I drive alot (about 3000 miles a week) I have been kicking around the idea of buying a bypass filter and want to get some opinions on which is the best to run. I know that AMSOIL makes one and there a few others out there. Right now I spin on a new NAPA GOLD oil filter at 5000 mi and change at 10,000 mi, which is a little over every three weeks. At about $80 a change (I run Rotela syn) I think that I would save the amount that the system would cost fairly quickly as well as have cleaner oil in the truck. Thanks in advance, Dale

 

I use the oilguard bypass (www.oilguard.com) system and am very happy with the results. If you choose the Amsoil system, go with the single bypass unit. Some folks (not all) have had problems with the dual bypass system.

 

I run the oilguard as well too. Very nice product. And they make full flow engine mounted filters which i am using as of now.

 

Yikers, last time someone asked this question it evoked several pages of somewhat emotional responses from people willing to defend their filter of choice almost to the death, all the while clarifying almost nothing. Hopefully that won't happen here.

There are four major bypass manufacturers that come to mind; Frantz, OilGuard, Amsoil, and GCF (Gulf Coast Filters), (in no particular order). Since we are talking filters here, the result that should be considered as the biggest priority is filtering capability, and to that end, all of the major manufacturers do in fact filter much better than the filter that comes on the truck from the factory. For all of the bypass systems there will be at least one individual willing to defend their brand of choice very adamantly and there will all have reasons why. The plain and simple fact is that all of the systems have legitimate pros as well as cons and there is really no clear cut winner as the "ultimate" bypass system. Things to consider are that while AMSOIL and OilGuard both have longer service intervals than either FRATZ or GCF (especially FRANTZ), both AMSOIL and OilGuard require that you get their filters from them. The novelty of FRANTZ and GCF is that FRANTZ was specifically designed to run on toilet paper, and GCF can be retrofited to run on rolls of paper towels with no significant loss of efficiancy. In the world of corporate uncertainty, the abilty to buy a new filter at any wal-mart or dime store is a very appealing selling point to me. The thing to remember is that for ALL of the manufacturers, the key to making the whole system work is doing periodic oil analysis and basing your oil change and filter change intervals on the results of the lab analysis.

I would suggest that you go to the website for each of the manufacturers and read thier sales pitches for yourself, and then base your decision on how much you are willing to spend, and your own interpretation of whether the installation and maintance procedures meet with your own approval. I would definately reccomend that you SHOULD get a bypass system, especially since you drive 3k a week, but that you base what you get on what you feel is a good fit for you as far as maintanence, yada yada.

 

Great post Miker67!


The best way to run extended oil change intervals is with a bypass filter and used oil analysis. You can easily go 10K between changes - some go 15-20K.

 

For you guys with the bypass filters, do you change them out at every oil change or every other one?

Is there any way to install a pressure guage on the hose in order to see when the filter begins to become clogged, and there by get as much use as possible out of the filter?

 

I'm happy with my Oil Guard unit. I like the sturdy all metal construction of it, knowing it should not get damaged by any road debris.

I typically change my bypass with every other oil change.

 

WOW! that's awsome that you can go every other change with the filter replacement. I was looking at the Oil Gaurd site and it sounds like a good unit, and the price is nice as well.

 

I have the OilGuard unit as well, and am pleased with it. Have only put 6500 miles on the truck since the install, and am waiting on Blackstone's report to decide about how much longer I'm going to run. I've also asked several guys about the bypass element change frequency, and most responded that they change it every time they change the oil. I'm not sur eyet what I'm going to do with my frequency.

 

what problems have people had with the msiol duel bypass filter
I have one but haven't installed it yet

 

The only problem I've heard/read about is in relation to the 10% flow that their system uses, which in some cases has reduced oil pressure by as much as 5-7 psi. I had purchased one of their systems, but returned it after verifying that information from one of their tech reps. I simply don't want to have that much of my oil flow bypassing the main engine flow, especially since I'm on the road a bit and get enough extended running times to let a smaller bypass flow perform its job. In fact, I just got my UOA back from Blackstone, and with 6200 miles on this oil, it demonstrates the capability to run for much longer. The additive package is in good shape, wear metals are lower than typically seen in only 5200 miles, viscosity is in good shape, so I'm going to run up to about 12K miles and check it again (I've also not had to add a single drop of oil to maintain level, either). For me, my OilGuard is filtering well and my oil is doing its job.

 

We have two trucks with the Filtrations Solutions unit in them. At 10,000 miles I change just the bypass filter. We have been changing at 30,000 and then we do everything. Oil samples show that we could go longer but 30 is good for us. We just switched to the 5-40W Rotella synthetic. Be interesting to see how these samples read. Both trucks have shown a 3 mile to the gallon jump in fuel econ.. I don't know if it is the oil but it sure is funny how both trucks jumped so drastically. May just be new oil.

 

F250_ What type/brand of oil do you run? I have been running the Rotella syn since I got mine in Dec.

 

I'm running Amsoil's DEO 5w40, and have nearly 7K miles on it now. This is my first run with the DEO, and in fact is my first oil change to ever run in any diesel (just got my truck last September). My test results from 6200 miles on the oil came back excellent, with overall lower numbers than what Blackstone typically sees on an oil with 1000 miles less use on it.

My plans are to run the Amsoil to its end, or 18K, whichever comes first. Then I'll switch over to the Rotella 5w40 syn and repeat my intense sampling and testing. Once I have the data compiled, I'll back off on testing and run the least expensive approach, assuming that the data doesn't show it to correlate with higher internal wear.

 

That's awsome. Keep us posted on your findings. I'll do the same. Dale