ops1 vs fs2500

The FS-2500 is 99.9% efficient on all particles from 3 to 50 microns in size.

The FS-2500 meters the flow of oil within the matrix of the element itself. The average flow rate throughout the life of the element (10,000 miles for Class 8 trucks) is 1.5 gallons per minute. This is very slow relative to what your oil pump is displacing, but fast enough to keep up with contaminant creation/ingestion. All the oil in your engine will move across the element in the FS-2500 8TIMES PER HOUR. That flow rate, coupled with 99% efficiency on all particles 3 microns and bigger, makes the FS-2500 a very effective tool for controlling all contamination that will fit between the moving parts in your engine and cause wear very quickly after they appear on the scene.

I put a tap and shutoff valve in my return line. When the oil is hot, I drain oil for 45 seconds, it returns 3/4 gal on a new filter. I keep the FS2500 on for 20000 miles and at that time it still returns 1 gal per minute.. The FS2500 flows much more oil than most bypass filters. Even with that flow there is no noticeable drop in pressure when installed. I have had 2 spinner systems, they also flow a lot of oil.

 

ok, I've been looking into installing one of these. This post has me somewhat confused as to whether they are worth the $$$ and if so, which one is best. I currently change my oil every 10,000-12,000 miles. I firmly believe in this and the inside of my motor shows it. Well at least from what I just saw doing an overhead. My cam is in excellent shape, no sludge buildup at all, when I do change the oil it is always so clean you can hardly see it on the stick and is just as clean 3000-4000 miles later. When I change it after 10,000 miles it is far from the black tar I've seen in so many motors. It is still somewhat transparent. I'm all about prolonging engine parts but not wasting $$$ on something I could live without. Am I better off just sticking to my scheduled oil changes? Will my motor benefit by adding one? Will my wallet?

 

What they said before. It doesn't matter which one you get, if it fits your budget and install capabilities, then get it. All of them work, some a tiny bit better than others but the results are way worth it.

 

I went with the FS2500. My buddy has been using it for years. Currently has 300k miles on his oil. Kinda funny when your oil sample is better after some miles than when it was fresh out the jug. I can't remember the exact figure, but damage causing particles are 7 micron? And the high pass filter isn't enough.

You could still run the bypass, and change say every 20k, and it's only going to cost you an extra filter. Plus it will filter out damage causing particles. Run some samples at 20k miles and they'll tell you your oil is fine. You'd only be changing it for that feel good feeling at that point.

Where's Cowpie1. He knows more about this stuff than I ever will.

 

Here's my last sample at 13k miles.

 

I don't have a problem doing that if it's cost effective and beneficial to the motor. As for the rest of the PM stuff, I lube everything myself anyway and change fuel filters too. The only reason for me to take it to a shop all the time is the oil change. Getting rid of 10 gallons of oil is no easy task for me. Changing a filter like the FS2500 and adding a gallon once a month is something I could do anywhere.
I think I'd still change it all once a year tho regardless of the reports.
What's the cost of the FS2500 and can it be bought locally anywhere or order online only?

 

As for the FS2500, they are located in Olathe, KS, just south of the Freightliner dealer. I had them install it. The setup itself and install was under a grand if I remember. You could vary easily install it yourself. I had them do it, because they are local for me and I'm lazy.

Very easy to swap filters. I just swap fuel and bypass filters on a thirty minute break on a schedule. I'm doing 10-20k. I do it when it's extremely convenient for me. My buddy will hit an off ramp the mile he hits 10k and swap it out right there. Granted he's got 300k and has a system. They recommend 10k. Then I'll take the truck in for a once a year change. Probably wouldn't need it, but that feel good feeling always insists.

Really cool thing I saw with these bypass filters was an oil pan filled and caked with sludge. They dropped the pan, measured the caked sludge depth, then reinstalled sludge intact pan and installed the bypass filter. Over time that bypass completely cleaned the motor.

Definitely cost effective and beneficial. Your filtering out smaller damage causing particles that are going right through the high flow filters. I sat down and talked with the guy at FS, and he told me about a meeting he had with Cat. They were trying to put together a production partnership, just like Davco fuel filters now. Cat flat out said, "If we wanted our motors to last longer, they would." There you have it. Planned obsoletism.

My buddy wasn't a believer for a while until his skepticism was proven wrong by a perfect oil sample report at 300k miles. I'm too scared to go more than 100k miles and am fine with a once a year PM, DOT.

 

Well, not sure the 10,00 mile oil change interval is all it is made out to be. I took a Cummins N-14 to 1.4 million then sold it, with no major engine repairs except 1 injector and an accessory drive seal. All the while getting 30,000 mile oil changes, using a Kendall 15w40 conventional oil, and NO bypass filter at all.

But, if you want to change your oil that often, then most likely you would not get any appreciable benefit from a bypass filter. My big question would be, why 10,000 mile oil changes? There is not an engine maker for quite a while, that has recommended oil changes that frequent except in only some rare cases. Even Cat recommends 25,000 mile oil changes on the C-15 unless it is regularly getting below 6 mpg, then the recommendation is 15,000 miles. Check it out in the cat lube manual, it is very clear.

Looks of an oil mean absolutely squat. My oil at 25,000 miles is quite black. But the oil test samples I send in when I change the oil shows the soot level is still below 1%. The soot level peak specified by the OEM is 4.5% max. And there is a lot more to knowing if an oil is holding up. Is the viscosity changing? Is there fuel dilution? What are the wear metal levels, and in what proportion to each other? Is nitration or oxidation becoming an issue? etc. You may not show any sludge on the top, and that is good, but I would expect that changing oil as often as you do. I show no sludge anywhere also, and I am doing 25,000 mile oil changes on my present engine.

You do the math. Will your wallet benefit? I would say yes, even without a bypass filter, just by following the OEM recommended drain intervals. They built the engine, they tested it, they might have an idea what they are talking about. If you just doubled your drain interval you are doing now, you would still not reach the recommended oil change interval from the OEM. 1/2 as many oil changes in a year? That wouldn't benefit your wallet? And this is not even talking about using a bypass filter!

 

Here I is! I have found by running the FS2500 on two trucks now, that the filters are easily double the life of what FS recommends. I change my oil at either 25,000 miles or 500 hrs, whichever is first. I use only one FS filter in that time frame. FS recommends changing every 10,000 miles. My soot levels are still below 1% even using the same filter over an entire oil change interval.

Give it a try if you haven't already and see if going longer on your FS filter won't work.

I do a oil change when I do, 25,000 miles or 500 hrs, for a number of reasons. Detroit recommended 15,000 or 300 hrs on my pre-egr 60, so that was my starting point. I worked it up a little each time and ran samples at each oil change. When I got to 25,000 / 500 hrs, the oil was still fine and nothing major was going wrong, but the various wear numbers, oil viscosity, etc started to vary from the trend line enough that I determined my comfort zone was being reached. Oil sample results are as much an art form as they are a science. The trend line is the key. Patterns are the major factor. I would have regular increases in wear numbers as I extended oil change intervals, but following the same pattern, then I got a faster increase once I reached 25,000 miles. Still far from critical or even a concern as compared to the OEM charts, but the trend line changed. So that is my oil change limit. Each engine is different, and a oil change interval has to be worked out on each one.

Those that can go to extreme lengths before changing their oil, my hat is off to them. I could go longer before any limits are reached, but it is the trend line and pattern that I watch. If the trend line changes from the pattern, then something caused the change. If this repeats itself the next time, then it is predictable. And that is where I say time to change.

And I confirmed what this interval both by changing the FS filter at their recommended 10,000 miles, and not changing it till my oil change interval. The results were the same both ways. That is how I determined the FS filters are good for longer than recommended intervals.

 

Watch the viscosity if you extend the drains. A 15w40 has a viscosity rating of around 14.5. The viscosity on your sample report shows 13.6. Still good, but midway between a 15w40 and a 10w30. A 10w30 viscosity is 12.5. Some engines just plain beat the snot out of an oil. I had that problem with a Delo 15w40. My Series 60 would make Delo scream for mercy by 15,000 miles. I am using a Schaeffer 15w40 now, and the engine doesn't have a problem with it.

Each oil is different and how it is blended up is different. Viscosity improvers are used to make a multi vis oil like a 15w40, 5w40, 10w30, etc. Viscosity improvers are made by different companies. Some hold up better than others, depending on the engine. For the base viscosity of your oil to go from 14.5 to 13.6 is showing that the engine is beating up on your viscosity improvers. Nothing wrong with the engine, nothing wrong with the oil. Just watch it in the future. If it gets much worse, consider another oil and see what happens. Delvac is a good oil, but that doesn't mean it what you engine likes. Your report might be a fluke also. Just keep an eye on the viscosity next time. Everything else looks great!

Wish there had been a TBN level shown on the report to give a little better picture. That is a test one should have as part of an oil sample every time. TBN levels start out typically on a CJ-4 rated oil at around 10. How much it drops, and in what time frame, can tell lot about acid buildup in the oil. TBN is what controls acids that are generated by the engine combustion.