I figured this would be a better way to ask "what's the best oil filter?"
What should I look for when choosing an oil filter for my daily driver? I put about 15k miles on it per year (lots of weekend trips to see family).
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4While I believe this question is on topic, it's still a loaded question. The worst part about it is, you cannot see what actually makes a good filter because it's all on the inside of the can. You cannot tell by looking down the holes what size particle the filter will stop. You don't know the amount of filter element present. You don't know if it has a drain back valve. You don't know if the ends of the filter element are made of paper or metal. All of these things come into play. This question is going to be very hard to answer objectively. – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2♦ Sep 20 '15 at 19:20
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An oil filter can be classified as good or best by the amount of contaminents it can filter before needing a replacement.
Good oil filters often have a high degree of filtration capabilities compared to normal ones but the price difference you pay is usually not worth it.
According to this thread there are some key factors at work here that need to be considered such as media type, contaminant capacity, filtration efficiency, surface area, filter construction and by-pass valve spring rating.
Contaminants(size) are measured in the unit microns(mu) so a filter with higher micron level is generally better.
A filter is considered nominally efficient at a certain micron level if it can remove 50 percent of particles that size. In other words, a filter that will consistently remove 50% of particles 20μm or larger is nominally efficient at 20μm.
A filter is considered to achieve absolute filtration efficiency at a certain micron level if it can remove 98.7% of particles that size. So, if a filter can remove 98.7% of particles 20μm or larger, it achieves absolute efficiency at that micron level.
Some things to consider while buying Oil filters:
- Filters with low capacity and high efficiency will tend to accumulate contaminants quickly and trip the by-pass value which means it's no longer doing you any good. These filters should generally be changed every 5,000 miles for sure.
- Filters with high capacity and low efficiency can hold a lot of contaminants, but will definitely not protect your motor to the same degree, as more particulates will be circulating through the motor.
- Filters that are both low in capacity and efficiency will cause increased wear and shorter motor longevity if used for a prolonged period.
Note: Go through that thread its beyond useful.
