Stay with Mopar filter, save u money and headache of poking around.
Most upper end filter brand are made by Champion Lab (major OEM supplier), including Mobil and K&N
http://www.champlabs.com/
they list out all brands from them at their home page.
which means, the Mobil filter or K&N filter which cost $13 is probably EXACTLY the same filter as the Mopar filter or STP filter.

and here is a Toyota Owner open up different brand of oil filter for a comparison.
see for yourself
http://spyderchat.com/forums/showthr...ght=oil+filter


Royal Purple and TRD filter are Highend filter from Champion Lab, a true hi-flo filter, also most expensive.

 

Well I certainly found the last post interesting, especially where the Toyota filters are concerned, as I also have a 1992 Tercel with 126,000 km on it. i can't get rid of a car that is twenty years old, won't quit, and still gets on average about 33 to 34 mpg (imperial) in the city (we got 42-43mpg on the highway in the fall at a steady 110km/hr) because it's worth nothing. I can't buy a new car today and amortize the payments long enough in comparison to a $1500 car... but I digress... I'll have to explore that information further.

I think what's interesting is that it appears the lower and mid-range filters are so similar (almost identical according to those photos). But I think for anyone reading that
1) It would appear a factory filter will "likely" be a better quality and adequate filter for me using synthetic and changing oil every 3 months or 5000 km, which ever comes first.

2) Picking a filter by its brand name isn't necessarily reassuring.

 

Oil filters may take many forms. What Fram makes for Honda or Purolator makes for Ford will likey vary from what they market under their own name. For example, Purolator oil filters (Pure One and Classic) have the bypass valve at the cap end whereas the one they make for Ford/Motorcraft (FL-1a) has the bypass valve at the base end. The filter media will be different as well as synthetic content versus cellulose content plus number of pleats plus any mesh reinforcement of the pleats can vary. The oil filter manufacturers make OE filters to suit OE specifications, that's the deal.
Things that set oil filters apart:
- silicone versus nitrile anti-drainback valve (silicone is found on higher end filters like Fram Tough Guard).
- bypass valve at cap end (Purolator and Fram) versus bypass at base end (WIX).
- coil spring retainer (WIX) versus leaf spring retainer (Purolator and Fram).
- filter media whether it be cellulose, syntheic, a mixture of cellulose and synthetic or some other media.
- number of pleats (varies with type of media used and % efficiency stated/designed for).
- reinforcement of pleats - wire mesh (Xtended Guard by Fram) or whatever or nothing except maybe a piece of string (Purolator Pure One).
- efficiency ratings for particles greater than 20 microns
- dirt holding capacity.
- bypass valve differential pressure.
- base plate design.
- length and diameter (volume)
Take a look at this cross section of a WIX filter: http://www.wixfilters.com/productinformation/index.html

Note regarding factory (OE) oil filters: Try to find one with a silicone anti-drainback valve, a stated efficiency rating and a stated dirt holding capacity. They aren't high end filters for the most part, but they will do.

 

well, if you have $15 to burn on a Oil filter, Royal purple filter is the top of the line one money can buy. It is identical to TRD filter from Champ.

 

Lot's of info to sift through in this thread. I'd just stress once more that where paper/cellulose oil filters do an okay job, the 100% synthetic micro-glass oil filters are light years ahead in both flow and contaminate trapping ability. This due to the construction of the micro-glass, namely microscopic glass fibers carefully spun together in an organized and meaningful manner.

The image below helps illustrate this. What we have is an example of two identical filter media surface areas. Cellulose on the left and Micro-glass on the right.



To break it down, we've got two contaminate particles the same size. Notice how the Cellulose media is already 100% blocked by the two particles while the Micro-Glass media has about 85% free surface area left after trapping the same two particles. Again, better trapping ability and more flow with the synthetic oil filter. This is the theory behind the technology, but wait, it really does perform this well in reality.

Still not sure? How about a real world test performed in a real life vehicle by a Certified Lubrication Specialist (CLS) found at this forum link: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...034#Post846034

When you've got this much filtering power readily available for as little as $5-$6 dollars more than a quality paper oil filter, the choice should be really simple no matter how often one changes the oil. After all, contaminates in the oil is what causes the most engine wear thus the highest level of oil cleanliness is what we're looking for. Enter micro-glass. Threw the paper oil filters out long ago.

 

Steak59... agreed... as I said in the quote "...isn't necessarily..." Which means the name may or may not imply quality. But I think few out there will be able to argue against Royal Purple anyway. It seems they have long ago forgotten what budget is and simply make the highest quality product out there. But one does not find Royal Purple in every store. One does generally see FRAM or Wix or Purolator and now that I've looked, I'm finding the Mobil 1 filters more frequently now. My comment was related to those items in general which are easily found. You're bringin out "Ruth's Chris steak" with Royal Purple and I'm talking about Outback Steak House...

(but I do love it when someone slices open a filter and looks during these talks Hellova good bit of construction it looks like...)

 

No doubt better filtration, ie non cellulose filter media, will trap smaller particles including those smaller than 20 micron size. This is even more important with extended oil change intervals where contaminants are allowed to remain in the system for 2 to 3 times more miles than say with a 3000 mile oil change (ie 6,000 to 9,000 miles and longer).

One can't fault frequent oil changes for getting rid of contaminants genarally, plus including condensation when a vehicle has been sitting around for extended periods unused.

As stated previously, there are some fancy filter medias available to chose from these days, and they are very effective too. Some will say that the particle sizes smaller than 20 microns are the death of the engine. Although cellulose media has great dirt holding capacity, it's not efficient at trapping these smaller particles for sure, hence the blends and the high tech oil filter medias.

"How much is enough" is a good question. The very high efficiency oil filters may be expensive but if they are rated for 15,000 to 25,000 miles, they could be left on for a couple of oil changes or more. That's just a possibility to consider in the interest of costs.

Some data from the Filter Manufacturers Council follows:
Filtration Media (TSB 02-02) @ http://www.aftermarketsuppliers.org/...glish/02-2.pdf
Micron Rating for Media in Fluid Filters (TSB 89-5R3) @ http://www.aftermarketsuppliers.org/...ish/89-5R3.pdf
Synthetic vs. Cellulose Media and Usage in Liquid Filtration (TSB 09-1) @ http://www.aftermarketsuppliers.org/...glish/09-1.pdf
A complete listing of Filter Manufacturers Council TSBs is found @ http://www.aftermarketsuppliers.org/...Council/TSBs-2

Personally, I think the Fram Tough Guard 8A (the oversize one) is the filter of reference for "how much is enough?" I have used many of those over the years. Here's what Fram says @ http://ca.fram.com/enca/products/oil...ard_oil_filter
Purolator Pure One, or any other filter with a STATED efficiency of 99% or better > 20 microns, plus a silicone anti-drainback valve, would suit that description as well. Trouble is, some of the oil filter manufacturers leave you guessing as to their efficiency is so may as well assume it to be less than 95%. Maybe they will smarten up.

 

... And Compsyn, you and I agree. If nothing else, that extra $5 is piece of mind if not good insurance. I don't plan on pushing change intervals longer. I don't plan on trying to run the van until it's got 300,000 miles. I don't drive my caravan like an autobahn racer. But if I end up doing it, and I had used that better filter with the synthetic, my ****-retentive nature to meeting scheduled regular maintenance would be relieved. We're planning a road trip for the summer for a couple of weeks of driving, which is just one of those time where you may or may not find the opportunity to do an oil change conveniently.

 

This is a great forum, glad I joined. Enjoying the discussion.

One could certainly weigh the cost of the synthetic oil filters by effectively using them for the entire year. For example, I follow the severe service oil change recommendation found in my owners manual which is 3,750mi or 6-months. Since I generally drive less than 3,750, I simply change the oil twice a year at spring and fall with an entry level full synthetic motor oil but I leave the synthetic oil filter in for the full 12 months. This is what these filters are designed to do and they do it well. Doing it this way, I have a filter that filters better and costs the same as if I changed with a quality paper filter twice a year.

Sure but when you look at the study that Mr. Morrison did, the Micro-Glass oil filter took over service at 1,500-miles into the test and proceed to clean the the used oil in the engine to a level cleaner than that of brand new motor oil coming out of the quart bottle. How about that, a spin-on oil filter that could even clean the contaminates out of fresh, brand-new motor oil.

Here's another concept to sweeten the pot. For those of us who live in colder climates, paper oil filter media is partly composed of water molecules. When it gets really cold outside and freezes, these natural occurring water molecules freeze also and expand. Now if having a paper oil filter that's as much as 40% blocked from day one, out of the box, now you have a frozen paper oil filter that's even more blocked. Ever start your car up on a cold day and hear that initial valve train rattle? Sure cold oil could be at least partly to blame, but did you consider that maybe the oil filter was frozen as well? Interesting! One more reason to throw out the paper.

 

Your comments about the colder climate are VERY interesting, and I'd never thought of that before. I would have to say that's a very interesting thought. That just might be the most interesting thought for me living in God's Country (Alberta) during the winter. Thanks for that.