Imagine if you run your car without an oil filter, it won’t be able to run as smoothly as you want it to, nor can its health be adequately maintained for an extended period without using this component. When hard substances enter into the oil stream, there is an excellent chance that these small things can damage the machinery that helps a car run.
The article will help you expand your knowledge regarding oil filters. The different sections in this guide will tell you about each component and ho it works. Some tips are also provided to help you in case you need to change a filter or are looking for a good oil filter to suit your car. Let’s begin with products that help you discover further about oil filter brands that will help you pick the most suitable one for yourself.
10 Best Oil Filter Product Reviews
1. Motorcraft FL80S Silicone Valve Oil Filter
- Fit Type: Vehicle Specific
- Part number: FL-820-S
- Included components: FL-820-S
- Oem equivalent part number: FL820S
2. Mobil 1 M1-110 Extended Performance Oil Filter
- Synthetic fiber blend filter element uses advanced technology for maximum cleaning power
- Premium lubricated filter gasket provides a tight seal and allows for easy removal
- Provides long-life performance for today's longer drain intervals
- Prevents dry starts by eliminating internal leakage during shutdown through the use of a silicone...
3. Bosch 3330 Premium FILTECH Oil Filter
- Exclusive FILTECH media technology screens out more harmful particles and dirt, preventing premature...
- OE fit ensured through strong steel base plates and housings that prevent warpage, leaks and poor...
- Silicone anti-drain back valve ensures engine receives a supply of clean oil when the vehicle is...
- High lubricity gasket design provides a tight, leak proof seal, yet allows for easy removal when...
- Compatible with select vehicles including, but not limited to, the following (Note: vehicle trim...
4. Toyota Genuine Parts 90915-YZZF2 Oil Filter
- Genuine OEM - direct fit
- Effectively removes contaminants
- Provides quality engine effectiveness
- Recommended for use with Toyota motor oil products
- Can be used with other motor oil brands
5. Mann-Filter HU 925/4 X Metal-Free Oil Filter
- Item Package Dimension: 4.29L x 3.70W x 3.62H inches
- Item Package Weight - 0.22 Pounds
- Item Package Quantity - 1
- Product Type - OIL FILTER
6. FRAM XG7317 Ultra Synthetic Spin-on Oil Filter with Sure-Grip
- EASY INSTALLATION: Engine oil filter comes with Suregrip non-slip surface making it easy to remove...
- DURABLE DUAL LAYER: Compare to standard oil filters, FRAM Ultra Synthetic provides 99%+ filtration...
- SUPERIOR ENGINE PROTECTION: FRAM car oil filter is composed of a slick silicone anti-drainback...
- HIGH TEMP RESISTENCE: Filter combats high heat pressure for longer shelf life with advanced high...
- 20,000 MILE CAPABILITY: Reliable for high mileage, FRAM Ultra Synthetic offers proven protection up...
7. Royal Purple 241777 Extended Life Oil Filter
- Features 100 percent synthetic micro-glass media for superior particle removal
- 99 percent filtration efficiency at 25 microns
- Designed with a high-performance silicone anti-drain back valve to prevent dry start
- Extra heavy-duty rubber base gasket that ensures a leak-free seal
- Ultra-strength filter housing that can endure higher burst strength than conventional filters
8. K&N HP-1003 Performance Wrench-Off Oil Filter
- HIGH FLOW RATES: Designed to provide exceptional flow rates and a consistent flow of oil to your...
- VERSATILE COMPATIBILITY: Designed to operate with all synthetic, conventional, and blended motor...
- PROTECT YOUR ENGINE: Pleated synthetic-blend filtration media removes most harmful contaminants
- EXTENSIVELY TESTED: Laboratory tested to ensure excellent capacity and burst strength
- EASY TO REMOVE: Fast and easy Wrench-Off removal
9. Subaru 15208AA15A Oil Filter
- 2019-2024 Ascent
- 2011-2024 Forester (2011 2012 2013 Non-Turbo) (2014 -2024 all engines)
- 2012-2024 Impreza (Non-Turbo)
- 2013-2024 Outback and Legacy (4-Cyl. Only)
- 2013-2024 XV Crosstrek (All Engines)
10. ACDelco TP3018 Professional Fuel Filter with Seals
- Help Prevent Dirt, Rust, And Other Fuel Contaminants From Entering The Fuel Delivery System
- Some Gm Genuine Parts May Have Formerly Appeared As Acdelco Gm Original Equipment (Oe), Inlet...
- Gm Genuine Parts Are Designed, Engineered And Tested To Rigorous Standards, And Are Backed By...
- Gm Engineers Design And Validate Oe Parts Specifically For Your Chevrolet, Buick, Gmc, Or Cadillac...
Buying Guide for the Best Oil Filter
What is an Oil Filter?
An oil filter usually has the most critical role in maintaining your car. It is specially designed to filter out the minute contaminants or particles from the oil that you use in your vehicle, hence removing any impurities affecting your vehicle’s engine. If you do not have an oil filter, your vehicle and its engine will quickly wear out. An oil filter can be called the ‘kidney’ of your car as well.
Having a taping plate, the filter medium, anti-drain back valve, steel tube, pleats center, end disc, relief valve and retained – all is enclosed in a thin metal making the oil filter work in a way that contaminants can pass out through its primary and secondary media types easily. Primary media can filter small particles of up to 25-30 microns, and the secondary media can stop particles even as little as 5-10 microns. The longer your filter is, the better it is for your car as it means that more contaminants can be captured as they go all the way through the screen.
Types of Oil Filters
There are many types of oil filters available in the market. For this guide, we have shortlisted six of them, namely, mechanical, magnetic, cartridge and spin-on, centrifugal, sedimentation, and high-efficiency oil filters. The most common types are known commonly as primary, secondary, and magnetic oil filters. Below is a list of these filter types with a short description of their function.
1. Mechanical Oil Filter
This oil filter is one that uses filtering media made of bulk materials like pleated filter paper or cotton waste to eliminate the contaminants going in with the car’s engine oil. As more contaminants are filtered, the oil flow is affected because of the contaminant substances building up. Mechanical filters should be replaced in a specific period, either the filtering media only or if the filtering media can not be replaced separately, then the oil filter as a whole should be replaced.
2. Magnetic Oil Filter
These oil filters use magnets or electromagnets to eliminate the ferromagnetic substances from the engine oil. One of the best things about this type of oil filter is that only the materials collected on the magnet need to be cleaned for the filter’s maintenance. This is an excellent advantage of this type of oil filter, but there are also certain drawbacks associated with it, as there may be some harmful effects caused by the filtering component.
3. Cartridge and Spin-on Oil Filter
Initially, engine oil filters were made using a cartridge that has a replaceable filter media with permanent housing. Later, an oil filter with the spin-on design was also introduced in the industry. It has a built-in house with a replaceable component that helps you replace oil filters much quickly with added convenience. Such filters can vary according to their design, their build, and the material used to construct them. Synthetic materials are known to have a more extended filtering ability than the traditional ones like cellulose, cardboard, or filter paper.
4. Centrifugal Oil Filter
Another sedimentation media is the centrifugal oil filter, which is different only in terms of the type and method of filter it uses. Instead of gravity, it uses the technique of centrifuges to filter out contaminants from the oil, i.e., using the centrifugal force or in easier terms the power coming from rotating devices.
During this process, the pressurized oil goes through the housing of filter, all the way through drum rotor having two jet nozzles that settle the flow of oil in the internal house to keep the drum rotating. The oil then passes through the bottom of the housing wall, where the oil contaminants are stuck then. It is this apparent reason, due to which the housing should be regularly cleaned. If you do not clean it regularly, a thick pile of collected contaminants will form, stopping the drum from rotating, eventually. Unfiltered oil will circulate then, consequently leading to easy wear off of your filter.
5. Sedimentation Oil Filter
Also called the ‘gravity bed oil filter, the sedimentation filter allows the contaminants to suspend that are usually heavier than the engine oil itself, keeping it at the container’s bottom using the natural gravity occurrence.
6. High-Efficiency Oil Filter
This type of oil filter is a bypass filter that allows the drain intervals to be longer. The pore size of the oil filter is highly efficient being 3 micrometers; the engine is prevented from wearing off by continuous filtration of contaminants. Some vehicles are also known to have extended drain intervals by up to 5-10 times.
As mentioned earlier, three more types of filters exist, namely primary, secondary, and magnetic oil filter, as the magnetic oil filter has already been discussed, we will now discuss the other two types.
The most commonly used filters in vehicles are primary oil filters. They are designed primarily to filter out large volumes of engine oil via limited restrictions that provide a smooth flow of fuel even during cold weather conditions.
Secondary filters meanwhile are found on most vehicles using diesel engines. They are designed to attain a volume of oil that has to be passed through the second filter that allows further filtering. It can also be used in gasoline engines as it prevents quick wear-off of engines.
Choosing the Right Oil Filter for Your Car
1. Know about the types of oil filters
You should have the ability too distinguish between the types of filters and identify the one required by your vehicle. As mentioned earlier, each oil filter has different features and purposes of running your car smoothly. When you know this, you can have better and closer choices for your car’s oil filter.
2. Finding the appropriate filter size for your car
We know that more or less, all oil filters look the same. However, each one is different in terms of design, parts, sizes, and construction, which is based on the model and year of make of the vehicle the filter is made for. You need to look for a suitable size of filter for your car as there is a great chance to choose the wrong one. If it is not attached correctly, it will result in leaks eventually.
You can have a look at the owner’s manual to find the most suitable size and shape of an oil filter for your car.
3. Have a look at the oil filter
A common misconception prevails that if the oil filer has less component internally, it will not work as good as others. The truth, however, is that there are many types of filtering media, and their amount does not matter when it comes to the filtering ability of the oil filer. It is just one of the many aspects that should be inspected in an oil filter. Another one is the pleats the oil filter has, as the more pleats present in it, the more the contaminants will be suspended.
4. Use an oil filter finder
An oil filter finder will help you find the right type of filter for your vehicle, which is offered as one of the features by some online shops. The only information to be filled in is the vehicle’s year of make, its model, and the type of engine used by it.
What to Consider When Buying an Oil Filter
This section is similar to the last one but has some more specific details about certain things needed in an ideal oil filter for your vehicle. If your filter has more pleats, it means that more contaminants can be captured on it. A filter media also means that small filter particles of up to 3-10 microns can be captured on it very well.
A good filter media features a metal end cap. Some use cardboard though it has a greater tendency of easily wearing out. You should also ensure that the bypass valves are made of metal as they are more durable than the plastic ones. Check if the gasket is made of flexible rubber to give it an incredible seal.
How Often Should I Replace the Filter?
Just like the engine oil, oil filters should also be replaced periodically to maintain the vehicle’s smoothness both inside and out. As the filter’s primary function is to filter out dirt and debris particles from the oil, it should be changed periodically to avoid contamination issues that may build up inside and clog the filter.
The best time to replace your filter is when you change the oil. This happens ideally every three to six months, so you can ask any trusted mechanic of yours to do this along with changing the oil as well.
Signs Your Oil Filter is Failing
Usually, you never actually realize that your car’s oil filter is broken until you see that your vehicle is not running as well as it used to. It is hard to identify if the oil filter I working fine or is being problematic as most filters have a safety feature that allows unfiltered oil to flow in your engine as having dirty oil is better than having none at all. Despite this feature, there are certainly visible signs shown by your vehicle that tell your filter is failing.
1. Engine light turning on
When contaminated oil starts to circulate in the engine, the sediments may build up in the engine and cause malfunctioning. This triggers the light for ‘Low engine oil’ that is present in most vehicles. Some cars also have a low oil pressure light; when either of these turns on, you need to check your oil filter for any possible issues.
2. Obvious leaks
When you see oil is leaking from your car, you should know that something is up now. This usually happens when the failing oil filter has no more capacity to adapt to the temperature changes, which leads them to burst. When this occurs, oil circulation continues again in the oil pan that leads to oil leaking from it and hence the vehicle.
You may also notice a lower than usual oil pressure due to these leaks. This is because, when more oil leaks from the gasket, the oil pressure in the engine lowers down. If the pressure becomes very low, the engine shall have a greater tendency to fail.
3. Engine Overheat
This may be one of the signs leading to many problems in your car. Nevertheless, oil filter failure is among them. When the circulation of unfiltered oil takes place in the engine, contaminants will build up inside it and prevent the conductivity of heat within. This causes wearing off of the engine and eventually results in engine malfunctioning. When the vehicle’s temperature goes beyond the normal temperate range, i.e., 195-220 degrees Fahrenheit, your car needs an overall check-up.
Conclusion
This guide talked about a range of oil filters, their types, and functioning. A review of ten products from various brands is provided that discusses what each oil filter holds. The buying guide for oil filters, followed by it, answers some commonly asked questions as well. The article has hopefully been a great help in guiding you further about this essential component of your vehicle.