I have always used the M1-110/M1-110A filter on my 2.5L 2014 Outback. Tonight Walmart installed an M1-108A and in checking autoparts stores I find two that only state the 108A is the Exact fit, where two other say 110A is the exact fit. Mobil1 website lookup does not work. Anyone know if the 108A is actually acceptable or do I make them put in the 110A? Are the bypass pressures the same?
Mobil 1 oil filter - which one is the correct one for 2014 Subaru Outback 2.5L (FB engine)
- Thread starter Gar
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Seems like the m108 is just a tad shorter at 2.75 inches instead of 3.5 so it would be just fine. the bypass is the same and they're usually the same as well even for other manufacturers. And welcome to the rabbithole partner. I see it took a bit for the first post but better late then never. From the southeast too, Houston to be exact.
But why do you use the mobil 1 filters. They're well known on here to be a pretty lackluster overpriced filter with just average filtering. Theyre not bad just not known to be worth the extra. The supertech 7317 is an equal filter with metal caps, silicone adbv, and equal filtration but at half the price but i wouldn't be afraid to use the fram 7317. The 7371 is the equivalent to the m110. The 6607 being equivalent to the shorter m1 108. The OEM subaru filters are fram orange can style in that they have fiber caps but there's nothing wrong with them.
The PH is the orange can which is equivalent to the OEM subaru and good enough to be honest. The TG is the tough guard since it filters better with synthetic blend media and is above spec. The XG is the ultra which is the best and exceeds spec but the TG is good enough. I sometimes go to walmart to buy them but i usually order online to stock up.
I have an orange can fram on my 315k truck and i go 10k miles on them. Never had an issue on the original internals engine.
But why do you use the mobil 1 filters. They're well known on here to be a pretty lackluster overpriced filter with just average filtering. Theyre not bad just not known to be worth the extra. The supertech 7317 is an equal filter with metal caps, silicone adbv, and equal filtration but at half the price but i wouldn't be afraid to use the fram 7317. The 7371 is the equivalent to the m110. The 6607 being equivalent to the shorter m1 108. The OEM subaru filters are fram orange can style in that they have fiber caps but there's nothing wrong with them.
The PH is the orange can which is equivalent to the OEM subaru and good enough to be honest. The TG is the tough guard since it filters better with synthetic blend media and is above spec. The XG is the ultra which is the best and exceeds spec but the TG is good enough. I sometimes go to walmart to buy them but i usually order online to stock up.
I have an orange can fram on my 315k truck and i go 10k miles on them. Never had an issue on the original internals engine.
On a 2013 Outback 2.5 w/2.5L engine, used a Napa 47055 because of the higher bypass pressure. (27Psi I believe.) I did a lot of research on this and I would not personally use the Mobil 108/110a because of the lower bypass pressure. RockAuto has the Wix 57055 for $5 each. That is what I would recommend you consider.
From my research, the M1110A is the only listing I see for your Subaru. Maybe it's being discontinued. If in doubt, get an OEM filter at your Subaru dealer. They are not expensive.I always used a Subaru filter in maintaining my father's Legacy and never had any problems with them.
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A good'ole Orange Can PH7317 will serve you well! 
Just don't let dat'ole Bypass Boogeyman scare you!!!
Just don't let dat'ole Bypass Boogeyman scare you!!!
Thank you for the call out. Long time observer soaking up the wisdom, but I cannot say I have anything but personal experience to contribute. I don't have a technical reason for using Mobil 1. It's more of a consistency thing since I use Mobil 1 synthetic oil, though I cannot imagine the extended oil change "warranty" is really worth anything unless it was clear the filter failed. I still change oil frequently and buy both the oil and filter at walmart. I've been using the Mobil 1 oil & filters in my 2005 dodge grand caravan 200K+ mi since the get go and in Subaru outback (140K) too.
Subaru website shows the 15208AA15A filter for the 2014 outback 2.5L w/ ctv regardless of being limited or being premium trim line. Walmart has the mobile 1 M1-108A listed for the Limited trim level and the M1-110A listed for the Premium trim level so someplace there is a typo entry, but where--who knows?
So with a longer filter, does that mean more dirt holding capacity or a measurable shift in flow from the bypass so the % bypassed is less?
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Yeah you should have more holding capacity and flow could be higher but its usually the same. If you go 5k miles the filter would've probably never reached a third of its capacity. I run the short length 3506 filters on my big 6.0 and 5.3 gas that i drive to and from my farm's dusty dirt roads and i still do 10k on them. Have cut one open and it wasn't as filthy as i expected.
The higher up frams also state more holding capacity and higher intervals. The super cheap $1 white can filters from quick lube places state 3-5k miles and yeah when cut open they have very little media.
Update: Sunday Walmart conceded that there were conflicting answers as to which filter is the correct filter, so they changed me to the M1-110A for free, since I was going on a trip. Today, I looked at the Subaru website and confirmed that the 2.5L engines in the outback from 2013 to 2019 all use the same filter regardless of trim line. However the listed filter, is a filter that superseded my original filter. Subaru revised the OEM filter and I never knew. Then I called Mobil 1 filter product support for what the preferred filter was for the 2014 Outback 2.5L engine, which was the Mann-Hummel filtration support (unbeknownst to me). They said: (a) the M1-108A and the M1-110A both have a 14-18 psi bypass differential lift pressure and (b) the M1-108A is the "current" filter for this application.
Support didn't know when the transition was made, but insisted that if the OEM changed a filter they redesign their filter to match. And I'm thinking, "you redesign a filter when one manufacturer makes a change when that filter isn't exclusive to that engine?" I'm also thinking "they have a range of filters that overlap and when a manufacturer moves their "standard" OEM to approximately fit an existing product wouldn't they just reassign the application to that filter?" (duh)
Finally I noticed on the web that Mann-Hummel also owns WIX and Purolator brands and some of you have stated those are what you use. Given the common ownership, does Mann-Hummel let those brands design and manufacture independently to a higher standard across the board? Are you confident that those products are and will remain of higher quality and independently designed or are those brands fated to just become another item differentiated by marketing rather than by technology or quality?
Support didn't know when the transition was made, but insisted that if the OEM changed a filter they redesign their filter to match. And I'm thinking, "you redesign a filter when one manufacturer makes a change when that filter isn't exclusive to that engine?" I'm also thinking "they have a range of filters that overlap and when a manufacturer moves their "standard" OEM to approximately fit an existing product wouldn't they just reassign the application to that filter?" (duh)
Finally I noticed on the web that Mann-Hummel also owns WIX and Purolator brands and some of you have stated those are what you use. Given the common ownership, does Mann-Hummel let those brands design and manufacture independently to a higher standard across the board? Are you confident that those products are and will remain of higher quality and independently designed or are those brands fated to just become another item differentiated by marketing rather than by technology or quality?
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I looked your car up on Mobil's site and they no longer show that they recommend an oil filter for your car...I've recently found that Mobil is discontinuing several oil filters they had made until recently and they don't show any replacements...
I had contacted Mobil about this and received a response back that they did not know why it was discontinued and would contact Mann+Hummel (NOT Champion Labs), the makers of their filters to find out why...I have not received any response from them since and it has been a couple of weeks...
Hope this helps, in my application I decided to go with another filter-
Bill
I had contacted Mobil about this and received a response back that they did not know why it was discontinued and would contact Mann+Hummel (NOT Champion Labs), the makers of their filters to find out why...I have not received any response from them since and it has been a couple of weeks...
Hope this helps, in my application I decided to go with another filter-
Bill
Okay so? Is your point being I shouldn't be worried that some one has gotten it wrong? Being an engineer I am well aware that the consequence of an engineering mistake is rarely catastrophic and that engineers move on before the error comes back to bite them, if it ever comes back to the attention of someone who cares. In this case it only bites those of us keeping our cars for the long term. For example of an inadvertent error, Subaru dealers offered free oil changes for the first 36000 miles when I bought my car. Being conservative I fortunately opted to change the oil twice as often exhausting the service offer at 18,000 mi. Why fortunately? The dealer thought conventional oil was called for, when the manual clearly specified synthetic--I did not find out they were using conventional until I was paying for my own oil and they questioned why I specified synthetic for the next oil change, at the 22,000 mile service interval. Is it no wonder I hear about oil burning Outbacks?
Furthermore, as an engineer that deals in fluid mechanics, I am aware of the trade off between contamination levels and the amount of bypass. Is there enough filter area to compensate for the increased leakage from less sealing force or instances of open bypass? (Potentially less weeping/simmer is what one gets with a higher pressure spring on the bypass.) I wouldn't know how to make this trade-off without real data and testing, and life is too short to not demand folks do their jobs, rather than do it for them.
Finally as an aside, the engine burns little to no oil if I take trips less than 300 miles in a day before the next oil change is due. Travel for 5-8 hours in a day and it burns 1 qt every 1000 to 1500 miles.
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Yeah, the lack of info for my application has been that way for at least a year on the Mobil website. I'd discovered that I was reviewing which of their flavors of synthetic oil to use. When I ran into the question of which filter is correct, I chose to call them but all I got was a customer service rep, and not an engineer.
there seems to be a lot of changes going on at Mobil Oil's website at least...several oils that were recommended for my cars are no longer recommended either...filters and oil have changed...has GM dropped their licensing agreement with Mobil Oil again?...
Bill
Bill
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They may be completely revamping their oil selector, their website was buggered up for quite a while the last time they did a major update too, so it wouldn't surprise me.
A little aluminum 2.5L Putting out the same horsepower as a Musang 5.0 HO 4bbl from the glory days in the 80s.
Seems like those FORD Ho's were REALLY lame ...
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The "Glory Days" definitely came after the 4BBL when the engine got SEFI.
Wonder if the EJ STI filter will fit in the top side filter cup of the FB25 ? Same base gasket DIA and thread. Toyo Roki are the best options for Subaru
The N.A. engine doe not need the high bypass setting like the turbo but should be OK as Subaru has ben specing ( corretly or not) the same high bypass setting for N.A. and turbocharged applications for quite a while.
Cheap, sorta quick. But junk fox body and fly apart BW T5.
I know, I owned many and was dissappointed many times
At least you could get them thousands cheaper than a MITSUBISHI STARION TURBO.
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Yes, the T5 was pretty fragile, though the WC T5 was better. My '87 GT was one of the most fun cars I've owned.Cheap, sorta quick. But junk fox body and fly apart BW T5.
I know, I owned many and was dissappointed many times
At least you could get them thousands cheaper than a MITSUBISHI STARION TURBO.
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