What is the absolute best oil filter?

[Soft Cars]

Affina Wix was a great filter. M&H Wix just isn't the same just as M&H Purolator isn't what Purolator was previously. Wix XP is a nice looking filter but the media is rock catcher.

In my opinion it goes like this:
1. Fram Endurance for the best of all applications top level efficiency, mileage ratings, and wire backed up
2. Fram Tough Guard similar efficiency ratings as the Endurance just a shorter interval but they hold up great in cut opens.
3. Purolator Boss decent efficiency with wire backing just not as good efficiency as the first two.
4. Prime Guard made filters. Good efficiency so far so good durability.
5. Fram Extra Guard. Good budget filter with better than most efficiency and okay intervals.

The rest doesn't matter to me because efficiency is too low or build quality for price point.

Which XP is the rock catcher; the Affinia made, or the Mann-Hummel made?

 

[Enthusiast]

Both. When I was praising Affinia Wix, I was praising the standard Wix/Napa Gold when Affinia was in charge. The Wix XP of memory serves correctly was a creation of Affinia but it was still a rock catcher 50%efficiency at 20microns vs. The standard Wix at 95% efficiency at 20microns. I think M&H might have updated it a bit with a slightly more efficient media but it still leaves a lot of room for improvement in filtering efficiency, (am I remembering this correctly that it reached something like 66%efficiency a t20 microns or did I just dream this up?). I still have a couple old Napa Platinums that will never be used that are probably close to 10 years old by now.

 

[Soft Cars]

Both. When I was praising Affinia Wix, I was praising the standard Wix/Napa Gold when Affinia was in charge. The Wix XP of memory serves correctly was a creation of Affinia but it was still a rock catcher 50%efficiency at 20microns vs. The standard Wix at 95% efficiency at 20microns. I think M&H might have updated it a bit with a slightly more efficient media but it still leaves a lot of room for improvement in filtering efficiency, (am I remembering this correctly that it reached something like 66%efficiency a t20 microns or did I just dream this up?). I still have a couple old Napa Platinums that will never be used that are probably close to 10 years old by now.

Thanks for your detailed answer. Which filter would you recommend for a 2000-2005 Buick LeSabre ? I have two rock catchers left but I guess I should look into something else. I would prefer a wire backed media filter. I was thinking maybe the Fram FE3387A or the Purolator PBL10111. The Royal Purple is supposed to be really good at efficiency, but it's said to be more restrictive. I'm more scared of restrictive than I am of low efficiency.

 

[Enthusiast]

You don't need to worry about restrictiveness thanks to positive oil displacement pumps. Zee-0-Six has explained this in many forums. If anecdotal evidence will help you, take a look at the number of high mileage filters cut open over the years on here with high efficiency ratings and consider the fact that sometimes people have gone beyond what the filter was recommended for in the engines were fine (having said that. I do not endorse using a filter beyond its recommended interval and will ask you not to use a filter beyond its recommended interval.)

Also bare in mind that GM has used filtering efficiency around 92 to 94% efficiency at 20 microns from their factory filter that was simply cellulose media . Synthetic media is supposed to flow better than cellulose media. Also consider that it was GM who did the study that found the merits of finer filtering hence why so many of us prefer finer filtering.

I will also note that at a time I was anxious about using finer filtering myself. I started with a Fram/Champion built carquest Blue filter which had 99% efficiency and 20 microns on my old Chrysler LH vehicle with a h.o. 3.5 v6. I put 4700miles on it and cut it open and the oil on the inside was still amazingly good and the media was tough. I also opened a Napa gold (my old go to), the media was thin and easy to tear. Since then I used about 6 of those filters and an old school Fram Ultra on that car and never had an engine issue.

I'm currently running a Fram Endurance on my Viper and it is doing great so far. The Royal Purple is similar to the Fram Endurance so don't waste your money on the RP.

 

[goingplacesanddoingstuff]

Oh it absolutely does and I never said it didn't. An old ACdelco study tells us that a 40 micron oil filter will make a engine last around 150,000 miles. A 30 micron can make an engine last 250,000 miles. A 10 micron filter can make an engine last up to 400,000 miles.
No air filter around here an engine might last 20,000 miles.

Source?

 

[oil pan 4]

Source?

Oh yee of little faith, prepare to have your mind blown.
This link has been reposted on here thousands of times.
https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/30697/choose-oil-filter
"AC Delco Division of General Motors tested diesel engines and found an eight-fold improvement in wear rates and engine life with lower lube oil contaminant levels.

In a related study on both diesel and automotive engines, General Motors reported that “compared to a 40-micron filter, engine wear was reduced by 50 percent with 30-micron filtration. Likewise, wear was reduced by 70 percent with 15-micron filtration”. Read that again. That's a lot of motivation for clean oil!"

And there's a chart with the engine mileage vs filtering particle size about 3/4 down the page. Did you think I just made this up?

 

[mitsuman47]

Oh yee of little faith, prepare to have your mind blown.
This link has been reposted on here thousands of times.
https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/30697/choose-oil-filter
"AC Delco Division of General Motors tested diesel engines and found an eight-fold improvement in wear rates and engine life with lower lube oil contaminant levels.

In a related study on both diesel and automotive engines, General Motors reported that “compared to a 40-micron filter, engine wear was reduced by 50 percent with 30-micron filtration. Likewise, wear was reduced by 70 percent with 15-micron filtration”. Read that again. That's a lot of motivation for clean oil!"

And there's a chart with the engine mileage vs filtering particle size about 3/4 down the page. Did you think I just made this up?

I think asking for a source is hardly the same as thinking someone made up the information. x1000 on the internet. Some folks like to digest the details on their own. Don’t be so sensitive.

As for the OP’s initial question, I’m using the Fram Endurance in its current form, and think it is the best filter I can get for my cars. Who knows what later iterations will bring. Companies are having to deal with inflation in different ways. Sometimes that’s raising the price, sometimes that’s lowering the quality, and sometimes that’s doing both by bringing in a “new highest tier model” that might replace the features of the old highest tier model, but also comes with an inflated price.

 

[ZeeOSix]

I think M&H might have updated it a bit with a slightly more efficient media but it still leaves a lot of room for improvement in filtering efficiency, (am I remembering this correctly that it reached something like 66%efficiency a t20 microns or did I just dream this up?).

That probably came from Ascent's ISO 4548-12 testing.

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/t...e-point-and-burst.334882/page-19#post-5789087

 

[ZeeOSix]

Thanks for your detailed answer. Which filter would you recommend for a 2000-2005 Buick LeSabre ? I have two rock catchers left but I guess I should look into something else. I would prefer a wire backed media filter. I was thinking maybe the Fram FE3387A or the Purolator PBL10111. The Royal Purple is supposed to be really good at efficiency, but it's said to be more restrictive. I'm more scared of restrictive than I am of low efficiency.

A few more PSI of delta-p at max oil pump output isn't going to make any difference. Besides, who drives around at redline all day long?

 

[ZeeOSix]

And there's a chart with the engine mileage vs filtering particle size about 3/4 down the page. Did you think I just made this up?

That graph is from a Cummings engine wear vs oil cleanliness study (Figure 13 in the Cummings study). I annotated the graph to show where a 99% @ 20u and a 99% @ 40 microns filter would be (typical range of aftermarket spin-on oil filters). You would have to got to some kind of by-pass filtering setup to get better than 99% @ 20u.

 

[goingplacesanddoingstuff]

Oh yee of little faith, prepare to have your mind blown.
This link has been reposted on here thousands of times.
https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/30697/choose-oil-filter
"AC Delco Division of General Motors tested diesel engines and found an eight-fold improvement in wear rates and engine life with lower lube oil contaminant levels.

In a related study on both diesel and automotive engines, General Motors reported that “compared to a 40-micron filter, engine wear was reduced by 50 percent with 30-micron filtration. Likewise, wear was reduced by 70 percent with 15-micron filtration”. Read that again. That's a lot of motivation for clean oil!"

And there's a chart with the engine mileage vs filtering particle size about 3/4 down the page. Did you think I just made this up?

Nice