Here are a couple of images from today's oil change. The $5 used OEM Mahle filter is on the left, and the new $19 Fram XG-8712 is on the right. The Mahle has about 8000 miles on it and still looks good. The advertised efficiencies are 94% at 30 microns for the Mahle and 99% at 20 microns for the Fram. It goes without saying that the OEM filter was adequate for normal OCIs, since the vehicle is now 16 years old with 215K miles. It should probably be noted that the oil had been unintentionally swapped out about 500 miles earlier due to a blown main cam seal. The oil was four quarts low once I had a chance to stop, and another 3 quarts low when I arrived at a shop only 14 miles later.
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