I have cut open several brands of oil filters & found not too much difference inside, My question is would it hurt to use any filter as long as the gasket was exactly the same size & the threads exactly the same. I have carefully examined the proper honda filter for my 06 honda CRV & some fram filters that I had left over from my 2000 accord & like I said above gasket & threads are all the same size.
It also matters what volume of oil it holds, as well as the actual surface area of filter media there is for the oil to pass through. Too small a filter means not enough media to actually filter the oil decently, so what’s the point.
You can certainly mount a filter that will fit, though I’d suggest that they at least be close in volume.
Lots of people have wasted a lot of time cutting filters apart trying to determine quality. Frankly you can’t tell a thing by looking at the inside of the filter.
That said, any brand name filter, listed as suitable for your car will be fine. Just make sure you change it at the interval listed in your owner’s manual.
Well I dunno Joe, you can determine a few things. It used to be that the poor quality construction of Fram filters was very apparent. Cheap cardboard style caps with excessive glue dripped all around the inside. It was quite a contrast from most of the other filters on the market. People used to say “avoid the orange can”. Also every filter manufacturer has its own take on how many pleats to use, materials and volume. That said today many brands share the same manufacturer and can be very similar.
While not the topic here I will say that the full synthetic media oil filter Amsoil has on the market is probably the best for filtering. People spend lots of time researching oil, but tend not to give a second thought to the filters, which play an important role too.
I don’t think it matters much which oil is filter is used today as long as it meets/exceeds the OEM’s specifications. The oil filters used in todays engines are by-pass style oil filters. Which means some of the oil passes thru the filter media and some is by-passed around the filter media. Back when oil filters were full-flow style filters with by-pass valves the filter media may have been more important.
Tester
Cheap cardboard style caps
And what does that tell you about how well it filters oil.
Since Fram filters are by far the LARGEST selling filter company in the world…If there were these MAJOR problems in design we’d be seeing tens of thousands of filter failures every year.
While not the topic here I will say that the full synthetic media oil filter Amsoil has on the market is probably the best for filtering. People spend lots of time researching oil, but tend not to give a second thought to the filters, which play an important role too.
I’vr taken 3 cars to well over 300k miles using Fram filters exclusively. All vehicles weren’t burning one drop of oil when I sold them…So what is the Amosil filter going to give me? How many people keep their vehicles past the 300k mile mark.
Lastly…my wife lexus has a canister filter. The casing is part of the filter. You only replace the paper element. From what I’ve read…this is the trend.
It seems like you’re asking “if it fits, is it OK?” I’d say only if it is listed as an acceptable filter for that engine. I wouldn’t take the risk otherwise.
I used to own a 1984 small block Chevy Impala. The oil filter for that engine was a short stubby canister. The filter for that same engine in a pickup truck was much longer. There was no space problem with the car, so I always bought the truck version, since the only difference was volume. Price was virtually the same.
I remember when GM shrunk the filter for their V8s - I did the same thing. Unfortunately, the Accord 4cly filter is a different part # than the CR-V on the Fram web site, and I don’t know why, so I’m not going to recommend the swap. If someone knows why they’re different, that would help.
I’ll second Joseph Meehan’s and MikeInNH’s advice.
There have been numerous discussions about oil filters in this and many other forums. I’ve yet to see any of them disprove Joseph Meehan’s philosophy stated above, which is:
“Any brand name filter, listed as suitable for your car will be fine. Just make sure you change it at the interval listed in your owner’s manual.”
It’s not just a matter of FIT ! Use only filters, of any brand, which are LISTED to fit your vehicle. As posted above there’s other considerations that you can’t tell just by looking. Flow RATE and by-pass valve pressure are two major functions that you can’t just “match up”.
Oil filters are cheap so use the one recommended for your car and I respectfully disagree that Fram manufactures cheap and/or poorly made filters.
That poorly made Fram filter bit has been around for years and there is not one case I’ve ever heard of in which an engine problem was caused by a Fram filter. There’s no doubt in my mind that a number of people have suffered engine problems and blamed it on Fram filters when the actual cause was something else.
One of the most common complaints was that someone would have rattling lifters upon startup and the Fram filter got the blame instead of placing it where it really belongs; on a worn and/or sticking valve lifter.
Some of these people also claimed that the Fram filter “did not hold oil pressure” when the engine was not running. Obviously their engine knowledge is lacking a bit.
Back in ~1981 I put a Fram filter on my Civic and went on a road trip. When I reached my destination ~500 miles from home I checked under the hood and the filter was leaking from the seam and I was a quart low. No, I didn’t overtighten it. Yes, I checked for leaks right after I installed it. Never used Fram before or after that. Never had a filter issue since. From then on I only put Honda filters on my Hondas and Toyota filters on my Toyota.
Wow I really hit a sore spot for some folks when I brought up Fram filters. However everyone seems to have glossed over that I said “It used to be” in my post, which suggests it may not be the case now. I’m sure the quality has gone up, but I remember when they had quality issues and I view shoddy construction as an issue. Additionally oil filters can and do fail, and it can affect any brand of filter. Third, anecdotal evidence is not helpful. I don’t care if you went 600,000 miles using “x-brand filter” -that is not reliable data in the slightest. Though the opinion itself is nice to add to a collection that you may view a company with overall.
but I remember when they had quality issues and I view shoddy construction as an issue.
The only place I ever read that using cardboard end-caps was an issue was with bob-the-oil guy. Yet he was unable to state WHY…in fact no one ever has. And he NEVER addressed the issue of how well the filter actually filtered.
Additionally oil filters can and do fail,
In my 30+ years of driving and working on cars the ONLY filters I’ve ever seen fail were the ones that were never changed in a 10 year period. I’ve NEVER seen any filter fail that was replaced within it’s stated lifespan…Not saying they don’t…but it’s so infrequent that it’s a NON issue.
Third, anecdotal evidence is not helpful. I don’t care if you went 600,000 miles using “x-brand filter” -that is not reliable data in the slightest.
And all you’ve presented is OPINION and anecdotal evidence.
Mike do you have an axe to grind with me? You have a very strong tone considering I have not addressed you personally by name. Additionally if you’re going to pull rank about your time spent working on and driving cars can you tell me how many of those years that was done as a profession. As in working for a dealership for a living, or owning your own repair shop. If I’m going to be called out on my expertise I want to know who’s doing it, since I actually worked as a technican professionally.
Before I get too worked up I’ll leave it like this-I saw some bad filters personally both used and new over the years. I have also read about Fram filter issues over the years on both forums and who-knows-what tech publication years ago. I saw a pattern I didn’t see with the other brands. No one is going to commission a huge multi-million dollar study to investigate this kind of thing (at least that the public will ever see) so we have to add up what we have. If I have 100 folks over the years that are frustrated by Fram and zero about other brands I stop seeing things as anecdotal and start drawing correlations. If they crank out consistent quality products now that’s great! I don’t want to see the general public having problems, which is why I volunteer my time now and then to visit this site and help folks out.
Now boys…don’t make me stop this car !
[i] Cheap cardboard style caps [/i]
I am glad you did not call it “cardboard.” Many of those who have complained about Fram do and it is not cardboard. I agree the Fram filters do look cheap inside, but where are all the test that prove they don’t do the job? It is possible that this or that filter may filter out more stuff, but has anyone provided evidence that the assumption that the additional filtering will provide for a longer or better engine life? Have they considered that maybe the increased filtering comes a the cost of higher restriction and less oil flow?
Well I can’t offer much more than I already have, but I can address that synthetic media has the benefit of being able to flow much better than traditional paper type elements when it’s dirty. I don’t think that point is argued by any filter company-it’s the price that prevents the more popular use of synthetic filters.
I’m curious about all of these filter failures you’ve seen.
All Frams?
What engine damage was caused by them?
Exactly how did the filters fail?
What does Fram say about this? If I had a number of Fram caused problems you can bet Fram is going to be hearing about it, and in a legal sense also.
Just speaking for myself here, I don’t have a problem with you on this issue at all Dave G. I do follow your posts and consider you “in the field” knowledgeable.
I do disagree with the premise that Fram makes bad filters though. True, the net does have a number of people who seem to delight in cutting open a filter in the garage and pointing out what they consider to be inferior construction methods.
This subject has come up several times and Fram even mailed be back one time when I inquired about their position on this issue. (The email has been deleted by accident or something; can’t find it.)
They gave me a thorough explanation behind this issue, which they are fully aware of. The bottom line is that if cheap inferior construction and glued end caps was an issue, and considering the number of filters Fram sells in a single year to a litigation happy society, the lawsuits would be piled up 3 feet deep on the counter of every Court Clerk in the nation.