes

The total test duration was eight hours. To accelerate wear, 50 grams of AC Fine
Test Dust was added, in slurry form, to the crank case every hour.

Diesel engine wear tests were performed using filters with high efficiency ratings for particle sizes: 40-micron, 8.5-micron and 7-micron.

Gasoline engine wear tests were performed using filters with high efficiency ratings for particle sizes of the following sizes: 40-micron, 30-micron and 15-micron.

Analysis

The researchers found clearances in the diesel and gasoline engines varied between 2 and 22-micron during engine operations. That means particles in the 2 to 22-micron size range are most likely to damage engine parts. Particles smaller than 2-micron will slip through the clearances without damaging bearing surfaces.

Conclusions

The researchers drew the following conclusions:

Abrasive engine wear can be substantially reduced with an increase in single pass efficiency. Compared to a 40-micron filter, gasoline engine wear was reduced by 50 percent with 30-micron filtration. Likewise, wear was reduced by 70 percent with 15-micron filtration. Controlling the abrasive contaminants in the range of 2 to 22-micron in the lube oil is necessary for controlling engine wear.

The Micron Rating of a filter, as established in a single pass efficiency type test, does an excellent job of indicating the filter's ability to remove abrasive particles in the engine lube oil system.

The smallest particles most popular filters capture with high efficiency are sized 25 to 40-micron, depending on the filter brand.

Mainlube Filtergram Report

Mainlube Superior Maintenance Lubricants PL tested an oil sample for wear metal analysis. At a normal oil change schedule, a one ml sample was taken from inside an oil filter casing directly under a FilterMAG product. This sample was forced through a special point 3-micron membrane filter at 150 psi. Debris in the range of 2-500 micron was identified.

"It is very obvious that this product works very well. Anything that assists the removal of debris from machinery is worth its weight in gold."

Steve Simmonds ATCAE
Managing Director
Mainlube Superior Maintenance Lubricants

Download Mainlube's Filtergram report. (450kb PDF)

Download Acrobat Reader to read PDFs.

The Fuel Story

FilterMAG has developed a range of magnetic devices to purify oil & fuel. Unfortunately many people do not yet realise that these FilterMAG products have a significant and extremely effective impact on modern fuel injection systems. Saving you time, money and equipment.

With the worldwide mandate to improve engine performance and reduce emissions being actively undertaken by many governments, we have now entered an era where vehicle engines run more smoothly & economically but with far more complexity than just 10 years ago. This makes them more susceptible to fuel quality.

FilterMAG have seen the relative progression away from plastic fuel filters to metal bodied fuel filters to accommodate the increase in operating pressure. This allows basic fuel injection systems to function under pressure that can exceed 30,000 psi. Plastic filter canisters cannot withstand these operational criteria and would prove to be a safety & reliability hazard.

What are the common problems associated with today's petrol & diesel fuels?

There are several issues on the quality front that you should be aware of.

1. Fuel is transported around the refinery in steel tubes. A small amount of metallic contamination occurs at this stage. The manufacturers filter to a good degree but some contamination always remains. This is however considered “clean and acceptable fuel”.

2. Fuel is passed into and transported further by tankers, whether bulk shipping or road orientated. Again, a level of contamination can be introduced or occur be it by water, oxides or by a range of bacteria & yeasts (referred to as HUMbugs — Hydrocarbon Utilising Micro-organisms).

These HUMbugs are a significant issue to diesel users in particular. Briefly, they live in all water-fuel interfaces and a single bacterium can multiply to become over 260 thousand in just six hours. Eventually they take over the tank, lines & filter, causing significant and expensive damage.

Ron Moon, a noted motoring journalist was amazed at the amount of microbial infestation his fuel filter exhibited after only 17000 kms in his new Nissan Patrol. Have a look at this photo to see exactly what he saw in his fuel filter. A comment from Ron is also published below. (Both the dark black and the lighter brown material are forms of algae. Photo courtesy 4x4 Australia Magazine, June 2002).

3. Fuel then gets pumped into storage tanks in the service station forecourt for final dispensing to your vehicle. Are these in-ground tanks stainless steel or free of water & other contaminants? Definitely not!

(Some operatives have been known to extend fuel by mixing pesticide waste, sump oil & water with the incoming new fuel to top up the profit margin. There have also been recorded cases of dispensing pumps having their filters removed to speed up the “flow rate”.)

Then you have to consider:
A. Is your vehicle fuel tank a clean environment? No, it contains rust, water & HUMbugs.

B. Are your jerry cans or 44-gallon drums used in remote areas clean? No, who knows how long fuel may have been sitting in them?

At this stage you may be asking yourself how would water get into your fuel, and why should it bother you anyway?

Consider the following and you will come to realise fuel contamination is an everyday, every drive problem that you have little control over.

It’s 7.30am and you leave for work in your car. The fuel gauge says you have half a tank full. During the day you drive a short trip to the shops. Come 5.30 pm you are back home again with the gauge on a quarter. No big deal. Except during the day the max temperature was 21 degrees. Your fuel rose to an operating temperature of 30 degrees in the tank. The predicted overnight low is 10 degrees.

Has or will condensation form in your fuel tank? You better believe it has and it will!

As soon as you leave the next morning and cross the first bump, small amounts of water are splashed into your “clean” fuel. Eventually this condensation contributes to in-tank rust, which will also fall into your “clean fuel”. The water-fuel interface will become a breeding ground for microbial life that will eventually corrode & block your tank, lines, pumps & injectors etc.

So aside from the rust & muck that gets pumped into your tank at the service station, nature is also eating away at your system's health. It seems we cannot win.

How can a FilterMAG assist in this situation?

FilterMAG has one distinct property — extreme magnetism, and two real impacts on fuel systems:

Impact 1. A FilterMAG can remove all of the metallic particles from your fuel system down to a level of 2-micron, ensuring you get clean fuel delivered to the injectors. This will also contribute to longer service life for your pumps, injectors & other ancillary equipment.

The photo at right demonstrates how the FilterMAG filtration system significantly enhances the effectiveness of standard fuel filters. (Filter taken from our Kenworth test heavy vehicle as seen on the Gallery page).

Impact 2. FilterMAG’s sheer magnetic force destroys the single celled microbial infestations that can reside in the fuel-water interface because these cells are positively & negatively charged. The magnetic force kills them and rips them into sub atomic particles that pass through your injectors to be burnt with the fuel and then passed out as exhaust.

Elegantly simple yet brilliantly effective!

There have been several products introduced to the market over the years that have attempted to achieve the same benefit. They all involved some kind of “fitting required” and none possessed the same magnitude of enormous magnetic force as a FilterMAG.

Only a genuine FilterMAG can achieve the results you need to keep your equipment running well into the future. No fitting tools are required at all. You simply snap one on and motor off in full confidence. Some relevant comments by industry professionals follow. Or see our Press page for more articles.

The photo at right was taken from a cutaway filter taken from a Land Rover with a 3.9L Isuzu diesel and a FilterMAG SS365. You can see how particles are trapped by the FilterMAG's powerful aligned magnets. The SS365 has a pull force of around 135kg.

Comments

“Another problem you may encounter from time to time is fuel that’s been contaminated with dirt, water or other liquids. Many filling station pumps have a filter that keeps dirt and corrosion that has settled in underground tanks from getting into their customer’s fuel tanks - assuming they maintain the filters properly.

It doesn’t happen very often, but fuel also can be cross-contaminated in pipelines, in storage facilities and distribution centers, and even in transit by moisture and other petroleum distillates such as diesel fuel, kerosene (jet fuel) and other chemicals.

The most common cause of dirty fuel, though, is the vehicle’s own fuel tank. As the miles accumulate, the protective plating inside the tank can wear away allowing corrosion to occur. This obviously doesn’t happen with plastic tanks but it is quite common with steel tanks. The small flakes of rust are then pulled into the fuel pickup strainer where they can clog the strainer, damage the fuel pump or plug the filter etc.”
Larry Carley 2003 — Motoring Journalist

"To keep bugs under control an algaecide or biocide can be added to the fuel. This is expensive and the dead bugs form a sludge which has to be removed otherwise it will give bugs a safe place to wait to multiply.

I had my senses rocked when our Nissan Patrol had clocked up 17,000km and we were at Berrima Diesel Services for a tune up. FilterMAG found water in the fuel filter and also brown & black algae... My fuel tank was a plethora of unwanted guests. Somewhere along the line I picked up some rotten fuel, but had most probably also dumped the beginnings of the algae growth which bloomed in the dark confines of my fuel tank".
Ron Moon — Journalist, 4x4 Australia

“Both diesel and kerosene added to gasoline will increase engine deposit formation including in the fuel injectors. Adulteration of gasoline by waste industrial solvents is especially problematic as the adulterants are so varied in composition. Adulterants may contain halogens, silicon, phosphorous or other metallic elements (found in recycled lubricants), these in turn are quite outside the normal gasoline composition range. They will cause increased emissions and may even cause vehicle breakdown by corroding fuel injection systems and carburettors, and by causing deposits on valves, fuel injectors, spark plugs, oxygen sensors and exhaust catalysts. Even low levels of adulterants can be very injurious and costly to the vehicle operator”.
World Bank investigative report — “Abuses in Fuel Markets”, September 2001

“The precision electronic fuel injectors in your car are very durable, but they are susceptible to hardened build-ups of varnish, lacquers, debris, and other residue that block the tiny discharge passage at the injector tip. Blocked injectors cause bad spray patterns and uneven fuel flow between cylinders. This creates an engine with starting problems, rough idle, flat spots, poor fuel economy, excessive pollution, high combustion temperatures and low power.”
C & B Auto Repair

"Every stop the fuel makes on its way from the refinery to your vehicle is an opportunity to pick up bugs and water. There are 27 individual species of bugs that can occur in fuel and each has its own characteristics.

Corrosion of metal parts is a potentially costly problem that is caused by the acid by-products of bugs, hydrogen sulphide. This acid can corrode fuel tanks, injector pumps, injectors and fuel lines and can also attack tank linings. Biocides and fuel treatments are often used to treat microbial contaminations but by the time they are used the damage has already occurred. The sludge itself is toxic and must be cleaned by companies qualified in the handling and removal of toxic waste.

You'll be happy to know however that there is a much easier and cost effective solution available".
Transport Today 2003

" 'Bugs' present many problems to ships' engineers. These include filter plugging, clogged fuel lines and high rates of corrosion in fuel tanks. 'Algae' if left unchecked, will grow into colonies forming mats or long strands of seaweed like structures. Other bugs are referred to as 'metal-eating bacteria'. Heavily infected fuel will, within just a few hours, result in filter plugging, fuel starvation, injector fouling and purifier malfunction. Non-uniform fuel flow and variations in combustion may accelerate piston ring and liner wear rates and affect cam shaft torque".
How Technology is affecting the Maritime World.
Marine Safety Council 1996

"Poor ISO cleanliness levels can mean that for every gallon of diesel fuel entering that fuel system there are 263,719,875 particles greater than 2-micron, 49,163,365 particles greater than 5-micron, and 1,006,810 particles greater than 15-micron. All of these particles are going right through your fuel pumps and fuel injectors."
Special Report — Fuel. "Trucking's Dirty Little Secret".
Heavy Duty Trucking Magazine, October 2003

Choosing Your FilterMAG

The appropriate FilterMAG model for your vehicle is determined by the diameter of the oil filter it is applied to.

The larger an oil filter's diameter, the larger the oil flow volume it is designed to purify. And correspondingly, the higher the oil flow, the more magnetic energy is required to forcibly restrain damaging metal particles in the oil from re-entering your engine.

That's why the large oil filters (up to 14 cm wide) used by heavy vehicles require a staggering magnetic pull force of up to half a ton to effectively remove tiny but destructive metallic particles — and only FilterMAG delivers it!

FilterMAG has a range of magnetic filters to suit almost all classes of automotive, heavy vehicle, motorcycle, racing and marine engines.

Because of their proprietary nylon composite casing, each FilterMAG is flexible and adjustable within approx 1cm of the diameter size ranges below.

Our more powerful models are supplied with a jack screw to aid in their removal.

SPECIAL NOTES: FilterMAGs can also be used to purify fuel and transmission systems.

FilterMAG range pictures below show front and back of one FilterMAG.

SS Series Engineered for the needs of general automotive, light truck and marine applications.
SS250 Pull force approx 50 kg Filter diameter 6.3-6.9 cm Price $
SS300 Pull force approx 68 kg Filter diameter 7.1-7.7 cm Price $
SS365 Pull force approx 125 kg Filter diameter 7.9-8.4 cm Price $
RA Series Engineered for the demanding needs of large diesel trucks, marine, racing & heavy duty applications.
RA300 Pull force approx 205 kg Filter diameter 7.1-7.7 cm Price $
RA365 Pull force approx 250 kg Filter diameter 8.6-10.1 cm Price $
RA450 Pull force approx 500 kg Filter diameter 10.8-14 cm Price $
MC/MB Series Engineered for motorcycle applications. Available in polished chrome (MC) or flat black (MB) finish for a unique custom look.
MC300 Pull force approx 205 kg Filter diameter 7.1-7.7 cm Price $
MB300 Pull force approx 205 kg Filter diameter 7.1-7.7 cm Price $
AT Series Engineered for transmissions with external spin-on oil filters.
AT300 Pull force approx 68 kg Filter diameter 7.1-7.7 cm Price $

Reports And Acclaim For FilterMAG

"Finally, we slapped a FilterMAG on the oil filter to help pick up any crud that works its way into the Anvil. [Hot Rod Magazine's custom designed test engine] These high-powered magnets pull any magnetic material from the oil and hold it up against the inside wall of the oil filter. FilterMAG’ve tried it, and it works."

HOT ROD MAGAZINE
Oct 2002

HOT BOAT Magazine tested FilterMAG:

“What FilterMAG is engineered to accomplish is to significantly improve the internal debris gathering and capture capabilities of a standard oil filter. Some particles are simply too small to be caught by the filter (usually less than 25-micron) and some bigger, sharper particles also elude capture by simply cutting through the internal paper-filter element.

What FilterMAG does is 'supercharge' the oil filtering process by transmitting intense magnetic energy through the oil filter canister, causing ferrous/metal particles not caught by the filter to permanently adhere to the interior canister wall.

There was significantly less harmful debris in the oil of the engine with the attached FilterMAG unit when compared directly to the results of the engine equipped with only a standard filter... So is cleaner oil important to the long term well-being of your engine? You bet it is."

HOT BOAT MAGAZINE Dec 2002
Read the complete article here. (140kb PDF).
HOT BOAT MAGAZINE tested twin Mercruiser HP 575SCi Sterndrives, one with FilterMAG, one without, after 15 hours use. The results were significant.

You can download the associated comparative oil ferrography reports on our Engineering page, where you can also read some technical details.

Download Acrobat Reader to read PDFs.

"As soon as you install it FilterMAG holds steel particles against the oil filter's inner wall magnetically removing metal particles from your engine oil: before they cause engine damage... FilterMAG immediately starts removing damaging particles. Far smaller than your oil filter is EVER capable of capturing. There is no comparable oil filtration enhancement system on the market."

DRAG MAGAZINE Australia, Feb 2004
Read the complete article here. (176kb PDF).

"The researchers found clearances in the diesel and gasoline engines varied between two and 22 microns during engine operations. That means particles in the two to 22 micron size range are most likely to damage engine parts. Particles smaller than two microns will slip through the clearances without damaging bearing surfaces."
Report on relationship between oil filtration and engine wear
(examined in a joint study by AC Spark Plug and Detroit Diesel).

POLICE FLEET MANAGER Magazine, Fall 2003
Article about engine protection and FilterMAG.
Read the complete article. (65kb PDF).

"A major diesel engine problem is currently going undetected — and it is destroying these precision fuel systems. The problem is dirty fuel.... Particles in the 5 to 10-micron size were determined to be the most abrasive particle size group and were the cause of severely reduced component life. In particular, the 7-micron particle was the perfect fit between the micro-machined clearances and would grind away on metal surfaces, causing accelerated wear."
Special Report — Fuel
"Trucking's Dirty Little Secret" by Steve Sturgess & George Morrison

HEAVY DUTY TRUCKING Magazine, Oct 2003
Read the complete article. (660kb PDF).

"This innovative product is designed to eliminate the microscopic pieces of engine that occur as part of the wearing process which are not always trapped by the oil filter. These really small pieces pass through the filter and into the engine, with — over time — predictable results. FilterMAG is a super-powerful magnet which simply attaches to the outside of the filter and traps these microscopic particles where they can do no more harm."

Auto Parts & Accessories (APA) Journal Australia, Feb 2004
Read the complete article. (78kb PDF).

"I was not prepared to see the amount of particles that FilterMag trapped in my oil filter. I used a top-of-the-line race filter, and to see the amount of stuff that made it through (the oil filter) that I did...blows my mind."

Jeff Quinn
4th placegetter overall, Baja 1000
Owner, McKenzie's Performance Products, Anaheim, California

"There's no doubt... It is extremely effective. It works. And, I whole-heartedly recommend it."

www.off-road.com
Article by Fidel Gonzales

"Can the smallest steel particles get through the filter element and back into the engine? ...Fortunately, US-based FilterMAG has thought it through for us and come up with a most practical solution as simple as a magnet... The magnets are of a strength that will provide up to 450kg of pulling force to trap and permanently remove steel particles as small as two-micron from the oil or fuel system. The particles remain stuck to the inside of the filter and are disposed of with the filter."

Classic Cars Year Book, 2004 Australia
Read the complete article. (78kb PDF).

"If you would have shown me a few particles, I would have been happy. (Jeff's particle count was in the millions.) Having FilterMAG on my car definitely made a difference."

Jeff Lothringer
8th placewinner, Baja 1000

"I can't believe my car even finished. The larger particles, if left to circulate... would have eventually caused engine failure."

Steve Roberts
Finished Baja 1000 in 20:10:05

"ALL of the owners of CAR Motorsports have bought FilterMAGs for ALL of their vehicles. This includes our work vehicles (such as GMC Yukon XL 3/4 ton, Ford Expedition, Jeep Cherokee), our daily transportation, and our collectible cars."

www.carmotorsports.com