Mahle Oil Filters

[sgt253]

I was interested in the opinions of my fellow BITOG'ers regarding this brand of oil filters. I bought a Napa Gold unit for my vehicle (2.4 L 2011 Suzuki) and the filter was marked Mahle made in Austria. Your thoughts...experiences...warnings...

Thanks in advance.

 

[Russell]

Originally Posted By: sgt253
I was interested in the opinions of my fellow BITOG'ers regarding this brand of oil filters. I bought a Napa Gold unit for my vehicle (2.4 L 2011 Suzuki) and the filter was marked Mahle made in Austria. Your thoughts...experiences...warnings...

Thanks in advance.


I have used Mahle on my BMW for years. Might even be a OE manufacturer for BMW. I consider it a very good brand. Mann is another good brand.

 

[scurvy]

I use Mahle filters every now and then on my VWs. They tend to be very high quality, OE filters. I would use any Mahle, Mann, Hengst, Knecht or Bosch filter without hesitation as they are all OE for my cars. They all tend to be within a few cents of each other.

Most of the oil filters I get are Hengst Energetic, often available in my application in a blue STP box from Autozone. I open boxes to find the Hergestellt in Deutschland Hengst filters and leave the no-name ones from Bulgaria or India behind.

 

[dparm]

Mahle is a big OE provider for German vehicles. It's a good filter.

 

[browntown]

typically napa gold's are wix which are a great affordable filter. If you got a mahle, you got a really nice filter. I'd be thrilled to find a mahle or mann inside a napa box. Must be a weird application that requires napa to go outside the wix line.

Anywho, ask your napa about their monthly filter sale. Around here it is the first friday of every month and they let you buy as many gold filters as they have in stock at jobber prices. If you're filter is a mahle, you should stock up and buy them at a couple bucks a piece.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: browntown
Anywho, ask your napa about their monthly filter sale. Around here it is the first friday of every month and they let you buy as many gold filters as they have in stock at jobber prices.

Interesting. Never heard of that. Do all NAPA stores have a sale like this or is it just on a store-by-store basis?

 

[Kruse]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: browntown
Anywho, ask your napa about their monthly filter sale. Around here it is the first friday of every month and they let you buy as many gold filters as they have in stock at jobber prices.

Interesting. Never heard of that. Do all NAPA stores have a sale like this or is it just on a store-by-store basis?


Store by store.
Around here (a highly agricultural area) they only have filter sales in the spring, when the farmers are planting, and in the fall, when the farmers are harvesting. Unless, of course, a corporate-mandated sale that appears in a flier.
That's probably why most of my filters don't have the NAPA label on them.

 

[Texan4Life]

its a good filter as far as construction goes. not sure how it stacks up efficiency wise. probably average with other filters in its class.

I cut open a new one.. will have to check my post I don't remember if i ever posted pics.

edit: well i guess i never did... maybe i will have to do that sometime

 

[antiqueshell]

Yep, Mahle is an OEM for VW/Audi.

 

[Russell]

Mahle and Mann are some of the top aftermarket filters for many BMWs. These are cartridge drop in filters. Not metal can type. Mahle uses a metal top/bottom while Mann uses a glued construction. Both have worked well in my BMW. However, I prefer the metal construction of the Mahle. Old school thinking perhaps?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Russell
Mahle uses a metal top/bottom while Mann uses a glued construction.

I think this varies by model. The Mahle filter in my application (M54 engine) uses plastic top/bottom.

 

[typ901]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Russell
Mahle uses a metal top/bottom while Mann uses a glued construction.

I think this varies by model. The Mahle filter in my application (M54 engine) uses plastic top/bottom.

And in my application (Cayenne v8) it is a heavy fiber board that is glued to the media, while Mann is still Glue/Adhesive ends.

 

[Hessam]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Russell
Mahle uses a metal top/bottom while Mann uses a glued construction.

I think this varies by model. The Mahle filter in my application (M54 engine) uses plastic top/bottom.

you guys think there is any difference in quality between the MANN, Hengst and Mahle filters that you can buy for around $5, to the actual Mann, Hengst, Mahle ones that are in Actual BMW box, BMW OEM, that are around $9 to 12 dollars.

From my experience with cutting open and comparing regular Mann or Hengst filters versus the OEM mercedes box (Mann or Hengst inside , but also with mercedes star on the filter and on the box) there is a difference between the filter media, although the outside construction of the filters were pretty much exactly the same.

The same is true with the Toyota OEM Denso filters that i get, they are also a different filter media than the regular off the shelf Denso ones you can buy for the same application.

I know a lot of people just buy regular Mann, Hengst or Mahle and believe that they are buying the exact same OEM quality filter (and they might be right for some applications, not trying to start a war here), but as for my experience with the Toyota OEM denso filters 90915-20004, as well as the Mercedes OEM Mann filters 617 184 01 25 versus the regular Mann fitlers you can get for the same application part number PF1055/1... there is a difference between OEM filters (in media quality at least) and the aftermarket filters of the same OEM brand manufacturers (i.e. Denso, Mann, Hengst, Mahle, etc..).

There's plenty of discussion about the OEM toyota denso filter on a lot of the toyota/Lexus boards and they have all come to the same conclusion that toyota OEM denso is different media than regular off the shelf Denso.

I know it's a good feeling to think that you are buying the same exact filter/product that BMW, or VW or Audi sells without their 100-200% mark-up when they put the same filter in one of their boxes and call it OEM BMW, MBZ, or VW part, but I don't think this is true for all applications. while there might be a few applications where this is the case, where you are buying virtually the same exact thing, more often than not, there's a difference in filter media. Even though the OEM filters are made by same company, they tend to cut corners whenever they possible can, and make their aftermarket filters at a lower quality level than their OEM customers (toyota, mercedes, etc..) demand for their own OEM filters.

 

[Russell]

Hessam.
Excellent comments. I have wondered about this. I will buy a couple of OE BMW filters and compare. In my case I change the oil every 3,5000 miles so i doubt if I experience any significant filtering issues.

Also BMW may now spec higher quality filters (especially for newer models) due to their extended oil change intervals. Just speculating.

 

[HerrStig]

Mahle used to, an probably still does, make pistons and other parts. I guess they know what makes a good filter to protect such things. There is a lot of oil filter discussion on Toyota Nation, the bottom line seems to be the OEM filters can vary in construction depending on where Denso makes them, whether the filter is OEM or not. There is one type of Denso filter media which appears to be sponge like. It would seem to me if the ONLY filter to meet Toyota warranty specs was a particular Denso, then Toyota would make that VERY CLEAR in the vehicle owner's manual. Of course, we have one Camry in the "fleet" with almost 300K on Purolator Pure Ones. Would Denso OEM have made a difference?

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Hessam
I know a lot of people just buy regular Mann, Hengst or Mahle and believe that they are buying the exact same OEM quality filter (and they might be right for some applications, not trying to start a war here), but as for my experience with the Toyota OEM denso filters 90915-20004, as well as the Mercedes OEM Mann filters 617 184 01 25 versus the regular Mann fitlers you can get for the same application part number PF1055/1...


One has to ensure that one is getting the correct part and not just a cross, too. For certain Mann and Bosch applications, for instance, there are three or four filters that will work. There will be the USA Mann or Bosch, the Made in Germany Mann or Bosch, and then the long life fleece German Mann or Bosch, not to mention the Bosch Distance Plus if available.

For a lot of the German applications up here, the normal German Mann or Bosch is around $5, with the fleece filter being about triple the price. The American made Mann and Bosch filters for German applications, in my experience, are rarer and price a little too high.

So, it's important to know whether or not your German car should be using the fleece filter (for the ultra long OCI) or not. Some sites make that distinction in the description and others do not.

 

[Hessam]

Yeah I just want to be clear, that I am definitely not making the assumption that because in certain applications there might be a quality difference between the actual OEM filter, and the aftermarket filter of the same OEM manufacturer, that should necessitate anyone going out and paying the extra premium to buy the OEM filter. for most cars, as long as you take generally good care, your engine should last over 200,000 miles without even needing to be opened at all.
For my 240D and LX450 I have used both the Mann and Denso after market versions, as well as the Mercedes and Toyota OEM filters, made by Mann and Denso respectively and I have over 200K on each of those engines.

I haven't even shyed away from using the oil filters that come with the 5 quart/free filter oil change specials (as long as they are quality brands like K&N, Mobil1, P1, etc...) and I have never had a problem with any of those brands.
The only time I've actually ever had an issue with an aftermarket filter was on a Wix filter, with their oil canister/housing washer on my 240D. The Wix filter itself was really well made, but the washer was obviously too small, or too thin, because there was oil gushing all over my engine from the top of the oil filter housing. I believe that Wix has since changed their filter design and corrected the washer size for this application.

I was just making a point that, you shouldn't automatically assume, that just because you are buying an aftermarket filter from the same OEM manufacturer your car uses, for their Mercedes, Toyota/Lexus etc.. brand OEM fitlers, that you are getting the same exact filter in the aftermarket box, as you would in the OEM box. Denso and Mann have been proven to use an inferior filtering media in their same exact part numbered aftermarket filters, than their OEM filters that have to go in a Mercedes and Toyota branded OEM box.
But hopefully, as long as you're sticking with the OEM manufacturers, even though they might be skimping you a little on the filtering media, at least you can rest assured that they will get the washer sizes right!!!!