Thread: 5qts of RP w/ a Wix Oil Filter $35 at O'Riellys

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  1. #1 Re: 5qts of RP w/ a Wix Oil Filter $35 at O'Riellys 
    I live here. SyntheticShield's Avatar
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    Well I'll give you my input and let it be that, cause I really dont want to get into a filter debate.

    I hear people all the time say this filter is better than the other, I wouldnt use this one to save my life, etc. When I started venturing into tweaking cars, doing my own maintenance and such I wanted to know why one filter was supposedly better than the other, so I asked the people that made such statements, thinking they would know why. Want to know what the most common response was? Because Ive never had any trouble with it, and its what Ive always used.

    Well that obviously is no testament to the filters quality. There are a lot of things in life you can do or use that you may never have any trouble with, it doesnt mean its the best.

    So to get to the nitty gritty you have to be able to compare filters apples to apples. To do that you have to know the results of the ISO 4548-12 multi-pass filter efficiency test. That test is done on all filters, but not all publish their results. What you commonly see on the box or advertised is that this filter is 98.7% efficient (known as absolute efficiency in the industry). Well okay, thats wonderful, but they are leaving out critical information. The particle size that that filter is 98.7% efficient. It can be anything because they dont post that information.

    That efficiency could be a 10 microns or it could be at 60 microns, you dont know because most wont tell you and without that piece of information, comparing filters together is impossible. What you dont realize, is that they all are tested and that information is known, just not always published.

    The construction of a filter is another aspect that you can compare if you are willing to do the work. I service a lot of vehicles and I always cut open the filters to check for any signs of internal engine damage and the construction of some filters is down right scary. But filter failure due to poor construction is not terribly common. You suffer more long term effects from poor filtering ability than construction quality.

    So in choosing a filter, find the ones that will give you the efficiency results along WITH the particle size they reach that efficiency at. Otherwise, there is no point to trying to compare them.

    Just because one company has one filter that is perceived as being a good one and makes others does not mean they are made to the same standards or to the same filtering ability.
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  2. #2 Re: 5qts of RP w/ a Wix Oil Filter $35 at O'Riellys 
    GrandPrix Junkie Sabrewings's Avatar
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    Now that's what I'm talking about. I read an article not too long ago about filters. It compared their construction and found K&N and one other brand to be the best constructed (both made by the same company, IIRC). But no discussion was given to the their filtering efficiency.

    Where would I find that?

    Edit: Here's the comparison I read...

    http://www.knizefamily.net/minimopar...ers/index.html
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  3. #3 Re: 5qts of RP w/ a Wix Oil Filter $35 at O'Riellys 
    I live here. SyntheticShield's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sabrewings View Post
    Where would I find that?
    That, my friend, is the million dollar question. I know of only two companies that post that information freely.

    Motorcraft used to post it, but I checked recently and cannot find the information any longer. To their credit, they used to post it. But the numbers were nothing to write home about. One filter, for example, was only 80% efficient at particles 40 microns and larger. 40 microns!!! Thats friggin boulders inside the clearances of engines. Another thing revealing about their oil filters was that not every filter had the same rating, it was all across the board.

    The only other company I am aware of that posts such information is Amsoil and all of their EaO filters are 98.7% efficient at 15 microns and as far as I know, based on the information I can find, is the best filtering ability available. I have not found another filter yet that posts such numbers. Their bypass filters are even more outstanding coming in at 98.7% efficient at 2 microns I believe it is.


    With regards to filter construction I will add only this. Its one thing to compare a new filter to a new filter. Its quite another to see how that construction holds up after a few thousand miles.

    I'll give you an example. I have a customer that had two vehicles that I serviced and bought a third. He ran an engine cleaner through the new used vehicle per a recommendation from me, for 1500 miles, using an off the shelf filter. He then wanted to me to come an service it from front to rear and service one of his other vehicles that was due having 10,000 miles on the oil change.

    I brought my oil filter opener because I knew what to expect and what I would see, but I wanted him to see it to sorta re-enforce the quality of the products he was already using.

    I cut open the 1500 mile filter, I dont recall what filter it was. It wasnt a Fram, he is dead set against those for any interval, but it was one of the cheaper brands.

    At any rate, we cut open the 1500 mile filter to inspect it to see what the engine cleaner had removed if anything. Well, he was sitting right there with me when I did this and as I began to inspect the pleats, the thing just crumbled apart. Very little pressure caused the pleats to just disintegrate because they had become so stiff. I even gave him the element to see for himself. The drain back valve had lost a great deal of its pliability but probably still worked but I would not have left that filter on the vehicle much longer.

    After that, we pulled in his other vehicle that had 10,000 miles on the oil. I proceeded to pull the filter (Amsoil), cut it open. I gave him the element and let him do the inspection. He was able to spread the pleats apart quite a bit to inspect in between them for any signs of trouble and the filter STILL held together. It demonstrated to him what I knew.

    So again, comparing the construction of a new filter to a new filter may reveal a few things, but nothing like comparing them after they have been in service for an oil change interval.
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  4. #4 Re: 5qts of RP w/ a Wix Oil Filter $35 at O'Riellys 
    SS-DD Level Member IndeedSS's Avatar
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    What Scotty said about cutting the filters open after 1000's of miles of use is what I said the mom and pop auto parts store did, that resulted in them only carrying Wix now. The disintegration is troubling and was what they found in one of the K&N filters. This surprised me to be honest. The Fram filter media turning to a wet toilet paper consistancy happened to a member of our motorcycle forum pictures during the rebuild were provided. That wasn't an urban legend.

    I would love to see some of these cut away filters myself after hearing about the status of the elements...Hmmm on second thought, maybe I would want to see. I aasume without cutting the filter you wouldn't be able to tell much. I've examined nearly every filter I've changed and have never seen an element looks odd. That includes nearly every big name filter out there.

    One thing about the Amsoil filters is, unlike nearly ALL of the others, I don't recall ever hearing anything negative.
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  5. #5 Re: 5qts of RP w/ a Wix Oil Filter $35 at O'Riellys 
    GrandPrix Junkie Sabrewings's Avatar
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    I'm liking Amsoil and will probably go with them. Who carries them?
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  6. #6 Re: 5qts of RP w/ a Wix Oil Filter $35 at O'Riellys 
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    You can get them from Scotty. He is an Amsoil dealer. Hmmm wonder if a bunch of us got together a group buy could happen.
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