USA oil-filter manufacturers

[PimTac]

Anything made or assembled in the US these days will most likely have foreign components within. The automakers do us a favor (by law of course) by specifying the source of materials and percentages.

I have said this before and I'm not the only one but the best made American cars today are made by Toyota, Honda, and Nissan.

Now I will step back and await the flames.

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: Gokhan
Originally Posted By: HerrStig
I'm sure the "inferior spec" OEM Japanese filters are why vehicles from Toyota, for example, often run 3 or 4 hundred thousand miles. The "Boutique" filter makers have to gin up some kind of argument.

It would be a good argument for Japanese-OEM filters making Japanese cars last for 400,000+ miles except almost no one uses them after the warranty period, which is 60,000 miles.
i have three Camrys, one with 350K, one with 205K and one with 175K.
I change my own oil on all of them. I can buy Denso in bulk on Ebay and I often do. I haven't worried about a "factory warranty" in decades.

 

[oil_film_movies]

In discussions about where an oil filter is made, who makes it, etc., its dizzying. Companies are bought and sold every day it seems. We all can understand that if it costs $2 per oil filter to make it here in a free & democratic 1st-world country like the U.S., and it costs $1 per oil filter to make it in poor 3rd world countries, then a company CEO has an easy decision for profitability: hello cesspool countries.

As for quality, if you control it, its very possible and likely that a Mexican plant, for example, can have high quality, so forget that part. So maybe what matters is which company cares about its reputation and quality control. Commodity fly-by-night suppliers in China do not, while Fram, Wix, etc. do care, so it probably doesn't matter where its made for quality anyway, only who is staking their reputation on it.




Fixing the Motorking quotes below for clarity:

Originally Posted By: Gokhan
Currently Fram/Champion and Wix/Purolator/Mann+Hummel seem to be the only two major oil-filter manufacturers in the USA, making aftermarket, OEM, and third-party-branded oil filters.
Originally Posted By: Motorking
Mann is a German company and owner of Purolator and WIX, making them German companies as well.


Originally Posted By: Gokhan
Are there any other major USA oil-filter manufacturers?
Originally Posted By: Motorking
Donaldson, Champion Labs, Baldwin


Originally Posted By: Gokhan
Also, given that there are only two consolidated manufacturers now, quality of the USA oil filters seem to have increased and become similar across different brands. High-grade, synthetic-media USA oil filters like Mobil 1 EP, Fram Ultra, Wix XP, Purolator Boss seem to be of higher quality than Japanese OEM oil filters that are made in Thailand etc., which seem to be more similar to low-grade, non-synthetic-media USA oil filters.
Originally Posted By: Motorking
The Purolator Boss and WIX XP are not even in the same ballpark as FRAM Ultra in efficiecny, both are very low though they do have good capacity. The Mobil EP filter IS NOT a synthetic media filter, it is a cellulose/syn blend similar to FRAM TG.

 

[Dyusik]

Puros are US made

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Originally Posted By: Gokhan
Originally Posted By: PimTac
Originally Posted By: Gokhan
Originally Posted By: HerrStig
I'm sure the "inferior spec" OEM Japanese filters are why vehicles from Toyota, for example, often run 3 or 4 hundred thousand miles. The "Boutique" filter makers have to gin up some kind of argument.

It would be a good argument for Japanese-OEM filters making Japanese cars last for 400,000+ miles except almost no one uses them after the warranty period, which is 60,000 miles.

You are kidding, right?

Why? Few people take their cars to the dealer for an oil change when their cars age. Since dealers are the only places that carry these OEM filters, few people have them installed in their cars after the first few years of their cars.
Toyota does not import the OE filter installed on their car. The spec an Thailand or (??) made denso product.

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

Baldwin filters are made about a hundred miles west of here in Kearney, Nebraska.Eaton has a facility there making engine valves and gears.

 

[hemitruck]

Originally Posted By: goodtimes
American engines have generally been second to none in reliability over the history of the automobile. Now in modern times, pretty much all cars seem to have very reliable engines. There are a few duds but not many. I was looking at the ST oil filters and they said 75% USA parts, what does that even mean? I think they changed that label lately. I looked at a Toyota Corolla and it said made in Mississippi and engine made in USA. I think maybe also trans. I looked at a Ford and it says made in Mexico. GM is big on Korean parts. My Chev Volt has a Korean battery, Japanese transmission, and USA made engine designed in Germany by GM Opel. An oil filter may have an element media made in China and the rest is made in USA who knows what is going on these days.


really? were you around in the late sixties and early seventies when toyota and datson hit our shores? the engines ran far beyond USA made engines. bodies rusted away but the engines were far better made as were VW bug engines. seeing these go over 100000 miles was a common sight. use cars and engines not so much. IIRC, the value on USA made cars plummeted as soon they hit 60000 miles as they were nearing the end of their life expectancy. it is because of imports, our autos/engines are better.

 

[PimTac]

"Toyota does not import the OE filter installed on their car. The spec an Thailand or (??) made denso product."


Guess who owns 25% of Denso? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denso

 

[PimTac]

"really? were you around in the late sixties and early seventies when toyota and datson hit our shores? the engines ran far beyond USA made engines. bodies rusted away but the engines were far better made as were VW bug engines. seeing these go over 100000 miles was a common sight. use cars and engines not so much. IIRC, the value on USA made cars plummeted as soon they hit 60000 miles as they were nearing the end of their life expectancy. it is because of imports, our autos/engines are better."



It was not uncommon in the seventies and early eighties to find brand new cars on dealer lots missing mirrors, handles, already rusting bodies, etc. The common phrase back then was "we will take care if that before you drive it away." I know because I was there. Another common truth back then was to never buy a car made on Mondays or Fridays.

 

[bbhero]

I will take HerrStig's account very seriously and very helpful. In fact I had some questions about a 98 Camry my lady had and I asked HerrStig about those cars. He gave me a great breakdown of them that was very detail oriented and very helpful. I would tell anyone in here if you had a Toyota from that era HerrStig is a very good resource person on them.

The Denso filters OBVIOUSLY work just fine as evidenced by how many miles people in here have gotten out of those cars running them. Yeah maybe they are not Super Hooper Duper Ultimate efficiency oil filters. But they get the job done well enough to allow cars to run to 300k miles plus. That has to mean something. And a lot of something positive.
I like the Mobil 1 oil filter, Fram Ultra, Fram TG, Wix, Napa gold, Microgard, Fram EG, Royal Purple. If any if these are changed at the proper interval then they will perform just fine. Question I have is this... Does a very high efficiency filter 99% @ 20 microns versus a "regular" filter say 60% @ 20 microns really lead to a substantial amount longer engine life given that both the filters are changed at proper intervals?? Something just tells me that the difference would be very minimal at best.

Motorking mentioned that the Mobil 1 filter isn't full synthetic. Which is obviously true. But that doesn't change the fact that it is a high efficiency filter with a high amount of capacity. 99%+ @ 30 microns is pretty decent. Extrapolating down to 20 microns it likely is 95% to 93% @ 20 microns. Still not too shabby. Yes the Fram extra guard is almost 96% @ 20 microns. But it has no where near the capacity of the Mobil 1 oil filter. That's where and why the Mobil 1 filter can be in service for such a long time. I am not knocking the orange can at all. The orange can EGs are a pretty good value if purchased at Walmart for $3.77. It also should be noted how good the orange cans have looked after being cut open too. The Fram EGs have had a solid increase in build quality over the last number of years. I will say that a filter does not have to be full synthetic in order to be a very good filter. A synthetic blend filter can and will do a great job as well. Whether it be a Fram Extra Guard run for 8-9k miles or a Mobil 1 that is run for 15-19k miles.

 

[WellOiled]

Originally Posted By: hemitruck
Originally Posted By: goodtimes
American engines have generally been second to none in reliability over the history of the automobile. Now in modern times, pretty much all cars seem to have very reliable engines. There are a few duds but not many. I was looking at the ST oil filters and they said 75% USA parts, what does that even mean? I think they changed that label lately. I looked at a Toyota Corolla and it said made in Mississippi and engine made in USA. I think maybe also trans. I looked at a Ford and it says made in Mexico. GM is big on Korean parts. My Chev Volt has a Korean battery, Japanese transmission, and USA made engine designed in Germany by GM Opel. An oil filter may have an element media made in China and the rest is made in USA who knows what is going on these days.


really? were you around in the late sixties and early seventies when toyota and datson hit our shores? the engines ran far beyond USA made engines. bodies rusted away but the engines were far better made as were VW bug engines. seeing these go over 100000 miles was a common sight. use cars and engines not so much. IIRC, the value on USA made cars plummeted as soon they hit 60000 miles as they were nearing the end of their life expectancy. it is because of imports, our autos/engines are better.

Many VW beatle engines blew up traveling from Omaha, NE to the west on I-80 over the July 4th holidays. The problem was definitely related to poor maintenance and driving conditions. If the oil pickup screen was not kept clean and the oil not changed every 3000 miles. Given a long up hill pull with WOT with ambient temperatures over 100F, then VW engines can and did blow. I counted 14 VW beatles waiting in the service line waiting for engines on the first business day after the 4th of July. This would have been 1969 or 1970. So, I would not call them reliable over the whole US.

The oil cooler was positioned over cylinder #3 and this cylinder would score. Once it scored, then the rest was history.

Most of the vans were spared this fate because they vans have the gear reduction boxes at each end of the transaxle. However, a few vans did meet the same fate.

 

[yvon_la]

Originally Posted By: PimTac
Anything made or assembled in the US these days will most likely have foreign components within. The automakers do us a favor (by law of course) by specifying the source of materials and percentages.

I have said this before and I'm not the only one but the best made American cars today are made by Toyota, Honda, and Nissan.

Now I will step back and await the flames.

I ll repeat it . Any vebicule is awesome (usually)as long as all the electric is a minimum of 1 inch from any metal or other electrical wire

 

[goodtimes]

Originally Posted By: hemitruck
Originally Posted By: goodtimes
American engines have generally been second to none in reliability over the history of the automobile. Now in modern times, pretty much all cars seem to have very reliable engines. There are a few duds but not many. I was looking at the ST oil filters and they said 75% USA parts, what does that even mean? I think they changed that label lately. I looked at a Toyota Corolla and it said made in Mississippi and engine made in USA. I think maybe also trans. I looked at a Ford and it says made in Mexico. GM is big on Korean parts. My Chev Volt has a Korean battery, Japanese transmission, and USA made engine designed in Germany by GM Opel. An oil filter may have an element media made in China and the rest is made in USA who knows what is going on these days.


really? were you around in the late sixties and early seventies when toyota and datson hit our shores? the engines ran far beyond USA made engines. bodies rusted away but the engines were far better made as were VW bug engines. seeing these go over 100000 miles was a common sight. use cars and engines not so much. IIRC, the value on USA made cars plummeted as soon they hit 60000 miles as they were nearing the end of their life expectancy. it is because of imports, our autos/engines are better.


I bought a like new 1965 Datsun with less than 5k on it in 1966-7 for $600 at a Ford dealer. Not longer lasting than a later to me 1964 Ford Fairlane with the 260 and overdrive. American engines are second to none. Chrysler slant six only went 60k? Chevy 283? Ford 289? Pontiac 389? Hardly. Many other stories in the family car history but that is enough to prove personal experience.

 

[bbhero]

Some of the American motors may have been really good. But the transmissions were a whole other matter. It is why Ford, GM and Mopar worked together to make a better 6 speed transmission in the early 2000s. I will say that my 2008 Ford Fusion 6 speed transmission was really very good. It was ALWAYS in the right gear for every situation. My mom's 1999 Expedition would really struggle to be in the right gear in the 35-50 mph zone. That transmission blew up at 125k miles. Motor was and has been great. I think the problem between 35-50 mph was a big weakness and ultimate undoing of that transmission. One thing I notice about my lady's 98 Camry is that it has a very tall 3rd gear. By doing this it eliminates the constant shifting in the 30-50 mph zone. I think this is very helpful to that generation of Toyotas longevity of both motor and transmission.

 

[4WD]

BIL got 400k from Chevy 4L60e doing ATF at 50k ...

 

[ARCOgraphite]

You got "Toyota reliability" then you have another car you may really WANT to drive.

I trade a few repairs for a good driver ANYDAY.

 

[yvon_la]

Old car? Engine wise? All were leaker . If it didn't take oil back then it was about to quit on you .best engine back then ? Slant six .laster forever .when it got old it got noisy .still lasted forever. That's why you don't see inline six these days.space? Give me a break .you had a jeep Inline 6 . You probably changed everything around the engine lol .later when vtec technology came online ? From the most basic driver to the most insane race (staring at you Paul Tracy , he was surfing the cutoff of that Honda engine .why? It was fastezt way from point a to point b in curve.hahahahaa these Honda vtec broke most record .lasted forever and could be easily boosted to 350 hp no complaint. Insane engine.even weighted down .specific usa class of race . You won you got weight added .those Acura were maxed weighted at the end of season .they still won.it took forever for other to catch up.(in years)even today . You go against a Honda from pre 2000 to 1990? You better be serious because even the worst one is gona make anybody sweat

 

[Ducked]

Originally Posted By: yvon_la
[
I ll repeat it . Any vebicule is awesome (usually)as long as all the electric is a minimum of 1 inch from any metal or other electrical wire


That'd make for a rather THICK wiring loom.

 

[yvon_la]

Originally Posted By: Ducked
Originally Posted By: yvon_la
[
I ll repeat it . Any vebicule is awesome (usually)as long as all the electric is a minimum of 1 inch from any metal or other electrical wire


That'd make for a rather THICK wiring loom.
nha the distance isnt a problem .then ain problem is from the battery to the startor alternator .corp tends to receive this bunched (lower transport cost and assembler doesn't bother reading the designer plan so they stay bunched lol .you end up with a pile of small wire once inch away from anything and two big wire away from everything . That make tree neat loom the small one are just too close to every metal part the big culprit tho is the big one

 

[Gokhan]

Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
Besides Baldwin/Hastings, also remember than Fram and Champ split up last year.

Hengst makes at least some filters in the US, including the E630H (it's the OEM filter for many GM 2.2/2.4 Ecotecs)

I didn't know about the Fram/Champion split. Any reference?