matreyia

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Here is a video close up of the K&P Stainless Steel Oil Filter for the N54. My car is a 2009 n54 e93 335i Convertible.

This thread will be the reference thread for the long term reviews of this oil filter. I just got this yesterday and immediately did a video record so people can see the life of the filter in near real time with all its pros and cons. This filter will be installed this weekend. Today is Thursday July 12, 2018.

 

matreyia

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Yes, however I wanted to make a clean start for the K&P filter specifically without any polls or debate. This thread should be only data that I post over the months and yrs that I use the filter. If anything goes wrong related to the oil filter usage, this thread will post it immediately.

Anyone who wishes to debate the merits or demerits should rightly be referred to the thread you linked above.

Cheers.
VT
 

matreyia

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Morning temps.jpg
after Installing the K&p filter and the CTS Billet finned oil cap, coolant temps went from 198° to 178° and oil went from 239° to 216° on my morning drive at ambient 83°f temperature. An oil change was also made and Motul 300v was used.

30 min drive at 70-75 mph and a little stop and go traffic.

I have no idea if this was due to the new filter the new oil or the new aluminum oil cap.
 

Torgus

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The oil cap is metal and attached to the motor. I don't see how the tiny cap could cool the block...or am I missing something?

Interesting to see the temperatures lower so much.
 
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matreyia

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So what do you conclude from this?

Filippo

I cannot conclude anything, except that the combination of the filter, finned aluminum oil cap, and the Motul 300v Ester 5w-30 oil resulted in the drop in temperatures. Note: when you first replace the BMW oil with the Motul and you start your car...there will be smoke that you did not previously have before. Then it goes away after you drive for a few minutes and does not come back. Perhaps the new chemicals (ester) is reacting to the temperatures and metal friction or whatever... who the hell knows. But I was like... 'wtf??? what is up with this smoke?" Then it went away after a few minutes.

Unfortunately, I could not do step by step changes such as Motul oil change first, then adding oil cap, then adding steel filter...this is because my significant other does not appreciate the time I devote to this black hole of time and money. So had to do it all at once. But, these temps are the result.

Today after work when it's over 90ºF ambient and standstill traffic in Houston, TX. I will update the moment I park the car in the garage. Maybe this is a fluke. Because to me, 20º F drop in temps are a bit too absurd to be true. But if it is, then I won't argue with the reality of the car's thermometer.

VT
 
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fmorelli

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I realize this has nothing to do with the filter, and you don't want dialog here ... so not sure how you want this to work ... but fwiw @barry@3DM tells me in Grand Am racing they saw 20 deg drop in oil temps with Motul 300V.

Filippo
 

matreyia

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I realize this has nothing to do with the filter, and you don't want dialog here ... so not sure how you want this to work ... but fwiw @barry@3DM tells me in Grand Am racing they saw 20 deg drop in oil temps with Motul 300V.

Filippo

I would want to agree with that. I mean, MAYBE the 7X better flow contributed a little...but really? In the right context, more flow could also result in higher temperatures. Who the hell knows. All I know is...I guess I will stick with this combo until something even better comes along. I will also report on MPG too after I fill up the tank today and drive to empty.
 

Panzerfaust

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I realize this has nothing to do with the filter, and you don't want dialog here ... so not sure how you want this to work ... but fwiw @barry@3DM tells me in Grand Am racing they saw 20 deg drop in oil temps with Motul 300V.

Filippo
My thoughts too, which is bitter-sweet. I feel like a 20° drop in oil temps from different oil alone would also be thought of as a stretch by most people though. Personally I'd be pretty happy to see a 10° difference in my car just from switching to magic oil, so I'm pretty excited for you. I'm inclined to think the oil is at least probably the biggest contributing factor, but I'm very impressed with that temp drop and (considering my general skepticism with big claims like that from any company) I would like to think the combo of oil + filter could definitely have contributed to you actually getting those results. Either way though you're lucky, it's not often in the aftermarket car world we see gains exactly in line with what manufacturers claim!

My apologies about what's below if you really don't want any discussion here, and I'll exclude myself from this thread if you want but I think these kind of posts are bound to pop up in some form. I'll try to stay constructive and inline with my interpretation of what you want, but considering you're the only person who physically has this in hand right now I'd like to discuss some theory:

It's (at least mostly) good to know you can blow through the new filter easier than through the Mann filter, I think that pretty soundly shows the K&P in and of itself should be physically capable of higher oil flow than our paper filters. That said, I still see where @fmorelli is coming from 100% and I agree with him even though I think I'm more cautiously optimistic than he is so far in regards to potential "performance" gains. The garden hose and pool analogy is a really good point and raises a pretty important question for those of us who are interested: is the oil filter itself limiting flow?

1.) I've never seen it mentioned before this thread but considering some things the German mad-scientists did, I wouldn't be horribly surprised to find out that the DME targets a certain range for oil flow and doesn't allow us to exceed it. If that's the case, then we probably wouldn't see any feasible temp drops from the filter but could definitely be taking some stress off the oil pump system, and at the very least hopefully reduce the amount of filter bypass. Maybe people familiar with the deep inner workings of the DME like @jyamona or any of the other MHD crew could chime in there.

2.) The other, bigger potential factor is whether or not the filter is even the bottleneck. If our internal plumbing isn't capable of out-flowing whatever the paper filter allows then we're pretty much stuck, much like how the standard DCI only outflows the plastic airbox & filter enough for 10hp without completely replacing the inlets. Admittedly I don't know much about the N54's oiling, but maybe people who've physically dug in to a lot of these engines or even sensor-and-data-crazy people like Tony or @Chris@VargasTurboTech can shed some light on that.

I understand the desire for more scientific testing like throwing this thing on some flow bench or what your results would've been had you stuck with the same oil (which I personally was really hoping this thread would be about tbf) but honestly I'm glad to see you doing this either way. In the end chances are most people who will run this care more about real world road-proven results which you can hopefully provide us with.
--------------------
I know my post is already horribly, horribly long but since you want to make this a running results thread, would you be willing to pull the filter and take pics at certain mileage intervals for us? I'm curious to see what it looks like after 100, 500, 1000 etc miles. That should at least hopefully shed some light on its filtering capabilities and long-term sustainability.
 

matreyia

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Update Quick: September 13th, 2018 3k miles. Oil change.

1. Oil was still kinda golden color.
2. Filter was not really dirty.
3. Filter was easy as hell to clean with brake cleaner.
4. Using a magnetic drain bolt, there was 2x more iron filings stuck on the drain bolt than normal.

I don't know if the increased iron filings is due to the oil filter letting those micro sized filings pass through or if the MOTUL Oil is shitty in lubrication. But there was extra filings found...they are the normal size microscopic soup-like filings that you find in any engine. Not big chunks. I guess that is a good thing that the filter is letting it pass to the magnet so more of the filings don't get recirculated.

As for performance, initial lower temps went away pretty quick and the car went back to previous pre-Motul and pre-KP stainless Oil Filter status.

Video removal of the filter coming soon. I have project deadlines so hang tight.
 

Panzerfaust

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Update Quick: September 13th, 2018 3k miles. Oil change.

1. Oil was still kinda golden color.
2. Filter was not really dirty.
3. Filter was easy as hell to clean with brake cleaner.
4. Using a magnetic drain bolt, there was 2x more iron filings stuck on the drain bolt than normal.

I don't know if the increased iron filings is due to the oil filter letting those micro sized filings pass through or if the MOTUL Oil is shitty in lubrication. But there was extra filings found...they are the normal size microscopic soup-like filings that you find in any engine. Not big chunks. I guess that is a good thing that the filter is letting it pass to the magnet so more of the filings don't get recirculated.

As for performance, initial lower temps went away pretty quick and the car went back to previous pre-Motul and pre-KP stainless Oil Filter status.

Video removal of the filter coming soon. I have project deadlines so hang tight.
Glad you came in with an update after a few K, appreciate it. Unfortunately I think this is what a lot of us feared though - no real cooling gain because the filter probably isn't a restriction. Times like this I really wish Tony or another engine builder was around to comment but oh well. My guess is we'd need a higher flowing oil pump or something along those lines to really take advantage of something like this.

Was the magnetic drain Bolt installed at the same time as the filter? I think it'd be pretty reasonable to assume any engine will have more metal flakes as the mileage gets higher, but I didn't even think about the filter possibly being the cause of them and I definitely don't think it maybe allowing more through to be caught by the magnet is a good thing tbh - you want that shit caught in as many locations as it can be imo, rather than cycling through the engine till they hit a magnet.

Gotta agree with @fmorelli about the Motul too - it's widely regarded by both professionals and hobbiests as the best around. It almost certainly didn't contribute to more flakes being caught. Will you be doing an oil change with more motul again? I am curious to see if the claims of their oil dropping temps after a fresh install could (anecdotally) be proven in this case at least.
 
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matreyia

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I know for a fact that the filter does let oil flow extremely quick on startup and that contributes to the substantially longer warm up drive time. Previously I could get it up to operating temps of 160f in five minutes. Now it needs double that time to warm up. But once warmed up, it's pretty much identical in nominal temps as before the filter.

The magnetic bolt was installed in 2013 from Dimple - it is rock solid, unlike the cheap ECS Tuning versions.
It has done its job consistently and collected filings every oil change. Nothing new, but this time, for whatever reason, most likely the stainless steel filter is letting more filings reach the drain and not stuck in the filter element like the previous paper element...that would be my guess.

Next oil change will be with Motul again, but will switch back to paper BMW filter to see if the iron filings decrease. If it does decrease, then I will judge the stainless steel filter a failure in regards to that filing situation and I will return to tradition paper filters.

If the genuine bmw paper filter still gives rise to double the iron filings - then we can assume that the oil is causing more filings - professional or hobbyist endorsements be damned. But I doubt that it is the oil as you and fmorelli have said.

Normally, an oil change at 3k miles would yield a little more blackness in the oil with BMW synthetic. Don't get me wrong, the oil had a change in color...but not like the BMW oil previously. I suppose it helps that I have kept this engine spotless inside because I flush every two oil changes with Liquimolly Engine Flush. Same thing with transmission fluid and steering, brake fluids.
 
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matreyia

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Here is the playlist of to see for yourself the state of the filter after 3k miles.
As promised. Stay tuned for the next oil change with Motul and we will see if the iron filings are still double the previous amount with paper filter.

 
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