Re: Favorite oil filter brand and why?

Posted by e on January 03, 2009 at 20:30:00 from (69.130.249.22):

In Reply to: Re: Favorite oil filter brand and why? posted by Glen D Anderson on December 30, 2008 at 23:05:34:

Ah, 10-4. You want to know what that extra efficiency translates into in terms of engine life. I'll try to not write a book.

So, for starters, statistically, we cannot make any statement unless there is a minimum of 30 samples. Even then, the results would be sketchy. So, to compare two filters would require 60+ engines. That type of development would require literally millions upon millions in development dollars to complete. And at the end of the testing what could you conclude? You could conclude that X filter using Y oil on Z engine is better than B filter using Y oil in Z engine. You can't really make any additional statements that could apply to a more broad population.

The real root of the answer is that there are four areas that relate to how well an engine is protected by a filter:

1. What particle size distribution is created by the engine?
2. How efficient is the filter at filter different sizes of particles?
3. How is the life of different engine subsystems affected by different particle sizes?
4. How well does the engine oil deal with contamination?

It just isn't practice to try and make a generalization such as increasing the MPE (multipass efficiency) from 60% to 90% results in an X% increase in engine life. Historically, if you are filtering at 60% or above, you providing adequate filtration for most applications. Now, since more filtration certainly won't hurt and Fram filters are economical, there is no reason to not run Fram's or to get the best filter possible.

As you can see in filter technology today, the big thing isn't filter efficiency, it's filter life. Creating an efficient filter isn't rocket science, but extending drain intervals is a big challenge. In the automotive world, it just comes down to cost which is why some of the "neat" looking filters don't filter very well (good media costs money). As you can see by comments on this board, making the filter "look" good inside sells more than actual performance. Fram takes a different approach. They use low cost filter construction, but put in better media and use that as their selling point plus making their filters readily available to consumers.

Here is something interesting for you to ponder. When an OEM (like GM) came to us to produce filters for a car that was discontinued for 5+ years, they demanded a lower price and allowed us to substitute cheaper filter media that didn't perform as well. This typically saved about $0.05/filter. But to them, it was worth it.

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