K&P SS Mesh Oil Filter

I have been toying with the idea about getting a mesh filter for a while now, and this past week finally decided to try it. This model, S16 works with the LN Engineering Spin On Adapter and will make keeping tabs on engine conditions very easy with its washable SS element and imbedded magnet. Additionally it is a beautiful piece of engineering and I almost want to order another to keep on my desk and play with. Good to see such a nice piece of kit is "Made in the USA" One immediate benefit I am hoping for is to see oil pressure back to the max 5 bar upon start up which is not happening with the current K&N filter in place. Plan on installing this weekend.

How do you "clean" these washable filters? Seems like it would be a huge pain in the ***?

Quickest way is put some gas/kerosene in a container and soak the filter. Any particles caught in the mesh will be at the bottom of the container. I plan to also use some dish detergent and a soft tooth brush. Either would allow thorough visual inspection and can be done while letting the oil drain.

If you were not seeing your oil pressure up to max 5 bar upon start up. Then I cannot see any filter in the world correcting that fault. You might be wiser spending your cash on fixing that problem first.

This seems to be really small for an oil filter, much smaller than the factory filter element. What prompted you to move away from the factory filter housing and element? This filter is not even designed for our cars, just a 3rd party "high performance" filter. For $200 (only price I found for this filter model) you can buy 20 regular oil filters, I am sure that will last a lifetime of use, and no kerosene needed. Or perhaps I am missing something about this?

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Essentially, this is that fix. The reduced pressure was a result of switching to the LN Spin On adapter and using spin on filters. First I tried the Napa Gold as recommended by LN and max pressure was around 4.5, K&N upped that to 4.75 so my hope is this, with its much higher flow rate, will max at 5 again. I was never comfortable with the idea of a plastic housing on such a crucial (and vulnerable) part of the car. Stress fractures, heat cycles, and possible damage by road debris were the primary motivators to ditch that. It is about 1/2 the size due to height restrictions from the adapter. The original was designed for 30,000 mile intervals. Since my oil never goes past 5,000 I am not worried about exceeding the filtering capacity. True, it was not designed by Porsche, but its worth noting that LN also offers a SS mesh filter which it recommends for tracked cars due to better flow rates Cost was $160, so I agree not cheap. But, neither is the oil that goes in and most seem to agree with spending the extra $ for that

Nice idea, and I agree with you, personally. I've been using the L&N spin-on since I got the car in 2008, because I understood the stock housing/filter arrangement to always have a bypass path open, whereas the adapter plus the recommended Mobil1/Napa Gold/L&N filters provide 100% filtration and only bypass on high back pressure due to clogging. I have full 5 bars with the Mobil 1 filter, BTW, and always have. It will make inspection for debris a lot easier of course. I see the K&N has a removeable/cleanable bypass valve, and I really like the 2 neodium magnets built in, but doesn't list filtration size, but the K&P does, at 35micron. Nice..I like it. I'm seriously thinking about one too, now. Thanks for the post, and let us know your impressions after installation. I wonder what JRs take on this filter is...

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Interesting about the Mobile 1 filter. Supports my suspicion pressure is directly related to the filter. I checked out the LN Mesh filter, that lists a micron rating of 60 I believe. I guess this might benefit flow, but K&P rates flow at approx 7X a comparable paper filter so I cant see that being an issue. I'll keep this thread updated as to how its performing. Looking forward to installing this weekend, but will miss being able to look at it on my desk. Would make a pretty cool coffee mug...

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The plastic oil filter housing on my 02 Boxster is still going strong after 272K miles and some encounters with road debris. One took out a driver's side radiator. Others have punched holes in the panels under the car. I can't recall one poster here -- or elsewhere -- reporting any damage to the plastic filter housing from any road debris damage. I can't even recall one report of the thing failing.

Get outta here with that nonsense, Macster. This is a 911 forum, where everyone thinks changing your oil in 1000 mile intervals and doing unnecessary maintenance is required to make your car make it to that magical, unobtainable 100k miles on the odometer...

I recall at least 2 housing failures on forums, both from impact. Do you honestly think that an impact hard enough to punch a hole in an under panel or a rad, if in the right location could not take out the filter housing? Obviously it is pretty rare, far rarer than IMS failure, and I would think that a coolant hose has a higher liklihood of damage, so no, it's not a main reason for me, but an additional one. At $160 there is potential payback, or even reuse, and it has resale value, vs none whatsoever for disposable filters. But people will pay $30 for an orange rubber hose and a pole cap so their engine makes louder vroom vroom noises, or $300 for a set of switchable resistors withthe right connector so their gas pedal feels more active, and people think it's great. At least this is an upgrade with some sense behind it.

Perryinva you say :- He will most likely be very pissed that he didn't come up with the idea himself. BAD, TAG you say:- My opinion that's about as good as it gets. I have the cheapest filter on board. My oil pressure is on 5 max every time I start the car from cold. There is something else wrong with the engine if it doesn't reach 5 max pressure from a cold start. So drink coffee from your metal coffee pot and think again. You must have more money than common sense IMHO

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Hudri - The max oil pressure can be directly contributed to the spin on filter I have currently installed. This I know for sure. When I switched brands it increased, so all evidence points to max pressure being directly correlated to filter choice (other members & LN confirmed this as well) What isnt yet known it how the NEW filter will affect it, as it hasnt been installed yet. But at 7x the flow rate, I suspect it should make up the .25 bar of pressure I am missing along with all the other forementioned benefits. Point of this thread is simply to share first hand experience with what I find to be an intriguing concept. It sounds like your mind was made up long before, so your free to continue using the "cheapest filter"

Update: Filter installed and working as expected. Oil pressure is up and the gauge responds a bit quicker to revs as well. Real test will be in 5K at the next change. Will update when that occurs

Not sure about that oil pressure change. Does this filter and filter adapter have its own oil pressure relief and bypass? (In the picture you provided, what function does that spring have?) If so it could be routing unfiltered oil around the filter at cold start and that accounts for the oil pressure increase. The difference between 4.5 bar and 5.0 bar oil pressure at cold is inconsequential. What is the oil pressure when the oil is hot (up to temp hot) and say at 5K RPMs? The manual calls out this pressure. If the pressure is higher than it was with the other filter the new filter may not be filtering as well. Or the pressure relief -- if there is one -- is bypassing some oil around the filter.

I'm mildly amused at these parts. I swear, you can carve anything out of aluminum billet, and it's automatically so much better for your car than any old OE plastic. Although, i'm also not a subscriber to the 5k oil change interval.

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Macster - The spring goes in the bottom of the housing and provides pressure to the filter element to lock it into the housing. There is an internal bypass on the elements housing. I am not sure what pressure it takes to open, but from pressing on it, I can say it takes a fair amount with a highly calibrated thumb =) When up to temp at 3K revs and above pressure is just touching the 5, but that is due to the full filtration design of the LN adapter (verified with LN). Maybe JR can expand on the design aspects. jyoteen - the material is necessitated by the design. The element is threaded onto the adapter and is locked into the housing which is torqued. I dont think this could work with any type of plastic given the forces applied. Aluminum contruction has numerous benefits. Again, everyone is clearly free to make thier own choices, not suggesting every 996 needs one. I'm just sharing my experience

Similar discussion going on in this thread - https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...6&referrerid=0 Specifically the benefits of the LN Spin on adapter and cautions about the stock set up

Its been 5k miles since I installed the K&P filter and today I did an oil change. I tried to document as well as possible for anyone else who may consider this down the line. Initial inspection was good. No metal in element or on filter magnet. No plastic chunks from chain guides, just a few bits of "dirt" for lack of better term. The element cleaning went as follows: 1 - Cleaned in mason jar with some gas 2 - Cleaned with soft tooth brush and gas 3 - Wrapped in cloth and compressed air blown from inside out It came out great and I ran the used gas through a filter just to see what actually came out. Pics show before/after and what the paper filter caught from the gas. I'm quite happy with it and its nice not to have to cut an element or casing apart to do a thorough inspection

Hi BAD.TAG I have the same thing After installing LN SPIN-ON pressure dropped to 4.5 BAR when a cold engine. Filter K&P helped?

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It was a very marginal increase to around 4.75. (though sitting in traffic I have seen it breifly read 5 and then adjust so there are other variables than just filter flow rate). After speaking with LN and K&P, its fine that the pressure is normally around the 4.5 range as its a full filtration design on the adapter. The extra .25-.5 with the stock setup is in part due to the bypass. So dont get it strictly hoping for an increase in pressure, but if you want a filter that easy to inspect and will last the life of the car then its a great choice

Thank you for the info and the pictures!

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Joe, your welcome Just trying to help other who might be considering the option

Your oil pressure is also gonna vary depending on what oil you use.

Thanks for the reply. S16 comes without bypass ?