Hey everyone!
Thought I'd contribute something cool to this forum by cutting open two European made aftermarket oil filters that cross reference to SAAB 93 186 554. This is a comparison between what I think are two of the best aftermarket filters for your SAAB; MANN 712/80 and MAHLE OC981. The MANN is made in Germany and the MAHLE in Austria. The MANN is slightly more expensive as well.
Gasket
Both filters use a nice quality gasket, I think they are both made of standard rubber. I've used both filters and they easily hold up for the entire OCI. I also never had the issue of a stuck gasket, as both are held firmly into their respective baseplates.
Housing
Both filters have a high quality housing. Both are 0.6mm thick and really hard to squeeze even when empty.
Baseplate
Both baseplates are really sturdy and robust. The MANN has 4 inlet holes and the MAHLE has 6, the MANN has larger inlet holes while the MAHLE has smaller ones. The MANN also has slightly deeper threads than the MAHLE, about 1 more thread I'd say.
ADBV
Both filters have really nice ADBV, I think it's safe to say that they are both constructed from silicone. The MANN's ADBV is slightly more pliable. Both seal against their respective baseplates really well.
Filter Media
This is where it gets fun... first off I just want to say both filters have phenomenal build quality with no excess glue and excellent pleating. I counted 66 pleats on the MANN filter and 56 pleats on the MAHLE filter. The MANN media is 46mm tall and the MAHLE media is 57.8mm tall. Both filters probably have very similar total surface area but it's something I haven't yet calculated as I haven't completely torn out the media yet. Media on both filters looks like a cellulose base. The MAHLE has a stiffening band around the media which is a nice touch. Both centre tubes are of a really nice quality and have an axial seam. Both bypass valves are made of a stiff rubber material, the MAHLEs is slightly harder to open compared to the MANN's. As you can see both filters use metal end caps.
Retaining Spring
The MANN uses a piece of stamped steel, which is held onto the filter media with a slight touch of oil, took a little bit of force to remove it from the bottom end cap. The MAHLE uses a much preferred spring which of course has much less chances of getting distorted. Although I prefer the MAHLEs spring, I do have to say the MANN's stamped steel is really nice compared to cheaper filters.
To sum it all up, both filters have nearly perfect build quality and I'd easily trust either of them in a 12,000km OCI or even higher! I've used both in the past and have always thought they were super well made but now that I cut them open they truly prove that they are some of the best filter makers around.
In a future thread I'd love to go in depth on these two filters with more measurements and more detailed comparisons, I also need to find my scale so I can weight the parts of the filter, but in the mean time I'll leave you guys with what i hope is a nice little read. What do you all think?
Let me know if there are any improvements I could make.
Thanks for reading!
Thought I'd contribute something cool to this forum by cutting open two European made aftermarket oil filters that cross reference to SAAB 93 186 554. This is a comparison between what I think are two of the best aftermarket filters for your SAAB; MANN 712/80 and MAHLE OC981. The MANN is made in Germany and the MAHLE in Austria. The MANN is slightly more expensive as well.
Gasket
Both filters use a nice quality gasket, I think they are both made of standard rubber. I've used both filters and they easily hold up for the entire OCI. I also never had the issue of a stuck gasket, as both are held firmly into their respective baseplates.
Housing
Both filters have a high quality housing. Both are 0.6mm thick and really hard to squeeze even when empty.
Baseplate
Both baseplates are really sturdy and robust. The MANN has 4 inlet holes and the MAHLE has 6, the MANN has larger inlet holes while the MAHLE has smaller ones. The MANN also has slightly deeper threads than the MAHLE, about 1 more thread I'd say.
ADBV
Both filters have really nice ADBV, I think it's safe to say that they are both constructed from silicone. The MANN's ADBV is slightly more pliable. Both seal against their respective baseplates really well.
Filter Media
This is where it gets fun... first off I just want to say both filters have phenomenal build quality with no excess glue and excellent pleating. I counted 66 pleats on the MANN filter and 56 pleats on the MAHLE filter. The MANN media is 46mm tall and the MAHLE media is 57.8mm tall. Both filters probably have very similar total surface area but it's something I haven't yet calculated as I haven't completely torn out the media yet. Media on both filters looks like a cellulose base. The MAHLE has a stiffening band around the media which is a nice touch. Both centre tubes are of a really nice quality and have an axial seam. Both bypass valves are made of a stiff rubber material, the MAHLEs is slightly harder to open compared to the MANN's. As you can see both filters use metal end caps.
Retaining Spring
The MANN uses a piece of stamped steel, which is held onto the filter media with a slight touch of oil, took a little bit of force to remove it from the bottom end cap. The MAHLE uses a much preferred spring which of course has much less chances of getting distorted. Although I prefer the MAHLEs spring, I do have to say the MANN's stamped steel is really nice compared to cheaper filters.
To sum it all up, both filters have nearly perfect build quality and I'd easily trust either of them in a 12,000km OCI or even higher! I've used both in the past and have always thought they were super well made but now that I cut them open they truly prove that they are some of the best filter makers around.
In a future thread I'd love to go in depth on these two filters with more measurements and more detailed comparisons, I also need to find my scale so I can weight the parts of the filter, but in the mean time I'll leave you guys with what i hope is a nice little read. What do you all think?
Let me know if there are any improvements I could make.
Thanks for reading!
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