THE "FILTERED TRUTH" tech and pics : Ted Eaton

Little things are what add up , a horsepower here a couple more there next thing you know you have an engine that is above average.  To see this in full effect watch the Engine Masters Challenge , guys are fighting to squeeze the last drop from the required engine. Ted Eaton is one of staples of these horsepower challenges , consistently placing in the top finishers. So its a safe bet that when Ted builds his own engine for his personal car it will have all the tricks . Last installment we did on this engine we covered the intake manifold comparison . While this one is not a huge hp gain but it is a gain , and a four or five of these tricks and your FE is 20 hp up on your buddies. Big thanks to Ted for sharing these tests , check out his web site  from the link on our Builders & Manufactures Page.

For this test Ted compared two popular types of oil filters and what if any gains or losses there is to be found. Ted uses the Blue Thunder oil filter adapter , for its quality and free flowing characteristics.  First up is the  heavy duty, large capacity filter used on Caterpillar 3208 diesel engine. Wix company makes a high quality replacement part number 51268R.  The second was a Wix replacement for the  factory style FL1A part number 51515R.  The result of the dyno test was that the FL1A  replacement showed a peak gain of 3.3 hp, with gains from 3900-6200 in the 1-3 hp range over the Caterpillar style .  Not an expensive way to grab some extra horsepower when your are changing your oil. Ted is very thorough on his testing and research so these are solid numbers .  Check out the dyno sheets and see the proof that's in the pudding, and that is the "Filtered Truth"

Post script:  There will be an addendum to this article as to the reasons of the difference , stay tuned .

FL1A Replacement 

Cat 3208 Replacement