Best N54 Billet Aluminum Oil Filter Housing Cap?

[syn909]

Just wanted to say that in the last few months I have been heavily interested in these aluminium oil filter caps and have been studying the oil flow through these caps and the bypass function. That being said I have also been in contact with Malo industries and helped them develop an aluminum cap that properly supports the oil filter bypass plate so there will be no chance of failure, and I will be reviewing that product in the spring during my oil change. But I will also do an early review with images and technical info about the oil flow.


Also I wanted to say in regards to why @matreyia had increased metal shavings with the cts cap, the reason is apparent in the video he posted where it was clear that the oil filter bypass plate was damaged, hence why he had to hold the base plate down to prevent it from popping off. When this happens with a cap that does not have a supported bypass base plate the bypass spring will push up the base plate allowing oil to flow over the oil filter and down past the gap of the base plate and into the return side of the oil filter housing. This essentially bypasses the oil filter allowing dirty oil and contaminants to go back to the engine hence increasing wear and increasing metal particulates.

This would not happen with an aluminium oil filter housing cap with proper bypass base plate supports even with a broken bypass plate, because the support tabs holds the baseplate down despite the base plate tabs being broken creating a seal as was intended. This essentially allows for proper oil flow through the filter and thus proper filtration.

But for the price why not just use the URO one and use the OEM plastic relief?

 

[F87Source]

But for the price why not just use the URO one and use the OEM plastic relief?

I wanted the hex so I didn't have to buy the proper oil filter tool. I have a cheap Chinese tool and fitment is absolutely terrible. So factoring in the price of a good aluminium tool it's better to just get this cap. Plus the look is better.

 

[syn909]

@F87Source I understand, as I recently picked up the proper tool from ECS for $13 made by bav auto

 

[F87Source]

I wanted to add there are some misinformation in this thread regarding the tabs.

1) the 3 tabs/posts are the only ones that support the oil by pass base plate.

2) the center bump does absolutely nothing it is just a byproduct of the injection molding process. It's essentially the same bump you see on tupperware containers.

Also the posts/tabs sit higher up than the center bump so it doesn't even touch the bypass baseplate thus it has zero function in support. If it did touch it would severely block oil flow to the bypass which would be bad.

3) oil filter cage wobble is not necessarily a bad thing, it allows the center spike to float and self locate the drainage hole. If it was rigid the cap would be more difficult to install as the spike would keep hitting the edge. Hence why even the factory cap has a bit of play, and from what I see the bms cap has a bit of play too. The only time when play is bad is if it is in the vertical axis where the cage is so loose it stays stuck in the oil filter housing because the spike is still stuck in the drain hole. Aka the friction between the o-ring and the drain hole is greater than that if the cage retainer and cage.

 

[Jeffman]

I had been running the Uro for the last 750 miles. Based on this thread I am concerned about metal in the oil. So I removed the Uro today and reinstalled my CTS with the OEM cage, which appears to fit almost the same as stock. See photos. I’m also sending an oil sample to Blackstone Labs for analysis to see how it looks. I’ll report back when the results are received.

Comment: after inspecting the Uro cage it seems comparable in function to the OEM cage. Although the Uro cage pressure plate has less travel and possibly a tighter spring, it is at least four times the area as that of the OEM pressure plate (pressure = force/area). So while the Uro spring may my stiffer (higher force) it also has a larger area to counteract its stiffer spring when opening under oil pressure. Also note the larger number of openings (increased total area) through which the oil can flow past the opened Uro pressure plate relative to that of the smaller OEM pressure plate.

CTS with cage:

Stock:

CTS/OEM cage vs. Uro/Uro cage

 

[F87Source]

I had been running the Uro for the last 750 miles. Based on this thread I am concerned about metal in the oil. So I removed the Uro today and reinstalled my CTS with the OEM cage, which appears to fit almost the same as stock. See photos. I’m also sending an oil sample to Blackstone Labs for analysis to see how it looks. I’ll report back when the results are received.

CTS with cage:
View attachment 50267View attachment 50268

The problem is the cts cap doesn't have the birdcage support which means if the bypass base plate fails then you will no longer have proper oil filtration.

 

[Jeffman]

The problem is the cts cap doesn't have the birdcage support which means if the bypass base plate fails then you will no longer have proper oil filtration.

Good point. Do you recall if the BMS has the birdcage support?

 

[F87Source]

Good point. Do you recall if the BMS has the birdcage support?

It does not. I just got the malo industries cap which I helped create by feeding ideas and input, so it does have the bird cage supports. IMO this cap is as close to perfect as you can get, but since it is aluminum is still doesn't have the same clamping force the stock cap (meaning you can remove the cage easier than factory so it often comes off with the oil filter when removing the oil filter, but does not stay stuck in the housing and prevent oil drainage) has onto the cage as aluminium tabs do not flex - but it isn't a huge deal as when everything is screwed on support of the cage is perfect - unlike caps without the supporting tabs.

Review coming soon and technical details concerning oil flow in the OFH area and what you should look for in a cap. This thread was good for about 3-4 pages then it started deviating away from the technical details and to debate about the euro cap. Plus there is alot of confusion here and some misinformation about parts of the cap that people think do something but in reality does nothing (the bump), and I wanted to clarify everything in a singular post with diagrams to help people understand better.

 

[Jeffman]

It does not. I just got the malo industries cap which I helped create by feeding ideas and input, so it does have the bird cage supports. IMO the cap is as close to perfect as you can get, but since it is aluminum is still doesn't have the same clamping force the stock cap (meaning you can remove the cage easier than factory so it often comes off with the oil filter but does not stay stuck in the housing and prevent oil drainage) has onto the cage as aluminium tabs do not flex - but it isn't a huge deal as when everything is screwed on support of the cage is perfect.

Review coming soon and technical details concerning oil flow in the OFH area and what you should look for in a cap. This thread was good for about 3-4 pages then it started deviating away from the technical details and to debate about the euro cap. Plus there is alot of confusion here and some misinformation about parts of the cap that people think do something but in reality does nothing (the bump), and I wanted to clarify everything in a singular post with diagrams to help people understand better.

Sounds good. Looking forward to your report.

 

[F87Source]

Sounds good. Looking forward to your report.

My full review of the malo industries billet aluninium oil filter cap + technical explanation about the stock OFH and oil filter cap here: https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1809255

I can't post it here because it is way too large and for some reason I keep getting cut off in terms of word limits.

 

[Jeffman]

Thanks for the review. Very good! My Malo oil filter cap will be arriving Tuesday.
Which means I will have almost one of every after-market cap out there:
CTS
Uro
BMS
Malo (on the way)

LOL

 

[F87Source]

Thanks for the review. Very good! My Malo oil filter cap will be arriving Tuesday.
Which means I will have almost one of every after-market cap out there:
CTS
Uro
BMS
Malo (on the way)

LOL

Lol holy crap you're the cap guy!

Btw how does the bird cage fit on the bms cap, does it pull out as easy as the malo cap as per the instagram video?

 

[fmorelli]

My full review of the malo industries billet aluninium oil filter cap + technical explanation about the stock OFH and oil filter cap here: https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1809255

I can't post it here because it is way too large and for some reason I keep getting cut off in terms of word limits.

Executive summary of the very long post on bimmerpost:

the Malo Industries cap is the most accurately designed cap, maintaining functional design aspects of the factory BMW oil cap. Anyone who wants to read all of the nitty gritty details, click on the link.

I might suggest - when writing something this detailed, that a Summary heading be provided at the beginning. This helps the reader understand what the conclusion is, and then delve in to the details as they choose.

BTW ... I did order one this morning. Thanks for the review.

Filippo

 

[fmorelli]

I can't post it here because it is way too large and for some reason I keep getting cut off in terms of word limits.

I suspect Tyler has some kind of post limit.

I do a lot of long subject posting. I like to break up the post in sub sections to make it a bit more digestible. That solves the long post limit issue.

 

[F87Source]

I suspect Tyler has some kind of post limit.

I do a lot of long subject posting. I like to break up the post in sub sections to make it a bit more digestible. That solves the long post limit issue.

I did break down the bimmerpost review with headings, I'll try to repost it here into subsections if I get a chance.

 

[F87Source]

Executive summary of the very long post on bimmerpost:

the Malo Industries cap is the most accurately designed cap, maintaining functional design aspects of the factory BMW oil cap. Anyone who wants to read all of the nitty gritty details, click on the link.

I might suggest - when writing something this detailed, that a Summary heading be provided at the beginning. This helps the reader understand what the conclusion is, and then delve in to the details as they choose.

BTW ... I did order one this morning. Thanks for the review.

Filippo

You're welcome, and what color did you buy?

 

[fmorelli]

You're welcome, and what color did you buy?

Red. Everything in my car is red.

 

[F87Source]

Red. Everything in my car is red.

Nice!

 

[Jeffman]

Lol holy crap you're the cap guy!

Btw how does the bird cage fit on the bms cap, does it pull out as easy as the malo cap as per the instagram video?

I will test and report back in a few days after my Malo arrives.

 

[Neophyte]

I will test and report back in a few days after my Malo arrives.

Did you get around to Installing? Happy with it? I'm considering getting one aswell