Oil filters

[withac]

Okay, you hear lots of personal opinions on why this or that oil filter is better or sucks. Can anyone give me some concrete, objective data as to what the best filters are?

 

[tybardy]

well... and this is from past crap i have read, so nothing is fresh in my head anymore, but its a start.

I stoped using Fram oil filters because there is less "media" surface area inside and when a fram gets clogged, thats it.... When i first did this (with my Cadillac sts) i switched over to mobil 1 filter. The mobil one filter claim to use better media.. obviously.. and has a larger filter surface area. furthermore, the mobil one filter has a bipass so IF you are lazy and let your filter get clogged, it will bipass and just let the oil flow, rather that back up. This would be better for your motor in this particularly extreme circumstance. I also switched because i switched to Synth and started running 6000k miles on a single oil change. Often it recomends you change your filter and just re-use your oil when you use these high milage synth blends but the mobil one claimed it could hang, and i never ran into a problem.

Now i use a K&N filter for two reason, it seems that the K&N inlists much of the same technology as the Mobil 1 filter (better media, more surface area, bipass, blah blah blah) So it may or may not be better then the mobil 1, but K&N is a name i trust and for a few extra bucks a year i have no problem paying to make sure i have a quality part installed on my vehicle. but the other selling point, for me, was that the K&N has a hex "nut" built into the end of the filter, so getting the filter off has never been easier (or cleaner)

at the end of the day, when it comes to the filter, i think you are looking at $10 difference between your basic and you top shelf... if you change your oil every 6k like me, thats less then $30 a year over the cheap filter. If nothing else, i will pay $30 a year for peice of mind

 

[withac]

Good info, thanks.

 

[metro273]

You can NEVER go wrong with a good ol' oem AC/Delco oil filter. It was designed for your engine!

 

[Nnaboy]

I woud try K&N too. I keep hearing about their Oil/Air filters and come March when I change my Oil/Air filter I'm gonna try them.

 

[withac]

K&N makes good air filters. I have a drop in in my Bonneville and my Ram. I put the AEM on my 'Ho so I could have the dry element.

I did some searching and found this. Sounds like the K&N oil filter is the same as the Mobil 1 filter, just painted white with the nut on the end. Looks like you couldn't go wront with either. This report looks like the Bosch might be a good mid priced filter too.

http://www.knizefamily.net/minimopar/oilfilters/opinions.html

 

[tybardy]

i have used a few bosch filters as well dont think i have had any problems... like i said, everything i read was that the mobil one and K&N share the same properties... and maybe its totally gay of me, but that nutt at the end is a nice feature! ....lol

my buddy swears by mobil one filters and tells me time and time again i am wasting my money on the K&N and should get the mobil one because it is the same thing.

 

[notch8]

I like the Mobil 1 filter that I have. Seems to work fine.

 

[boostaholic]

I always run royal purple with a k&n filter, get it for uber cheap through work so I can't complain.

 

[withac]

Yeah, I run RP too, that's why I figured if I care enough to run a high grade synthetic I oughta start caring enough to run a high quality filter too.

 

[brielly]

Wix!

 

[boostaholic]

I have cases of each in the garage, think it runs me $45 per change royal purple sells gallon and 5 gallon jugs too.

 

[odie301]

I change oil for a living and from what our filter and oil guru has said... There are only like 3 or 4 companies that make oil filters and they label them for who ever they want. We are a Valvoline affiliated shop, but we switched over to the Service Champ brand filter as it has a lower cost. Matter of fact is that the Service Champ filter is the same filter as Valvoline, just without the name and price tag. I believe that along with service champ there are another 6-12 brands that they private label for. Fram is another company and they also private label for companies (not sure what those lables are). When I order from my catalog they offer me Mobil 1 filters and it does say they are supposed to be a better filter than the standard Service champ ones (hence the higher price)....but since I work in the oil change industry I change my oil every 3-4K anyway even though I run full synthetic and probably don't need too, so I always use the el cheapo service champ filters.

 

[jniolon]

+1 on Wix... actually Napa Gold (made by wix). It's rated at the top of many oil filter studies. I change every 3000 miles regardless of what the mfg recommends.

Oil and filters are relatively cheap, especially if you diy. Oil is the blood of the beast.

can anyone recommend a larger (read longer) filter for the 5.3s I hate that little baby filter ? I can't find one with diameter I need and thread pattern that is longer than the stock filter

another question... gas went from 4 bucks a gal down to around 1.60 here. But a quart of Castrol is still 4 bucks.... why ?

john:cool2:

 

[DarkTahoe00]

I also run Royal Purple and K&N oil Filter it works great for me.

 

[OmarR]

I don't know how credible this guy is, but he did a study:

http://people.msoe.edu/~yoderw/oilfilterstudy/oilfilterstudy.html

 

[NightOwl]

My 2 cents

Recommend Purolator Pure One filter and run with Valvoline SynPower or Mobil1 oil. K&N is ok but a little more $$$

 

[91RS]

+1 on Wix... actually Napa Gold (made by wix). It's rated at the top of many oil filter studies. I change every 3000 miles regardless of what the mfg recommends.

Oil and filters are relatively cheap, especially if you diy. Oil is the blood of the beast.

can anyone recommend a larger (read longer) filter for the 5.3s I hate that little baby filter ? I can't find one with diameter I need and thread pattern that is longer than the stock filter

another question... gas went from 4 bucks a gal down to around 1.60 here. But a quart of Castrol is still 4 bucks.... why ?

john:cool2:

There is no need to use a longer filter, these engines run MUCH cleaner than the older engines and don't need it. If you thing these trucks use a baby filter go look at the filter the import cars use, it's less than half the size these trucks use. If you use a good quality filter, there's nothing to worry about.

I wouldn't touch any Fram filters with a 10 foot pole. They don't filter well and they're cheaply made. The K&N and Mobil1 filters are exactly the same filter. There's no reason to spend the extra money on the K&N variant. AC/Delco filters are good filters for the price and you really can't go wrong with them. If you want peace of mind or don't mind spending extra money for a better filter: I like the Mobil1 filters beause they have a synthetic element and they keep the oil looking cleaner for longer. Wix filters are also good filters and they're half the price of the Mobil filter. I'm using the Wix filter on my Camaro since I'm only going 3000 miles on it. I'm trying the new Amsoil EaO filter on my Trailblazer since I'm using Amsoil oil in it this time.

 

[Custom73]

+3 on the Wix, Napa gold. Good filter is a good investment. Don't want to chance demolishing my engine to save $20 a year on oil filters...

 

[Fyrcaptain]

Here some more filter "research" sites......

http://minimopar.knizefamily.net/oilfilters/reference.html

http://people.msoe.edu/~yoderw/oilfilterstudy/oilfilterstudy.html