Quick Filter Comparison (with pics)

[ZeeOSix]

Originally Posted By: AMC

BTW- is "shroud" the correct term for what I keep calling the "hold down"? lol


Yeah, guess it could be called a number of things ... your term is as good as any.

- Spring shroud
- Spring retainer
- Spring box
- Spring hold down
- Spring capture mechanism
- ... list goes on ...

 

[daman]

I love the NG filters they just look like they flow well with the large and plentiful inlet holes to the same for the center tube holes.

great filters

 

[AMC]

Well I was able to find the original AC Delco filter I took off my truck. It was the filter that the truck came with from the factory. I used a hacksaw with a new blade to cut it open and let me say, sheesh what a pain! lol.
So here are the guts of the filter laid out. Everything looked OK and the BPV worked but lets take a closer look.

I found the leaf spring spacer on the AC Delco kinda strange. It is 4 legged with an extra 4 small legs (kinda like a demented spider). It is also very stiff and seems to be more of just a spacer (just to take up space) rather than a spring to hold things up tight.

The filter cartridge itself was pretty unevenly spaced but looked OK other than that. This filter also uses the ADBV as the seal to the top of the filter and I was surprised by how thin and flimsy the ADBV is. It seems like it would make a pretty good seal though.

Well this confirmed most of my initial findings with the AC Delco filter. It is a decent filter overall, much better than the Fram and Super-tech filters but not quite as good as the purolator or NAPA/Wix filters I looked at for this truck. Tell me what you think!

 

[Sayjac]

That's a classic (non ecore) Champ Labs filter made for a AC Delco. Looks fine, no problem at all with adbv, as long as it's pliable. I don't get concerned with some unevenly space pleats. For GM, so no bybass.

Leaf spring is typical Champ design, likely to find them on M1 an K&N.

 

[daman]

At least they all have steel center tubes so your already ahead of the game doing good.

 

[AMC]

I still wish I could find a longer filter for this application. This is such a tiny filter for a 300+ horsepower truck!
All I know for now is that I will be running Napa Gold as my first choice and Purolator Classic as my second choice in oil filters.

P.S. I can't believe all I used to use was the OCOD on all the vehicles I maintained.

I am glad I found BITOG!

 

[jb10484]

I bought a 2010 Saturn Outlook this summer. It uses the same oil filters that you are comparing since its a newer GM vehicle. I have only done one oil change on it and it came with the AC Delco filter. This was before I began following this board and I put a Fram Tough Guard TG10060 on it. I have since also bought a wide array of filters. I will post pics later, but I bought the AC Delo PF48, Super Tech ST10060, Fram orange can of death PH10060, and the Mobil 1 M1-113. The problem I have found is that there aren't a lot of options readily available. I have only been shopping at Wally World and Advanced Auto Parts. I have found the same problem with the air filter as I had to have it ordered in at AAP. For our Dodge Grand Caravan, there are a large selection of filters.

The one thing I don't like about my vehicle is the position of the oil filter. Its mounted horizontally to the engine block. There is a metal beam that covers its access from the bottom of the vehicle, so you have remove it from inside the hood. There isn't a lot of room to work and when I removed the filter I got oil everywhere. I read a couple GMC and Saturn forums that said this is the same problem, so I'm not sure if you are seeing the same thing with your GM Truck.

 

[daman]

Originally Posted By: AMC
I can't believe all I used to use was the OCOD on all the vehicles I maintained.

I am glad I found BITOG!

Your vehicles thank you!

 

[AMC]

Originally Posted By: jb10484
I read a couple GMC and Saturn forums that said this is the same problem, so I'm not sure if you are seeing the same thing with your GM Truck.


Nope. My filter is mounted vertical on the back of the engine block, making it an easy change. For your situation I would recommend you check out the form-a-funnel (the ad you see on the left of your screen) and see if that can help you some how. If not, you may have to just go around stuffing paper towels everywhere. Don't bother paying a "professional" to do it for you either, they are making just as big of a mess as you changing that filter.

 

[AMC]

I decided to cut open the unused purolator classic I had in my stash so I could compare it to the others. Every thing looked great except the BPV flap. It was made out of cardboard, did not seem to seal tightly against the bottom of the metal end cap and was cut very easily with the flat head screw driver I used to push it open. eeek.
for your viewing pleasure:
The filter contents laid out

The cardboard BPV flap...Not cool.

 

[Sayjac]

Quote:
The cardboard BPV flap...Not cool.

I't's NOT cardboard, it's not fiber. From this thread by ZeeOSix with close up bypass pics and his dissection of PL14459. It is a composite material, the term ZeeO uses specifically is "phenolic" type material, ie,. a synthetic resin like material. It would be similar to what is used to to make things like pool balls and other products.

I've used many with that type bypass and examined it up close, never reached the conclusion it was cardboard/fiber material.

Good Classic pics, bypass commentary/conclusion, no so much.

 

[AMC]

Just like Frams don't use cardboard end caps...They are high tech "cellulose bonded fiber"

Regardless of what that material actually is, you can see in the pic it is not sealing and how easily it was damaged. And yes it did look like that before I pushed it with the screwdriver. The rubber (hey now I know its not rubber, its high tech poly elastomer with rubber compound)

flap on the AC Delco is still supple and sealing tightly.

 

[Sayjac]

Think what want, at this point your credibilty is diminished and commentary irrelevant.

I'll trust ZeeO's bypass evalution/analysis and my own observations and others here over many years. Classic coil spring bypass seals fine and it's nitrile adbv works fine.

Thanks for the pics.

 

[AMC]

Jeeze we take this stuff seriously don't we? Relax man, I am just having a little fun with it. My credibility diminished? Ouch.

My only real point was that the material didn't SEEM supple enough to make a tight seal at the edges and the spring can be seen pushing through it. I am not sure if that would even make any real difference, I was hoping someone could give me some insight on that... That is one of the things BITOG is supposed to be for right?
I like Zee's write ups too! I think I prefer the coil spring bypass over the wix type as well. I never said the nitrile ADBV didn't work. Why does everyone assume I am wix fan boy and Purolator hater just because of my sig? I think it is time for the sig to go.

 

[AMC]

Well guys my curiosity finally got the better of me. I went out and picked up another Napa Gold filter and the Pure One I hear so much about so I could cut them open and see the insides for myself. I also took measurements of all the filters I had on hand, total media area, pleats, overall weight, etc. I wish I could go back and put all the filter’s specs with their respective pictures but this will have to do.

First up the Napa gold laid out. First thing I noticed was how thick and supple the silicone ADBV was. The first thing I didn’t like was the spacer on top of the filter element, I don’t think this will cause any real problems but it does mean less space for filter media.

I did like the filter media itself. It was perfectly pleated and glued, the media had a thick, firm feel to it and very evenly spaced. The BPV flap appears to be silicone (note the red tint in the pic) and sealed very nicely against the bottom of the end cap. It did seem to open quite a bit easier than the other filters though

Finally the Purolator Pureone. I have been waiting a long time to get my hands on one of these. Here it is laid out. Unlike the Napa gold, the ADBV was on the thin side but was nice and soft. I could tell the filter element was the biggest of the bunch right off the bat…Nice!

On the filter element, It was in fact the biggest of the bunch with a lot pleats. However, the pleats were very crammed together and not as even as the other filters. In the pic you can see how the pleats at the 7-8 o’clock position are spread out and the pleats pretty much everywhere else on the filter are bunched up. I am not sure if I like this IMO. At least the filter media had a nice feel to it like the Napa gold did. The BPV flap was similar to the Purolator classic on page 2. Some sort of a cardboard like material that seems too weak and not flat enough to make a tight seal. Others have told me it is phenolic which is a synthetic resin type material but it just doesn’t seem very impressive (at least to me). I would have like to see a silicone BPV flap on this filter so that all of the rubberized pieces of the filter would be silicone (main seal, ADBV and BPV Flap)

Ok well there they are. I was very impressed with both of them. The Napa gold just seems like a really solid filter other than the cheesy spacer they use as the neck of the filter element. The Pure one seems to make much better use of the limited space this small filter has compared to the other filters I looked at. I am not sure If I like the filter media itself having so many pleats but at the same time, I can’t see what harm it would really do. The Napa gold was quite a bit cheaper than the Pure one at $5.99 vs. $8.99 with 20% off from advance but it is not a show stopper price difference IMO. Again, just my 2 cents but I think either of these filters are great and it is really a toss up if one is better than the other. My recommendation to others that use this filter application would be to go buy which ever filter you can find cheaper in your local area. For me, I am going to run a Pureone for my next OCI with my truck and see how it turns out (I doubt there will be any noticeable difference in anything). Frankly after seeing the Napa Gold and Pure One, I am even less impressed with the AC Delco and Purolator classic and I don't think I will be using them any more (at least for this application). That is about all the conclusion I am going to come to for now. Here are the measurements I took from all the filters.

AC Delco PF48

pleat length .76"
media height 1 5/8th"
Pleats 55
media length 46"
total media area 74.75"
weight: 8.5 oz

Purolator classic L12222

pleat Length .770"
media Height 1 5/8th"
Pleats 61
media length 51"
total media area 82.87"
weight: 8.35 oz

Napa Gold 7060 (Wix 57060)

pleat length 1.16"
media height 1 3/4"
pleats 48
media length 56"
total media area 98"
weight 8.65 oz

Pure One PL12222

pleat length .80"
media height 2.0"
pleats 66
media length 56"
total media area 112"
weight 8.55 oz

I welcome your input on this, I just ask that if it is negative, please be tactful and have reasons for it, instead of just bashing me. I hope this helps some body out, Take Care!

 

[ZeeOSix]

Nice info ... better get rid of that machete and invest in a filter cutter.

 

[AMC]

LOL yes that is a dull hacksaw blade. What a PITA these filters were to cut open.

 

[GMBoy]

Originally Posted By: sayjac
Just some random thoughts. Isn't the standard PF-48 now an ecore? I'm sure many folks wish that all Delcos were still made the classic way as shown in the pic. Afaik, most are now ecore, though Delco brought back the classic design due to customer disatisfaction with ecore design. The classic Delco is worth $3.69, if you can find it..



Correct. Both styles are available. The E-core will have an E after the part number (i.e. PF47E). I have seen both styles at my Wal Mart but the majority are ecores.

 

[AMC]

Hey guys just wanted to let you know that I did another filter autopsy. This time I did the Napa Proselect because another member here wanted to see it and I was very interested in it too.
It was great quality and looked very much like the napa gold filter. It was even made in Affina's plant in NC, USA. The only differences were 1. It uses a nitrile ADBV. 2. It uses wix thread end bypass valve which was actually smaller than the spacer used in the napa gold. 3. The filter element was just as nice as the napa gold as far the pleats and glue job but the filter media itself was much thinner and more like paper rather than the nice fuzzy velvet feel that the napa gold and pureone filters had. 4. the center tube was thinner, had less holes and was not a sprial pattern. Other than that, reference the napa gold filter pics because they pretty much look the same. Here are the specs for comparison:

Napa proselect 27060

pleat length 1.12"
media height 1.8"
pleats 46"
media length 51.52"
total media area 92.73"
weight- oops, I forgot to weigh it.

Being that this filter only cost me $2.99 at napa I am going to have to change my opinion a little. I now feel this is the best cheap filter for this application (of the ones I compared). Look at the filter media area compared to the AC delco and purolator classic. It easily beats them and costs less!

 

[electrolover]

thanx!!