RYCO develops advanced filters for new Gen3 cars

RYCO has been named ‘Official Filtration Partner’ of the Repco Supercars Championship after working closely with the category to develop an advanced range of oil, air and fuel filters to suit its new Gen3 race cars set to debut in 2023.

The new ‘Control Parts’ will feature in all participating race cars and follows months of development and testing by RYCO in partnership with Supercars, engine builders, and race teams.

Development of the range is in direct response to the transition to the Gen3 platform, a move that aims to significantly reduce competition costs, mostly by using more affordable engines with longer maintenance intervals while still maintaining performance.

Supercars Engineering Project Manager for Engines, Craig Hasted, explained how the category wanted to extend engine life to reduce rebuild frequency, with filtration playing a key role.

"One of the biggest challenges we had was increasing the engine mileage," Hasted said.

"Current race cars have a 4,000km life. For Gen3 we’re targeting 10,000kms.

"Improving filtration was seen as a major step in reaching the 10,000km measure."

Accepting the challenge, RYCO designed a range of new filtration products specifically for Supercars, with the benefits transferable to other race categories and everyday passenger cars.

Creating the world’s best package of racing oil, air and fuel filters

In-depth consultation with race teams, engine builders and Supercars’ technical experts identified concerns over engine wear, performance limitations and the shortfalls of existing filtration products.

RYCO complemented these insights with additional research covering race engine specifications, incumbent filtration products, and the effects that certain particulate sizes have on different systems.

Armed with the facts, RYCO set about designing and producing a package of oil, fuel and air filters that would provide ideal filtration efficiencies to both maximise engine life while also delivering outstanding performance.

A unique Supercar filtration solution

RYCO’s unique Supercar filtration solution breaks the traditional view that fine-particle filtration must come with a compromise to flow restriction and engine performance.

A key to RYCO’s new filters is its never-seen-before in racing media, with the company collaborating globally with its suppliers to identify latest technology filter media.

Adrian Burgess and RYCO's Alastair Hampton

The oil filter features a unique 100 per cent synthetic media for fine-micron filtration that replaces the traditional cellulose-based examples. For the fuel filter, rolled element fine-micron media is used, rather than course particle pleated metal screens. And finally, the air filter employs a hydrophobic nano-fibre coated media with unique honeycomb construction.

To prove the feasibility of these combinations under racing conditions, prototypes of each were extensively evaluated in RYCO’s laboratory, as well as in current Supercars race cars and the Gen3 Mustang and Camaro prototypes.

Supercars engine builder and owner of Herrod Performance Engines, Rob Herrod, was impressed by the new suite of RYCO filters.

"RYCO stepping up to the mark and getting involved in this program has been an absolute benefit to this whole Gen3 engine program for us at Herrod Performance Engines," Herrod said.

"Not just in oil filtration; air and fuel filtration was also required, and RYCO has come in leaps and bounds and given us the products we need."

Supercars’ experienced Head of Motorsport, Adrian Burgess said: "RYCO’s innovative, world-first filtration technology will enable the Gen3 series the best chance of ensuring engine mileage and as a result will significantly improve sustained race performance for teams."

RYCO’s Executive General Manager, Stuart Chandler, said the company was delighted to have further cemented its relationship with Supercars.

"I am extremely excited by our new partnership with Supercars as the ‘Official Filtration Partner’ of the category through being the ‘control’ supplier of oil, air, and fuel filters," Chandler said.

"In addition, this partnership cements RYCO Filters as the premium motorsport filter brand in Australian and New Zealand."