FleetFilter analysis critique

[damanwitdaplan]

I recently read fleetfilter.com's thorough analysis of various filters on the market. Excellet compilation I must say.
I came away with some deductions that comprise a good general filter:

1. Metal end caps and not fiber board caps
2. Silicone valves and not rubber valves
3. coil springs and not leaf springs
4. Spiral center tubes and not staight tubes or plastic tubes.
5. Resin impregnated paper media
6. Large media surface area.

So the filter that met all those criteria was the Purolator, except for the coil spring and spiral center tube. I was disappointed, but nonetheless, went to my local AA to check for myself. Low and behold, the Purolator Classic for my Pilot has a coil spring! Now I dont know how important a spiral center tube is, but at least this filter has a straight metal one.

I now question whether this was a mistake on FF's part, or whether there was a design change. But, I now have new-found respect for Purolator. They also had the largest media surface area. After all, isnt that the most important part of the filter?

Cheers...

 

[Gary Allan]

Quote:
I now question whether this was a mistake on FF's part


What mistake was that?

Quote:
So the filter that met all those criteria was the Purolator, except for the coil spring and spiral center tube.


The filter that met all those criteria was a WIX/NAPA GOLD. The Purolator, as you indicate, does not meet all of them.


Are we missing some link or text based format from FF??


Ah ..found it

http://www.fleetfilter.com/mm5/comparisons.html

They didn't run the PureOne, but that would be sorta immaterial other than the silicon ADBV.

http://www.fleetfilter.com/comparison-purolator-filter.html

 

[damanwitdaplan]

The mistake was that the Purolator is listed as having a leaf spring, when in fact, the one i bought has a coil spring.

I agree Wix/NAPA filters take first prize. Taking retail cost into consideration, however, makes those Purolators stand out. Just look at that media surface!

Cheers

 

[Gary Allan]

Agreed. Purolator, in spite of any short comings in comparison, tends to be a great value.

I've always considered WIX best on construction and Purolator (PureOne in particular) to be the best in sensible cost fine filtration.

Of late, I've had cause to change my global view on fine filtration a bit, but the opinion still stands in regard to Purolator

 

[damanwitdaplan]

Good insights.

I've always worried about the fine filtration vs oil flow trade-off too.

Only way to get WIX at the price of a Purolator, is obviously to buy online in bulk.

It is surprising though, to see some of the so called high end filters to feature leaf springs or straight tubes.

 

[Seguino]

I was of the belief that a NAPA Gold is a re-badged Wix, but according to FF's analysis the Wix 51060 has a leaf spring vs the NG 1060s coil, and the NG has about 14 sq in more media surface area.

 

[Steve S]

Originally Posted By: damanwitdaplan
Good insights.

I've always worried about the fine filtration vs oil flow trade-off too.

Only way to get WIX at the price of a Purolator, is obviously to buy online in bulk.

It is surprising though, to see some of the so called high end filters to feature leaf springs or straight tubes.

I will never understand the misconception of the flow vs filtering thingie.

 

[labman]

Originally Posted By: damanwitdaplan
I recently read fleetfilter.com's thorough analysis of various filters on the market. Excellet compilation I must say.
I came away with some deductions that comprise a good general filter:

1. Metal end caps and not fiber board caps
2. Silicone valves and not rubber valves
3. coil springs and not leaf springs
4. Spiral center tubes and not staight tubes or plastic tubes.
5. Resin impregnated paper media
6. Large media surface area.

So the filter that met all those criteria was the Purolator, except for the coil spring and spiral center tube. I was disappointed, but nonetheless, went to my local AA to check for myself. Low and behold, the Purolator Classic for my Pilot has a coil spring! Now I dont know how important a spiral center tube is, but at least this filter has a straight metal one.

I now question whether this was a mistake on FF's part, or whether there was a design change. But, I now have new-found respect for Purolator. They also had the largest media surface area. After all, isnt that the most important part of the filter?

Cheers...



I find little of that relating to what counts, how a filter traps dirt, and how it flows.

1 The end caps have nothing to do with it.

2 Silicone may do better over a long OCI. I have always found the regular ADBV plenty flexible when I removed a filter.

3 The link to a study showing coil springs are better?

4 Again, proof that the type of tube makes much difference?

5 I would rather see synthetic media. Resin impregnated paper is bottom end.

6 While media surface area is important, so is the quality of media. Why does the Purolator classic now have less media than the old Premium Plus?

Sounds like one more study reflecting nothing but personal biases about construction. I am biased against foreign owned companies. I prefer to support American companies.

 

[Gary Allan]

Originally Posted By: Seguino
I was of the belief that a NAPA Gold is a re-badged Wix, but according to FF's analysis the Wix 51060 has a leaf spring vs the NG 1060s coil, and the NG has about 14 sq in more media surface area.


There should be some typo/mistake there.

 

[damanwitdaplan]

Puros are made right here in the US BTW.

Good construction will invariably mean good media. Just look at RR's oil filter fiasco. His work sold me on the Puros.

They're selling a 2-pack for less than 10 bucks on Amazon for whoever likes a bargain! Pile up and u get free shipping.

Cheers.

 

[AuthorEditor]

I'm a bit suspicious of how accurate those Fleetfilter comparisons are. Right off the bat I noticed a few things I think are wrong. For example, they list a Purolator number for one of their "classic" designs, which I'm pretty sure use a nitrile ADBV not a silicone one. Also, at least some of the Puros I look at have a spiral type center tube. Why not compare the Wix/NAPA Gold to the PureOne's, which I think is a better comparison. And, why not compare filtering efficiency, which seems to be really important too? I didn't have time to go through the whole chart, but when I see some suspicious data it makes me think you can't trust the rest of it either. Am I wrong?

 

[Gary Allan]

No, not wrong. Any presentation can be incorrect. I think it lists a leaf spring where it should be a spiral ..and lists a WIX differently than a Napa Gold.

The thing could be a proof reader's nightmare.

My view of filtering efficiency has been altered over my time here. I'd be more interested in holding capacity and how it matched the service length/severity.

 

[RacerE7773]

I like both purolators and Wix/napas.

 

[widman]

The resin impregnated paper does little unless it is baked before assembly.

Also they say nothing about the base plate. I've seen pressure formed, welded, bent over tabs, etc. lots of failures there and tabs or uneven welds or barbs that don't seal.