Correlation of Fuel Filtration Levels to Fuel Injector Wear and Performance Shifts

The objective of this paper is to discuss the findings of our research relative to the effects of fuel filtration levels on fuel injector wear and performance shifts. The level of filtration in a vehicle fuel system can significantly influence the performance of fuel injectors when subjected to abrasive contaminants in the fuel. A series of tests were conducted to quantify this performance change and establish a relationship between the level of filtration and the resulting performance change. The tests were run in a laboratory and were accelerated by using high contaminant concentrations in the fluid. A substantial reduction in performance shift was observed when using finer filtration levels.

Testing was conducted using a standard V-8 fuel rail and two styles of fuel injectors. Both styles of injectors experienced similar performance shifts. Additional observations were made regarding the fuel pressure regulators used during the test and on overall fluid contamination with various filtration levels. Correlations of performance shifts to contaminant exposure levels were also made. The conclusion of our research is that improvements in fuel filtration lead to significant reductions in abrasive wear and performance shifts of the fuel injectors.