I put generators on my spinning hub caps  so it will generate electricty when I am stopped  from the hubs still spining .

I tried that once, too, but my Mini kept pointing north!  I had to drive backward to get the Southern California...   

**Dr. jinG**

"I tell you and you forget. I show you and you remember. I involve you and you understand." ~ Eric Butterworth
"The true charter of liberty is independence, maintained by force." ~Voltaire

Watch the 1967 Mini Cooper 'S' rebuild and turbo conversion at www.drjing.com!

I have put rare earth magnets on my enitre length of fuel line and it does indeed save gas mileage.

The car is now stuck to the steel rails of the garage door tracks and won't move!!!!

I'm thinking about building a pyramid shaped bonnet for my mini to harness the power the Egyptians used!  Should be good for 2-3 mpg don't you think???

"I don't know much, but what I do know I know little of "

What I have done in the past is to change the old style magnet on the long reach drain plug,to a rare earth magnet and placed a couple of rare earth magnets to the bottom of the oil filter. So lets think about the big chunks sitting on the bottom of the gear box,come on! the oil is smashing around. There is nothing sitting,grab it with a magnet as soon as you can.Lets look at the money! A buck or two a magnet. $10,000 for a good motor. Just do it.IMHO

Kevin, I hope you had a good and safe trip.

I don't know the micron rating of oil filters.  However, when I have seen cut-open filters where magnets were applied the scuz collected consisted of particles the filter would have caught anyway.  As far as Kevin's drain plug magnet being cleaner... I don't know why this would happen.  The oil would still be exposed to and circulate by the sump plug magnet before the pickup tube for the oil pump.

Like I said previously, if magnets make you feel better then by all means use them.  I just don't see the benefit.

Doug L.

I do as Steve does:  Use old Sonicare magnets.  Those little suckers are POWERFUL!  I keep six arrayed around my filter, held in place with duct tape (though I'm sure I don't need to do this, I feel better about it).  I've also used the type in hard drives.

**Dr. jinG**

"I tell you and you forget. I show you and you remember. I involve you and you understand." ~ Eric Butterworth
"The true charter of liberty is independence, maintained by force." ~Voltaire

Watch the 1967 Mini Cooper 'S' rebuild and turbo conversion at www.drjing.com!

magnets  In the fuel line is a spoof   there is no technical reason for it to work , aligining the molicules  would do nothing for the energy content of the gasoline , dont waste your money , and for thoes who will write in and say I got  x more miles   . all I cn say a fool and his money is soon parted .  yes to maginets in the  oil line or on the filter , can only help .

Doug L, I must disagree with your thoughts on this.
I run 1 or 2, 25dia x 10 mm magnets on the spin-on filter of both our Minis. Since doing this, I get nothing on the drain plug. All the fines get caught inside the filter by the magnets. I cut one up years ago to see.

The average filter paper would be lucky to trap anything smaller than 40 micron size..

Kevin G

 Unipart "21" filter got a magnet inside.

http://www.mgoctagoncarclub.com/articles/tech436.htm

 Tulka

A local auto parts store had a grand opening recently.
There was a rep from Wix filters there.  I posed the magnet question to him.
He actually advised against it.  Basically he said if you put a magnet on it, it eventually (if it attracts bits) wont let the filter do it's job properly.
If magnets in/on the filter were of use, wouldn't the quality filter builders incorporate them into their filters?
The magnet on the sump plug will help catch any tiny bits floating around.

A FATHER CARRIES PICTURES WHERE HIS MONEY USED TO BE 

1130cc, 12g295, SW5 cam, LCB, HIF38, CA spec.

Playing the "what-if" game....

If the Mini had a gearbox that had an access panel to which you could attach a powerful magnet and if that location were out of the way of the rotating components... I suppose the magnet would be a good idea.  All of our engines and gearboxes make the swarf that collects on the drain plug magnet.  As someone pointed out to me regarding magnet placement locations, you really want a location before the pump but where the magnet can be cleaned periodically.  A terrible scenario would be a magnet which continually collected debris until the clump becomes large enough for the rotating gears to sluff it off and throw the debris into the pump intake. 

By all means put the magnets on the filter if you wish.  However, anything that reaches them will already have passed through the pump and probably would be caught by the filter anyway.

Doug L.

The ones that fit on an oil filter do seem a little hokey, especially at the prices they want for them.  Like Doug says, the particles there would be trapped by the oil filter anyway.  The oil pump would have had to pick up those particles and send them to the filter, but the larger ones would stay in the sump.  These are the particles I was worried about.  But if they're too large to be picked up by the oil pump, and stay at the bottom, what's the worry? (Is that right?)

I was thinking of something along the lines of a more "conventional" engine, with a steel oil pan (instead of tranny case), where larger particles could be held by a magnet.  I guess there's no where for something like that in a mini?

What triggered the idea of adding a magnet somewhere was the fact that my oil was full of metal shavings when I pulled it for a rebuild.  The holes in the crank were plugged with metal shavings.  I didn't know if this was due to the fact that the engine was wearing out, or this caused the engine to wear out.  Probably a case of both accelerating the other.

Thanks for the info guys.

Willy, from JC Whit-less:

http://www.jcwhitney.com/MAGNA-GUARD-OIL-FILTER-MAGNETS/GP_2002820_N_111+10201+600013463_10101.jcw

From Griot's garage:

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/car+maintenance/oil+changes/oil+filter+metallic+shaving-particle+retainer.do

 The magnets on my filter are out of old Sonicare toothbrush heads that are not good for brushing teeth anymore.  I figure it can't hurt, whatever it traps I'm ahead of the game on.

Next up is to make my own fuel line magnets to align the fuel atoms for better gas mileage!

http://store.magneticjewelryoriginals.com/begasmimayof.html

Steve

Life is driving Minis.  Everything else is just waiting.

 

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QuickSilversVille


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“Yes, trucks have drum brakes like Minis. And elephants also have noses like people. Just not the same." - ClubMan 2008

 Why does it not catch the small particles?

Tulka

 

Go to eBay.  You will not find better prices than there.  In addition to auctions you'll find links to retail eBay stores that sell magnets in multiple sizes, materials, and strengths.

As for the magnets on the oil filter... I don't understand the interest in them.  If you cut open an oil filter that has had the magnets attached to the OD, you may indeed find a layer of scuz on the inside.  However, the particle size of that scuz is typically large enough that the paper element would catch the debris anyway.  However, adding the magnets certainly won't hurt.  If it gives you additional peace of mind, check eBay for the best deals.

Doug L.

am old computer hard drive was my first thought too.

Also, any good hardware store sells several kinds / types / shapes of magnets, including the super strong rare earth ones. That's where I got the magnets I keep on my oil filters.

Norm

I took an old 40 gig computer hard drive and used its magnets, just be careful when two of these magnets get close enough they can seriously pinch a finger.

ErikG

Does anyone know where to get a rare earth magnet?  What type would be best for the mini?  I've seen curved ones that attach to the oil filter, but are there others anyone would recommend?  Thanks.

willy