What filter is considered best now?

But, I will say this much, since joining BITOG in March of 25'....,,,,I had no idea all of this nonsense was going on in the oil filter world.
Yeah, there is a lot of chaos in the oil filter world ... too many filter companies buying each other up and trying to cut corners to maintain profits it seems. One thing about the PGI group of filters is that they seem to have a pretty stable construction configuration and manufacturing quality. The stability of those two aspects are not so much for some big name filters over the last few years. If Fram would have left the OG Ultra alone, it would still be king of the hill. And if Fram (First Brands) would have put the leaf spring gasket in the end cap of the Endurance, and knew how to form a smooth leaf spring, it would have been an equal filter to the OG Ultra. Fram/First Brands needs a new marketing manager I think, lol.
 
I threw a dart and picked a filter, then ordered a case. They should last for 4-5 years. Did the same thing on oil during HPL's 4th sale. I've already spent the money, so that's the combination I'll be running for the next few years come heck or high water, d@mmit!
 
Careful with the stp xl. My AutoZone, have three here, all carry the bad ones. You'd have to open the box to make sure it's the good ones, like a typical pg filter
 
It says " bad" on the box LOL.... Have a bunch of Honda Mahle on the shelf. Says " leak tested" on the dome, yet lacking the ADBV gasket. Also, say hecho en China....I'd say the ones I have are the " bad" ones. Still gonna use em anyway once I burn thru the OEM ones, not that their any better. ( Fram Garbage in a prettty Honda make up kit )....I liked the Filtrete Honda filters. Must have been " TOO MUCH !!! " for the bean counters. " WE MUST CUT CORNERS ! "
 
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Define “bad ones.”
AutoZone uses diff suppliers for their stp line. Could be champ made...not good

Otherwise it's a typical pgi filter. Like the many they make it has inlet holes instead of louvers. The bad stp drain holes are more oval, compared to the pgi circle.

It's usually just easier to get a car quest or micro guard or the many other pg, instead of hoping your stp is pgi supplied.

Here's the pgi filters. Again stp xl are regional

Screenshot_20250728_125629_Brave.webp
 
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This is confusing for someone just stating to research filters. I got the STP XP as part of the oil change deal at AutoZone but now I find out I could have gotten a sub par filter.

There's another thread that started a few weeks ago that the M1 at Walmart is now great as they appear to have change suppliers but then there was a slightly more recent thread where the theme was the M1 wasn't as good as people though.

I guess I'll get Carquest premium for my next one since that seems to be a popular one in this particular thread.

Id just go with Supertech for the filter but I figure if I'm paying extra for VRP, I might as well pay a little more for a better filter too.
 
This is confusing for someone just stating to research filters. I got the STP XP as part of the oil change deal at AutoZone but now I find out I could have gotten a sub par filter.
Does it have big holes in the center tube or not? If it does, then it's a PGI style filter - see post 32.

There's another thread that started a few weeks ago that the M1 at Walmart is now great as they appear to have change suppliers but then there was a slightly more recent thread where the theme was the M1 wasn't as good as people though.
The new M1 is still a good filter due to the construction, and 99% @ 30u (same as the M+H version) is in the middle of the filter efficiency range.

I guess I'll get Carquest premium for my next one since that seems to be a popular one in this particular thread.
Can't go wrong with a Carquest Premium.
 
This is confusing for someone just stating to research filters. I got the STP XP as part of the oil change deal at AutoZone but now I find out I could have gotten a sub par filter.

There's another thread that started a few weeks ago that the M1 at Walmart is now great as they appear to have change suppliers but then there was a slightly more recent thread where the theme was the M1 wasn't as good as people though.

I guess I'll get Carquest premium for my next one since that seems to be a popular one in this particular thread.

Id just go with Supertech for the filter but I figure if I'm paying extra for VRP, I might as well pay a little more for a better filter too.
Welcome to the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Keep researching here and you’ll know what to look for soon!
 
Does it have big holes in the center tube or not? If it does, then it's a PGI style filter - see post 32.


The new M1 is still a good filter due to the construction, and 99% @ 30u (same as the M+H version) is in the middle of the filter efficiency range.


Can't go wrong with a Carquest Premium.
Thanks for the feedback. I didn't even look at the filter so hopefully I got the the good version.

That was the first filter I ever bought. I bought VRP and a filter and gave it to my trusted mechanic to do the oil change. Prior to that I provided VRP twice and just had him get the oil filter. Now I'm providing filters thanks to this forum creating it into a side hobby of mine to micromanage this stuff.

I'm so screwed when he decides he's done working on cars or passes away (he's in his 70's). He only charged me $20 for the oil change and he gives me a ride back to my place for free (he lives about a mile away and has worked out of his garage since I was a kid).

I'm doing 4-5k oil changes so probably doesn't matter but browsing this forum has turned it into a side hobby to try to buy better stuff.
 
Not sure if this is the correct thread but Amsoil has at the very least acknowledged that the struggle is real.

They know they have to monitor Champ. They have stated they use some level of size/control for the louvers but acknowledge the louvers will not always be beautiful. As far as bypass leaf spring there again was not divulging of dimensions but basically if the spring is flat the pressure will provide adequate seal.
 
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