Oil Filter Comparison/Evaluation |
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skutsch
Grand Poobah Joined: June-19-2008 Location: Racine, WI Status: Offline Points: 2874 |
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Posted: April-22-2013 at 7:46pm |
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Ok, in an effort to further the debate on Oil Filters, I have located an updated study and tear down analysis on Oil Filters. I will post the links and results below. But first the caveats:
1.) The study was completed in January 2011, so even this study is over 2 years old, but much more current then the one I have previously referenced. Realizing that manufactures change their products (for better or worse), products referenced here may have changed and could provide different results. 2.) I believe the study to be an improvement over previously referenced studies because in addition to the tear down analysis, it also completed a particulate filtration analysis. 3.) The application was completed using a methodology to simulate a 1/2 ton pick up using an L31 5.7L Gen1e Vortec engine. Obviously this is not a marine application. While the 5.7L chevy block is used in some marine application, it is not the same. For most of the folks on this site the 5.8L Ford block is probably more common. Having said all this the spirit of the analysis is still somewhat applicable to our marine application. 4.) Much of the study is subjective, where empirical analysis is not provided, there is generally documentation of what the subjective analysis was based on, and in many cases photographs of the information. Link to the Oil Filter Analysis For those wishing for the Cliff Notes Version Top 5 (overall): Fram Extended Guard Mobil 1 Royal Purple Amsoil K&N Top 5 (elimiating price as a factor) Mobil 1 K&N Fram Extended Guard Wix Purolator Pure-One Bottom 5 (overall): Fram High Mileage Proline STP AC Delco Shell Bottom 5 (elimiating price as a factor): Full Motorcraft Pronto Proline Shell More information to follow, let the debate begin... |
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skutsch
Grand Poobah Joined: June-19-2008 Location: Racine, WI Status: Offline Points: 2874 |
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Here is summary of the data:
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skutsch
Grand Poobah Joined: June-19-2008 Location: Racine, WI Status: Offline Points: 2874 |
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Here is a summary recalculated removing the Price component:
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skutsch
Grand Poobah Joined: June-19-2008 Location: Racine, WI Status: Offline Points: 2874 |
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jbach
Senior Member Joined: September-24-2012 Location: Kentucky Status: Offline Points: 140 |
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'crickets chirping'. i wonder how crow is best served?
good stuff steve. interesting to see just how crappy motorcraft stacked up. |
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TRBenj
Grand Poobah Joined: June-29-2005 Location: NWCT Status: Offline Points: 21125 |
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Huh? Key word: Air filters (not oil). |
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skutsch
Grand Poobah Joined: June-19-2008 Location: Racine, WI Status: Offline Points: 2874 |
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Josh, was not my intent, but admittedly I would have to be near the start of that serving line - as I too had climbed on the Fram basher bandwagon, I would say they only have ONE filter at the top of the list and most of their filters are indeed at the bottom. in general I was surprised by a lot of the results, and it does go to show that companies can and do make changes to their products and that you do need to be constantly open to updating your information/opinions.
Really anxious to see what Waterdog has to say. Andy is actually in the industry (oil analysis) and I would consider him an expert on the whole Oil discussion. Regardless, I think this is a good update to the previous findings. |
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skutsch
Grand Poobah Joined: June-19-2008 Location: Racine, WI Status: Offline Points: 2874 |
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WOW TIM - I is STUPID, wonder How I can fix that...
Ok, that is fixed. Geez - need to stop trying to multi-task... |
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OverMyHead
Grand Poobah Joined: March-14-2008 Location: MN Status: Offline Points: 4861 |
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All I know is if its 80 degrees and I am out on Green Lake for the re-union I would not care if I had a soup can full of Charmin screwed onto the block filtering my oil, I am not turning back to change it. I think I put a wix on last fall. That is the only time I think about the filter.
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For thousands of years men have felt the irresistible urge to go to sea, and many of them died. Things got better after they invented boats.
1987 Ski Nautique |
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SNobsessed
Grand Poobah Joined: October-21-2007 Location: IA Status: Offline Points: 7102 |
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Fram went from worst-ever to Best Buy.
Now it is time to bash Motorcraft & AC Delco. Everyone gets a turn in the barrel I suppose. |
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“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”
Ben Franklin |
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bhectus
Platinum Member Joined: July-04-2010 Location: Gator Country! Status: Offline Points: 1809 |
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Wow, I took the time to read the tester's setup and tools used to test and I'd say it was a pretty comprehensive test and it obviously yielded some pretty interesting results. Still want to hear what the naysayers chime in with. I haven't used a Fram filter since I joined on here, maybe that will change, but maybe not. I'm a creature of habit and like to stick with the plan. FL1A hasn't let me down yet....
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'02 Ski Nautique 196 w/ 5.7 Apex bowtie - Sold
'87 Barefoot - sold '97 Super Sport Nautique - originally custom built for Walt Meloon '97 Ski Nautique '83 SN 2001 |
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Bones71
Senior Member Joined: March-09-2013 Location: Bettendorf Ia Status: Offline Points: 334 |
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I'm lovin this stuff. You guys do great work! Keep it up. I'm takin it all in. Hopefully some day I can help in some way. Bones.
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gun-driver
Grand Poobah Joined: July-18-2008 Location: Pittsburgh, Pa Status: Offline Points: 4112 |
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I have to wonder why the NAPA Gold and the WIX scored differently???They are the same filter!!!
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skutsch
Grand Poobah Joined: June-19-2008 Location: Racine, WI Status: Offline Points: 2874 |
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Paul to provide a little more information, I think it correct to say that Napa Gold and WIX are manufactured by the same company. But as the tester points out (perhaps he does this in the truck forum), the manufacturers build to the individual company specs. I believe their are only a handful of actual vendors. If you dig down into the deep detail, you can see where there are differences in the build spec. Most of these larger difference would be outside of the variability you would (hope) to have in manufacturing. |
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Foot_Fungus
Gold Member Joined: February-27-2012 Location: Chapin, SC Status: Offline Points: 501 |
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steve is correct, I'm aware of only 4-5 major mfg. of oil filters. Champion being one of the largest. I believe this is the old outdated version you were referencing Old Test
Since then a few of the brands have switched mfgs, but it gives you a good idea of the differences you'll see even from the same mfg. Kinda like batteries. 99% of the time it isn't the mfg that determines the quality(or lack there of) but the spec and budget they are given by the brand. largely the budget, which determines filter material, check valve material, etc. The reason everyone gets their turn in the barrel is because it seems like they take turns cheaping out on their filters. They build up the reputation, then cut costs and ride the profit train as long as possible. Then repeat when it starts going down hill. The only brands I've seen consistently maintain quality is Mobil, K&N, and for the past 6 years WIX gold. Motorcraft and Mopar both switched suppliers in recent years so I'm curious how their quality will pan out. |
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'94SN Restoration underway...
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Guests
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WOW----------- great work SKUTsch, fantastic...
Fram is not so bad after all.I think the cat food that Mr. Peter,s wife has been feeding him ,has taken a heavy toll on his mind..He was and has been under the impression the tuna sandwiches she makes him for work and the noodle dish he loves so much was real tuna out of a can for humans. He found a can ,for feline,s in his trash one day and was wondering... See ,Mr Peter the test results do not lie! Fram is making a come back, while you are being feed cat food for LUNCH! |
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mrinboard
Senior Member Joined: November-23-2010 Location: Columbia City Status: Offline Points: 165 |
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Oil filter tests are misleading the problem with frame filters is that when the elements get dirty the collapse or rip and the dirty oil bypass's the element. I have seen this first hand.
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Dont Hate "ACCELERATE!"
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To:Mr.Peter..Kiss it baby!
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davidg
Grand Poobah Joined: January-07-2008 Location: NW Chicagoland Status: Offline Points: 2239 |
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I was never one to buy into the whole Fram bashing thing. I think its all a personal preference. I use both Fram and Motorcraft with no issues.
Question: Fram did both bad and good in the tests. Which Fram filter is the good old beloved "Orange Dome of Death" (as I have seen it referenced on internet blogs). I assume the orange one is the one that scored lower?? Also, judging from the picture above, I didn't know Fram filters had such nice rounded bottoms on them. I do like that grippy stuff they put on them. It would be nice if Motorcraft did that. |
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cphase
Gold Member Joined: May-11-2010 Location: Newnan, GA Status: Offline Points: 795 |
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Would this not be a gas filter?
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skutsch
Grand Poobah Joined: June-19-2008 Location: Racine, WI Status: Offline Points: 2874 |
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Ok, so in looking closer at the data, in an attempt to provide some more analysis for DaveG (more on that in a moment Dave), I realized that when I removed the pricing and re-ranked the filters, I only averaged the scores. To be true to the original analysis, I should actually use the weighted analysis as was done in the original evaluation, so you can see the true impact that price has on the ranking. I re-worked that information to come up with the following new ranking based on the weighted average as originally defined by author of this study:
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skutsch
Grand Poobah Joined: June-19-2008 Location: Racine, WI Status: Offline Points: 2874 |
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So what this tells me there is a VERY distinct difference between the good filters (those that essentially score a B+ or higher, sticking with the letter grade analogy), and what I would call the average filters (those that essentially score between a C- and C+). This is mostly impacted by the results on the filtering ability and build quality. Which makes sense - the filtering importance is pretty obvious and as Mark (mrinboard) pointed out, filter failure is usually due to poor build quality (filter pulling away from the frame) or poor materials (filter element ripping).
So the Xtended Guard is indeed a non-orange Fram Filter (its the gold one). The Orange ones are the High Mileage, Racing and Extra Guard filters. Removing the Price from the equation, the Fram Xtended Guard is 2nd on the list and then the next Fram Filter (Racing) comes in at 9th place. It appears the most significant factors impacting their ranking are Build Quality, media surface and media volume. The next FRAM filter, 16th on list, drops off significantly from the other two. I believe the most common Fram filter (made available at most farm stores) is the FRAM Extraguard, which is way down the list. So the other interesting thing that others have pointed out, is that it would not be unusual for a company to specify a filter design that is very high quality, as consumers buy this filter and market share shifts, demand goes up, management looks to improve profits, so the manufacture specifies cost "improvements" which degrade product quality. So filter analysis identifies this degredation in quality, demand shift and the manufacture then redesigns the product to improve quality bringing consumers back. This is pretty typical of ANY product lifecycle. It would also explain why you see different manufacturers redesign filters and why you see movement of filters up and down the analysis scale over time. |
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davidg
Grand Poobah Joined: January-07-2008 Location: NW Chicagoland Status: Offline Points: 2239 |
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Great information Steve! Thanks for going the extra mile to find it, post it, and further explain it. Its nice to see solid data.
For what its worth, I have had a couple of parts guys and oil change guys tell me Wix is a great filter. It seemed to score pretty high on all the charts. I might have to take a look at using them if they are easy to find. |
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jbach
Senior Member Joined: September-24-2012 Location: Kentucky Status: Offline Points: 140 |
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air filters you say? if you read the post, or any of the data, you surely would've noticed the pictures, which are pretty much a dead giveaways for oil filters. I'll give you a pass, I've had a few myself this evening. |
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dwouncmd
Gold Member Joined: July-10-2009 Location: NC Status: Offline Points: 919 |
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Very interesting. It is nice to see critical thinking vs. marketing and personal anecdotal evidence as it relates to these products.
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89 SN
<a href="http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=6567&sort=&pagenum=1" rel="nofollow">7 |
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turningpoint84
Platinum Member Joined: September-11-2008 Location: Cincinnati, OH Status: Offline Points: 1467 |
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M1-302 and i'll e done with it.
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Proud 1968 mustang owner and now
1970 Mustang |
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JoeinNY
Grand Poobah Joined: October-19-2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 5693 |
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I find some value in his construction evaluation but the filtration test doesn’t have any real value IMHO. It appears to be only a test of the flattened media at a subjective pressure drop. That doesn’t have much real world correlation to how well the filter would work. A small amount of highly restrictive media which would score well on this type of test would cause a very large pressure drop across the filter, which aside from placing more strain on the engine would slow down the overall oil flow rate through the engine (by causing the bearing surfaces to see less pressure post filter).
Additionally to me it seems using a vacuum to pull oil through the paper doesn’t simulate 14 psi of oil pressure but rather 14 psi of pressure drop in the oil filter.. which would be excessive. Most filters would be sending oil unfiltered through their bypass valve back to the engine by that point, 10 to 12 psi used to be a typical bypass pressure rating point back when I paid attention to such things. So the filtration media might be awesome, but if it restricts flow too much then all the oil is going to bypass it anyway, and if it filters very well but only at pressure drops it will never see then that also doesn’t help things. I don’t doubt that the high end fram filters are better than they used to be, but I would stick to tests that show pressure drop at reasonable flow rates through the filter assembly. Preferably at different loading conditions ( Ie how well does it filter after the first 1000 miles, and how much oil pressure does it rob while doing so). Personally, knowing how many rpms we regularly run our motors, I would say we would be better served by a bunch of relatively porous paper, than by relatively high filtration paper because at 3600 rpm I am guessing too much of the latter would have almost all the oil bypassing the filter element and returning directly to the bearings (particularily with you guys that run that 20-50w stuff). |
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skutsch
Grand Poobah Joined: June-19-2008 Location: Racine, WI Status: Offline Points: 2874 |
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See Joe, you mechanical engineering types understand this stuff so much better then us electrical engineering guys. That one thermodynamics class we had to take really only wets the toe on the whole fluids concept/discussion. Excellent add on analysis.
Interestingly enough the old study (circa 2004, Bobistheoilguy.com) did some of the loading condition analysis, and they had results all over the place. As you stated the marine application loading condition is WAY different then the automotive. I wonder how much study the marine engine conversion folks have done on oil filters... |
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8122pbrainard
Grand Poobah Joined: September-14-2006 Location: Three Lakes Wi. Status: Offline Points: 41040 |
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I agree with Joe!! I still feel Fram makes a junk filter! |
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Riley
Grand Poobah Joined: January-19-2004 Location: Portland, ME Status: Offline Points: 7952 |
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I use NAPA Gold as I have an account with them and buy most non marine stuff from them. But, I did use Fram filters for years including on my vehicles when I used to do all my oil changes and never had a problem with a Fram filter and most of my vehicles all went upwards of 200k or more. If you change your oil often or don't use your boat much, I don't think the filter makes much difference. What I have found though is on extended oil changes like I've been doing on my vehicles for the past 7 or 8 years is that some filter clog up faster and there is a noticable drop in oil pressure when you get beyond 10,000 miles on an oil change.
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