oil filter change rant

[SgtBaker]

Oh, and it was lighter than the cast aluminum covers.
CZ

That is why it worked better.

Steel is three times more dense than aluminum. If the steel cover is lighter it is because it contains at least three times less material than the aluminum cover. Such a thin piece of steel would have a higher temperature gradient between the two sides, increasing the rate of thermal conductivity, or as you stated, have "fewer molecules for the excitation to travel through with the steel." It would also store less heat than the aluminum due to steel's lower specific heat. Hence the steel cover would be fully capable of compensating for its disadvantageous thermal conductivity by being made of less material.

This goes back to the point I was trying to make, which is that more mass does not create a better heat sink.


Choice of material, mass, and surface area are three areas of consideration when dealing with heat transfer. Weighing all the variables, it would seem necessary to conduct an experiment or gather a general consensus from those who have used both oil filter systems to come to a meaningful conclusion regarding heat transfer properties of each one.

My hunch is that the stock system is better at dissipating heat, but that the difference is negligible. A thin aluminum housing with cooling fins and a lot of surface area seems like a perfectly legitimate oil filter system.

[skids]

(snip) it would seem necessary to conduct an experiment or gather a general consensus from those who have used both oil filter systems to come to a meaningful conclusion regarding heat transfer properties of each one.(snip)

True, but in the big picture, I'll just bet that the oil temperature at equilibrium is the same when comparing the units.

[je2wheeler]

Back in the day - there was JC Whitney

JC Whitney is still with us but you just don't see the wild, obscure and off the wall items today.
In the mid seventies, I found an aforementioned spin on adapter for the Honda 750. It came with a threaded bike to filter steel pipe, adapter plate, o-ring (same as stock) and some never seen before or since filter that did crossover name brand filters.
There was also a spring adjusted aluminum finned gadget available that slipped on the spin-on for extra cooling.
What I found was to screw on the filter hard enough to fully engage the o-ring was iffy at best. Sometimes the o-ring would leak and not at first.
The finned gadget came up missing one day. Don't know if it jumped ship or was just too tempting for a passer-by.
Just the same, after the o-ring leaked the second time, I went back to the stock filter.
I regained my peace of mind.