Product Reviews

Product/Service: Stainless Steel Reusable OIL FILTER
Manufacturer/Provider: Scotts Performance
Reviewed by: Jeff Kufalk

Many racers and street riders alike, realize the benefits of having reusable filter elements. Until recently, when it came to oil filters there was no choice. You purchased an OEM filter, or a knockoff. All of that has changed with the introduction of the Stainless Steel Reusable oil filter from Scotts Performance.

When I found out Scotts made a reusable oil filter, it was immediately placed on top of the "must have" list, and for good reason. Scotts has yet to make an inferior product. With products that are engineered to perfection, functional and reliable, there is no reason not to pick one up. A quick phone call placed a filter on my doorstep in about 4 days.

What's in the Box?

Packaged neatly in a plastic sleeve sits the filter casing, "spirol lok" retaining spring, filter element, filter wrench and literature about using and the care and feeding of your new filter.

Elements up close

The concept is simple. Have a filter element which provides better filtration than paper, lasting basically forever, yet flowing more oil than the common paper element. Squeeze it into a sleek billet aluminum cup and voila! you've got a reusable oil filter.

Here are some of the comments that the manufacturer boasts.

What's the big deal?

Well, that's pretty easy. Here we have a filter which filters better than a paper filter, but flows more oil which you can use over and over.

So how big is a micron?
Glad you asked!

A micron is one thousandth of a millimeter, or approximately .00003973 inches. The Scotts reusable filter filters to 35 microns absolute. This means no particle larger than 35 microns can pass through this filter cloth anywhere, period! To put it into perspective:

So I asked the manufacturer about this whole 35 microns "absolute", and on the filter's performance in general. Here was the response:

 

"We found the Testing filters is not a science in the industry, it's the snake oil scenario, so we tested ours against 5 other leading brands with an arbitrary test facility and no I.D. on any filters. The results were obviously very good for us, but the standards by which paper filters are tested and the results posted would scare you!

Some mfg's claim 10 micron filters, but what they don't tell you is that same filter lets particles as big as 300 microns through also. The test is controlled and mandated by whatever standards the mfg wants. 35 microns "absolute" means just that... nothing bigger than 35 gets through."

This brought out a bad point, and a good point. The bad point is that since there is no standardized testing, the results could be just as skewed for the Scotts filter as for any other filter. However, I'm comfortable in the quoted "35 microns absolute" since we're dealing with a piece of stainless steel which is pierced with a laser which is far more accurate and consistent than a piece of paper (regardless of how it's engineered). This provides for a completely uniform surface, unlike a paper element.

Flow? So?

Thinking about the necessity of consistent and immediate flow, the stainless element is the only way to go. Paper elements do not flow well until the motor is warm. Most paper filters restrict the flow so much that
every time you start the motor, when it's cold, the bypass valve opens allowing dirty oil to lube your motor until its warm. Think about all the crap being injected into your cam bearings etc., if it's not going through
the filter.

One square inch of the filter cloth will flow 1.9 Gallons per Minute at only 1 PSI pressure (70°F). Multiply that by the 30 square inches in the typical element, and you're at roughly 59 gallons per minute with literally NO pressure at common starting temps! There is not another filter on the market that can match the amount of flow provided by the Scotts filter.

So how do you clean that thing?

 

A walk in the park my friend...
Simply remove the filter with the supplied strap wrench, rinse in clean solvent or soap and water and replace!

Pretty much anything that will cut grease will work to clean the filter, and it's as good as new.

If you race, this is one of the greatest buys you will find. Last year I used disposal paper element filters and I ended up spending well over the cost of the Scotts reusable. The facts that I could spend less, provide better filtration and more flow makes the Scotts reusable filter a must have for me.

On a street bike, the Scotts reusable makes perfect sense as well. The filter will last the life of the bike, and provide you the same superior filtration and flow that I've noted above.

All-in-all, the Scotts reusable filter just plain makes sense.

Where can you get yours?

The fine folks at:

email: sales@scottsonline.com or sales@scottsperformance.com.
Jake, Eric, Steve or Brad are top notch sales folks who have all the tech answers for anyone who calls. 818 248-6747 is the direct telephone number.

Please tell the folks at Scotts that JeF4y sent you!

 

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