OIL FILTER RANT!

[Golddollar]

So just as important as it is to change your oil with a quality oil on a routine basis, it is just as important to use a quality and long lasting oil filter.

I suppose if you change your oil every 2,000 - 3,000 miles it would matter less, but I use Amsoil Synthetic along with a synthetic Amsoil oil filter which goes the entire year for me up to 15K miles.

When I was growing up, even before I learned to drive, the standard was changing oil every 3000 miles and changing the filter every other oil change. When I started owning my own cars I thought, "Why leave a quart of dirty oil in the car?" and started changing the oil filter with every oil change. I figured that 2 extra oil filters and 2 extra quarts of oil a year would cost me all of another $10 a year. I must have done something right because the 2008 Mercury I bought new had 238,000 miles on it when I put it through the auto auction.

Some people think I was a little extravagant with my oil changes. Thank you for showing me that if I wasn't right, I wasn't wrong either.

 

[wood714]

When I started using Amsoil in my Harley Ultra Classic my milage went up about 2 mpg.

I never used Amsoil till I bought my Street Glide. It's a 2014 I bought with 10K miles on it in 2015. Dude I bought it from said that's what he used in it.

I average about 45 miles to the gallon, and a lot of that is going 80+ MPH on the expressway.

 

[djohns6]

I disagree! A filter is as important if not more important that the oil itself. With cheap filters (most of them) when they clog up and start restricting the flow of oil, the bypass valve opens up to reduce the pressure and there is no longer any meaningful filtration. It's something you don't see but it does actually happen.

Amsoil and Royal Purple are both the top rated oil filters and they are both made by the same Company. Who that is I don't
know. Their materials and components are top quality and the media inside both brands are synthetic (not paper) and hold much more before getting clogged up. Mobil 1 Extended Life is also highly rated, just not as good as the first two.

Last time I delved into the subject, the regular store brands like Purolator, Fram, AC Delco, Mopar, etc. were fair to poorly rated. So just as important as it is to change your oil with a quality oil on a routine basis, it is just as important to use a quality and long lasting oil filter.

I suppose if you change your oil every 2,000 - 3,000 miles it would matter less, but I use Amsoil Synthetic along with a synthetic Amsoil oil filter which goes the entire year for me up to 15K miles. Since switching to Amsoil 25 years ago I have had terrific luck with all my engines in cars, trucks, motorcycles, generators, snowblowers, etc. I am not an Amsoil "Preacher" however I absolutely believe in their products and have done extensive research on the subject as well. Oh - and by the way, my gas milage has never been better!

I wish I had a dollar for every Fram orange can I installed on my vehicles over the last 50 years . None of my vehicles burned oil or had a mechanical breakdown that could even be remotely blamed on oil or filters . Spend the big bucks if it makes you feel better . I'm a firm believer in Capitalism .

 

[Frank46]

My truck and generator both take the same synthetic oil. My whole house propane generator when I first got it ordered 3 of the following. oil filter,air filter, has filter,spare plugs and 7 or the control fuzes. So in the harge I have a box plainly marked genny parts. Naturally with the truck, generator, Kubota L3800, and can't forget the riding mower I tend to keep about 20 gallons of oils for all gas and diesel powered euipmant. I normally have 2 oil changed for the Kubota,2 for the generator, 4 for the riding mower. Darn house starting to look like a gas station. And that's not including the grease for all the fittings. Frank

 

[chief38]

My truck and generator both take the same synthetic oil. My whole house propane generator when I first got it ordered 3 of the following. oil filter,air filter, has filter,spare plugs and 7 or the control fuzes. So in the harge I have a box plainly marked genny parts. Naturally with the truck, generator, Kubota L3800, and can't forget the riding mower I tend to keep about 20 gallons of oils for all gas and diesel powered euipmant. I normally have 2 oil changed for the Kubota,2 for the generator, 4 for the riding mower. Darn house starting to look like a gas station. And that's not including the grease for all the fittings. Frank

Good prepping!! I normally do the same but I fudged up this time. . Just have a ton on my plate recently.

 

[ACORN]

Just find a name brand filter that fits your vehicle . It won't know the difference .

I disagree.
There are numerous videos on YouTube comparing the different filters "guts".
For years I thought Fram was a good filter until I saw one opened up.
But that's me and YMMV.

 

[prairieviper]

I'm not an oil filter snob. If the retail store where I am does not have the particular filter I'm looking for, I buy something else and have never had any problems because of it. I normally try and buy MOPAR for my wife's Jeep but if that isn't possible, FRAM or SuperTech will work as well and are less expensive. We always run our main vehicle over 100,000 miles before considering a new one and have never had any problems that were oil filter related.

My Ram truck averages only about 4000 miles per year so it's a once per year oil change for it. This year, it received a SuperTech from Walmart. Cost was $2.97 before tax and yes, it also got SuperTech full synthetic oil to match.

 

[ACORN]

Well, they charge the same or more for just the " guts" of oil filters these days. First time I watched the tech change oil in the Highlander saw it was just the paper filter inserted in the housing. Seems like it should be half price.

S'posedly it's easier to squish the oil out of the cartridge filters versus a spin on.
Maybe the big dealers and oil change shops do this but the shops I deal with an the DIY'rs just toss them.