Oil Filter Comparison

[Napaguy3]

Well ive been reading recently about the quality of different brand oil filters and today i decided to take a look for myslef. I cut open 4 different brands
Napa Gold p/n 1356
Mobil 1 p/n M1-110
Bosch p/n 3323
Fram p/n PH7317





I started out with the Fram

Notice how there are not that many pleats on the filter... less surface area of the filter media

The spring on the Fram filter wasnt the best in the world either



Next up was the Bosch, much better than the Fram

Here you can see how much better the filter element is, it has metal ends vs. the cardboard fram ones and you can easily see how there are more pleats in the filter element


Bosch filter element and cap

[Napaguy3]

Next up i cut into the Napa Gold filter

This filter had the strongest spring out of the 4 that i cut open, along with the Bosch filter this one also has plenty more pleats than the Fram filter

The Napa filter also had bigger holes than the Bosch and Fram kinda hard to tell from the pictures but it does...

And finally on to the M1 filter... I was very suprised at what i found when i cut into this one. M1 had by far the thickest casing of them all which made it pretty difficult to open.

This filter element and spring very closely resemble that of the Fram which was suprising

Pictures comparing the anti-drainback valves, Napa and Bosch were the thickest out of them all

Here is a pic of the filter elements from most pleats to least the order is Bosch, Napa, M1, Fram

Spring comparison, notice how similar M1 and Fram are.

Picture comparing the end of all 4 filters

The Fram and M1 filters are the only ones that had an element without a top on it, its hard to tell in the pic but you can see all the way to the floor


Heres a link to a thread where someone cut open the OEM Honda filter... which suprisingly resembled Fram.
http://forums.clubrsx.com/showthread.php?t=662322

Call it biased or not but out of these 5 i think Napa is the best...

My order goes
Napa about $9
Bosch $7
M1 $13
Honda $11
Fram $4

[Ktec]

if its not too much trouble, could you do this for a Purolator PureONE filter. i heard those are excellent, compared to bosch and M1

ah nvm,: found this.. http://people.msoe.edu/~yoderw/oilfi...lterstudy.html

[miles87]

what about the napa and mobil 1 filters? Conclusions?

[Napaguy3]

Originally Posted by miles87

what about the napa and mobil 1 filters? Conclusions?

just posted them up

[Nate2k3]

good read, cant wait for the final two. I always wanted to see what im spending extra for.

[LastTypeS]

awesome comparo! along with the purolater pure one, how about k&n gold?

[Napaguy3]

Originally Posted by LastTypeS

awesome comparo! along with the purolater pure one, how about k&n gold?

I might do K&N later i didnt have that much money on me when i went to Autozone but hopefully soon ill get to cut into a K&N i dropped like 35 bucks on filters that are now no good haha oh well at least everyone on here can be a little more educated about their filters now

[ivanbih]

good thread

[SF_RSX-S]

not bad...

[OlieCan]

cool thread, but I don't think that "More Pleats" means better filtration... You should probably check some facts a little more before making up information. The materials used in the filter could be, and probably is quite different with different models. I also doubt that the "More holes" has a huge effect on it. Im sure these companies did a little more research that "More/Less Pleats", "More/Less firm spring" and "Number of Holes" each one has... Im sure all the filters have ample amount of "holes" in them to go what they need to do...

[DJCarbine]

FYI the filter endcaps being cardboard don't really mean anything. Its the anti-drainback valve you should be worried about, and the filter square inch coverage.

Actually, The paper filter media is weaker than the endcaps, and the thing thats REALLY sealing the oil and making sure it doesn't bypass the media is the glue. Paper glued to cardboard is perfectly legit from a sealing standpoint. I'd rather they glue it to cardboard than try to glue it to a smooth metal endcap. I'm pretty sure its not cardboard either, its most likely a reinforced media element, aka capable of withstanding hot oil environment and pressure

For 4 bucks its a decent filter, and they are rated for 10 microns

[miles87]

i just swtiched from fram to bosch recently...Looks like i made a good move

[Napaguy3]

Originally Posted by OlieCan

cool thread, but I don't think that "More Pleats" means better filtration... You should probably check some facts a little more before making up information. The materials used in the filter could be, and probably is quite different with different models. I also doubt that the "More holes" has a huge effect on it. Im sure these companies did a little more research that "More/Less Pleats", "More/Less firm spring" and "Number of Holes" each one has... Im sure all the filters have ample amount of "holes" in them to go what they need to do...

very true im sure each of these comanies spent plenty of money in R&D but it just seems that with more pleats you will have more surface area of the filter for the oil to flow through allowing it to trap more particles just a thought

Originally Posted by DJCarbine

FYI the filter endcaps being cardboard don't really mean anything. Its the anti-drainback valve you should be worried about, and the filter square inch coverage.

Actually, The paper filter media is weaker than the endcaps, and the thing thats REALLY sealing the oil and making sure it doesn't bypass the media is the glue. Paper glued to cardboard is perfectly legit from a sealing standpoint. I'd rather they glue it to cardboard than try to glue it to a smooth metal endcap. I'm pretty sure its not cardboard either, its most likely a reinforced media element, aka capable of withstanding hot oil environment and pressure

For 4 bucks its a decent filter, and they are rated for 10 microns

where did you find that micron rating at? i searched frams site and couldnt find a micron spec on that filter. and im not saying it isnt a decent filter for the money im just saying that for an extra 4 bucks you could have something alot better imo. and out of the 4 the fram had the weakest/thinnest anti-drainback valve of them all

[a2_dc5]

I wonder what the OEM blue and the HAMP green one looks like...thanks for taking the time to do this

was this a side / school project too or soley for CRSX?

[Napaguy3]

Just for CRSX and theres a link in my 2nd post to a thread where someone cut open the OEM honda one. it looks very similary to Fram since they are both made by Honeywell

[Yahoo]

Good research, but can you do a STP oil filter?

[anthonylee]

Thanks a lot for doing this.

[Frayne182]

I have a fram one in mine. Got it from my last oil change. This is cool info.

Thanks

[SliccMajestic]

Nicely done on the research I've been using Fram filters for years because they are the easiest to screw off and doesn't burn your hand off when twisting.

[DJCarbine]

I actually just got a fram. I change them every 3000 miles anyways, and they are the easiest to grab and change IMO

[Napaguy3]

thats interesting do you guys think the textured end on the fram helps out at all? ive always used Napa and dont really have too much trouble getting them on or off.
I think im going to go out next week and pick up a K&N, STP, and Purolator PureONE filter and see what they look like inside. im about to leave for vacation tomorrow

[RR_uel]

this has been covered several times in this forum. they also have extensive info regarding this topic in bobistheoilguy.com

[hyphonix]

Please do K&N

[PreludePatrick]

Nice write up

How do these compare to an OEM honda filter?

EDIT: NM, found the link, looks like it's time to switch to Napa Gold