Well I managed to find a few words that I wrote. It's only about 4 filters, even though I did about 7 in total, so these words are for the first 4 I think. I couldn't find the pictures unfortunately, so you will have to imagine. If I remember correctly, the other brands were Fram, some japanes company, and bosi (or something)
The bottom line is, there were a lot of differences between the different brands, with none showing any evidence of being made by the same manufacturer, despite what everyone claims. The OE came out head and shoulders above the rest in all aspects that I could see. Some (although not mentioned in the following words) were just plain rubbish. The best filter had more than twice the filter material area than the worst..
"Oil Filter Analysis"
I've often wondered if the higher price charged by the dealer for a common item like an oil filter is actually money well spent. Or does it make sense just to get any make of filter from the local factors, because they're probably all made by the same company, and save yourself a few bob as well?
As I do regular oil and filter changes on my Honda 2.3l engine, I recently decided to get an aftermarket filter from my local factor at the same time as I got my oil. The first thing I noticed was the size, much smaller than the OE filter, so I decided to open up a genuine filter and compare it to the innards of the aftermarket filter. I then also purchased two more filters and compared those as well.
Now it's fair to say I'm not a filtration expert, but I am an Engineer. So I've cast an Engineers' eye over things like the quality of the components, filtration area etc. As far as the actual filtration medium itself, unfortunately I don't have the equipment to measure things like particle size and pressure drop, so I've assumed that the more material there is, the better. And the thicker the material, the better. Don't forget, this is only my personal views and observations,
What is in a filter?
The really important parts are the filter itself, the anti-drainback valve and the bypass valve. The quality of the anti-drain valve is important, as it is this that retains the oil in the filter cannister and saves it having to be filled everytime the engine is started, reducing engine wear. The bypass valve is used to allow oil to bypass the filter element should it become blocked, or the flow rate becomes to great due to high oil viscosity (from cold starts) or high flow rates at high engine speeds. It is therefore important that it only allows oil to bypass when required and not during normal operation. The best material for the valves is silicone rubber as it has better thermal stability. Nitrile should be ok, but at low temperatures it gets quite stiff, and at higher temperatures can become very pliable. Metal on metal is not good for seals, as it simply doesn't seal very well.
CHAMPION
The Champion filter was reasonably priced (£6.99 from Halfords) and had the second best filter area. The cannister is reasonably thick and had a good quality crimp joining it to the end plate. The filter material appeared a little thin. A big negative though is that the anti-drain seal that sits against the backplate didn't seal very well, as the sealing surface isn't flat due to spotwelds on the backplate. Basically, the spotwelds have created depressions on the rear of the backplate, and it is against these that the seal rests. Another problem is the main filter seal is only a slight interference fit in it's groove, with the possiblity that it could be displaced when positioning the filter, prior to screwing it on, especially if it's a tight location. Seals were all moulded nitrile.
HALFORDS
The Halfords filter is reasonably priced (£6.29) but had the second lowest filter area. The filter material itself was also pretty thin, as was the cannister metal, and the main crimp looked a little lightweight. The anti-drain valve was a different arrangement to the other three, in that it was a floppy nitrile disc held in place by a spring disc. It appeared to offer a good sealing arrangement against the backplate. The bypass seal was nitrile rubber and is mounted in a steel end-plate (top left). The downside as I saw it, is the end-plate with bypass valve, and the anti-drain valve, are sealed only against the ends of the filter element, which are cardboard. The glue joining the filter element to the cardboard endplates didn't inspire much confidence, as it came apart easily. The main seal is only a very slight interference fit in it's groove, and would easily fall out or get misplaced when fitting.
BLUEPRINT
The Blueprint filter was the lowest prices (£5.61) and are available from many motor factors. Cannister and endplate construction was good, and the main seal was crimped to the endplate so couldn't be misplaced when fitting the filter. The anti-drain valve was moulded nitrile, and after a spell in the fridge was pretty stiff. The low points however, were the lowest filter area of the group, and the bypass valve that was metal against metal. As I could see light through the bypass valve when closed, I can only assume that it would let some dirty oil bypass the filter at all times, as well as allowing the dirty oil that should be retained in the canister when shutting down the engine to bleed through, thereby negating the effect of the anti-drain valve. Filter material looked and felt pretty thick though.
HONDA GENUINE
The genuine Honda filter was the most expensive at £11.39, and also nearly the largest. One big difference was the filter element itself, as it had both horizontal and diagonal pleats. This has allowed more filter area in the cannister, and the filter material felt good and thick. The anti-drain valve was moulded silicone rubber that retained it's characteristics at extremes of temperature. The bypass valve was also of good design, as it is a metal valve with a nitrile seal. The cannister was pretty thick, the crimp to the endplate was substantial, and the main seal was crimped in place so can't get misplaced on installation.
To give you some idea of the difference in filter area, here is the highest and lowest, side by side. Genuine Honda is on the left, Blueprint on the right.
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Nissan Almera - 03 1.5 Oil filters - Collos
