WIX Filters shared information on filtration maintenance and filter composition with more than 20 technician educators at the Mooresville, N.C., campus of NASCAR Technical Institute (NASCAR Tech), a division of Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (UTI), as part of the company’s alliance in education with NASCAR Tech and UTI campuses nationwide.
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The training session, led by WIX’s manager of technical services and customer training Paul Bandoly, covered the importance of filtration maintenance and service, along with technical information on the composition of multiple types of filters.
Bandoly reminded technician educators of two critical terms in filtration – efficiency and capacity: efficiency is the term used to describe a filter’s ability to filter micron-sized contaminants, particles smaller than white blood cells; capacity is the amount of contaminant that a filter will hold. For example, once an oil filter has reached its maximum level of capacity, the oil will no longer be filtered, according to WIX.
“Taking a dirty air filter out and banging it on a bumper won’t do anything but damage the filter,” Bandoly told attendees. “You’re only removing the dirt on the outside when you blow compressed air or try to clean an air filter in another manner; you’re not removing the micron-sized contaminants trapped in the filter media.”
Bandoly fields hundreds of questions from installers and car enthusiasts, many of which cover the installation of filters. He offered the instructors of a few tips, including the importance of following installation directions and how to properly tighten spin-on oil filters.
“The most efficient tool to add to your toolbox for ensuring a spin-on oil filter is tightened properly is a silver Sharpie®,” recommends Bandoly. “Spin the oil filter on the engine until gasket contact; then mark the filter at 12 o'clock with a Sharpie and finish tightening per the filter's instructions. With the mark, you know exactly how far you've turned the filter thereby helping to prevent over tightening or under tightening."
Technicians should only use replacement filters for applications recommended by the manufacturer and never try to make a filter work for an application for which it is not designed. This is important because today’s filters are engineered specifically for each application and are changing as fast as engine designs, such as the return of the cartridge style oil filter.
“Two generations of technicians have never seen or touched a cartridge style oil filter, which are making a strong comeback on domestic and foreign nameplate models, including Ford, Toyota, Volvo, BMW and Mercedes,” Bandoly says. “The most important thing to remember when conducting filter maintenance is – if the manufacturer put parts, like o-rings and instructions, in the box, use them. They are in the box for a reason.”
