i agree borticus, but people on here are paying over $7 per quart of oil, then saying they omit changing the filter, im in no way trying to tell anyone how to maintain anything, but this makes no sence whatsoever to me, im trying to understand why anyone would do so. I recently switched my wifes car to castrol edge wich is expensive, so it only made sence to me to buy a better filtering oil filter, i chose the bosch distance plus filter to compliment my change to the full synthetic. Her car is getting close to 30k miles on it and i would like to get the most out of that car as i possibly can, wear and tear and gas mileage. i chose edge based on reviews (not trying to start an arguement) i run m1 in my truck. i have myself read manuals stating to change the filter every other time, and i have yet to see any proof that would be saving anything other than the cost of the filter, nor making any benefit whatsoever to the engine. the fact is small engines ran for many many years without even using a filter, im not saying reusing a filter would not be okay, but i wouldnt do it. now koolzx3 asked what oil to use etc..so i answered to the best of my ability, and i do have years of commercial lawn equipment sales experience, equipment that wouldnt be comparison to the mower he was reffering to. but regardless what brand mower its on, he stated he has a briggs engine on it, and it requires sae30 oil and it has a filter on it. so i think commonsenece would be to use sae 30 oil and obviously change the filter. i never told him wich brand of oil to use nor did i specify what filter to use, the reason i pointed out specifically what filter i use and the cost was to show him that a filter can be cheap. he obviously isnt small engine savy, but i was trying to answer his question and hope he gets good longevity out of it. and ppl recommending he not change the filter to save a few bucks isnt good advice in my opinior rather or not it works. and in the years i sold ope, i have seen old filters/oil void the engine warranty. this wasnt my decision but the decision of the engine manufacture rep. and im sure if he has issues and they see a filter that is 5x the lenght of the proper filter (mc fl400s) an eyebrow could be raised. if he was asking about a $99 walmart pushmower, i would reccomend accordingly. but he's talking about something he shelled out over a $1000 for.