Oil Filters

CAmos · 03-24-2003, 03:56 AM

I was at NAPA yesterday and was about to buy yet another set of 3 of their pricey (but good) oil filters.

I usually pay $4 and change, but bought a case of 12 and paid $2.29 ea for the NAPA (Wix) filter.

I am pretty particular about the filter I use, I don't really care what brand, but the construction and materials are important, especially the anti-drain back valve.

I guess most every filter on the market is made by one of about 3 or 4 manufactures, and most of the ones you find (whatever the brand) are made by the inferior manufacturer.

Wix, is supposed to be one of the best, and NAPA's filters are made by them.

I got this info from a article I read on another site where an engineering student had done a project where he had cut open 50 or so filters and compared the insides.

I will look for the link, in case anyone is interested. Basically, it boiled down to Wix, Puralator, and a couple others were good.
Most store brands, and anything orange is best left alone.

OBTW, I don't work for NAPA, or have anything to do with them other then getting my parts there.

jeep45238 · 03-24-2003, 05:19 AM

I'm interested in the link.

CAmos · 03-24-2003, 07:19 PM

I went to my old MGB page, and it was not there any more.

I found another link searching on a corvette page

Oil Filter Study Link

CAmos · 03-24-2003, 07:27 PM

Here is another link,

It is the same study, but on the original authors server.

http://minimopar.net/oilfilterstudy.html

I guess he was a Mopar fan.

Anyway, here is what he said about the Napa (Wix) Filter:

Quote:

"Another quality oil filter similar in design to the Purolator. It has metal end caps on the filter element, a standard nitrile anti-drainback valve, and a seemingly good flow. They are manufactured by the Dana corperation. These appear to have a depth gradient filter element, which uses cotton fibers to progressively trap smaller particles as they get deeper in the filter. This helps maintain good flow as the filter gets plugged."

And here is what he says about the Fram, (#1 selling (?))

Quote:

Fram Extra Guard
Years ago Fram was a quality filter manufacturer. Now their standard filter (the radioactive-orange cans) is one of the worst out there. It features cardboard end caps for the filter element that are glued in place. The rubber anti-drainback valve seals against the cardboard and frequently leaks, causing dirty oil to drain back into the pan. The bypass valves are plastic and are sometimes not molded correctly, which allows them to leak all the time. The stamped-metal threaded end is weakly constructed and it has smaller and fewer oil inlet holes, which may restrict flow. I had one of these filters fail in my previous car. The filter element collapsed and bits of filter and glue were circuilating through my system. The oil passge to the head became blocked and the head got so hot from oil starvation that it actually melted the vacuum lines connected to it as well as the wires near it.

Fram Double Guard
Another bad filter idea brought to you by your friends at Fram. The filter itself is a slightly improved design over the Fram Extra Guard, but still uses the same filter element. It has a silicone anti-drainback valve, a quality pressure releif valve, and enough inlet holes for good flow. The big problem is that they are trying to cash in on the Slick 50 craze. They impregnate the filter element with bits of Teflon like that found in Slick 50. As with Slick 50, Teflon is a solid and does not belong in an engine. It cannot get into the parts of the engine that oil can and therefore does nothing. Also, as the filter gets dirty, it ends up filtering the Teflon right out. Dupont (the manufacturer of Teflon) does not recommend Teflon for use in internal combustion engines. Please do not waste your money on this filter.

ericB · 03-25-2003, 04:05 AM

"anything orange is best left alone"

looks like i'll be heading back to kmart. glad i read this. thanks

Anony00GT · 03-25-2003, 03:29 PM

I have always used the Purolator PureONE.

I'm interested to see what he has to say about the K&N filter. For $10 it better be the best damned filter on the market.

jd_turbo_sc2 · 03-26-2003, 12:23 AM

got a K&N on now, but am putting on a purolator PUREOne next. dont wanna shell out another $10 for an oil filter!