So, what is the house favorite for oil filters? I have always used Frams, but recently I saw some tests that a guy in the rec.sport.waterski newsgroup pointed to on the net. Fram looked like the worst of all, based on that data. Now I am a little nervous, if there is any credibility to the tests. Anyway, I am just looking for personal experiences and preferences.

I am using those Fram HP-1 long body filters on the 454. They are supposed to be something special. I would buy a Mobil-1 filter, but they are short body.

Any comments?

Well, I am with you. I have always used FRAM too. I haven't owned a vast number of vehicles, but of the one's I have had, FRAM has always seemed to do well. I have even used the dura guard line they carry. I have seen similar tests like you are talking about. They may seen accurate, but I have to go by what my exerience is. I will stick with FRAM until I discover something that seems better to me. What do the rest of you think?

----Jerry----

I have used the fram filters that have teflon in my 350 pick-up trucks and there is a noticable difference in how easy the engine runs.I wish they made one for canister filters so I could try one in my car. Has any one had any experience with these teflon filters in their car?

I am not certain that a high quality filter is any better than a $2.00 one. Is a finer mesh really better? Remember that little alum part that the filter screws onto? Well it has a bypass built in. So would a courser mesh allow more oil to be filtered and a finer mesh allow more to be bypassed?
The cam eater ran no more than 40 min. and yet all the lower bearings had good sized bits of cam imbedded in them, and they sure didn't come from the outside.
Napa sells a high pressure filter that allows the bypass to be plugged so ALL of the oil gets filtered or you can install the
"can" from a old truck motor.
Harley

Hi guys,
I almost have to agree with Harley. Most of us car nuts probably change our oil much sooner than needed and well before there is enough "crud" in it to even really need a filter. My main concern with filters is in applications where we have blocked the bypass. In these cases I like to use the Fram HP series, or Moroso's Racing filters, only because the case is stronger and so is the internal construction. I have seen a stock Fram filter come apart internally when used in a drag motor with a blocked bypass. The results were not pretty, the filter material clogged the main oil feed from the filter and I am sure you know the rest of the story.
I use plain old, get them at Wal Mart, AC filters on all my regular drivers and on customers motors. No complaints.
There is a slick filter made by System One that is a cleanable wire mesh type filter, but goes on in place of your standard filter. These can be taken apart and cleaned and are really nice on race motors because you can check them for bearing material each week and head off pending disasters. They are only around $70 Figure that is about the same as 10 of the Fram HP filters. I have been trying to talk all my customers into using them.

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Bill Koustenis
Advanced Automotive Machine
Waldorf Md

1971 Heavy Chevy - original owner
Team Chevelle #100

I used to use FRAM untill about 10 years ago on my fleet of farm trucks an tractors. The NAPA dealer wanted me to try his filters which are the same as WIX filters made by the GAURD corp. I cut open the FRAM and saw that the ends of the filter material were they come together are just folded together. Very easy for the oil to blow right past. I cut open the NAPA and the ends were crimped together with a piece of metal. Needless to say I don't use FRAM anymore. I also cut open an A.C. filter and it was crimped like the NAPA. A.C. did not have coverage for my tractors so I stuck with NAPA and have no problems.

Hi all, on my new 454 I have been using the new h.p. filter from GM: PF-35L, PN 25013454.
I'll let GM pay for all the R & D and hopefully benefit. Also check out this link; he's a mopar guy but what the heck http://www.chevelles.com/forum/smile.gif

http://minimopar.simplenet.com/oilfilters.html

Dave MacGregor
Aces 1818
TC 27

If you have any GM vehicle I would recommend using only AC Delco products. Personally i use the brand new filters they got called AC Delco Ultragaurd Gold. They cost around 9.00 dollars, but i think they are worth the extra money. I have heard alot of bad things about Fram, but the decision is up to you. I use AC Delco Products religously. Its your car you make the call. By the way the regular filters are just fine.

I use Wix for one reason and one reason only. They are white. The early AC spin-on was white. If it is installed with the labeling facing the block, it kind of gives the appearance of an original AC filter. As far as filtering ability, I think it is as good as most others on the market. I also use the long 2qt truck filter, the Wix number is 51794. Most every other filter company also makes the 2qt truck filter.

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The Wix or NAPA filters are good but I use the one quart size AC delco filters from GM, they are rated one of the best filters on the market with a large filter area (almost twice the filter area of an orange filter) with nice crimped metal end caps not the glued cardboard that the orange filter uses. K-mart sells them for $3.
The best filter for our chevys is the AC Delco PF-35L, PN 25013454 as 70 Rat says above. This filter has a synthetic filter element instaed of paper, that has a large area and filters much smaller particles, usually you need to order from a dealer for about $8 each.

Well, my last Honda had 235,000 miles on it, and my current one has 185,00 miles. Both have used plain orange fram filters since day 1. (OEM Honda filets are made by Fram)

We use frams on our Vette and Chevelle. Never had a bit of trouble with either.

It'll be a cold day in hell before I pay more than the $2.50 each that the Frams cost me. I just don't see what one of these $9 filters is gonna do.

The only reason I can think of for useing a better filter is for extream conditions like racing or hauling. Otherwise it seems like a big waste of money (just like synth oil).

Kurt

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The 68 Chevelle info page. [last updated Nov. 30, 98]
www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Garage/6873/Chevelle/68_Chevelle_Info.html (http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Garage/6873/Chevelle/68_Chevelle_Info.html)
Email: Kbyfield@terracom.net
A.C.E.S. #1352

For what its worth, I am with BillK on this one. I have used the fram HP4 on my racecar and it worked well, but now I have the System One filter. I never will run anything other than a System One oil filter ever again. I have all my friends converting to them. Bill is 100% right on the motor saver too, I've seen examlpes of it.

I toy around with new things in this arena.
Purilator's Pure 1, Hard Driver, and Mobile's 1 filter seem to be the next generation of filters, advertising more though put and ability to capture smaller micron particles. I understand GM makes a synthetic filter that makes similiar claims.
And there are probably others.

These are the two discriminators I look at:

1. Though put
2. Micron size the filter can capture.

The price is not so good on the above items - Mobil 1 filter = $9.99

The system One wire mesh filter advertizes 6 times the through put of a conventional filter and can capture particles down to 5 microns, this is about the best I have seen listed. Many conventional filters only capture 25 microns and larger.

There is an OBERG flat pancake style filter that also uses a fine wire screen. I see them at the race track from time to time. Racers will mount them remotely and in a air stream location for some oil cooling.

As has been stated above the gear-heads change their oil so regular and at such low mileage that I doubt we stress any filter.

I also use a rare earth magnet band around the outside of the filter. If you cut the filter apart there will be little ferrous "fuzzies" sticking to the inside just under where the magnets were. Now just how much difference this makes in the life of an engine is another point - but then everyone has to have a hobby and gear-heads have been know to pole vault over rat s#@t.

John

GM AC Delco.

I use ac delco on my 69 307. BUT, I use the 'truck' filter. pf35 I believe. It's alot bigger than the 'car' version. why? I figure bigger filter=better flow and longer life.

I use the AC PF-25 with no problems. The longer filter may get too close to my headers for my taste. I can't see spending over $3.00 for a filter I will only use for 2500 - 3000 miles. If I was running a filter bypass and high pressure i'd listen to Bill K's advice

BTW I have had problems with non AC filters in my daily driver with the bizzare pan mounted filter. They slip on the output tube with no threads and the NAPA filter wouldn't jam on for me at all.

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go- ac delco

Just talked to my Chevy Guy, Chevrolet Parts Counterman,( he was born in the trunk of a Chevrolet), AC1218, PF1218, or some letters, but the number is 1218. It has all the good stuff inside.

Look over a posting I made a while back.
http://www.chevelles.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/002322.html .
I believe the link is the same as the one posted earlier. As for my .02- I ran the K&N Gold filter for a period of time, now I use the Purolator Pure1. The top of the line filter on the market is a Mobil 1 product, I'm not sure of the exact line. The #2 filter on the market is the Pure1. I won't run anything less in my own car and recommend them highly to my regular and commercial customers.

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1BADS72
Robert Anderson
pages.hotbot.com/photo/1bads72/ (http://pages.hotbot.com/photo/1bads72/)

WIDE OPEN 'TIL YOU SEE GOD, THEN BRAKE!

Check out this site:

http://minimopar.simplenet.com/oilfilterstudy.html

After reading this page, I was horrified about Allied Signal products, which makes Fram filters. I used to purchase Fram filters from Western Auto when they were on sale, and later learned about the horror stories about the failure of a Fram product from the author of the above website.

There are 4 common manufacturers of filters: Allied-Signal, Champion Laboratories, Purolator, and AC-Delco. The Champion Laboratories filters (STP, Hard Driver, Car and Driver, NAPA Silver, Deustch, et.al) have fragile paper elements, which is REAL scary if the filter fails.

AC-Delco: the one and only, and the best. The one-quart filters hold 30 oz. of motor oil, and I would recommend this for every Chevrolet V8. Synthethic paper media is considered the best in the industry. Either the PF35 or PF1218 functions, the latter used on pickup trucks. The PF1218 has a anti-drain valve (check valve) that retains oil in the filter.

Purolator (incl. Quaker State, Motorcraft, Pro Line, Powerflo, Parts Master, Group 7, Motorvator {the old K-mart brand name, phased out in 1992}, and Pure One): The filtering media is thicker than the Champion clones, but the PureOne has more pleats. Note: PureOne and the Motorcraft FL1A are similar, exc. for the retail price.

Wix/NAPA Gold: Filtering media is similar to AC-Delco, exc. the 1-qt case is shorter. All of the non-ACDelco 1-qt filters hold only 28 oz. of motor oil.

Fram/Pennzoil: Years ago, these filters were the best. Now, they are the worst out there. I am not scaring loyal Fram consumers, but their products were the spark of a controversy back in the late 1980s, when auto parts distributors began stocking Purolator and Champion Laboratories products on store shelves. The flaw on Fram oil filters is that the filter element has paper caps, unlike the other filters that have metal end caps. Pennzoil oil filters are Fram clones, except for the yellow paint and Pennzoil logo.

Mobil 1: This filter is a Champion Laboratories product, except for the thicker filtering media. The $9.95 price range is too steep, but look out for "Mobil 1 Oil Change Specials", which include 5 qts. of Mobil 1 and a Mobil 1 filter. This is available at your local AutoZone. The 1 qt filter holds 28 oz.

Right now, I have seen the recently-introduced Penske and Castrol oil filters, which are made by the same manufacturers. Not much is known, but a study should be done in the future.

I have been using ACDelco products since, because of the overall quality.

I have seen that web page about the filters too, interesting to know who makes what. I recently cut open a Pennzoil filter (Fram clone)the Quik Lube place put on my 99 GMC Sierra at 1,000 miles, also a AC a friend at a lube center saved for me.

After I saw that web page I changed my oil around 2300 miles. 33,000 for a truck and 2.00 for a filter? When I cut the filter open it fell apart in several pieces, the paper element was flimsy and distorted compared to an AC I cut open. The Fram is akin to putting a screen door on a submarine in my opinion.

I am sticking with AC filters. Its your choice, your money and your car. Cut one open and see for yourself.

BTW-I notice the WalMart and K-Mart in my area area seem to be phasing out the AC line. The shelve stocker said the cost is one of the factors, they make more money on the other brands.