O E M

 

anyone installed a Canton filter?

 

Lemme ask you all this. What is the shelf life of a fuel filter? If your car just sat, would your fuel filter go bad eventually? or is it stictly miles that does it in with time being irrelevant.

Thx

 

I imagine it would go bad after a few years. I think the stock filter has a paper or paper-like element. It doesn't seem like that would last forever. But I don't know for sure.

That is a strange question. If it's been a few years it is probably a good idea to replace the filter even if the car has been sitting. Now that we all know the part number for the Purolator filter, I don't see any reason not to change it. Well, beside the fact that it is a big PITA. But if you are driving your car hard or you just want to be a good owner and keep on top of the maintenance, it just goes with the territory.

-Max

 

Echoing RXJoey, so what then, is the mileage life of a fuel filter? I mean when should I change mine again? I just changed mine about 4K miles ago... I just don't wanna do it again anytime soon

 

Service manual says every 30K, so change it every 15K or once a year. At least.

 

^^ Aaaargh... that soon huh? I suppose... But then again, I only drive mine in summers, and probably put 3K miles a year, so I might change it every other.

 

Maybe I'm a dumbshit but if the factory service manual says every 30K why does it somehow become necessary to change it twice as often??? That's ridiculous. If you can clog up a stock filter in 15K you have problems that are no fault of the filter...

 

I don't know, the FSM says to change spark plugs every 30k too... I don't know about you, but I've never made it more than 12-15k on a set of plugs.

 

I'll have to check my records but safe to say I've put over 65,000 miles on this car and this is the third set of plugs in it. In fact the current set went in when I replaced the motor so they have over 30K on them. I'm sure I'll notice the idle smooth out a little when I replace them but I find that as often as I beat on the car the plugs hold up very well. The electrodes wear eventually but I have never actually fouled plugs.

I use stock plugs and wires.

 

Wow, even when my car was on the stock ecu running 10 psi, I never got more than 15k out of a set before they were noticeably worn -- this is on stockers. I've been running 9s at all four at higher boost with the PFC and the wear rate seems similar -- no fouling, just electrode being worn down.

As far as the fuel filter goes, you are running at 10 psi with only a few mods....when you are running 15 psi with several mods, you are running a lot more fuel through that little filter. It only stands to reason that they aren't going to last for the normal service interval.

I still think changing it every year with low mileage is a bit excessive though. Then again, we have owners that change their oil every 1000 miles too, so....

 

That's my point. It's psychological only, not a requirement.

 

DamonB, you know that this is the same size fuel filter used in the Miata, correct? While it will probably last for 30k miles in 'normal' driving conditions, a clogged filter can cause your car to run lean, and that's just more of a risk most people would like to take.


They're pretty cheap to replace, and not THAT hard to get to. The Purolator filter cost me ~$30, and it took me about an hour to remove & replace. (I spend about 20-30 minutes on an oil change, if that's any indication of my shadetree mechanic skills)


If you're the kind of person who waxes your car once every year, there is no reason you shouldn't replace your fuel filter every 15-20k also.

-s-

 

The service manual states mileage or time interval. I would follow the severe duty cycle, be it miles or months. To a car company, their is no such thing as the 'perfect world" normal duty ... and I don't think any of us drive these cars close to normal. While the filter does not care less about stress cycles, the engine is very particular about fuel delivery rate.. I would not risk leaning out the engine trying to save $30 a year. I drive my car about 1000 mile per year if that and change filter about once year. I want to know that my filter is functional, no clogged with dirt or varnish. Sitting gas will precipitate out varnish that is great at clogging filters.

 

If u do a relocation why don't u upgrade to the K&N billet fuel filter.

High flowing and filters out something like 20 microns, more than u need.

To clean it, just reverse flow on a faucet.

The filter media is stainless steel.

These filters are discontinued and hard to find.

 

Running the fuel level low can cause a fuel problems as well. To be safe should we go ahead and fill the tank when it is still 1/2 full?

I'll cut my fuel filter open when I change it. I daily drive my car and also race 20+ times a year so I would think there aren't many who have run more tanks of fuel through the car or beat on it as hard or as often as I have. I'll let the filter media tell the story...

 

I am curious now... ^^^ Please keep us posted on what you find. If it's relatively clean, then that means I'm not changing mine for a while. It's still a PITA to get to. When are you changing yours, Damon?