I stick a strong magnet to the outside of my oil filter. All the benefits with no risk and no need to clean it either, just take it off and plonk it on the new filter when servicing.
Got something called filtermag for free when I bought a new oil filter. It's a quite large powerful magnet that covers 1/3 of the outside of the filter without being an eyesore. Works great.
Once I learned how to do maintenance on my own truck, I started using magnetic plugs on everything. Truck, motorcycle, lawn mower. It was particularly helpful on my truck with the transmission, transfercase, and differentials. I always take photos of what they look like and note interval miles. So I have a very good baseline of what normal is. That way when something doesn’t look “normal” I know to investigate for trouble.
Why would you take pics? Either the oil comes out "clean" (few to any particles) or full of specks. You only have to worry if it comes out "glittery" so what does a picture do?
When I put my magnetuc drain plug on, I looked at it as more of a visual indicator. That way if I get particles bigger than the typical "fuzz" then I know there's something that needs to be addressed. I didn't know they offered the filter magnet though, that's pretty neat.
I added a magnetic "Gold Plug" to my Grom since it only has a screen and an oil 'spinner'. I'm confident that it will make no difference in my life, other than bringing me great satisfaction each time I wipe away the buildup of ferrous sludge. Money well spent 👍🏻
Oil filter rings will catch more than a drain plug, as they are usually a lot stronger magnets, and more surface area............but if they fall off before you change the filter, you have a massive amount of ferrous material going through all at once. Just be careful which you pick, and if the filter one, make sure it fits tight and no chance of coming off until YOU remove it.
@@camerond8176 I don’t see how it would be possible for the donut type to fall off as they are held in place by the port that the filter either screws onto or pushes over depending wether it is a screw on or cartridge.
@@mmaaddict78 - And restricting oil flow while it does(I don't recommend this magnet at all) I don't want anything inside the engine or in the oil flows path that wasn't designed by the manufacture to be there......................What I am referring to magnets that you see clamp around the outside of the filter like seen on cars and large fleet trucks.
You've run out of things to buy for your R1? Have you ever thought of buying it a companion R1?? You selfish fool, you're not the only one who wants a partner in life! Shame on you, get your ass to the Yamaha bike configurator right now and do what you should've done long ago, so that your R1 can finally be truly happy! Jesus... some people nowadays... 🙄
I've watched countless of these type of videos, but being a mechanic and enthusiast for over 15 years, I don't usually learn something from it. but I have never heard of a donut magnet on the filter! I've seen people just attach a few magnets to the outside of the filter though, pretty much the same thing, but could possibly come off.
Not gonna lie, you had me a little worried 😅 I’ve been running magnetic plugs on mine and my wife gsxr750’s for years and now on our z125’s, so I’m glad to see this is Ari approved! ✅ 😉
BMW supplied a magnetic drain plug with my G310GS. I was shocked at the initial 600 mile service when I drained the oil and there was essentially no particles adhering to the magnet - certainly no chips. There was a very thin film of particles that were individually too small to see. I remember Fortnine doing a video about debris in break-in oil as a measure of engine build quality. On my pickup truck, I stick two large rare earth magnets on the outside of the filter to trap magnetic particles inside the filter. I never cut the filters open to examine them (as I did with my airplane) so I never knew if my truck engine was "making metal". It's a Toyota and I use full synthetic oil, so presumably not.
That wasn't really the point of the Fortnine video. Their point was more that the break in period for Italian bikes is real, but doesn't matter much for most other brands.
So can the oil filter, you can still get unlucky if you have both, although if you have a large chunk of metal in your oil, it has already gone bad, very bad.
I’ve used the VERY strong rare earth magnets from old computer hard drives for years. I’ve just slapped two or three on the outside of my oil filter. I honestly have no idea if they are helping but it amuses me to think so, there is zero downside , zero cleanup and they swap to the new oil filleted on every change. Open to thoughts and suggestions, thanx to SM for letting me know there is an internal ring magnet as an option as well!
One thing to note: For many bikes (maybe all bikes ??), the oil pump is 'before' the filter. Have a magnetic plug to help gather larger chunks that would be caught by the filter anyway, before they get into the oil pump, would be a plus
I'm surprised this guy didn't talk about high temperatures, which can de-magnetize some magnet types. Some of the strongest magnet materials can lose their efficacy after being subjected to the high heat conditions of motor oil.
The thing that really convinced me to start using magnetic plugs was that they are required in air crafts and are used heavily in the professional trucking industry. Look at where peoples lives are dependent on engine performance. consumer manufacturers will never give us a product to last forever.
Never heard of putting a magnet on the inside of an oil filter? I'm pretty old and have been around engines my whole life. Magnets are soft...but....I've plenty heard of putting a magnet on the OUTSIDE of an oil filter. When you say "down the center" .....I'm assuming you mean the inside of the oil filter.
I've always used them in bikes that didn't have a filter. My two-stroke dirt bikes don't have filters on the gearbox oil so it always made sense to me in that application.
Yes they work but what alot of people forget is most 4 stroke motorcycles have other magnets already inside the engine, very strong ones. Most bikes have a oil cooled stator surrounded by a flywheel containing a large number of very strong rare earth magnets. Some bikes have a oil bleed off the crankshaft that keeps quite a significant amount of oil spraying across it. Some have dry stators and run magnetic drain plugs. I have seen high mileage bikes with customer installed magnetic drain plugs come out pretty clean only to pull the stator cover to find a alarming 1/32"-1/16" coating of powdered metal dust adhering to the flywheel magnets. Most look black till you wipe with a rag and suddenly it's silver. I have also seen a magnetic drain plug find a piece of broken roll pin in a fairly new Suzuki Hayabusa during a oil change
The round filter magnet looks like it may be partially restricting oil flow. But I do agree with the theory of a magnet on the filter. They make ones that go around the outside of the filter. I use magnets out of old harddrives stuck to the outside of the filters on all my equipment.
I don't normally jump into these things but. I have a 2010 CVo street glide and I have run a filter magnet and mag drain plugs since new, I only use K&N oil filters and AMs oil and have 276,000 trouble-free miles on it. and that's changing the oil every 7500 to 10,000 miles. So for me its just cheap insurance and one of those things that cant hurt
One thing you want to be careful with installing a different drain plug in general is the height of the bolt head of the drain plug. Depending on the bike you don't want the bolt head part taller than your stock one. Like on my DR650 if you get a taller plug it sticks out past the skidplate and if you go over and rocks you may bus it off and have a bad day.
A magnetic drain plug is not for removing small particles from oil. They are for detecting the onset of excessive wear when you see larger chunks that are symptomatic of a larger problem that can be corrected before catastrophic engine failure. The correct nomenclature is “chip collector” to detect large chips being shed from the bearings. They have been used on aircraft engines and heavy machinery for about 100 years.
Not removing small particles? Then what's the sludge on the plug? It certainly doesn't appear out of thin air. As for large chunks, by the time you see anything identifiable as a chunk (or chip), you're already in trouble. I have seen old machining swarth (similar to the stuff we used for the thumbnail photo) appear in the oil screen, but I'm pretty sure that was just left over from assembly.
@@AriH211 I never said they won’t remove small particles! I said their main purpose is for detecting a greater problem manifesting itself in the engine.
There are published charts in the aviation industry that show what types of particles to be worried about and what sizes you just wipe off and don’t worry about. It’s mostly common sense though. Your filter will take care of most of the fine particles, the big bearing chunks tend to sink to the bottom of the crank case. Not worried about that small fuzz unless it is an excessive amount.
It really helps if you do an oil analysis when trying to answer this question: The Fe content of an oil drops by ~50% just by using a magnetic sump plug. Iron is a major oil contaminant in most engines... so removing it will reduce wear and extend the life of your engine oil: The additives in particular will last longer You might be able to remove a little bit more ferrous metal (iron/nickel/cobalt) if you use a bigger or stronger magnet e.g. Oil filter magnet. If you listen carefully you can also hear the difference when using a magnet: The engine is slightly quieter. The reduction in noise is due to less circulating particles. Less noise = more power (less friction) 🙂
Another bonus is that it may catch a large chunks or a screw that's come loose before it causes a ton of damage and it lets you see these big pieces instead of just washing them away. Found bits of circlip on the magnetic drainplug of a dr650 which alerted us to a bigger problem. Ended up having several transmission gears replaced under warranty by showing them the pieces that had been collected on the magnetic plug. Would've been so easy to to just drain those little bits out and we never would've noticed.
Buy a small neodymium magnet and attach it to your oil filter. When you change the oil, move the magnet to the new filter. The magnet shouldn't fall off your filter, but if you're worried you can tape it to your filter.
Funny because both my 1982 Suzuki GS750E and 2004 GSX750F came factory with magnetic drain plugs. I simply replaced the gaskets every couple years, wiped off the magnet and put it back in. Something about small high revving 4 cylinder motors..............makes a magnetic drain plug make sense.
I've been using Magnetic Drain Plugs as well as PC Racing Billet Aluminum Re-Usable Oil Filters that have a magnetic built into them since 2010. Very happy with them..
Not only that, but at least one of the magnets/screens are at the very start of the oil circuit...not just randomly sitting at the bottom of the engine case/sump.
Kinda funny, just made my oil change on a Yamaha XJ750 Mid-Max 1983 and found out some sludge on my magnetic drainplug from factory. Got scared and made a compression test without having any issues. You just secured what i thought that it was normal wear. thank you !
I think it's a nice indicator to have. What if you remove the oil plug and you see a ton of metal filings and bigger pieces of metal, then you know something has happened. Easier than looking through the used oil. It also helps prevent keep any metal to reach the oil pump and oil filter, prolonging their lives.
I always put strong magnets on my spin on oil filter. I guess it is effective judging by the video but I did notice when it came time to change my oil, the oil still looked to be a good amber color
yeah, that's not the magnets... :) just proper oil and proper engine temp. i opened filters that had v strong magnets, and there's minimal dirt collected. same with the drain plug... i've never observed as much dirt as shown in the video.
It makes sense to use this on motorcycles! Fair enough car engines are mostly aluminium with aluminium pistons, gearbox’s usually have a magnetic sump plug therefore would make sense to use it on bikes because bikes transmission and engine share the same oil
Two weeks ago I had an expensive PSR predrilled drain plug fail and lose the magnet in my track bike after 220 miles between changes. Thankfully I was able to retrieve it by running a strong magnet along the bottom of the oil pan. Never again!
I do not like bikes but I am a car guy who works as a mechanic. Most automatic transmissions I have seen have a magnet on the bottom of the pan from factory. I bought a few really powerful magnets and have put them on my oil filter, diffs, transmission pan, and oil drain plug. After some time you WILL notice how much crud these things will pick up. The main thing is proper maintenance and regular oil changes, the magnets are a bonus not an excuse to run your oil longer.
Manufacturers don't include magnetic drain plugs because the company is on the hook through the warranty period only, and (of course) because the magnets are an unnecessary extra cost. Of course motorcycles typically don't fall apart as soon as the warranty expires and the additional protection of an oil plug magnet won't make much difference during the early warranty period, but additional protection really comes into play with long-term ownership. Bottom line: nobody has yet proven the use of magnets actually prolongs the life of their engine, but it sure can't hurt. I use magnets on my canister filters as well -- the goop immediately disappeared from the magnetic drain plug as soon as I started using filter magnets, so I know they are doing something! Thanks for the video.
All older Grom, Monkey as well as current C125, CT125 and most small air-cooled 125cc bikes only have inefficient centrifugal filters. There magnetic plugs really come in handy. In the small Honda's, the drain plug is also right before the oil pump as these bikes have very shallow sumps.
I am thinking about making my own magnetic drain plug by gluing magnet(s) to an existing plug. Actually, gluing 3 or 4 to extend the side area & height exposure and thus, pull/attraction. Questions: 1. Would the greater area/exposure of a multi magnetic stack be more effective than a single magnet? 2. Is using an earth magnet better than a regular magnet because it is stronger and has more pull? 3. Will Epoxy Glue be a strong enough adhesive? If not, what would be better? 4.Should I rough up the surfaces of the plug and magnet(s) to facilitate better adhesive grab?
A couple of tips not mentioned......one can put a magnet on your oem drain plug on the outside...or attach the magnet on your oil drain pan close to the drain plug or plugs. Remove magnet or magnets just before you drain your oil during an oil change....and the metal particulates (Unless you have a Yamaha or Honda engine) will flow out of the drain holes as your oil is draining during an oil change. You can also add a magnet on the outside of your oil filter. These outside magnets one can add have a stronger magnetic attraction...cheaper....and reusable...Therefore...overall....mo betta...
One issue that can come up with magnetic catchers is: if the blob on the end of the magnet comes loose, you now have a coherent lump of metal fragments floating around in the oil rather than individual particles in suspension. That _could_ block oilways or cause short-term starvation -- but I've never seen it happen myself.
My pops would always drop a big magnet at the bottom of the oil pan if it ever had to come off for any reason.. A crack, broken, stripped drain plug. I still do this with all my vehicles..
I have a Virago... Yamaha put a magnet literally right under the starter motor, to catch shavings from the gears that don't catch. My drain plug is a backup
Ah! Magnets! Can we also have a discussion between paper air filtes vs "high flow" air filters? How does it protects the engine and what are the long term effects!
High Flow K&N filters are the first thing all vehicles need. Yes they let tiny bits through that do not harm the engine. Those bits are burnt and spit out. Nevermind the BS from the want-a-be engineer/farmer dude's video. He's a idiot
Good topic. I've always said that the 'high flow air filters' allow the very fine particulate in. Sacrificing good filtering for added air flow for performance. In the end, your engine will wear faster with poor filtering and have less power. If manufacturers don't do it, there's probably a good reason.
It's my impression that stock paper filters lean towards better filtration and air flow comes secondary. Most high flow options tend to be the other way around. + you have oil filters, which I for one don't think very highly of (K&N, etc) There are also polyester filters which seem to offer a decent compromise. (Sprint) Now, from what I gather from previous searches, normal cellulose air filters should retain particles which are over 20 microns. The street oriented filters that Sprint produces for example, advertise 80 microns. But I don't really think the information I've managed to scrape up is extremely reliable. I for one will not put a sport filter on any of the bikes I'd like to keep for an extended period of time, there is little point in doing that to a flash tuned 200 hp bike, methinks. But would be nice to have solid data.
@@cruisingthethaiway6881 Pump the brakes buddy. The stuff I'm most worried about getting through my air filter is sand (silica), which doesn't even melt until 3,100 degrees. So saying it gets burned up isn't true, and saying it doesn't do damage definitely isn't true. Dirty air is going to drastically increase piston, piston ring, and cylinder wear, as well as contaminate your oil. The only thing you're right about is that hi-flow air filters sacrifice filtering capability for air flow, which is a compromise I'm only willing to make on my racebikes. All my street vehicles run OEM air filters because they offer the best filtration.
My bike is a Honda CN250 (Helix, giant scooter). The bike doesn't have a proper oil filter, just a little metal screen to catch very large particles. Based on this, I think adding a magnet to the system would be a good idea. Not to just figure out where to put it.... Edit: just finished the video and got to the part with the donut magnet. That seems perfect. Honda Helix seems like a perfect candidate for this.
I have a 2019 Suzuki GSXR-600 and it came with a magnetic drain plug from the factory, actually caught quite a few chunks of metal on it so glad it was there lmao
Just stick a strong magnet to your steel drain plug and make it magnetic. Plus it’s on the outside so nothing to break loose internally. I use the 3/4” neodymium magnets from Home Depot. Stacked 4 deep. It’s $10. I stick them to my car oil filter too.
Votex sells magnetic drain plugs made from stainless steel. While the drain plug sold on the link provided by this channel is aluminum because it is available in different anodized colors.
So actually I have run across a one motorcycle and several automotive engines and transmissions with magnets. Some of the applications with magnets were automotive manual transmissions without a filter, and several others were automotive automatic transmissions which did have a filter.
And the issue that everything that goes into the oil filter has already been through the oil pump. the oil pump is the first inline for the oil system and is ahead of the oil filter in the lube circuit. The sump plug magnet will prevent some metal from getting into the oil pump and damaging it
Exactly. It's a problem on old xt600's for example. The 5th gear pinion wears excessively and bits of it enter the oil pump, eventually causing oil pump failure and then engine failure.
I use a superstrong mad on the outside of filter. Nothing to clean, remove old filter, take off mag, place it on new filter, all the crud stays in the old filter.
The oil pick up screen works pretty well and if a piece of metal or shavings make its way into the sump, it sinks to the bottom and stays there. I bought a bike with a chipped shim bucket and found the chip in the sump just laying there and luckily didn't damage anything on its way down there.
I have a tip for everyone wanting a magnet plug. You know those old spinner hard drives that are now useless? Well as an I.T. tech I get them and i take them apart because inside is a powerfull little curved magnet attached to a weird metal bracket. You can use a flst head to carefully pry it up and off so you get a perfectly flat C shaped magnet. I got bunches of these so i put one on the back of the drain plug on my car and motorcycle. Also, i put one on the bottom of the trans case. All my plugs are steel so it sticks perfect and they are really strong so wind, water etc wont take it off. One time I was lazy and took my car for an oil change instead of doing it myself and the oil place stole it. 😆 Luckily i have like 5 or 6 laying around. This way you keep your original plug and magnetize it easy. I do like the ring magnet on the filter. Makes for sense. Maybe ill try one of those also.
My bike doesn't have a filter nor strainer, it has a screen with a little magnet attached to the drain plug, I'd clean up the screen and magnet every oil change, very convenient indeed
I go to harbor freight and buy a pack of neodymium magnets and place them in a pattern around the outside of twist on filters. Occasionally need to pull bits picked up from the road but normally I just need to move them from filter to filter.
I think it probably wouldn't make to much of a difference for most people if they have one or not, but if you're like me and plan to keep the same bike until you can't ride anymore, you might want to have one to give the engine the best chance at living a long life. If the 10 dollar drain plug adds a few thousand miles to the life of the engine, it's worth it to me.
My ducatis came with them from the factory and, apparently, they are referenced in the service manuals as a way to determine if the screens need to be checked as well.
How about just attaching a Neodymium magnet on the outside of the drain plug after you have tightened it up? The strong magnetism from the Neodymium magnet should transfer through the standard Steel drain plug and in turn make the steel drain plug magnetic through contact. If the neodymium magnet ever falls off ( which is very unlikely as they stick on very strong ) you could always buy another one and put it on there. Neodymium magnets are a few dollars each on eBay
Probably a good idea if you have a KTM. Since my 48hp NC700x takes about a gallon of oil for each change and ONLY MAKES 48hp. I'm thinking the tolerances are such that it doesn't matter and just the filter is enough. Also, Honda.
Just magnetise your OEM drain plug like how we magnetise our screwdrivers. The magnetise effect can last up to 2 months. I ride very often to work and so on so every time I change my oil I would redo the process. It takes 5 minutes and saves me the 30bucks and a potential breaking hazard. Of course if you do your oil change at a workshop it'll be a different story
@@AevenSong I don't doubt that you are correct but aren't the majority of bike drain plugs made of aluminum, the same as the cases? I have a Kawasaki Versys 650 and a Kawasaki Concours 14 and both have aluminum drain plugs. Readers please comment and state the bike you have and what the OEM drain plug is made of.
Speaking of particulates in the oil, can you go over oil drain intervals. Most sportbikes today recommend 8K mile intervals even with conventional oil, but I find that a bit long considering the oi is shared with the gearbox. Used oil analysis reports regularly show oil viscosity reduction as soon as 2500 miles ornso with conventional oils n
Do what your bike's owner manual recommends. The oil change interval listed there is a general average. If you stress the engine a lot by racing it the interval is shorter, if you mostly do long rides on country roads the interval can be much longer especially when using synthetic oil. It all depends on your bike, your riding, and the oil you're using. There is no general answer other than follow what the manual says. You can usually tell when it's time to change the oil by observing your engine and transmission. When your engine gets louder and the shifting feel changes it's high time to replace the oil.
I own an air cooled Porsche 911 that has two drain plugs, both magnetic. I also have a BMW R1250RS and that also came with one, but as Ari said, it's shaft drive.
Allot of the chunks found big enough to qualify as a piece of metal are usually aluminium fragments rendering magnets pointless. If steel is found in your sump. you need to deal with that issue before it becomes a terminal issue.
I think manufacturers don't fit them because; A, a few pennies over thousands of bikes adds up and B, the ware particles from those first 1000 or so miles would soon clog things up. Possibly resulting in the plug getting stuck in place. It's really something to fit after the first service.
!!GROM warning!! i got a grom magnetic oil plug from probolt which was longer than stock and had that longer thin magnet sticking out of it. Turns out, it put a hole right through the oil screen...so i had to get a new screen and go back to the stock bolt. (I was racing the grom and wanted a pre-drilled plug, but wound up having to drill my oem one since the nice one was too long). For most other bikes, that wont be a problem, this is likely just a grom thing.
Helicopters have a magnetic "collector" in all the gearboxes. Removing these and inspecting them for ANY metal particles is part of the pre-flight checklist for a reason.
Want to get a Magnetic Drain Plug? Use our Bike Finder to find the right one for your ride here: rvz.la/3yugchT
Nice to see you leave out 2t.
Very inclusive of all motorcycle enthusiasts 👍👍
@@John-ng1dy what is 2t
@@vca1988 2 stroke.
@@Damitsall that will work just as well
Can't do that. RevZilla won't ship to Europe so I have to settle with the videos.
I don't know about magnetic drain plugs but I do know that watching Ari in his shop is good for my bike's mental health.
Facts!!
lmao too true! Ari the bike whisperer
I stick a strong magnet to the outside of my oil filter. All the benefits with no risk and no need to clean it either, just take it off and plonk it on the new filter when servicing.
Yep!
Got something called filtermag for free when I bought a new oil filter. It's a quite large powerful magnet that covers 1/3 of the outside of the filter without being an eyesore. Works great.
Once I learned how to do maintenance on my own truck, I started using magnetic plugs on everything. Truck, motorcycle, lawn mower. It was particularly helpful on my truck with the transmission, transfercase, and differentials.
I always take photos of what they look like and note interval miles. So I have a very good baseline of what normal is. That way when something doesn’t look “normal” I know to investigate for trouble.
I take pics, too. 😀👍🏾
Why would you take pics? Either the oil comes out "clean" (few to any particles) or full of specks. You only have to worry if it comes out "glittery" so what does a picture do?
When I put my magnetuc drain plug on, I looked at it as more of a visual indicator. That way if I get particles bigger than the typical "fuzz" then I know there's something that needs to be addressed. I didn't know they offered the filter magnet though, that's pretty neat.
I think any small magnet from a hardware store will do. It doesn't have to be a specific magnet. Make sure it is neodymium though.
I added a magnetic "Gold Plug" to my Grom since it only has a screen and an oil 'spinner'. I'm confident that it will make no difference in my life, other than bringing me great satisfaction each time I wipe away the buildup of ferrous sludge. Money well spent 👍🏻
Thought I'd ran out of things to buy for the R1 - time to start researching magnetic oil filter rings!
Oil filter rings will catch more than a drain plug, as they are usually a lot stronger magnets, and more surface area............but if they fall off before you change the filter, you have a massive amount of ferrous material going through all at once. Just be careful which you pick, and if the filter one, make sure it fits tight and no chance of coming off until YOU remove it.
@@camerond8176 I don’t see how it would be possible for the donut type to fall off as they are held in place by the port that the filter either screws onto or pushes over depending wether it is a screw on or cartridge.
@@mmaaddict78 - And restricting oil flow while it does(I don't recommend this magnet at all) I don't want anything inside the engine or in the oil flows path that wasn't designed by the manufacture to be there......................What I am referring to magnets that you see clamp around the outside of the filter like seen on cars and large fleet trucks.
You've run out of things to buy for your R1? Have you ever thought of buying it a companion R1?? You selfish fool, you're not the only one who wants a partner in life!
Shame on you, get your ass to the Yamaha bike configurator right now and do what you should've done long ago, so that your R1 can finally be truly happy! Jesus... some people nowadays... 🙄
I've watched countless of these type of videos, but being a mechanic and enthusiast for over 15 years, I don't usually learn something from it. but I have never heard of a donut magnet on the filter! I've seen people just attach a few magnets to the outside of the filter though, pretty much the same thing, but could possibly come off.
mechanic sry not saying you arent but that word is used by every single person that can turn a wrench now days certified ?
@@bryansullivan9588 am I supposed to say something to that or you just want to be acknowledged?
Not gonna lie, you had me a little worried 😅
I’ve been running magnetic plugs on mine and my wife gsxr750’s for years and now on our z125’s, so I’m glad to see this is Ari approved! ✅ 😉
Yup, as long as it's a quality part then it's all good!
@@AriH211 awesome! Thanks for the reply bro 👊🏻
"Could stick Bob Dylan knows where" 😂😂 never heard that before
BMW supplied a magnetic drain plug with my G310GS. I was shocked at the initial 600 mile service when I drained the oil and there was essentially no particles adhering to the magnet - certainly no chips. There was a very thin film of particles that were individually too small to see. I remember Fortnine doing a video about debris in break-in oil as a measure of engine build quality.
On my pickup truck, I stick two large rare earth magnets on the outside of the filter to trap magnetic particles inside the filter. I never cut the filters open to examine them (as I did with my airplane) so I never knew if my truck engine was "making metal". It's a Toyota and I use full synthetic oil, so presumably not.
Have you also tried it with your train locomotive, container ship and space rocket??
That wasn't really the point of the Fortnine video. Their point was more that the break in period for Italian bikes is real, but doesn't matter much for most other brands.
My last 3 new bikes
Benelli 900 Tornado
Husqvana 701
MV Agusta Brutale
have all had steel magnetic drain plugs fitted from new by the manufacturer!
all models of drz400 have a magnetic drain plug standard. a magnet can catch a large chunk before it destroys another moving part.
So can the oil filter, you can still get unlucky if you have both, although if you have a large chunk of metal in your oil, it has already gone bad, very bad.
I’ve used the VERY strong rare earth magnets from old computer hard drives for years. I’ve just slapped two or three on the outside of my oil filter. I honestly have no idea if they are helping but it amuses me to think so, there is zero downside , zero cleanup and they swap to the new oil filleted on every change.
Open to thoughts and suggestions, thanx to SM for letting me know there is an internal ring magnet as an option as well!
Same here & of course its the easiest and most logical place for it.
One thing to note: For many bikes (maybe all bikes ??), the oil pump is 'before' the filter. Have a magnetic plug to help gather larger chunks that would be caught by the filter anyway, before they get into the oil pump, would be a plus
Hate to sound like a fanboy but well done Ari. Never thought about a magnetic ring for the oil filter. Thank you sir.
I'm surprised this guy didn't talk about high temperatures, which can de-magnetize some magnet types. Some of the strongest magnet materials can lose their efficacy after being subjected to the high heat conditions of motor oil.
The thing that really convinced me to start using magnetic plugs was that they are required in air crafts and are used heavily in the professional trucking industry. Look at where peoples lives are dependent on engine performance. consumer manufacturers will never give us a product to last forever.
Drop a small radio shack magnet down the center of a new oil filter is an old zen motorcycle trick, it's like an ounce of prevention....
Never heard of putting a magnet on the inside of an oil filter? I'm pretty old and have been around engines my whole life. Magnets are soft...but....I've plenty heard of putting a magnet on the OUTSIDE of an oil filter. When you say "down the center" .....I'm assuming you mean the inside of the oil filter.
other best tip - stick a couple of neodymium magnets on your oil filter on the outside - job done :)
thats what i do :)
I've always used them in bikes that didn't have a filter. My two-stroke dirt bikes don't have filters on the gearbox oil so it always made sense to me in that application.
Yes they work but what alot of people forget is most 4 stroke motorcycles have other magnets already inside the engine, very strong ones. Most bikes have a oil cooled stator surrounded by a flywheel containing a large number of very strong rare earth magnets. Some bikes have a oil bleed off the crankshaft that keeps quite a significant amount of oil spraying across it.
Some have dry stators and run magnetic drain plugs.
I have seen high mileage bikes with customer installed magnetic drain plugs come out pretty clean only to pull the stator cover to find a alarming 1/32"-1/16" coating of powdered metal dust adhering to the flywheel magnets. Most look black till you wipe with a rag and suddenly it's silver.
I have also seen a magnetic drain plug find a piece of broken roll pin in a fairly new Suzuki Hayabusa during a oil change
Yep, i found out about the wear particles on the flywheel when i had to fish out the dipstick o-ring I accidentally pushed in.
The round filter magnet looks like it may be partially restricting oil flow. But I do agree with the theory of a magnet on the filter. They make ones that go around the outside of the filter. I use magnets out of old harddrives stuck to the outside of the filters on all my equipment.
I don't normally jump into these things but. I have a 2010 CVo street glide and I have run a filter magnet and mag drain plugs since new, I only use K&N oil filters and AMs oil and have 276,000 trouble-free miles on it. and that's changing the oil every 7500 to 10,000 miles. So for me its just cheap insurance and one of those things that cant hurt
oil filter magnet. good idea. also you can put magnets on outside of oil filter.
One thing you want to be careful with installing a different drain plug in general is the height of the bolt head of the drain plug. Depending on the bike you don't want the bolt head part taller than your stock one. Like on my DR650 if you get a taller plug it sticks out past the skidplate and if you go over and rocks you may bus it off and have a bad day.
A magnetic drain plug is not for removing small particles from oil. They are for detecting the onset of excessive wear when you see larger chunks that are symptomatic of a larger problem that can be corrected before catastrophic engine failure. The correct nomenclature is “chip collector” to detect large chips being shed from the bearings. They have been used on aircraft engines and heavy machinery for about 100 years.
Not removing small particles? Then what's the sludge on the plug? It certainly doesn't appear out of thin air. As for large chunks, by the time you see anything identifiable as a chunk (or chip), you're already in trouble. I have seen old machining swarth (similar to the stuff we used for the thumbnail photo) appear in the oil screen, but I'm pretty sure that was just left over from assembly.
@@AriH211 I never said they won’t remove small particles! I said their main purpose is for detecting a greater problem manifesting itself in the engine.
There are published charts in the aviation industry that show what types of particles to be worried about and what sizes you just wipe off and don’t worry about. It’s mostly common sense though. Your filter will take care of most of the fine particles, the big bearing chunks tend to sink to the bottom of the crank case. Not worried about that small fuzz unless it is an excessive amount.
It really helps if you do an oil analysis when trying to answer this question:
The Fe content of an oil drops by ~50% just by using a magnetic sump plug.
Iron is a major oil contaminant in most engines... so removing it will reduce wear and extend the life of your engine oil:
The additives in particular will last longer
You might be able to remove a little bit more ferrous metal (iron/nickel/cobalt) if you use a bigger or stronger magnet e.g. Oil filter magnet.
If you listen carefully you can also hear the difference when using a magnet:
The engine is slightly quieter.
The reduction in noise is due to less circulating particles.
Less noise = more power (less friction)
🙂
TIL I can put a magnet on the oil filter. Thanks!! :)
For almost 25 years, I've had two powerful rare earth magnets on the outside of the oil filter on my Tacoma pickup truck.
Another bonus is that it may catch a large chunks or a screw that's come loose before it causes a ton of damage and it lets you see these big pieces instead of just washing them away.
Found bits of circlip on the magnetic drainplug of a dr650 which alerted us to a bigger problem. Ended up having several transmission gears replaced under warranty by showing them the pieces that had been collected on the magnetic plug. Would've been so easy to to just drain those little bits out and we never would've noticed.
Ive done that for quite a while now, a super strong magnet from an old broken hard drive on the outside of the metal oil filter. easy and super cheap.
My Beta 2 stroke came with a magnetic drain plug for the gearbox oil. Glad it is doing it's job!
Buy a small neodymium magnet and attach it to your oil filter. When you change the oil, move the magnet to the new filter. The magnet shouldn't fall off your filter, but if you're worried you can tape it to your filter.
I've wondered about doing this, glad to hear someone else doing it 👍
@@bryanreeme8584 Ive been using neodymium magnets on both steel drain bolts and around my oil filters for years ..works great!!!!!!!!
And if your bike doesn't trigger traffic signals consistently, a high power magnet can help the sensors recognize that you are there.
Filtermag works great, been using them for years on cars and motorcycles.
"...can stick Bob-Dylan-knows-where"! 😆
Funny because both my 1982 Suzuki GS750E and 2004 GSX750F came factory with magnetic drain plugs.
I simply replaced the gaskets every couple years, wiped off the magnet and put it back in.
Something about small high revving 4 cylinder motors..............makes a magnetic drain plug make sense.
I've been using Magnetic Drain Plugs as well as PC Racing Billet Aluminum Re-Usable Oil Filters that have a magnetic built into them since 2010. Very happy with them..
One could also just buy a KTM. With its two drain plugs, two oil screens and a filter it's pretty good at catching the crud.
Not only that, but at least one of the magnets/screens are at the very start of the oil circuit...not just randomly sitting at the bottom of the engine case/sump.
And still the plug looks like a damn christmas tree when you change the oil😂😂
@@Pictoru2 every bike will have a screen on the oil pick up…just not necessarily accessible to clean during a service
They need them , since they shed metal faster than a dog sheds hair...
@@TrustyZ900 plus my 690 duke drank oil like a thirsty dog.
Recovery looking good man. Glad your face is doing good!
Kinda funny, just made my oil change on a Yamaha XJ750 Mid-Max 1983 and found out some sludge on my magnetic drainplug from factory. Got scared and made a compression test without having any issues. You just secured what i thought that it was normal wear. thank you !
I use a magnetic strip that wraps around the outside of the oil filter.
So never have to worry about magnets breaking and falling into engine.
good idea i guess
But unless you cut that filter open each change...how do you know if something changed over time?
@@michaelkrenzer3296 Cause you’ll see any crap in the bottom of your oil container used to catch your old oil.
Or send your oil to get analyzed
I think it's a nice indicator to have. What if you remove the oil plug and you see a ton of metal filings and bigger pieces of metal, then you know something has happened. Easier than looking through the used oil. It also helps prevent keep any metal to reach the oil pump and oil filter, prolonging their lives.
That's why aircraft engines have magnetic "chip detectors" which is the same thing with a different purpose.
I always put strong magnets on my spin on oil filter. I guess it is effective judging by the video but I did notice when it came time to change my oil, the oil still looked to be a good amber color
yeah, that's not the magnets... :) just proper oil and proper engine temp.
i opened filters that had v strong magnets, and there's minimal dirt collected. same with the drain plug... i've never observed as much dirt as shown in the video.
Just stick a small strong magnet on the outside of the drainplug. The plug is then magnetised.
It makes sense to use this on motorcycles! Fair enough car engines are mostly aluminium with aluminium pistons, gearbox’s usually have a magnetic sump plug therefore would make sense to use it on bikes because bikes transmission and engine share the same oil
There is plenty of iron/steel in car engines too, the crankshaft, valves, connecting rods, and camshafts are all usually not aluminum.
Two weeks ago I had an expensive PSR predrilled drain plug fail and lose the magnet in my track bike after 220 miles between changes. Thankfully I was able to retrieve it by running a strong magnet along the bottom of the oil pan. Never again!
Dang, sorry that happened. You should let PSR know.
I do not like bikes but I am a car guy who works as a mechanic. Most automatic transmissions I have seen have a magnet on the bottom of the pan from factory. I bought a few really powerful magnets and have put them on my oil filter, diffs, transmission pan, and oil drain plug. After some time you WILL notice how much crud these things will pick up. The main thing is proper maintenance and regular oil changes, the magnets are a bonus not an excuse to run your oil longer.
Manufacturers don't include magnetic drain plugs because the company is on the hook through the warranty period only, and (of course) because the magnets are an unnecessary extra cost. Of course motorcycles typically don't fall apart as soon as the warranty expires and the additional protection of an oil plug magnet won't make much difference during the early warranty period, but additional protection really comes into play with long-term ownership. Bottom line: nobody has yet proven the use of magnets actually prolongs the life of their engine, but it sure can't hurt. I use magnets on my canister filters as well -- the goop immediately disappeared from the magnetic drain plug as soon as I started using filter magnets, so I know they are doing something! Thanks for the video.
My KTM Duke has strainers with magnets before the oil filter. Some auto manufacturers have them as well.
All older Grom, Monkey as well as current C125, CT125 and most small air-cooled 125cc bikes only have inefficient centrifugal filters.
There magnetic plugs really come in handy. In the small Honda's, the drain plug is also right before the oil pump as these bikes have very shallow sumps.
I am thinking about making my own magnetic drain plug by gluing magnet(s) to an existing plug. Actually, gluing 3 or 4 to extend the side area & height exposure and thus, pull/attraction.
Questions:
1. Would the greater area/exposure of a multi magnetic stack be more effective than a single magnet?
2. Is using an earth magnet better than a regular magnet because it is stronger and has more pull?
3. Will Epoxy Glue be a strong enough adhesive? If not, what would be better?
4.Should I rough up the surfaces of the plug and magnet(s) to facilitate better adhesive grab?
By the way, this is going in my van.
Great, didn't know about magnetic filter washer
A couple of tips not mentioned......one can put a magnet on your oem drain plug on the outside...or attach the magnet on your oil drain pan close to the drain plug or plugs. Remove magnet or magnets just before you drain your oil during an oil change....and the metal particulates (Unless you have a Yamaha or Honda engine) will flow out of the drain holes as your oil is draining during an oil change. You can also add a magnet on the outside of your oil filter. These outside magnets one can add have a stronger magnetic attraction...cheaper....and reusable...Therefore...overall....mo betta...
One issue that can come up with magnetic catchers is: if the blob on the end of the magnet comes loose, you now have a coherent lump of metal fragments floating around in the oil rather than individual particles in suspension. That _could_ block oilways or cause short-term starvation -- but I've never seen it happen myself.
That's a solid point
a coherent lump of MAGNETIZED metal fragments floating around in the oil that are going to stick to steel wherever it may find it...
My pops would always drop a big magnet at the bottom of the oil pan if it ever had to come off for any reason.. A crack, broken, stripped drain plug. I still do this with all my vehicles..
It definitely works for my moped which only has fine netting kind of filter.
Awesome video, as always! Anything with Zack and Ari in it is what I like to see.
I have a Virago... Yamaha put a magnet literally right under the starter motor, to catch shavings from the gears that don't catch. My drain plug is a backup
Ah! Magnets!
Can we also have a discussion between paper air filtes vs "high flow" air filters? How does it protects the engine and what are the long term effects!
High Flow K&N filters are the first thing all vehicles need. Yes they let tiny bits through that do not harm the engine. Those bits are burnt and spit out. Nevermind the BS from the want-a-be engineer/farmer dude's video. He's a idiot
Good topic.
I've always said that the 'high flow air filters' allow the very fine particulate in. Sacrificing good filtering for added air flow for performance.
In the end, your engine will wear faster with poor filtering and have less power.
If manufacturers don't do it, there's probably a good reason.
It's my impression that stock paper filters lean towards better filtration and air flow comes secondary. Most high flow options tend to be the other way around.
+ you have oil filters, which I for one don't think very highly of (K&N, etc)
There are also polyester filters which seem to offer a decent compromise. (Sprint)
Now, from what I gather from previous searches, normal cellulose air filters should retain particles which are over 20 microns. The street oriented filters that Sprint produces for example, advertise 80 microns.
But I don't really think the information I've managed to scrape up is extremely reliable.
I for one will not put a sport filter on any of the bikes I'd like to keep for an extended period of time, there is little point in doing that to a flash tuned 200 hp bike, methinks.
But would be nice to have solid data.
@@cruisingthethaiway6881
Wow!
So much hate and anger coming out of you.
@@cruisingthethaiway6881 Pump the brakes buddy. The stuff I'm most worried about getting through my air filter is sand (silica), which doesn't even melt until 3,100 degrees. So saying it gets burned up isn't true, and saying it doesn't do damage definitely isn't true. Dirty air is going to drastically increase piston, piston ring, and cylinder wear, as well as contaminate your oil. The only thing you're right about is that hi-flow air filters sacrifice filtering capability for air flow, which is a compromise I'm only willing to make on my racebikes. All my street vehicles run OEM air filters because they offer the best filtration.
I put magnet 🧲 inside the tank on my old cruiser. It works like a charm 🤠.
My bike is a Honda CN250 (Helix, giant scooter). The bike doesn't have a proper oil filter, just a little metal screen to catch very large particles. Based on this, I think adding a magnet to the system would be a good idea. Not to just figure out where to put it....
Edit: just finished the video and got to the part with the donut magnet. That seems perfect. Honda Helix seems like a perfect candidate for this.
0:14
I see Ari got his hand on one of them Japanese drain plugs.
I have a 2019 Suzuki GSXR-600 and it came with a magnetic drain plug from the factory, actually caught quite a few chunks of metal on it so glad it was there lmao
You can also put a strong magnet on the outside of your oil filter and it will attract the particles to the walls of the oil filter.
Manufacturers don't put on magnetic oil plugs because they don't want you to panic at the first oil change when your oil is full of metal shavings...
Glad to see you back!!!!! We miss your wisdom!!!!
Wow!
Magnetic Donuts!
Love learning about them!
Thank you!!!
My Tuono has a magnetic drain plug from the factory and I use a gold plug magnetic plug on my grom. Always get at least a little bit of sludge
Just stick a strong magnet to your steel drain plug and make it magnetic. Plus it’s on the outside so nothing to break loose internally. I use the 3/4” neodymium magnets from Home Depot. Stacked 4 deep. It’s $10. I stick them to my car oil filter too.
Votex sells magnetic drain plugs made from stainless steel. While the drain plug sold on the link provided by this channel is aluminum because it is available in different anodized colors.
Used to just stick a neodymium magnet to my steel drain plug.
As someone who doesn't have a mechanical mind these videos are very helpful.
So actually I have run across a one motorcycle and several automotive engines and transmissions with magnets. Some of the applications with magnets were automotive manual transmissions without a filter, and several others were automotive automatic transmissions which did have a filter.
And the issue that everything that goes into the oil filter has already been through the oil pump. the oil pump is the first inline for the oil system and is ahead of the oil filter in the lube circuit. The sump plug magnet will prevent some metal from getting into the oil pump and damaging it
Exactly. It's a problem on old xt600's for example. The 5th gear pinion wears excessively and bits of it enter the oil pump, eventually causing oil pump failure and then engine failure.
I use a superstrong mad on the outside of filter. Nothing to clean, remove old filter, take off mag, place it on new filter, all the crud stays in the old filter.
There is always something new to learn.
The oil pick up screen works pretty well and if a piece of metal or shavings make its way into the sump, it sinks to the bottom and stays there. I bought a bike with a chipped shim bucket and found the chip in the sump just laying there and luckily didn't damage anything on its way down there.
Yup, the pump screen is going to catch larger stuff, so it never even makes it to the filter (or through the pump).
Yamaha SX 650 1969-85 came with two magnetic drain plugs. One for motor the other for transmission. Wise investment from Yamaha into that model.
Got a piece of neodymium magnet on the back of my original (car) oil plug.
Works like a charm :D
I have a tip for everyone wanting a magnet plug. You know those old spinner hard drives that are now useless? Well as an I.T. tech I get them and i take them apart because inside is a powerfull little curved magnet attached to a weird metal bracket. You can use a flst head to carefully pry it up and off so you get a perfectly flat C shaped magnet.
I got bunches of these so i put one on the back of the drain plug on my car and motorcycle. Also, i put one on the bottom of the trans case. All my plugs are steel so it sticks perfect and they are really strong so wind, water etc wont take it off.
One time I was lazy and took my car for an oil change instead of doing it myself and the oil place stole it. 😆 Luckily i have like 5 or 6 laying around.
This way you keep your original plug and magnetize it easy.
I do like the ring magnet on the filter. Makes for sense. Maybe ill try one of those also.
My bike doesn't have a filter nor strainer, it has a screen with a little magnet attached to the drain plug, I'd clean up the screen and magnet every oil change, very convenient indeed
Stuff I never knew about drain plugs.
Thanks' bud.
I...
Never though about this. This was really great content. Thanks.
I go to harbor freight and buy a pack of neodymium magnets and place them in a pattern around the outside of twist on filters. Occasionally need to pull bits picked up from the road but normally I just need to move them from filter to filter.
I think it probably wouldn't make to much of a difference for most people if they have one or not, but if you're like me and plan to keep the same bike until you can't ride anymore, you might want to have one to give the engine the best chance at living a long life. If the 10 dollar drain plug adds a few thousand miles to the life of the engine, it's worth it to me.
My ducatis came with them from the factory and, apparently, they are referenced in the service manuals as a way to determine if the screens need to be checked as well.
Great video brother
How about just attaching a Neodymium magnet on the outside of the drain plug after you have tightened it up? The strong magnetism from the Neodymium magnet should transfer through the standard Steel drain plug and in turn make the steel drain plug magnetic through contact. If the neodymium magnet ever falls off ( which is very unlikely as they stick on very strong ) you could always buy another one and put it on there. Neodymium magnets are a few dollars each on eBay
Yeah i think is better idea instal magnet on screw or oil filter on bottom they still strong enough to catch up everything from oil
Probably a good idea if you have a KTM. Since my 48hp NC700x takes about a gallon of oil for each change and ONLY MAKES 48hp. I'm thinking the tolerances are such that it doesn't matter and just the filter is enough. Also, Honda.
Just magnetise your OEM drain plug like how we magnetise our screwdrivers. The magnetise effect can last up to 2 months. I ride very often to work and so on so every time I change my oil I would redo the process. It takes 5 minutes and saves me the 30bucks and a potential breaking hazard. Of course if you do your oil change at a workshop it'll be a different story
Is your OEM drain plug made of steel?
@@avsystem3142 yep, or it has alot of steel content
@@AevenSong I don't doubt that you are correct but aren't the majority of bike drain plugs made of aluminum, the same as the cases? I have a Kawasaki Versys 650 and a Kawasaki Concours 14 and both have aluminum drain plugs. Readers please comment and state the bike you have and what the OEM drain plug is made of.
@@avsystem3142 Yamaha V Stars are steel drain plugs with brass washers 👍
@@avsystem3142 I have the very old Modenas cruiser called Jaguh and they have chunky ol steel drain plugs 🤣🤣🤣
I didn’t realize Ari worked at Revzilla until now. That’s awesome, Ari is a good dude!
Great tips with this video. I'm going to get some magnetic washers to install on the oil filter. Much more feasible than the drain plug.
Speaking of particulates in the oil, can you go over oil drain intervals. Most sportbikes today recommend 8K mile intervals even with conventional oil, but I find that a bit long considering the oi is shared with the gearbox. Used oil analysis reports regularly show oil viscosity reduction as soon as 2500 miles ornso with conventional oils n
Do what your bike's owner manual recommends. The oil change interval listed there is a general average. If you stress the engine a lot by racing it the interval is shorter, if you mostly do long rides on country roads the interval can be much longer especially when using synthetic oil.
It all depends on your bike, your riding, and the oil you're using. There is no general answer other than follow what the manual says.
You can usually tell when it's time to change the oil by observing your engine and transmission. When your engine gets louder and the shifting feel changes it's high time to replace the oil.
I own an air cooled Porsche 911 that has two drain plugs, both magnetic. I also have a BMW R1250RS and that also came with one, but as Ari said, it's shaft drive.
damn oil filter magnet never heard of those. awesome i'll buy one of those!
Allot of the chunks found big enough to qualify as a piece of metal are usually aluminium fragments rendering magnets pointless. If steel is found in your sump. you need to deal with that issue before it becomes a terminal issue.
I think manufacturers don't fit them because; A, a few pennies over thousands of bikes adds up and B, the ware particles from those first 1000 or so miles would soon clog things up. Possibly resulting in the plug getting stuck in place. It's really something to fit after the first service.
I use a Bear Trap on my oil filter. The magnets are very powerful.
I wish Ari had a podcast, I swear I can listen to this guy for hours.
He's sometimes a guest on High Side Low Side podcast.
@@impact0r Yeah but then you have to listen to that wanker @SpurgeonDunbar
@@henryhill6251 he's not that bad.
!!GROM warning!! i got a grom magnetic oil plug from probolt which was longer than stock and had that longer thin magnet sticking out of it. Turns out, it put a hole right through the oil screen...so i had to get a new screen and go back to the stock bolt. (I was racing the grom and wanted a pre-drilled plug, but wound up having to drill my oem one since the nice one was too long). For most other bikes, that wont be a problem, this is likely just a grom thing.
Helicopters have a magnetic "collector" in all the gearboxes. Removing these and inspecting them for ANY metal particles is part of the pre-flight checklist for a reason.