Subaru and Wix.

Maybe you got a bad one. Mine retained considerable oil, as do the apparent Mazda equivalent Tokyo Rokis.

Mine was also empty when I changed the factory fill. I had just spun the filter off no more than 5 minutes after shutting the motor down.
Fram are notorious for leaky ADBV due to poor baseplate stampings

My Fram XG7317 that I just spun off last week sometime had oil left it in though.
 
I have two Subarus that use nominally the same filter, but I'm not sure what to think about what the Wix site has to say. If I go by what the cars were built with, I should be using a different Wix part number than if I go by the current catalog recommendation.

We have an '11 Forester (late-year manufacture, so apparently a '12 engine). Subaru's original filter for this engine appears to have been 15208AA130. Wix crosses that part to 57830. However, Subaru's catalog lookup for this car makes no mention of 15208AA130; it only says 15208AA160 is replaced by 15208AA15A. Wix crosses those two numbers to their 57830 and 57055 respectively. Direct lookup by make/model/year also says 57055.

We also have a '19 Crosstrek. This car came with a 15208AA160 installed (I know because I still have it), but again, Subaru's catalog says 15208AA160 is replaced by 15208AA15A (Wix 57830 and 57055 again) and the Wix lookup says 57055.

I know Subaru changed the part number in the US market, the famous blue filter / black filter thing where Japan Subarus get robust Tokyo Roki filters and US Subarus get inferior blue Frams. But if the Tokyo Roki filters and the blue Frams are both installed by Subaru, and each one has a different cross to a Wix number, would it be safe to use either Wix on either engine? They're significantly different in specs; different size, different micron rating, different bypass pressure. The 57055 is 15 microns and 27lb, whereas the 57830 is 35 microns and 22lb. Are those changes related? Do they raise the bypass pressure so that the filter doesn't bypass too soon when trying to push oil through the finer media? Just trying to understand Subaru's changes and how they relate to Wix.

I wonder if there's a way to find out those specs for the OEM filters; I googled for it but didn't find anything.
Never been a Fram fan. Just too many good choices out there these days. Not to offend Fram fans of course.. to each there own! 😀 I prefer OEM Motorcraft (Purolator) myself esp since I'm a fan of 5-6k mis (max) OCI on both our Gen2 - TGDI Ecoboost motors ..in a '19 Escape SEL AWD & '20 Ranger XLT FX4 crew cab truck. Have run PUP in both these vehicles since 1st oil change @approx 1200mis. This combo has served me quite well. My '14 F150 Lariat FX4 (Gen1- 3.5L TGDI) had close to 300k mis when i sold that truck to a friend. Still in use as backup work truck to this day.
 
I have two Subarus that use nominally the same filter, but I'm not sure what to think about what the Wix site has to say. If I go by what the cars were built with, I should be using a different Wix part number than if I go by the current catalog recommendation.

We have an '11 Forester (late-year manufacture, so apparently a '12 engine). Subaru's original filter for this engine appears to have been 15208AA130. Wix crosses that part to 57830. However, Subaru's catalog lookup for this car makes no mention of 15208AA130; it only says 15208AA160 is replaced by 15208AA15A. Wix crosses those two numbers to their 57830 and 57055 respectively. Direct lookup by make/model/year also says 57055.

We also have a '19 Crosstrek. This car came with a 15208AA160 installed (I know because I still have it), but again, Subaru's catalog says 15208AA160 is replaced by 15208AA15A (Wix 57830 and 57055 again) and the Wix make/model/year lookup says 57055.

I know Subaru changed the part number in the US market, the famous blue filter / black filter thing where Japan Subarus get robust Tokyo Roki filters and US Subarus get inferior blue Frams. But if the Tokyo Roki filters and the blue Frams are both installed by Subaru, and each one has a different cross to a Wix number, would it be safe to use either Wix on either engine? They're significantly different in specs; different size, different micron rating, different bypass pressure. The 57055 is 15 microns and 27lb, whereas the 57830 is 35 microns and 22lb. Are those changes related? Do they raise the bypass pressure so that the filter doesn't bypass too soon when trying to push oil through the finer media? Just trying to understand Subaru's changes and how they relate to Wix.

I wonder if there's a way to find out those specs for the OEM filters; I googled for it but didn't find anything.
Here’s a video that should keep you at least figured out what filters to use based on bypass pressure.
And their stock numbers. Even the FRAM 6607 is wrong if your looking for the 23 psi bypass pressure. Very very good info. And he explains why as a Subaru Master Tech he won’t ever use blues again.

 

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I just use the Subaru blue filter from the dealer, and call it a night. Wix has great filters for the most part, but I keep oil changes to factory recommended intervals, or a bit earlier.

For my 2018 Forester, they say 6000 mile oil and filter changes. I did push one to 8000 miles and sent a sample to Blackstone. They said it looked good, try 10,000 miles next time.

Retired now, so drive little to get it fully warmed up. More $ on hand too, little fuel expense and taking in more $ each month, than I was working. ;)

I might even back down to 4000 mile changes, using synthetic oil. Filters and oil are cheap. Timing chains and engines are expensive.
I can afford excessive oil changes. Plus my local shop gives me a 10% senior citizen discount! Gets me in any day I want, on my time frame. Lets me bring my oil and filter of choice. Like $30 out the door for an oil change. Spent lot's of $ there over the years, so we have a great working relationship. He is FAIR and HONEST! Never whined once about a bill.

I always flip him an extra $20, and say buy some donuts for the guys tomorrow AM. We treat each other right.
I would never use that small of a filter for that long. 3500 miles at most. Thing about bypasses is that once they go into bypass that pressure almost never stays there. Meaning it can drop if not almost stay open always. I notice on a new filter. Pushing bypass with your pinky takes some effort. Now pushing bypass on a used filter I’m almost shocked at how easily it opens up. Even scared. It’s why I also use magnets on my filters. Which does actually work.
 
Thing about bypasses is that once they go into bypass that pressure almost never stays there. Meaning it can drop if not almost stay open always. I notice on a new filter. Pushing bypass with your pinky takes some effort. Now pushing bypass on a used filter I’m almost shocked at how easily it opens up. Even scared. It’s why I also use magnets on my filters. Which does actually work.
So you're saying that once a filter bypass valve opens its setting changes and gets lower. Where's the scientific experimental data that shows that?
 
It’s called my finger. And all scientific experiments are an hypothesis.
As thought ... no real proof of the claim. Just conjecture once again. ;) No, scientific experiments if done correctly either prove or disprove a hypothesis.
 
Yes, delta-p is the differential pressure across the oil filter when oil is flowing through it.


Yes, that's right. If you look at 10 different filter brands that are specified for the same engine, the filters may have several different bypass valve settings. The filter bypass setting has a lot to do with the design of the filter itself. If Filter A has less delta-p than Filter B at max oil flow conditions, then the bypass valve can theoretically be set lower if both filters have the same holding capacity.

That brings up holding capacity, which is another factor in the bypass valve setting. A smaller filter with the same media will have more delta-p and less holding capacity than a larger filter with the same media, so the smaller filter will have more delta-p as it loads up due to less holding capacity, and therefore will probably have a higher bypass valve setting to match the filter design and performance.

Manufacturers will typically put the same bypass valve in many different sized filters they make to save complexity and costs, but they ensure that the bypass valve is high enough for the worse case application (the filter with the most expected delta-p). It's OK to have a higher bypass valve in a filter with less delta-p, but it's not good to have a lower bypass valve in a filter with more delta-p because it can cause unwanted bypass events.
Thank you for this clear and complete explanation of how the by-pass valve psi setting can vary across different filter manufacturers and how they can engineer one filter to meet many applications properly. This explains the PSI range I find in filter specifications. Your explanation allows me to shop with confidence and be able to focus on filtration performance, life, construction, country of origin and price to determine the best value.
 
Thank you for this clear and complete explanation of how the by-pass valve psi setting can vary across different filter manufacturers and how they can engineer one filter to meet many applications properly. This explains the PSI range I find in filter specifications. Your explanation allows me to shop with confidence and be able to focus on filtration performance, life, construction, country of origin and price to determine the best value.
This is only relevant when the filter is near said psi. A lot of folks think that when cold start filters bypass but that’s not completely true. Yes size matters due to areas having more or less restrictions. This is why I use the Mazda RX8 filter. While yes the bypass pressure is 23-24 psi it’s less likely to get there due to size. Just changed my oil at 4K and the filter was still really in great shape. Could have lasted another 4K or more. Even just draining and refilling would have worked.
 
This is only relevant when the filter is near said psi.
Yes, but depending on how cold the oil is, and how wild someone goes with the RPM, most filters will be hitting bypass if those two things happen at the same time. You're in Florida, which doesn't pose as much risk of putting filters into bypass as someone starting an engine at -25F in Minnesota.
 
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