Choosing the BEST OIL FILTER...FRAM vs WIX vs K&N vs Others
Summary
TLDRIn this video, the host conducts a high-end oil filter comparison, dissecting five premium brands to explore their materials and construction. With a focus on synthetic versus cellulose media, silicone versus rubber anti-drain back valves, and stamped steel versus coil springs, the analysis provides in-depth insights. Filters are tested for efficiency, micron ratings, and cost, offering viewers a comprehensive guide to choosing the best oil filter for their vehicle.
Takeaways
- 🔧 The video is a follow-up to a previous oil filter comparison, focusing on high-end oil filters.
- 🏁 The initial test compared five popular oil filter brands, ranging from $3 to $15, dissecting them to understand their differences.
- 📊 Viewers requested more in-depth information, such as material composition, synthetic vs. cellulose blend, and construction details like spring and can thickness.
- 🚗 All filters tested are for a 1997 Nissan Maxima, ensuring consistency across the comparison.
- ⚙️ Efficiency ratings for all filters are 99%, with micron ratings between 20 and 25, indicating high performance in filtering motor oil.
- 🔩 The base plate of the filters varies in the number of inlet holes, with the Fram having the most at ten.
- 🌡️ All filters feature silicone anti-drain back valves, which are superior to rubber in extreme temperatures.
- 🔄 Bypass springs are either stamped steel or coil spring, with Wix and K&N using the latter, indicating a higher quality construction.
- 💰 The Fram Pro synthetic filter is the most economical at $8, offering good value for money.
- 🏎️ The K&N filter is designed for high-flow rates with heavier oils, using a special impregnated cellulose material, and includes a safety wire fitting for racing applications.
Q & A
What was the main purpose of the video?
-The main purpose of the video was to conduct a high-end oil filter shootout, comparing various brands and models of oil filters, focusing on their construction, materials, and features to help viewers understand the differences and make informed choices.
What was the audience's response to the first oil filter video?
-The audience enjoyed the information provided in the first video, but about 20% of them requested more specific details, such as the materials used, the type of media, and the construction of the filters.
What are the similarities among all five oil filters tested?
-All five filters have a 99% efficiency rating and are rated between 20 to 25 microns for filtering motor oil. They also have metal spines and end caps, and are designed for the same vehicle, a 1997 Nissan Maxima.
What is the difference between silicone and rubber anti-drain back valves?
-Silicone anti-drain back valves are superior to rubber ones because they perform better in both very cold and very hot temperatures, ensuring oil is retained in the filter for a quick start after the engine is turned off.
What are the two types of bypass springs mentioned in the video?
-The two types of bypass springs mentioned are stamped steel and coil spring. The Wix and K&N filters use coil springs, while the Fram, Royal Purple, and AMSOIL filters use stamped metal.
Why did K&N choose to use cellulose instead of synthetic material in their filter?
-K&N uses a special impregnated cellulose material because it performs well at high flow rates, which is beneficial for racing applications where heavier oils are often used.
What is the recommended replacement interval for the Wick's XP oil filter?
-The Wick's XP oil filter recommends following the vehicle manufacturer's recommended interval for oil changes, especially considering extreme conditions such as long idle speeds, towing, or cold weather.
What is the significance of the inlet holes on the base plate of the oil filters?
-The number of inlet holes on the base plate affects the flow rate of oil into the filter. The Wix filter has the most with ten inlet holes, which could potentially allow for better oil flow.
How does the Fram Pro synthetic filter compare to the Fram Extra Guard in terms of construction?
-The Fram Pro synthetic filter has superior construction compared to the Fram Extra Guard, with metal end caps and a metal center tube, whereas the Extra Guard has a cardboard end cap.
What are the two filters that look identical according to the video?
-The Royal Purple and the AMSOIL filters appear to be identical in design and construction, with only the color and branding being different.
Outlines
🔧 Overview of the High-End Oil Filter Shootout
In this video, the presenter extends a previous oil filter comparison by focusing on high-end options. The initial video featured basic comparisons between filters priced from $3 to $15, highlighting differences in material, construction, and performance. However, viewers requested more detailed information, such as filter materials (synthetic vs. cellulose), spring types, and other specifics. Responding to these requests, this video takes a deeper dive into the technicalities of various high-end filters for a 1997 Nissan Maxima.
🔍 Detailed Analysis of Filter Parts and Ratings
The presenter emphasizes that all five filters are made for the same vehicle (1997 Nissan Maxima) and share a 99% efficiency rating with 20-25 micron filtration capabilities. The analysis begins with the base plates, noting differences in inlet holes, followed by the gasket material, which is high-quality across all filters. The focus then shifts to anti-drain-back valves, where silicone is preferred over rubber for better performance in extreme temperatures. Coil springs and stamped steel springs are compared in terms of bypass valves, with metal spines and synthetic media being common features in most filters.
🛠️ Fram Pro Synthetic Filter Overview
The presenter begins the individual filter analysis with the Fram Pro Synthetic filter, which is made in the USA and rated for 15,000 miles. At $8, it is the most affordable of the group but offers notable improvements over the cheaper Fram Extra Guard. While the pleating on the filter isn't perfect, the metal end caps and center tube provide superior construction compared to the cardboard parts found in lower-end filters. The presenter recommends spending an extra $3 for the better build quality of this filter, especially given its critical role in engine longevity.
🔧 Wix XP Oil Filter Review
The Wix XP filter, priced at $10, is highly regarded for its superior pleating and construction. The filter features metal end caps, a metal center tube, and a silicone anti-drain-back valve, along with a coil spring for the bypass valve. These high-quality materials make it ideal for vehicles operating in extreme conditions like long idling or cold weather. Wix XP filters are recommended to follow the manufacturer's suggested replacement intervals, and the presenter considers this filter excellent value for money.
🏎️ K&N Oil Filter and Racing Benefits
The K&N oil filter stands out with two key features: a one-inch nut fitting for easy installation/removal and a safety wire fitting, commonly used in motorcycle racing to prevent accidents. K&N's use of impregnated cellulose material allows it to handle thicker oils often used in racing, ensuring high flow rates. The filter construction includes metal end caps and a metal center tube, making it durable and reliable for performance vehicles.
🏁 Comparison of Royal Purple and Amsoil Filters
The Royal Purple and Amsoil filters are nearly identical in construction, with both made in the USA and rated for 15,000 miles. The presenter notes slight differences in the glue application, with Amsoil appearing messier. Despite their high price ($19 for Amsoil), the two filters perform similarly, prompting the presenter to suggest opting for Royal Purple if choosing between the two. The video concludes by recommending Wix for overall quality and value, K&N for racing purposes, and Fram for budget-conscious buyers.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Oil Filter
💡Synthetic vs. Cellulose
💡Efficiency Rating
💡Micron Rating
💡Anti-Drain Back Valve
💡Bypass Spring
💡Metal Spine
💡Pleats
💡Fram Pro Synthetic
💡Wix XP
Highlights
The video is an extension of a previous one comparing five popular oil filter brands.
Filters range from $3 to $15 and the video explores the differences in materials and performance.
The video aims to provide basic information for laymen about oil filters.
Viewers requested more specific information about filter materials and construction.
All filters tested are for a 1997 Nissan Maxima to ensure consistency.
All filters have a 99% efficiency rating and micron ratings between 20 and 25.
The base plate of the filters is metal with varying numbers of inlet holes.
Silicone anti-drain back valves are superior to rubber and are present in all tested filters.
Wicks and K&N use a coil spring, while others use stamped metal for the bypass valve.
All filters have metal spines and end caps, which is a premium feature over cheaper filters.
K&N is the only filter that uses cellulose instead of synthetic material.
Fram Pro Synthetic is the cheapest at $8 and has good spacing but a large gap at the rear.
Wix XP has excellent pleat spacing and is recommended for extreme conditions.
K&N has a one-inch fitting for quick installation and a safety wire fitting.
Royal Purple and AMSOIL filters look identical, with only color and gluing quality differing.
For value, the Fram filter offers many features for its $8 price.
Wix is considered the best construction among the filters tested.
Detailed individual videos for each filter will be released to provide more in-depth analysis.
Transcripts
so today we're doing a high-end oil
filter shootout this is really an
extension from our first film in which
we took five very popular oil filter
brands ranging from three to fifteen
dollars and essentially we cut open the
filters and we went over if your
unconventional versus synthetic how many
miles you can get out of them
we showed the aesthetic differences
between them and that sort of thing it
was always meant to be a very basic
almost for the layman person kind of
video just so you can sort of learn why
is one filter three bucks and then one
fifteen dollars and a large majority of
you did enjoy that information however
roughly twenty percent which is quite
large either wanted different brands or
you wanted more information in other
words what's the material used on the
media is a synthetic versus cellulose or
blend what's the antiderivative is a
silicon versus rubber what's the bypass
spring is it stamped steel versus coil
spring what's the thickness of the can
you guys really ask for a lot of very
very specific information that the
layman would not really go into but
that's what we're doing today we're
going to be cuddling open these high end
oil filters we're going to compare them
all I'll also jot down what the cost was
again I had to purchase all of these
online because my local auto parts store
doesn't have any of these so I'm just
going to start right off the bat by
cutting open these filters laid on a
table we'll go over the material we'll
do some measurements and let's see what
we come back with
now before we begin looking at each
filter on its own let me just quickly
state that all the filters here are made
for the exact same vehicle so in other
words we're not mixing and matching
filters they're all made for a 1997
Nissan Maxima so let's just get that
right out of the way if you are
wondering that secondly is there are a
lot of similarities among all five
filters number one is the efficiency
rating which happens to be 99% among all
five so they all do a very good job of
filtering the motor oil and grabbing as
many contaminants as possible if you're
curious about the micron rating the
lowest micron rated I was able to find
was the am soil at 20 but they're all
between 20 and 25 microns so they're
very very good at filtering the motor
oil so let's start by looking at the
bottom row here move our way up and then
we'll start looking at each filter on
its own now this happens to be the base
plate on the bottom row here of course
it's metal among all five the difference
that you really find is regarding the
number of inlet holes and the frame has
the most they happen to have ten inlet
holes the wicks has eight then the K&N
the royal purple and the am soil happen
to have six Inlet holes the gasket
material is perfectly fine high-quality
among all five of course whenever you
change your motor oil just put a dab of
clean motor oil on the gasket that seals
the the connection really so you don't
have any leakage plus the next time you
do an oil change it makes the filter a
little bit easier to remove now moving
up to the next row we have the anti
drain back valves and they happen to be
silicone among all five your cheaper
filters will have rubber the reason why
you want silicone is because it does a
much better job in very cold and very
hot temperatures so it's a superior
material compared to rubber the whole
point behind this is when you turn off
your vehicle this little valve allows
oil to be saved in the filter so the
next time you start your vehicle you
will not have a cold or a dry start it
keeps the oil in the filter so it's
ready to be circulated in the motor so
it's a nice little feature to have but
again it just depends on the material on
the filter now moving to the next row
these happen to be
the bypass Springs so you either have
stamped steel or you have a coil spring
now as you can see the wicks and the kN
use a coil spring which is in my opinion
is a very nice feature it's a little bit
more money to manufacture but the fact
that they go coil spring I think that's
pretty cool the frame the royal purple
and the am soil happen to use stamped
metal now moving up to the next row here
of course we have the filter material
itself
now the every filter here happens to
have a metal spine so everything here is
metal it's not cardboard it's not
plastic it's metal among all five now
regarding the number of pleats I will
count that off-camera I think what we're
going to do here is talk them talk about
the main points and then I'll do an
individual video on each filter
regarding the number of pleats I'll even
cut it open to see if it's wired backed
which I believe all five are wire back
but we'll also measure the square inches
of the material there isn't why I don't
want to do that right now in this video
is because this video will be 45 minutes
long if I do that so most of you out
there have one filter you're really like
or maybe two and I'll go into that kind
of detail on its own but we'll still go
over the base or the really major
features right now so they will have
metal spines metal end caps among all
five which is a nice feature as opposed
to cardboard which some of the cheaper
filters will have and again the material
is synthetic for almost all five the one
exception is K&N they happen to use
cellulose and I'll explain why when we
talk about the k9y they've gone with the
cellulose as opposed to synthetic just
to give you an idea mobile one uses
synthetic as well mobile one will also
use silicon anti drain back valve so at
least it gives you a comparison in that
sense and then we have the cans up here
and I'll measure each can once we get
talking about each filter so at least
this gives you a pretty good idea what's
going on the thing that's really
interesting to my eye is that the royal
purple and the am soil look exactly the
same even the diameter on the drain back
valve here is exactly the same I mean
the to me there's just no difference
between the two of them I could be wrong
but they look to be
exactly the same these filters so let's
start by looking at each filter on its
own and hopefully you this helps you
guys out there the next time you look
and change your motor oil maybe one
you'll like one over the other so let's
start with the frame let's start with
the Fram Pro synthetic filter it's made
in the USA rated at 15,000 miles which
is a very good number it's essentially
the economy filter here of the group
eight dollars which is the cheapest one
for this specific vehicle some downsides
or disadvantages is the the pleading
here is it's not it for the most part
its evenly spaced until you get to the
rear and you see that there's a big gap
and the other filter is you won't find
that the spacing is a little bit better
among the other filters but at least it
does have metal end caps the center tube
is metal as well if you compare this
with the Fram extra guard this is a much
better filter for three dollars more we
did cut open the extra guard in the
previous video and the end cap for
cardboard so this is this construction
is far superior to the extra guard for
three dollars more I would have no
hesitation spending $3.00 more on this
filter because it is your engine and
obviously you need that thing to run
forever I mean that's the way I see
these vehicles so spend therefore 3
bucks if you do want to run with the
Fram so let's move on to the next one
which is the wicks XP that way the wicks
XP oil filter a lot of you wanted to see
this in our last oil filter video or you
highly recommended it and you can
clearly see why the spacing on the
pleating here is very very good it's
certainly better than the Fram Pro
synthetic of course you have metal end
caps your Center tube is metal fairly
confident once we cut open the filter
and we do a measurement the square
inches will be higher than the Fram very
good high-quality material again
silicone anti drain back valve you have
a coils coil spring for the bypass valve
so just a very very good oil filter
regarding on how often you have to
change it which recommends they go by
your vehicle's manufacturer recommended
interval they are really excellent if
your vehicle is running in extreme
conditions such as long idle speeds if
you're towing if you're doing lower gear
times if you're operating in very very
cold weather wicks is your oil filter
and at ten dollars I tell you it's a
very very good filter for the money now
let's move over to the next one which
happens to be K&N so now we're looking
at the K&N oil filter and two of my
favorite features is that they use a
one-inch fitting on the end so it's very
fast to install and remove the filter
but secondly they have a fitting here
for a safety wire now for example a
motorcycle racing you attach a safety
wire to your oil filter just in case if
you have a blowout the filter won't fly
on the track and maybe injure another
right or another writer so it's a really
nice feature to have with the cane and
secondly look at the spacing of the
pleats compare that to the wicks may
grab the wicks here it almost seems like
this is the spacing is better I'm
curious to see what the square inches is
when we cut open this filter but um
really nice to note that now one thing
if you remember early in the film I
stated how this is the one filter that
does not use synthetic they use
cellulose and the whole point behind
that is because in racing a lot of times
they use a heavier oil and because they
use a heavier oil obviously you're
racing and they need high flow rates and
cellulose for K&N it's a special
material that they use they call it I
believe impregnated cellulose and for
the heavier oils it does a very good job
at filtering at a high flow rate and
that's why they've gone with that so
pretty cool filter in terms of those two
features the reason why they go with
cellulose of course metal backed ends or
end caps metal inside here in the tube
as opposed to plastic so we'll follow up
with a separate video just seeing what
what the square inches are but pretty
cool with the K&N so let's wrap it up
with the royal purple and the am soil
I'm going to look at those two combined
just because they look identical to me
then wrapping up with royal purple and
am soil they look to be absolutely
identical to me they're both made in the
USA they are both rated up to 15,000
miles if you look at the the cartridge
here for am soil
it's a little messy on the gluing you
know for $19 which is a lot of money for
an oil filter I would think that that
would be a little bit better maybe it
was just a defect for this one filter I
don't know the royal purple is a little
bit better regarding the gluing and you
have a little little bit of a overspray
there but regarding everything else I
mean the diameter on the anti drain back
valve it's they're exactly the same
they're just different colors so it's
printer interesting to note for two
dollars more it's essentially the same
filter you might as well go with the
royal purple if you really like these
two out of all the filters here
I like the wax I mean the construction
is very very good but it's ten dollars
was the second least expensive of the
group and if I was racing certainly the
KNN is a very very good filter and for
value the frame for eight bucks you
certainly get a lot of a lot of features
for the eight dollar cost so hopefully
this gives you a better idea what you
can expect on these high-end oil filters
again if you do love one of these
filters individually we will have a
separate video for each filter shortly
in which we will count the pleats will
measure the square inches will also
check the diameter so we're going to
more detail in a sense again I'm not
going to do that now just because this
this video will just be extremely long
and I just don't want to do that so I
hope you guys have enjoyed this and
we'll see you next time
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