When should an oil filter be changed?

[harry j]

Steve,
I have never actually removed an oil filter only to reinstall it later. I know there are some on the board that like to do that. I agree with Titan, the Eao filter keeps the oil so clean anyway, there will be little to be gained by removing the filter, draining it and reinstalling it. Most filters are so small, there will be little "contaminated" oil to worry about.

 

[JustinH]

Seems so silly to me guys.

If you are using a 2 dollar oil filter, why not change it.

You already are draining oil and making some what of a mess, just change the filter as well.

I can understand if you have a fancy KN or Amsoil filter, but 99 percent of the cars on the road get by with regular cheapo oil filters.

 

[Gary Allan]

Well, you really got to put that in perspective, Justin. I'll quote myself here from another thread

Quote:

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Yes ..and a 307 2bbl SBC gets any chassis that it was installed in from point A to point B ..I assure every SBC owner with a Crane cam and roller rockers ...383 stroker..fancy intake and mega wide-throated carb that this is absolutely true. Same thing with G78x14 tires ..perfectly good for rolling any car down the road. Both will work just fine in/on Vettes, Chevelles, Novas, street rods, coupes ..T-buckets, you name it.

Somehow they don't listen to me either. I don't know why

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That is, this lingering filter non-change thing isn't done out of cheapness. It falls along some para-lines of the quoted "natures way of saying that you have too much time and/or money".

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Quote:

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Seems so silly to me guys.

If you are using a 2 dollar oil filter, why not change it.

You already are draining oil and making some what of a mess, just change the filter as well.

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It's called environmental conservation.

 

[harry j]

Don't use a $2 filter, Eao filters are available and nothing can touch them. They are good for at least 15,000 miles and I would argue many more.

 

[Gary Allan]

Yes, tripleseven ..and you just don't need to do it in most circumstances. You're not, usually, serving your engine in doing so. This stands for just about any filter ..with all due respect to the EaO ..the difference will be the level of filtration.

 

[Doc Holiday]

good question...with Fram selling a filter that is good for 7,000 it would make you think that the other filters are good for only 3,000? That being said the Mobil Extended Life Syn oil says its good for 15,000 or one year and no special oil filter required.....GM's oil life monitor will go up to a year with no filter change required...is there a clear answer??? To make matters worse, read what the Filter Manufacturers Council says on this site on page 2 under oil filters.... Filter Manufacturers Council
This leaves me even more confused

 

[harry j]

welcome to the twisted world of oil filtration. Each manufacturer claims a certain micron efficiency but hardly ever give the percentage of removal. They all seem to use a different test...there is no standardization. Come on guys, let's put it all out on the table. What is the best filter as far as filtration, flow and contaminent capacity. Of course burst resistance, anti drain valve, gasket quality are important as well.

 

[Doc8404]

you have to ask on this site?
OH AMSOIL IS THE BEST AT EVERYTHING....

 

[harry j]

GeorgeCLS is about to test an Amsoil Eao filter, should be interesting.

 

[Matt89]

I don't see you getting a consensus here...but FWIW I'm toying with changing my OEM Honda (FILTECH)filters every other time.

 

[harry j]

Matt89,
Changing your filter every other time will not be a problem.

Harry

 

[ThirdeYe]

Do you think I should change my oil and filter at every oil change if I only drive 5k miles a year? I'm currently using my '95 Integra LS. Planning on using Mobil 1 SuperSyn on next oil change.

 

[ThirdeYe]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I plan on changing the oil once a year or 5k miles, whichever comes first.

 

[harry j]

Quote:

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Do you think I should change my oil and filter at every oil change if I only drive 5k miles a year? I'm currently using my '95 Integra LS. Planning on using Mobil 1 SuperSyn on next oil change.

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Depends on what filter you use. Some paper filters are known to deteriorate with time. Unless you use a synthetic filter, I would seriously consider changing the filter at each OC.

 

[ThirdeYe]

Thanks for the response

I've finally decided on using Amsoil Full Synthetic 5W30 (ASL) and either the Amsoil Synthetic Oil Filter or the Napa Gold Oil Filter.

 

[cmhj]

Thirdeye

From personal useage I can give a fair amount of support to the Wix/Napa Gold product. However,

Personal useage has shown the Amsoil filter to be superior with the Mobil 1 filter a close second.

 

[Ed_White]

What sort of testing supports your statement that the Amsoil Filters are supperior? The newer EaO filters are interesting, but I am not sure how you can tell from personal usage. As for the Mobil 1 Filters - I don't see any reason to think they would be better than the Wix or Purolator premium filters.

Ed

 

[PT1]

The only filter I would ever seriously think about using past 7000 miles is an Amsoil. One of the guys here runs them 15-20,000 miles all the time and has never had a problem. But I am too much of a chicken chit to do that. But he uses the high mileage Amsoil too. I am thinking about doing that(Amsoil) in the wifes car because I am sick of changing her oil all the time but I have to work up the nerve to watch the odometer go past 5000 three times...

 

[PT1]

The testing here is the guy 2 cubes over who keeps telling us he has 180,000 miles on his toyota and has only changed the Amsoil like 12 or 13 times. I'm going to feel like a real dufus when he hits 300k....because I have been telling him we are going to cook hotdogs on his melted engine soon. He just laughs.