The fuel system is the most advanced, and most critical part of the entire engine. The performance, economy and durability of the engine depend on the fuel system performing according to specification. For the fuel system to work perfectly, the fuel has to be kept clean using high-quality, highly-efficient fuel filters.
Fuel filters can trap particles as small as two microns (for comparison: a human hair is 80 microns in diameter). It is vital to remove as many contaminating particles as possible from the fuel. Inadequate filtration will lead to wear in the injectors, and ultimately to injector failure. Particle contamination as fine as five to ten microns is enough to seriously damage the injectors.
In the past, fuel filter performance was measured by counting the number of particles in the fuel before and after the filter. However, this was done using a test fluid, rather than low-sulfur fuel. Moreover, the tests took no account of such aspects as running temperature and vibration. A new test, Wear Indexing, measures the performance of fuel filters using low-sulfur fuel under simulated running conditions. This test clearly demonstrates that Cat High Efficiency Fuel Filters offer the best protection from particulate fouling in fuel. The performance of these fuel filters is such that 98 percent of all 2+ micron particles are filtered out. In comparison: standard fuel filters only remove particles of 15+ microns.