I don't do my own oil changes, but to save money, I bring along oil and an oil filter. Probably not a good idea, but the filter is Fram or whatever I find at the local auto parts store.

What do y'all have to say about a good oil filter to use...

--Steve
1993 Ram3500 Van, 5.2L 8cyl EFI, 162,000 miles

 

I don't think you can really go wrong with anything on the market today. Fram is probably as good as you're going to get in my opinion. That's what I use.

 

Purolator 30001 is nice

The stock Morpar's are really good...even Motorcraft

So are Wix(Napa) and even (gasp) Supertech

 

I use the mopar ones that you get at Walmart. My opnion may be skewed since I am a Chrysler guy though.

 

Mobil 1 M1-301 is up there, in price and quality.

Bosch D+ probably about even, perhaps same exact internals

Mopar filter is likely exactly the same internally as a purolator classic for a buck or 2 more

Motorcraft FL-1a are good because they have a thread end bypass. As does the m1-301 and several others. It too is likely made by purolator.

Dome end bypasses are said to allow the oil to wash the dirty side of the filter element and send it through the engine. Cold oil and higher rpm's will put the filter into bypass.

Fram orange can are the most hated filter on the planet. In reality they are just too expensive for what they are, and the fiberboard endcaps are hardly confidence inspiring but it is not as if one is going to grenade your engine, though some apparently have in rare instances.

Some filters in the cheaper end have a plastic inner core that has been known to compress/break and tear the filter media. These 'E core' filters are to be avoided.

There is lots of the same filters in different packages, and often you pay significantly more for a fancy name. Hard to say at any given point what is what.

I am using a M1-301 right now. It has a thread end bypass and a silicone antidrainback valve as opposed to nitrile. Nitrile ADBV's can get hard over time and not seal well and cause the valvetrain clatter on cold startup.

m1-301 is a 12+$ filter. I normally would not spend so much on it, but I got it and 5 quarts of M1 0w-40 for 30$ a year ago, and am looking for a similar special as I am due.

I might however just use this same filter with fresh oil for another year long oil change if I can not find any similar deals in the next month. I've used purolator classic 30001 a lot with no issues. I open every filter to inspect it. Purolator pure one 30001 caused some valvetrain noise on startup in my engine and I replaced it early. Purolator has a Synthetic model out now aimed at longer oil change intervals that synthetic oils can allow. I have no experience with these.

Wix should not be left out of mention. Silver gold and platinum availability through Napa. I am not a fan of their combo ADBV/Bypass valve engineering, but they are a well regarded filter.

Napa 1515 or wix 51515.

All filter model numbers I mention are oversized filters compared to what the parts books list. A little extra oil to circulate and more filtering media to spread the load are Pluses in my book. There are no fitment issues and the only possible downside to a longer filter is if the perfectly size rock gets the perfect trajectory to hit the oil filter, it can produce more torque on the mounting plate. The bigger filters cost no more than the tiny lawnmower sized ones the parts books will have you use.

Both Royal purple and AMSoil make a filter with 3/4-16 threads and are said to be the absolute best available but this is heresay.

Possibly more important is using a quality air filter. While a contentious subject, high flow air filters are only beneficial at high rpms, and possibly not even enough to be noticeable. Our engines are not capable of high rpms, and do all of their work in the lower rpm range and will not be seeing benefits of higher airflow. Higher flow is achieved through less efficient filtering. The more dust that gets into the engine, the more wear that occurs..

I threw out my Oiled gauze filter after seeing a bunch of dust in my throttle body and went back to paper.

But someone will not doubt chime in and say that they gained power and MPG with a reuseable oiled gauze filter which are proven to let more dust pass through.

Most Humans need others to agree with them to justify purchases. Internet forums are prime examples.

 

Motorcraft FL1A is best and easy to find. Sometimes you can get a deal price by buying them by the case. If you are strapped for cash and have to have a new oil filter right now the STP S16 is acceptable. Purolator is excellent but supposedly the Motorcraft is made by them, same thing but costs less so why?

After seeing the inside of the Fram oil filters I won't buy another. Their fuel filters (where applicable, not this vehicle) seem to be fine.

 

Thanks to everyone who responded -- with a special thanks to Landyacht318 for a Car and Driver-worthy review!

 

stevebass: For what it's worth, the average vehicle owner is not going to benefit from one filter over another. They all do what they're supposed to do. Some people may not like one thing or another, but you're not going to notice what your filter is doing while you drive. Reviews and facts are nice, if the subject that we're talking about actually makes a difference. In this case, it really doesn't.

 

In general I would agreed with you if I'd not actually seen the damage for myself.

Friend had a Chrysler New Yorker with a 3.3L V6. He only did the minimal maintenance. In this case I believe the oil filter was a Fram. He let the oil got low (leaking valve cover gaskets) and he spun a bearing. The engine was run like that for about 20 more minutes and naturally the bearing disintegrated.

If your oil filter gets clogged and the bypass opens - doen't matter why, poor design or leaking valve - all that garbage will be immediately picked up and circulate throughout the entire oiling system. At that point the motor is trashed. In this particular case I cut open the filter, verifed that the bypass was indeed closed and was able to easily flush the metal particles from the oil pan pickup and oil return passage. I installed a $275 crank kit and he was back on the road in a few days. As I recall car ran fine for almost another two years before he totalled it.

He got lucky. In this case the bypass on the Fram filter was in fact closed so it caught the schrapnel that was picked up by the oil pump. After seeing multiple Fram filters cut open, some new and some after 3000 miles, no way I'd use one again.

 

Got 2 Napa 1515 yeasterday. Thanks for the discussion, everyone -- I learned lots.