The great oil filter debate

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Purolator Filters (Purolator Filters LLC) is an American manufacturer of oil and air filters, based in Fayetteville, North Carolina, United States. The company was founded in 1923 as Motor Improvements, Incorporated in New York City and later took on the Purolator name as a short form of their filtration process called pure oil later.
 
Maybe I am lucky, or just drive crappy cars with low oil pressure, but I have never personally had an oil filter fail in 50 years of doing my own oil changes. Is this common?
 
="tedsweet, post: 1973703661, member: 9690"]and google purolater failures[/QUOTE]
Since all of your posts are full of negativity are you here to lend your wisdom or just your miserable attitude?
 
My neighbor decided she was going to change her own oil and could not get the filter off and called her dad and tried the “ancient Chinese secret” of running a screw driver thru it. She came over and asked if I could get it off. I told her that trick would have worked 20 years ago but these thing are so thin like a coke can. When I crawled under there the only thing left was the top plate and the nipple run into block. Not easily accessible on a Suberu
 
So is it better to have a small capacity filter or a large capacity filter. I have a remote filter and the OEM filter is half the size. The question of the ages “is bigger better”. Or is that just with hammers.
 
A56 said:
Purolator Filters (Purolator Filters LLC) is an American manufacturer of oil and air filters, based in Fayetteville, North Carolina, United States. The company was founded in 1923 as Motor Improvements, Incorporated in New York City and later took on the Purolator name as a short form of their filtration process called pure oil later.
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They have been wholly owned by Mann + Hummel of Germany for around 10 years. Wix was also bought by M+H a couple of years later.
They'll still make filters in NA for now, but the trend continues to be globalization of companies.
 
19DART66 said:
The last Wix filter I bought when I changed the oil on my ecodiesel Ram said made in china on the filter when I took it out of the box, didn't sit well. On the EngineMaster show both Wix filters they tested dropped oil pressure at the top of the rpm sweep, the only thing they figured was the bypass valve opened, it didn't drop a lot of pressure. But that caught my attention, because the last thing I would like to see is the bypass valve open at max rpm and dump oil pressure and send all the junk back through the engine.
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Wow Man!
 
loganscuda said:
My neighbor decided she was going to change her own oil and could not get the filter off and called her dad and tried the “ancient Chinese secret” of running a screw driver thru it. She came over and asked if I could get it off. I told her that trick would have worked 20 years ago but these thing are so thin like a coke can. When I crawled under there the only thing left was the top plate and the nipple run into block. Not easily accessible on a Suberu
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Yep, had that happen, to a neighbor, after an hour of cussing, sweating, being ate by the State Bird, and covered with dirty oil, I got the remaining part off. Never Again! Well, unless I have too
 
S'cuder said:
They have been wholly owned by Mann + Hummel of Germany for around 10 years. Wix was also bought by M+H a couple of years later.
They'll still make filters in NA for now, but the trend continues to be globalization of companies.
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Just because it's not made in U.S. doesn't mean it can't be good quality. It all depends on the design criteria, manufacturing capacity,, quality control, and management. That being said, because I was a union machinist for almost 20yrs, I PREFER "Made in USA". That's why I only buy 'Murican cars, and I DO NOT repair foreign vehicles. You buy a foreign vehicle, you're on your own in my book.
 
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rustycowll69 said:
Just because it's not made in U.S. doesn't mean it can't be good quality. It all depends on the design criteria, manufacturing capacity,, quality control, and management. That being said, because I was a union machinist for almost 20yrs, I PREFER "Made in USA". That's why I only buy 'Murican cars, and I DO NOT repair foreign vehicles. You buy a foreign vehicle, you're on your own in my book.
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"Just because it's not made in U.S. doesn't mean it can't be good quality"....................I agree 1000 percent!!! But that's not the problem. Once you find a good/great quality filter you tend to stay with that brand. But the company that sells the filter is all about the bottom line (profit and happy share holders). So they continually look for (and find) a cheaper manufacturer. They don't ever send messages out to everyone that buys their filter to tell them that they changed the manufacturer. They just do it and you get what you get no matter how good the original filters were. That's the problem!!! These great people that run these filter test conparisons are very helpful but they can't continuously do the tests every week?? The fact is that any of the companies, whose filters were used in the internet video, could change their maniufacturer ONE DAY after the video. So who do you trust......the company that is all about their bottom line???
 
I watched the oil filter comparison, really, is there that much difference? No, and anyone can have a failure. There will always a compromise, you can't have it both ways. I'll just get the filter I choose and paint it black.
 
I don't think it matters what oil filter you use. Change your oil and filter often and your good to go. I'am not talking about a race car, but for going for sunday drives and the odd car show, what's the big deal? Just saying.
 
I know a guy that’s a travelling salesman. Drives his cheap cars to 500,000 kilometres. Uses the cheapest oil and filter he can get at whatever garage that has an oil change special. Never less than 8,000 kilometres between oil changes. I have another friend that all he has ever used is Fram filters. Oil, air fuel and tranny. Kim
 
65 Valiant Vert said:
I don't think it matters what oil filter you use. Change your oil and filter often and your good to go. I'am not talking about a race car, but for going for sunday drives and the odd car show, what's the big deal? Just saying.
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A friend had an 88 D100 with a V6 that he used nothing but Fram’s bottom line filters on, the oil light started coming on when the engine was warm. I bought the truck from him (cheap), pulled the oil pan off, cleaned the filter-material plugged oil pump pickup off, no more oil pressure problems.
 
Oil has something to do with It too. I had a new car, used nothing but ???? oil in it. Do not remember why I had to pull a valve cover, it was so caked parifin and carbon, that I could not believe it. Will never use that brand again. We all have our little experiences.
 
RAT ROD AL said:
I don't see how the new modern vehicles use a filter @ 1/4 of the size they used to be and good for 10,000 miles.
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Uh, no engine gets dirty inside, they’re sealed up real good. Market ploy from the early days, buy the beer but you also have to buy the peanuts too.
Put a round magnet in the pan to catch ANY iron particles the other stuff don’t matter. I certainly won’t use a restrictive filter on the race cars
 
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I I started watching that engine masters episode the other day and had to leave for work before it was over. I've been using napa gold's for years. Fram just looked like crap inside to me
 
cosgig said:
I have to agree, and disagree with your assessment of the jobs that are out there for young folks. There’s plenty of trade jobs out there, and companies dying for any young folks who want to work. I’ve had my son come on a bunch of jobs with me, at 14 or so, he was helping me lay tile, he’s done carpentry, stonework, drywall, and a few other areas of building. However, the problem, and everybody knows it, is that young people just don’t want to work. Oh, they want the money, they just want to do as little as possible to get it.

Here’s a pic of my son doing some tile work at the horse barn where he rides, and one of us up north jacking up a friends cottage and putting in a foundation. He was a tweenie in these pics, and yes, I pay him very well.

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Great to see you two work together, my dad and I fought everyday for 35 years till he retired and I took over the business. Both of us are hardheaded and had to do it our way.
 
Dana67Dart said:
One of the things they did not test is what the flow and pressure does as the filter gets dirty. I would GUESS the 10 micron would clog up faster reducing flow.
But that is just a guess
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Most engine wear is caused by particles between 5 and 10 microns in size.
I do hate the tiny filters used on new vehicles and the "partsman" has no clue or interest in finding a larger one. For the small block Chevys you could get the medium/heavy duty truck filter and put it on your small block. Hung down almost as far as the oil.pan.
 
RAT ROD AL said:
I don't see how the new modern vehicles use a filter @ 1/4 of the size they used to be and good for 10,000 miles.
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That is somewhat easy. Foolinjection! Smaller droplet sizes and better metering of the fuel. Going from carburretted to throttle body injected gave better fuel economy and engine life. The smaller droplet size vapourized better and left fewer droplets to get on the cylinder wall to wash oil off. The step to port and then sequential injection provided an improvement each time.
If you have access to a throttle body injected auto, hook up your dial back timing light and take the air filter top off. Start the engine. Use the timing light to freeze the fuel droplets in place. Try reving the engine to 2000RPM and watch. With the dial back you can see as the droplets get down to the throttle blades.
Now do the same on a carburetted auto, noting the size of the droplets compared to the throttle body. Watch as the droplets shatter below the booster venturi.
 
2002 Dodge Ram 1500, 193,000 miles. Oil changed every 3,000-3500 miles by me, dealerships, or wherever was convenient and I used either synthetic or regular . Never been apart. Still have it. My first new 340 69 cuda had 90,000+- miles, oil changed every 3,000+ never was apart. Sold it in late 70's. Daily driver and occasional Island Dragway grudge nite participant. To me oil and filter change regularly is all you need. My Harleys the same ritual only every 1500-2,000 miles.
 
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