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.
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.