Anatomy of an oil filter, SuperTech ST7317

[Stoutman]

I've seen some posts dissing the Supertech oil filter, so I decided to tear a new one apart for my own peace of mind. What I found was a surprisingly good filter for the $2.29 you pay at Walmart. This filter has all of the right parts in a well made package. See the pictures below for details.

 

What you get for you money:

• A good anti-drain back valve. This is important in our bikes for two reasons: one, the filter is mounted horizontally. If the anti-drain back valve fails then dirty oil can leak back into the crankcase. Second, if the oil drains out of the filter then the engine oil pump has to fill the filter before it starts pumping oil to the engine at startup. The anti-drain back valve in the ST7317 was well made of a flexible nitrile material.
  
• The paper filter element had 43 pleats that were evenly distributed, except where the seam was. This gives about 86 square inches of filter material. For a comparison to other filters check out this link http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Filters.html#OilFilters
  
• The top and bottom of the filter element are metal. The filter element was sealed and glued at both ends. I've heard some manufacturers use a paper end on the filter element. I guess this is OK if you have a good bypass valve arrangement. This filter needs the metal end for the bypass valve to seal to.
  
• The filter I opened had a very normal coil spring bypass valve on the top of the filter element. This is more than adequate to protect your engine from lack of lubrication in the event of a clogged filter. By the way, if this feature gets used frequently in your oil filter you need to either let your bike warm up longer before you redline it, or change your oil more often.
  
• The filter gasket was smooth with no defects.

So here is my challenge: if you have a different filter you like, tear it up and post some pictures. Lets see how they stack up.

[Wrongway]

Thanks for doing that. I've been using the ST filter for years, nice to know they are still decent filters.

[Guest JGorom]

Yes thanks Stoutman...I was about to return my SuperTech and Bosch filters until I read the article was dated...and then saw and read the results of your breakdown.

 

Later...

[juggler]

Great post and write up. Now Black Owl needs to do the same thing for used oil filters. The post would be called Oil Filter Autopsy Files. For those that don't know this is something the he does professionally.

[Snarley Bill]

this is great info .there are so many wives tales out there about oil and filters.which surprises me with the info available on the net.like the clutch slippage issue,and friction modifiers.won't go into that one.i have done research on oil for the last forty years.and until recently it was one of the best kept secrets.now there is vast info available on oil and filters.get out there and read it.don't listen to just anybody that forms an uneducated opinion.bill

[Stoutman]

Thanks for the kudos, although I did it for my own piece of mind because I have used these things on virtually all my vehicles. I used to take used oil filters apart everytime I changed the oil to inspect for metal particles and crud, but that was back when I was servicing general aviation aircraft and had access to all the tools and inspection aids.

 

I'm sure it's not related, but I went to Walmart this morning to replace my filter and THEY WERE OUT OF STOCK! The price has come down since I was there last. They are now $2.09. Such a deal.

 

By the way, I took apart a Micro Gaurd (O'Reilly auto parts brand) filter that I didn't need any more. It was equally well made. The anti-drain back valve had a little flash on the edges, and the bypass valve was a different design, but it also was a quality product. It was for a car (I no longer own) so it had a bit more filter area, but other than that it was comparable to the SuperTech.

[Snarley Bill]

Thanks for the kudos, although I did it for my own piece of mind because I have used these things on virtually all my vehicles. I used to take used oil filters apart everytime I changed the oil to inspect for metal particles and crud, but that was back when I was servicing general aviation aircraft and had access to all the tools and inspection aids.

 

I'm sure it's not related, but I went to Walmart this morning to replace my filter and THEY WERE OUT OF STOCK! The price has come down since I was there last. They are now $2.09. Such a deal.

 

By the way, I took apart a Micro Gaurd (O'Reilly auto parts brand) filter that I didn't need any more. It was equally well made. The anti-drain back valve had a little flash on the edges, and the bypass valve was a different design, but it also was a quality product. It was for a car (I no longer own) so it had a bit more filter area, but other than that it was comparable to the SuperTech.

looks like the super tech may be a little longer also,i've been using k&n filters $11.00 a whack.going to switch to the super tech.bill