whats the best oil filter readily available. k & n? Fram X2, Fram Double guard? thanks...gonna change the oil today

------------------
Rick
90 Camaro RS 305 TBI
400 small block, Hooker 1 3/4 LTs, Random Tech Cat, Hooker aero chamber cat back on the way!!
TH700-R4 with Trans-Go shift kit (corvette servo here...but not installed yet)
MacEwen Motorsports White Gauge Overlays
14" K&N X-Stream Open Element
GTS Headlight and Taillight covers
5% Limo Tint all around
Classic White Chevy Bowtie sticker on rear window
http://www.geocities.com/esvalenz

Man if my camaro were a rice-rocket all those mods would give me what...easily 50-60 hp!!!

"Just because I've done it, doesn't mean I knew what I was doing!" - Me

 

Mobil 1. It too is made of synthetic material.

------------------
Rob
'86 TA 305 TPI
Gutted MAF
Ported Plenum
TB Bypass

 

i buy wix or ac filters, but the very best oil filter is one that's changed regularly and not clogged up with a bunch of sludge from the engine.

------------------
ICON Motorsports

1st & 3rd

 

Fram is the WORST.

Mobile 1 is the best.

At least according to consumer digest.

 

AC Delco.....by far. If you don't believe me read this unbiased test. http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/oil_filter_study/




------------------
86 Camaro Sport
383 Speed-O-Motive Crate Engine, Trick Flow Twisted Wedge G2's, 58mm Accel TB, 3.73 Auburn Pro, SLP Cold Air Induction and Headers, Dynomax Cat-back, Serpentine Belt Setup, Dual IROC Fans, Jamex springs, 16" IROC Rims, 36mm/24mm Sway Bars, Global West Steering Brace. Hotchkis Rear LCA's,Panhard Bar and SFC's.
My Camaro Project

 

I use an ac delco ultraguard gold

 

Fram is good. Never had an engine failure since i put on the Fram. The double guard is just plain dangerous.

Go with a mobile 1, same price as the Fram Double Guard

------------------
--Steve S--
1984 Trans Am 305 LG4, 5 speed
RPO codes point to Recaro version
Daily Driver, Flowmaster 80 Series

 

I used to use Fram until they put that sure grip stuff on and raised the price. Ive seen results of oil filtr tests and for a O.E. equal replacement the top three were Wix is the best followed by Purolater and then AC. I mostly use Purolater now its good filter for the price.

 

I personally use the AC delco filter on my car (PF35).

Does anyone know the benefits of the "UltraGuard" gold filter compared to the standard "DuraGuard"? Nearly 4 times the cost is hard to swallow if it is not significantly better.

TIA!



------------------
Working on:
'84 Z28 LG4 305 with 200,000 original miles!
Added dual elec fans.
145 MPH IROC Speedo
Building 430 HP 350
using primarily GMPP parts.
Block is STILL in shop! (Waiting for my to buy the rods!)

ASE Certified Master Tech

Starting to look like the Kicker poster child!

 

Yeah, I use the Delco Ultra Guard. (The black one w/ gold sticker). it's easy to say which is clearly better.
Get a bunch of different brands and cut them open. pull the filter material out and un-roll it. The longer the element is, the better protection you have. Also, texture is important. By that, I mean the fiber separation. The closer the fibers are together, the smaller the filtration surface is, which is a good thing.

 

Baldwin filters are the best. AC filters are pretty good, but the baldwins have way more filtering media.


------------------
82 camaro--original steering wheel, brake/gas pedals, seats--everything else modified
82camaro

 

I use Bosch filters....they kick *** and they're black.

Kelly

------------------
If you've gotta fix it, fix it better than stock.

 

I've seen that site for almost a year. Notice he still hasn't posted the results of the AMSOIL disassembly.

As for being unbiased, perhaps, but it certainly wasn't technical nor a "test". It was only a physical disassembly and a data evaluation.

I've used Fram filters in the past with no failures, but I now only use them for initial cam run-in or flush, when I don't expect to have the vehicle on the road.

Baldwin has been around for decades - generally good stuff. So is Hastings. But, I'm sticking with the AMSOIL products for vehicles I actually take out of the garage.

------------------
82 Berlinetta, orig V-6 car, now w/86 LG4/TH700R. 2.93 limited slip. Cat-back from '91 GTA, Accel HEI SuperCoil. AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Daily driver, work-in-progress (LG4 w/LB9 block, ZZ3 cam and intake, WP 305 heads ported & polished, Hooker headers & y-pipe, hi-flow cat).
57 Bel Air, my 1st car. 0.030 over 396, Weiand Action+, Edelbrock 1901 Q-Jet, Jacobs Omnipack, 1-3/4" headers, TH400 w/TCI Sat Night Special conv & shift kit, 3.08 10-bolt, AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Best 15.1 @ 5800' Bandimere. Daily driver while Camaro was being put together.

 

took ya long enough five7....i knew eventually you would jump in and tell us all about amsoil and how youve used it for the past 27 years. thanks. ahhh.....i thought i said "readily available"...i have never seen baldwin, amsoil, or hastings. i think i ll go with mobil 1
thanks guys

------------------
Rick
90 Camaro RS 305 TBI
400 small block, Hooker 1 3/4 LTs, Random Tech Cat, Hooker aero chamber cat back on the way!!
TH700-R4 with Trans-Go shift kit (corvette servo here...but not installed yet)
MacEwen Motorsports White Gauge Overlays
14" K&N X-Stream Open Element
GTS Headlight and Taillight covers
5% Limo Tint all around
Classic White Chevy Bowtie sticker on rear window
http://www.geocities.com/esvalenz

Man if my camaro were a rice-rocket all those mods would give me what...easily 50-60 hp!!!

"Just because I've done it, doesn't mean I knew what I was doing!" - Me

 

Another vote for Purolator Pure One, for what it costs it is pretty good. I used to use Mobil 1, but I read a test where the P1 was better so I switched. You couldn't go wrong with either, though.

 

BB,

Here's the link to the genuine article, along with links to the references:

http://members.nbci.com/minimopar/oilfilterstudy.html

And the email supposedly from the (probably former) Fram engineer. This has not been verified as being genuine, so take it for what it's worth:

Russell,
I obtained great satisfaction from reading your oil filter survey.

I worked for two years as the oil-filter production line engineer in an Allied-Signal FRAM facility and I can confirm every bad thing you have said about FRAM automotive filters. That's from the horse's mouth, as it were.

I'm also a quality engineer and can confirm that FRAM applies no quality control whatsoever to any of the characteristics for which we buy oil filters. I frequently saw filter designs which were barely capable of meeting J806. Many of FRAM's designs will block and go to bypass after trying to filter very little contamination. There were often leakage paths at the paper end discs when these were not properly centered on the elements. Some designs had the pleats so tightly packed against the center tube that they would block off in no time. I had discovered that the FRAM HP1 that I had been buying for about $20 Cdn was EXACTLY the same as a PH8 inside - the only difference being a heavier can - no advantages in flow capacity. The paper filtration media was of apparently poor quality and the process of curing the paper resin was very inconsistent - elements would range from visibly burnt to white. FRAM's marketers admitted that there was just about no way the public could ever prove that an oil filter contributed, or did not prevent, engine damage. The only thing FRAM tested for was can burst strength. Another problem that they have from time to time is in threading the filter base - often there are strands of metal left behind on a poorly formed thread.

I have not used a FRAM filter since I started working there. Their claims are entirely and completely marketing bull****.

If people really want to protect their engines, a good air filter is vital (which excludes FRAM from that list as well) and a combination of one depth and one full-flow hydraulic filter, together in parallel, will do the job of filtration to perfection.

Thanks for doing a great job in trying to get the truth out! You can quote me anytime.

[name withheld]

Again, this in no way reflects the opinions of ThirdGen.org, and is included solely for its anecdotal content.

(Personally, I use AC/Delco filters...)

------------------
Later,
Vader
------------------
"Make Me Bad..."
Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0
KaleCo Auto Parts

[This message has been edited by Vader (edited January 31, 2001).]

 

The best oil filter is probably a newer one that the one that is on your car right now.

But seriously, I saw the page Vader referred to years ago, after having (a) had some acquaintances with bad experiences with Fram filters, including one whose filter medium had disintegrated and found its way into every oil passage in the engine, and (b) had some professional racers tell me that any other brand of filter was worth at least 5 psi of oil pressure more than a Fram in their engines. Then I saw the pix on that page and I instantly understood that the things I had heard were not flukes, but were probably the result of failure of an inferior product.

I use either AC PF35L (sunthetic medium) or PF1218 (?) I'm not sure that's the right #, it's just like the PF35 except it has an anti-drainback valve; or Mobil 1.

------------------
"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

 

all a matter of preference! i like the fram filters with the sandpaper on them so you dont need a oil filter wrench .....just my preference!

------------------
1989 firebird formula

Mods: converted from T.B.I. to a carburator 305 to a 350. Flowmater exhaust,hedman shortie hedders,202 heads,350 horse cam,bored.40 over, Edlebrock torker2 and a 600 edlebrock manual choke.

Future mods performer rpm air gap intake (polished) comp roller cam, and way better headsa 400 defintely in the works!

 

Well, not quite 27 years, but, you're welcome - glad I didn't disappoint.

"Readily available" depends upon how spur-of-the-moment you operate day-to-day...

The Mobil 1 filter is pretty good - rates close to the AMSOIL filters performance-wise.

I looked at the referenced site, hoping it had been updated. When I saw it had not, only then did I "jump in".

Vader, your former Fram engineer sounds a bit disgruntled. Also sounds like an AMSOIL convert...

 

Does AMSOIL pay you to advertise their products with so much zeal ? Because if they don't, you should consider giving them a call to ask them about it. lol

------------------
92 Z28 L98 350
---------------
Ported stock heads, XR270HR-10 cam, TES headers, Crane AFPR, Flowmaster catback, MSD ignition components, #24 SVO injectors.
Best ET 13.3@107 mph
"Take that auto, drop it in first, hold the brakes, stomp the gas and grin from ear to ear! :-)
Click here to see my car at Truspeed.org

Check out TruSpeed at http://www.truspeed.org
Check out the Bin Archive at http://www.truspeed.org/bins.html

[This message has been edited by Blade (edited February 01, 2001).]

 

http://www.baldwinfilters.com/lines/lube.html http://www.the-oilman.com/products/sdf.html


------------------
82 camaro--original steering wheel, brake/gas pedals, seats--everything else modified
82camaro

 

Now, just to make this clear...I'm not trying to say Ultraguard filters are better than Amsoil...That said, I just thought I'd point out that they didn't include the ultraguard in their comparison

------------------
90 IROC 5.7l (L98)
ram air, K&N's, air foil,Flows

LIKE A ROC

 

I almost always go with AC Delco filters on GM cars. The way I see it, although it probably doesn't matter, GM made our engines with their own parts, AC Delco, and the parts were specifically designed for the engines by GM. So why not stick with them? Just my .02.

 

kid,

I think Amsoil is a quality product. The question for me is: is it worth the extra expense? When I consider this , I take into account the following:

I have a car I bought new (OK, it's a Toyota Camry) that now has over 200k, never seen synthetic, smokes a little at startup, no problems.

Amsoil costs (what?), 400% more than conventional, 200% more than off the shelf synthetics.

I would hate waiting longer than 3,000 miles to change my oil. If it doesn't look clean on the dipstick, it's time. Changing the oil is not difficult, and gives me an opportunity to give my car an inspection on a regular basis.

My philosophy with regard to oil and filters is: for oil to do its job, it needs to be clean. Not just from dirt coming in but also from it's reduced effectiveness due to temperature and the byproducts that result over time. So for now I use AC filters, I'm still breaking in a rebuilt L98 but when its ready I'll probably use Mobil 1.

BTW anybody running Amsoil 0w-30?


[This message has been edited by 87kevroc (edited February 01, 2001).]

 

I used to use fram on everything I owned until I saw a display at autozone that had all of the filters they carried cut open. Fram was pitiful. the best they had was mobil 1, ac delco, puralator and their brand deusch. I've used all of these at one time or another but I like ac delco or mobil 1 the best. though I was really suprised how good the deusch filter was.

 

I'll vote for the baldwin, used them on semi's and they seem to work real well. I like the luberfiner's better but they don't make car and truck filters

 

Yes, it's in the crankcase of 5 vehicles of mine right now.

 

kid,

Do you change viscosity in any of the five for summertime weather? What guidelines do you abide by for your change intervals? Thanks.

 

Keep it in year 'round. I follow the AMSOIL guidelines for that type: oil change 35k or 1 year, whichever comes first, filter change at half that. For me, time typically dictates the change. Also use their air filters, which help to keep the engines cleaner.

One vehicle is a full size Chevy van w/350, use it to tow our horse trailer. Use it in the '57 & Camaro for driving/racing (Camaro my commuter car). Other two are daily driver Bonnevilles for wife & daughters. The van is the lowest mileage engine (other than the '57) w/55k (previous owner didn't use synthetic, replaced 305 @71k). Others have 115k - 138k on them.