What filters are even good anymore?

[cheesepuffs2]

E-cores, louvered center tubes, media tears, poor quality anti-drainback valves, wire mesh backing being removed... It seems like every filter I read about, every brand has some type of issue or lowering of the quality of the product.

What is still left that isn't just settling? Which brand do you trust the most right now?

 

[Brian123]

E-cores, louvered center tubes, media tears, poor quality anti-drainback valves, wire mesh backing being removed... It seems like every filter I read about, every brand has some type of issue or lowering of the quality of the product.

What is still left that isn't just settling? Which brand do you trust the most right now?

If you are that worried just change your oil filter every 5K

 

[totegoat]

If in doubt buy OE filters.

 

[atikovi]

Which brand do you trust the most right now?

The one that's on the dealer's shelves.

 

[walterjay]

I am not an expert but I have confidence in Fram Ultra and Supertech.

 

[Chris142]

I've gone back to fram orange cans. At least I know not to expect a whole lot from those. I did buy a couple of Baldwin filters and they seem to hold oil overnight.

 

[supton]

With EFI I have to wonder if it matters anymore. Unless if you are doing 20k OCI's...? I mean, I guess I can't see what is on the microscopic level, but every filter I've cut open over the last few years has been clean. I have to wonder if rock catchers would be fine for something on a 5k OCI.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

For cartridges, Mann part numbers starting with HU are good. Most Mahle and Hengst cartridges are good. Purflux cartridges are good if they have the wavy pleats; otherwise, they're reboxed cheapos.

For the spin-on cans, Hastings/Baldwin is good. Frams are still good. Most Wix XP/Napa Platinum cans are still good. Full (made by Siam Filter in Thailand) is also a good choice.

 

[jetman]

Fram Ultra & Titanium

 

[DemoFly]

Basically all the ones that cost more than $3 are really good.

 

[blufeb95]

If you want cheap, just use the cheapest champ ecore you can find, you want a more premium paper filter, get Champ XLs from Rock Auto, you want premium full synthetic then go with Royal Purple.

 

[Jimmy9190]

The MicroGuard Select at O'Reilly is a great filter. Very solid construction, good media, even pleat spacing, lots of uniform good sized holes in a metal center tube, thick sturdy can, silicone ADBV and gasket, it is a very well built filter. It is expensive by itself at regular price, in the 9 or 10 dollar range but you can catch it a lot cheaper on an O'Reilly oil and filter combo sale deal. The MG Select is the only filter I have ever used on my Nissan that has absolutely no start-up rattle.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

The MicroGuard Select at O'Reilly is a great filter. Very solid construction, good media, even pleat spacing, lots of uniform good sized holes in a metal center tube, thick sturdy can, silicone ADBV and gasket, it is a very well built filter. It is expensive by itself at regular price, in the 9 or 10 dollar range but you can catch it a lot cheaper on an O'Reilly oil and filter combo sale deal. The MG Select is the only filter I have ever used on my Nissan that has absolutely no start-up rattle.

What’s the filtration specs on it? Seems decent if the specs are good…

 

[bbhero]

Subieroo the O Reilly's XL Premium Guard filters are 99 percent at 20 microns. . .The exact same oil filter sold at Federated Auto parts.

 

[ZeeOSix]

The MicroGuard Select at O'Reilly is a great filter.

That one is on my watch list when I can't get wire backed Titaniums anymore.

 

[DannyM]

I agree with some of the above with the Microgard Select which is made by Premium Guard.. It is basically a Premium Guard Extended Life afaik..

Premium Guard is by far the most consistent in quality that I have seen . Ecogard Synthetic is also made by Premium Guard and ditto with that filter being very high qa from everything I have seen..

 

[CharBaby]

You should be able to find a very good filter for you applications as mentioned by others.
Every company have some quality issues.
Being here at BITOG and watching some quite good YouTube videos should help as well.

 

[Jetronic]

With EFI I have to wonder if it matters anymore. Unless if you are doing 20k OCI's...? I mean, I guess I can't see what is on the microscopic level, but every filter I've cut open over the last few years has been clean. I have to wonder if rock catchers would be fine for something on a 5k OCI.

I've been doing 30k oil filter changes on my diesel and couldn't find any signs of an overloaded filter. The oil got changed more regularly but the filter is in such a bad location I don't want to do it every time.

The book says 22k oil and filter changes (35,000 km).

 

[BISCUT]

I've gone back to fram orange cans. At least I know not to expect a whole lot from those. I did buy a couple of Baldwin filters and they seem to hold oil overnight.

I've used a few XG cartridge filters on the RAV4 in my sig. 5k OCI and the filters look top notch as they should at 5k. I haven't had any issues with the new, "improved" Fram Ultra on F150 for about 7k runs and the Subaru 3.6 at 7-8k runs.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Subieroo the O Reilly's XL Premium Guard filters are 99 percent at 20 microns. . .The exact same oil filter sold at Federated Auto parts.

I’ve only ever heard of Federated, never seen one. The Midwest where I am has only AZ, AAP, Napa, and O’R.