Does anyone put a lot of thought into what oil filter they buy? I usually try to buy good oil, when I do my own oil changes, and I was just thinking about it. The oil says it's good for 20k mile (Mobil 1). I have no desire to run it that many miles, and will probably just change it when the car oil system says to change, or when it reaches a year (since I don't do a ton of miles right now). But if the oil is good for that long, should I be buying a pricier filter that is also good for 20k miles? Or is it reasonable to stick with the OEM AC Delco filter?

The Fram and Mobil 1 filters were almost the same price as AC Delco, but I read online that one of them had a different bypass PSI rating or something. And then one has better filtration, but lower flow efficiency. Does any of it matter? Probably not, since most oil shops are putting the cheapest filter they can find in their car and you still have cars going 200k miles these days.

Just curious what y'all think.

I usually match mileage grade to oil, roughly. 15K to 15K or something like that. I like to think the filters designed for synthetic oils have a better particle filtration rate. It should keep the oil a bit cleaner as it it deteriorates from heat and molecule breakdown and bits of contamination. I petty much change when the vehicle indicates it for newer ones, and 5-6K for older ones.

Following.

I see so many oil filter test videos on YouTube. It's hard to make sense of it all other than you probably shouldn't buy the cheapest filter on the market. For the price of those things, why not spend $5 more for a good quality filter? That said, I realize that most of these things are all rolling off the same assembly line.

I usually buy Mobil 1 or Motorcraft filters unless AutoZone is running some oil & filter special. Then I just get whatever that is...

Never would I ever run a vehicle >10k miles between oil changes. That would freak me out.

BurnetAggie99 said:

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I use Wix XP FIlters for my Ford 6.7 Powerstroke with Shell Rotella T6 oil. Changed every 6k miles no matter what.

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WIX/NAPA Gold here. 6K doesn't sound unreasonable.

My commute is 12 miles RT... Thus, I change every 3K - 4K.

i use the oem branded filter until I find a reason to change.

I was at AutoZone yesterday buying oil since costco hasn't had mobil1 on sale in a while. Grabbed my jug of mobil1 and on the way to the counter saw deals on stp and Valvoline...5qts and a filter for $10 less than I was paying for just the oil (I buy wix filters from rockauto a couple at a time) Thought about it for a hot minute and said nah...I change oil twice a year tops, that's a cost savings equivalent to like 5 gallons of gas, click and clack taught me that changing your oil every 5,000 miles is a very cheap insurance policy against major repairs down the road. I'm already pushing the mileage a bit (start thinking about a change when I get under 20%), I'm approaching 200k and already saving a ton by changing the oil myself, why skimp on parts to try and save a couple bucks?

I use a Mobil 1 filter on my Tundra. It has 294,000 miles on it. Seems to be working well for me.

The Camry I bought last month takes a canister filter so I'll have to see what I want to do for that the first time I change the oil.

I use Wix filters almost exclusively, but have used Mobil1 a couple times when the Wix was unavailable.

I had read back in 2022 that Wix had changed design to cut costs and had issues with the new design. Switched to Fram Ultra Synthetic since on my old truck. Used OEM Motorcraft on the new one.

Dang, thanks for the heads-up. I may start making the drive to Napa to get their filters.

Napa Gold filters used to be just house labeled wix filters, is that no longer the case?

From my reading, Napa switched their source in 2023 because of the Wix issues. Some of their premium filters are still made in the USA. I'm gonna have to do more research on this.

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My commute is 12 miles RT... Thus, I change every 3K - 4K.

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My commute is 2 miles each way. I change my oil every 6 months without regard to miles.

There are several videos out there comparing oil filter materials across brands. Not surprisingly that many are made on the same manufacturing line in the country it's made in and usually have the same materials. Yes there are some stand alone names out there. The video below was a bit helpful, despite the guy presenting it. It was interesting to see how the microgard filter was virtually the same as the OEM and much cheaper. My suspicion is it is different across car make and model but I bet you can find very similar findings for your car.

Yeah, for me I'm not so much thinking about saving a few bucks by choosing an inferior filter, but more so are there implications to using a filter the manufacturer recommends instead of a potentially better filter or vice-versa.

If you're using better oil, it makes sense to use a better filter. But I know some vehicles have variable power oil pumps. If you get a filter that filters smaller particles, will it affect the flow rate in a potentialy bad way? What about the bypass pressure?

It's like when you get an aftermarket exhaust or intake, hypothetically it should improve air flow and thus power. But with modern engines, sometimes the computers have everything so precise based on OEM specifications that adjusting these parameters can affect power in a negative way. I doubt that's the case with oil filters, but it's a thought.

Also, I think many years ago someone cut into a FRAM filter and it was made from cheap cardboard and the filter didn't even connect all the way around. And so they got a bad rep from that. I think they're much better now, but many still say to avoid.

Sorry I got to rambling...my point was that there's no way I'd go 20k on an oil change, whether the oil and filter manufacturer recommend it or not. I agree with you that finer filtering could lead to higher pressure and possibly bypass (I.e. unfiltered oil getting to your bearings). Maybe the extended interval filters have more pleats or something? I have a buddy who was a mechanic for a drag race team a while back and they blew a couple motors due to oil starvation, which they blamed on k&n filters. When I got my current car, before taking the internets for granted on a larger filter application I checked bypass pressure to make sure it was the same as oem. So I rambled again...

I wonder how much longer an engine from 50-100 years ago would have lasted had it had modern synthetic oil and a high quality filter. Apparently a lot of old engines didn't even have filters.

Also, I changed oil on a car recently where the manual said 6q oil, but online forums said it was a misprint and it only needed 5. I did 5, and when the engine is completely cold on a morning check the oil is actually a little above the top line. But if the engine is warm, but shut off for 30-60 minutes, the oil is just right at the full line. This would seem like a big misprint if people are going by the manual and fail to check the level, or remove excess after filling.

Doesn't a manufacturer named Champion make filters for most of these brand names?

fixer said:

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i use the oem branded filter until I find a reason to change.

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I had an acquaintance who owns a number of dealerships in East Texas tell me that using the oem filter is one of the best things you can do to maintain the longevity of your vehicle. Not positive of his level of expertise in maintenance, but he has been in the industry all his life I suppose.

I don't always use them, and have used others named here, but I usually try to just buy several at a time and get the oem. Not all that hard anymore with online shopping.

BurnetAggie99 said:

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I use Wix XP FIlters for my Ford 6.7 Powerstroke with Shell Rotella T6 oil. Changed every 6k miles no matter what.

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I usually go OEM filters, 7500 mile intervals. Seems like Mobil1 Delvac is easier to find so depending on where I'm at its either T6 or Delvac.

on my 3rd 6.7 truck w/ over 250k on it. 1st two trucks died due to other issues like cows in the road or the transmission giving up otherwise I'd still have em.

OEM filter only for my Fords. Too easy to get OEM quality to chance it on aftermarket. I don't fiddle with oil lab tests. I change oil when it says to change it or at 7,000 miles.

Jason_Roofer said:

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OEM filter only for my Fords. Too easy to get OEM quality to chance it on aftermarket. I don't fiddle with oil lab tests. I change oil when it says to change it or at 7,000 miles.

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Depends on your Ford. I wouldn't necessarily trust the oil life monitor, 10k recommended interval or even 7k if you have a boosted direct injection engine.

I agree on his skills and abilities and I continue to watch his videos. Just hard to get through some of the because I feel like rambling happens often.

If this is your vehicle I'm curious, what was the mileage on that sample, and what kind of daily use does this vehicle see?

See "Lube Time", 3650mi. It's a daily driver, 14mi city commute.

Thanks, didn't see lube time the first time through but I was looking up top. A DD with a 14 mile city commute seems reasonable. Maybe 35 miles on the highway would be better, but in 14 miles of stop and go in a city with traffic signals and such you would expect everything is getting properly up to temp and exercised. Do you have an aftermarket tune? Maybe it needs to be leaned out a little bit? But as you stated or implied, turbo direct injection engines do suffer from fuel dilution. I cringe anytime I hear boosted vehicles being run beyond 3k mile oil changes just due to the heat affect from the turbos anyway. But I am a chronic oil waster who still averages only 1500 miles between oil changes on my boosted car and 4-5k at most on my NA vehicles. Something about cheap insurance and old school stubbornness. I don't think I've ever gone beyond 50% oil life on those idiot lights. Maybe that makes me the idiot, but I'm fine being overly cautious and spending more changing my own oil more frequently than needed.

Oh and to be on point with the OP, I use Mobil 1 Oil and Mobil 1 Filters, except on my 3.6 Pentastar which gets Amsoil cartridge filters because I won't trust Fram and haven't found the cartridge filters in a lot of brands / stores so I just buy them by the case through Amsoil.

Lake Speed Jr has a great YouTube channel The Motor Oil Geek about everything oil. I've run Wix/Napa gold filters in everything for many years and have had no issues. There have been some vehicles that I've used K&N filters because being able to take the filter off with a socket wrench was easier than getting oil filter pliers on the filter.

I tend to drive things until they are done and send them to the junk yard, nothing has ever had engine issues from oil.

mm98 said:

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Doesn't a manufacturer named Champion make filters for most of these brand names?

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Champion makes almost all ford OEM applications from assembly plants.

Their Motorcraft line is Purolator.

I run Mobil 1, Fram Ultra Synthetic, and KN filters with Mobil 1 oil at 5K change intervals on my wife's 4Runner and it runs perfect at 220K miles. Basically stuff i can buy online from Walmart.

I run the same or AC Delco filters with Supertech Synthetic oil in my 2017 Canyon with 5K intervals. Runs perfect at 70K miles.

I run the same as the Canyon in a 2004 Silverado with 220K miles.

Watch out on cheap filters as the media can collapse or come apart. A mechanic showed me an F150 he was pulling apart due to an STP oil filter coming apart. Yes, it's probably fairly rare, but it can happen.

And before you laugh at the Supertech oil, read the reviews showing it matches or is slightly superior to Mobil 1. They're all over the place on Bobistheoilguy.com. The only reason I buy Mobil 1 oil for the 4Runner is because that is all it has ever had.

Yeah, I'm surprised at how good the super tech oil is. I actually think there is probably very little difference between any full synthetic these days.

Been interesting to follow this thread. I have a suspicion that any of the major name brand oil filters would be just fine. I've never talked to anyone that said an oil filter caused a major problem outside of not screwing it on properly or not getting the old gasket off before putting the new filter on. A poster a couple posts up commented about a mechanic showing him a bad oil filter, but I have to think thats rare.