I’m going to have my oil changed at the Ford quick Lane or Firestone because they’re easier to get into and I don’t trust the Kia service department here.
What’s the best oil filter I can buy?
What’s the best full synthetic 0W-20 oil I can buy?
More detail below:
Before I go further, no I don’t have a place to do my own oil change. Shop will do the work.
Filter:
Question is, do I go with the OEM filter from Kia, or can I buy a better one from am aftermarket manufacturer?
My goal with oil and filter is engine longevity and overall multi-system health.
Not sure how much an impact a filter will make, but I imagine a really crappy paper media that smooshes the pleats together easily from oil pressure and funnels all oil through one small portion of the media would be terrible; essentially not do it’s job. Want to avoid this possibility at all costs.
I really want to get an idea of what’s THE BEST filter for the 2022 Seltos EX regardless of price and then the best affordable option.
Oil:
I need a full synthetic SAE 0W-20 oil. I think the Kia here put a synthetic blend in it… Again… Not going back… But what oil would you recommend?
What brand has the literal BEST synthetic oil 0W-20? Is high mileage oil a bad idea? Just want safe and high quality oil. Will pay.
Most likely the place you go for the work will tell you what options are available based on their own usual supplies. If you think they will use materials that you supply yourself you might want to double check with them in advance.
Any quality filter will work fine. Kia doesn’t make their own filters. You could buy from them but there are aftermarket filters that are good and cheaper.
Some good brands I have used are Mobil 1 and Mann. Wix makes good filters, too. On my GM truck, I use ACDelco and my Ford uses Motorcraft if I can find them. Mobil 1 otherwise.
As for oil… lots of arguments can be made but the more expensive the synthetic oil, the better it performs. Liqui Moly or Amsoil Redline or Revanol use base IV synthetics.
But these are overkill for most drivers. Any full synthetic will work fine if you change it regularly under the severe service mileage and time. High mileage oil should not be needed in a 1 year old vehicle.
I would bet some money that changing the oil with name brand oil and filters that meet Kia’s specs will result in the same amount of engine wear over 300,000 miles as the most expensive options, as long as you change it at the recommended intervals or better. That’s the important thing.
I used wix before - Napa right? I seem to remember it just depends on the filter model?Some are great and some are real trash. So Mobil 1 makes filters too? Did not know.
What’s Base IV? I’m in the mountains and passed and hills of Wyoming and drive a LOT. Gently though. Could the base iv be worth it?
That and the seams and seals make the difference right? Just want something that’s going to seal well and let as much as possible through the best media possible with best ratio of flow restriction to filter media quality… efficiency I guess.
Todays oil filters don’t have to work as hard as they did 40+ years ago. Todays engines are well sealed against dust and dirt getting into the oil. The oils are so good at lubricating and modern engine manufacturing and machining techniques combine to greatly reduce metallic wear.
Fuel injection has reduced the amount of gasoline wash down (unburned gas on the cylinder walls that gets wiped down into the oil pan by the rings) to almost nil so that source of contamination is not a factor anymore.
Oil is now the major contaminant of oil. Heat breaks down the oil into a sludge that contaminates the oil, but synthetic oils can handle much higher heat than the old conventional oils of a few years ago so that form of contamination is reduced as well.
The result is much smaller oil filters (which has the benefit of bringing up oil pressure quicker after start up) and much longer oil change intervals.
Almost any oil filter except some cheap off brands are safe to use. The only thing is that newer oil filters for engines that use 0w20 oil is the oil bypass valve (OBV) in the filter. The lighter weight oil needs to keep the oil pressure nearer to optimum so the OBP usually have a lower spring pressure. This is an inline valve so lower pressure spring means that it opens quicker when the oil pressure on the output side drops. The output side is the oil pressure the engine sees.
As for oil, you would have to test multiple vehicles, each driven a quarter million miles, each using a different brand exclusively before you would likely see a measurable difference.
Bottom line, changing your oil and filter with products that meet the manufacturers specs per the manufacturers recommended schedule is FAR more important than the brand of oil or filter.
When you say oil is the biggest contaminant of oil, does this mean if my dealer put synthetic blend in my car I would essentially have oil contamination of my oil for the life of the car?
Manual specs the 0W-20 full synthetic. Sticker says “SYNB” which means Synthetic Blend, I presume.
I understand a good filter is a good filter but I am really interested in what the absolute highest design qualities and highest QC standards. Same for the oil.
There are plenty of videos on YouTube that cut open the filters and show you the internals and filter material ect. might be worth a look if interested. but all good advice from all the posted answers above.
I have seen them. I seem to remember that one filter type from a manufacturer compared to another filter type from the same manufacturer can vary greatly in quality? Like, will a 3 L jeep filter from wix look the same inside as my 2L Kia filter from wix?
