NASHVILLE – Cummins Filtration introduced the new Fleetguard LF14000NN lube filter for Cummins ISX15 diesel engines at the Technology & Maintenance Council's annual meeting in Nashville, Tennessee.
 
The LF14000NN (Cummins part number 4367100) is the company’s first lube filter with NanoNet media, a patented polymeric nanotechnology-based synthetic media originally developed for Fleetguard fuel filter applications.
 
“Many of the characteristics that make NanoNet media so successful in fuel filter applications translate well to lube filters,” said Brad Long, senior engineering technical advisor, Cummins Filtration. “By pairing NanoNet with our proven StrataPore synthetic media, we can offer a lube filter that’s suited to meet the needs of today’s advanced engine platforms and lubricants as well as those coming in the near future.”

When asked about the reasons behind the introduction of this new filter, Cummins Filtration spokesman Fred Miller explained, "We really see two reasons to advance our lube filtration offer: Evolving engine design and the continued evolution of oil specifications."

A team working with the American Petroleum Institute is working on a new oil specification, expected to be ready in 2017, designed to address lower-viscosity oils to help improve fuel economy in diesel engines.

"The adoption of lower-viscosity oils is coming fast, and many of our customers are already putting this into practice. We designed this new filter to be less restrictive but have more finite efficiency with greater capacity."

As for the role of the filter in fuel economy, Miller said, "One can infer that lower oil system restriction equates to less parasitic losses which improves fuel economy.  Of course the difference is hard to quantify in the real world because of variation. We have testing on-going in this area. We're not ready to quote a figure but we feel pretty confident it helps in the big picture."

Available at Cummins distributors and most OEM truck dealers, the LF14000NN lube filter is recommended for all Cummins ISX15 engines built after January 2010. The LF14000NN is suitable wherever an LF9080 was previously used and is the Cummins recommended upgrade performance filter.
 
Introduced by Cummins Filtration in 2012, NanoNet filtration media removes and retains 98.7% of all particles as small as 4 microns (12 times smaller than the smallest particle visible to the human eye). The 100% synthetic, multi-layer polymer design is thinner than a dime yet gives the media a robust structure, allowing for maximum contaminant-holding capacity over the course of the filter’s service life, according to the company.
 
The NanoNet media structure enables superior cold-flow ability, according to Long. “High cold-flow ability means less restriction and faster oil lubrication during cold start-up, and lubricating and protecting the vital engine components. Filter efficiency, capacity and cold-flow ability are all improved.”