I think you will find a plethora of opinions. I use wix in vehicles and fleet guard in farm equipment. Both available at multiple places and try to keep running inventory and wait for sale periods. That is usually in the spring. I have never been let down by either brand.

 

No diff between an old or new engine when it comes to tolerances, so just because an engine is old, don't mean a cheap filter is good enough IMO.
With some like Deere for example, the OEM filter is basically priced the same as aftermarket and when you look at the comparisons with the cut open ones, no question which is better. But thats not the norm I will agree with most filters.
Fleetgard is no cheap knock off, they are a quality product and also used to be OEM for Cummins and others, not sure if they still are or not, but I think they still are.
I use more of their filters than any other none OEM labeled, balance would be Baldwin or Fram. But often the knockoffs will offer two different filters for the same application, one made better than the other.
There really only is about three or so manufactures of filters, many brands are made by the same companies just different color and label.
Two things I look for in an aftermarket filter is amount of filtering material and if it is equipped with a bypass.

 

I run 3 different brands of filters. JD filters on my sprayer, because I've just never looked for something else for it, Donaldson on my trucks (CAT) because a buddy of mine took his HD mechanic apprenticeship at FINNING and filters were covered in the training and their moto was "CAT for the best, Donaldson for the rest". CAT filters are made by Donaldson (as are MOST other "brands"). For all of my cars/pickups, I run WIX (NAPA gold). Filters is a hot topic with hot rodders and some guys have done some SERIOUS research into them. The consensus from those in the know is that WIX is one of the best filters on the market, Fram is the worst. Other than Fram, I don't think you can go too far wrong with any of the typical brands.

 

Be careful of extended life filters. There are some out there that are rated for yearly change. That can be done by having a more porous material. On wix website they give beta ratio and micron for a regular filter for gmc and ford pickups. No rating on xp, so hard to tell with wix

 

Oil Filter Laboratory Test Performance per ISO 454812 32 grams dirt (51515XP), 99% efficient at 35 microns (Based on 51515XP 51356XP, 57060XP)

for a wix
WIX XP WL10255XP WIX XP Spin-On Lube Filter

WL10255

Nominal Micron Rating:21 from wix website




All I could find. So if test is the same 21 to 35 micron difference. A half bigger crap will go thru xp


Ford performance makes a filter for ecoboost that is expensive. But should be a good filter if you want to upgrade.

 

There diffinatly IS a difference between tolerances of a new engine vs sn old one, but it shouldn't mean you can skimp on filters.
I've worked at a couple different shops where Baldwin were used extensively.

A interesting topic may be to show failures CAUSED by a poor filter.

It's kinda like the recent grease thread..... as long as your servicing it at recommended intervals the brand hardly matters.

 

I am not looking to skimp on filters, as I view them as more of an investment in my equipment, skimping on quality now to save a buck won't save me in the long run. Having said that, if two filters have the same specifications, then buying the less expensive one makes sense. Having said that, trying to find unbiased data is not easy (and is takes a lot of time), so I was hoping we could share information or experience. I have heard the comments about Fram being a lesser quality filter, but haven't seen one, the only brand I can get on the sale at Napa is the Wix brand, which does work out significantly cheaper than the "list" price at my local dealer for the OEM filters. I think both filters and oils have gotten significantly better in the last decade or so in terms of tolerance and consistency of product, so how do we improve our bottom line?

 

I know people say WIX is a quality brand, but that is the only one I have ever had problems with. We used to use them all the time on our '98 Freightliner, oil and fuel, constantly had problems with hard starting and air getting into the fuel if it sat for a few days. This wasn't just with one filter, changed several times and same thing would happen, sometimes one would work ok. Switched back to Fleetgard and never had this problem again. After that we switched everything away from WIX. Have a mix of everything now, no real issues to speak of.

 

Kevlar, curious how the problems you were having related to the filter.. do you know was it poor gaskets or something like that?
Oh and njungers I wasnt accusing you of skimping. Regular maintenance is one of those things that's just gotta get done... it's amazing though some some stories you hear about people who just run cars into the ground.... they seem to run a surprisingly long time on zero maintenance before they completely crater!

 

I never did really figure out what was causing it, but tried taking them off and putting them back on with no luck. If it had just been one filter, I would have just dismissed it as one bad filter, but it was on several different filters. Ran it for years after with the Fleetguards and never had it happen, so it wasn't anything to do with the truck. Had to be a gasket issue or maybe internal issue with the filters. Was enough to shake my confidence in that brand anyway.

 

Anvil, no offense taken, but I know some people just look for the cheapest, without worrying about quality, I am looking for a combination of quality and affordability if such a thing exists. As long as we are talking about filters, what are people doing for oils? I am sticking with my case/IH hytran for hydraulic oil (I run a little bit of all color of equipment), but for engine oil, I have been using Rotella after switching away from the local Co-op oil, still not sure if this is the best though.

 

Our local Bump to Bump sales guy got me to try Wix filters last year and so I took advantage of the sale and got Wix everything from 1/2 tons to machinery/semis. Where I was all mostly JD filters beforehand.. Was fairly satisfied with Wix oil filters but not their air filters.. Comparing JD's air filters to Wix you could tell JD's was better. I had the Wix sales rep come out and as mentioned on a previous post its basically 2 large manufacturers who make all the air/oil filters. But I've never had engine air filter codes pop up on my JD 9870 combine til I put a Wix filter in there. That alone will make me go back to JD air filters..

 

I have had problems with wix and gaskets for oil filters. Had a set on a dt466 truck engine and both sets leaked. One set came already installed and a new set in the cab when I bought it. Thought the set that was on just had been installed poorly, but the new set had the same problem. Put fram on and no problems. Interesting that fram is the bottom of the barrel. Used them the most out of all the brands and never had problems. I know when I was working for the county, they had a Baldwin and fleet guard program along with oil sampling. Everything came back good using those filters and some was on high hour machines.

Edit: 7 miles, why did it throw a code?

 

Well on our case combines we switched this year to Baldwin engine oil filters.. I think they were 2/3 cost of factory filters. Dad runs johndeere engine and hyd lil in everything (we have multiple colors of equipment too)
Lately I have been buying Total oil from a local supplier its European and competitively priced.

 

Hi What do most people do about air filter on seed tractors and combines. Do you wait for light to clean or do you clean when you think it needs. I was told if you blow out filters to often that it wrecks the paper and air doesn't flow as good. All your thoughts

 

I change air filters at the beginning of each season on everything, then blow out if necessary for the remainder of the season.

 

Some of the cheap oils out there are just that, others are actually quality product, possibly one series off current production of whomever actually refining it.
Little trick as to how to figure out what exactly is in those pails from Canadian Tire or the Wally mart...search for and check the MSDS for the brand name they selling the oil under...who ever packaged it will be listed. Then you can simply compare the specs and you know exactly what it is. For example, up until a few years ago, the Canadian Tire Diesel oil was Esso XD3 or whatever Mobil name it had when they switched, but it was two series off of what Esso was currently selling, but was still CJ4. I think now it is Rotella, but don't quote me on that. Haven't had to buy any for a while, lucked out a couple years ago when they stopped selling actual Esso/Mobil branded pails in the stores, I just happened to walk in as they were putting up the 40% off or such, ended up around $32 a pail and needless to say I took every dam one they had in Athabasca. Took two trips to get it all home, don't get those kind of deals often lol.
Now they sell Shell branded pails besides their own, but not as much diff in price as it used to be years back.

As for air filters, I leave mine alone as much as possible. Depends on machine as to how often I will check them, most have some kind of monitoring system, best of all is when there is an actual vacuum gauge or one of those mechanical restriction type indicators. I blow mine out with air, but one needs to becareful you don't damage them. Always a good idea to check with a light for breaks or tears in the paper afterwards. Never even think of cleaning the safety elements, and those never get changed unless determined to be necessary.
I am a lot more fussy about air filters than oil and I stick to OEM or high end brands like Donaldson. Compare the weight and number of pleats in many of the other aftermarket ones, there is no comparison, you get what you pay for IMO. I have equipment I have run thousands of hours with the same filter with only occasional cleaning, it is highly dependent on how good the aspirator and more works, location of air intake and work being done that plays into it as well.

 

To expand a bit, the safety filter shouldn't really even get dirty, if it is the primary filter is not doing its job. I've had filters that over time get kinda caked up they can look clean but wont flow, a trouble light is a useful tool for inspecting air filters, light should shine through it easily.... but not directly... like a tear is bad, obviously. But the paper should be opaque.
One wants to stick with quality for airfilters IMO.

 

The weight and number of pleats should not be used to determine the value of a air filter. A poor filter with have thicker and more pleats to accomplish the same filtration as a lighter synthetic filter.
As regards safety filters they should be replaced regularly as they have oil on them to trap dirt and even if the main filter never fails the oil eventually leaves the safety filter and it not longer is able to protect the engine.

 

As always filters and oil is an interesting discussion. I think OEM filters are generally a safe product to use but it is hard to turn down a good sale on Napa/Wix , Fleetguard, or some other brand. The trick is to know the little details like micron and beta ratings. Quality of the can, burst pressure, the gaskets, the paper, does it have an anti backflow valve, does it have a bypass valve, gpm flow ????? That is what you get into a lot of the time when going away from OEM filters. Not saying there are not some really good, direct crossover replacements out there. I have used mostly Fleetguard over the years and have never had reason to question them. Except on a design change when they went away from a 2 filter system for 855 Cummins engines that for years used 2 big filters - LF670 full flow engine oil and a LF777 as a bypass, also a full sized HD filter. The new, better, easier ????? filter had the bypass wafers in the bottom of the same can that did the full flow part and now there is only one filter in the system. How can the full flow filter element that is now 6" long do as well as the old style that was a whole can for full flow and 10-11" long? That is really common today and I ran into it when looking at a Napa replacement for the big old Cat 1R-1808 full flow filter. If you have ever had the sales pitch from Cat and seen the cutaway of the 1808 compared to any other brand, it makes you a believer in Cat filters. Heavier can, thicker paper and way more of it, pleats all held in place with a glue strip running around the pleats about every couple of inches, and the big thing to me is they use a soft aluminum filter head instead of a steel plate that is threaded with a die that could and will leave steel cuttings that can peel off when installing it. Compared to the aluminum ?? filter head the steel is more risky for a problem. Big difference in the two basic filters when you compare a minimal difference in price. Then there is the Napa 1792XE, a relatively new replacement for the 1808 (16 micron) in the microglass 5 micron . What do you guys think about these? Not that I want to extend oil change intervals.

 

I remember reading about filters for the dodge cummins, apparently there are canisters available with two set of filters inside them one is high micron and the other is lower. So full flow and partial flow in one canister. And it was said that once the low micron section plugged up one could feel the difference in temperature top to bottom of filter. Indicating time to change.

 

I guess I run IH/Fleetguard as that is what the local IH dealer carries, a while back they said they are the same, not sure if it is still true or not.

Couple times I've gotten filters with the IH or agco sticker over the manufacturer's(?), which is interesting.

Anything that I can't get through IH or agco is Napa.

Oil wise I use IH except for a few vehicles that have always ran rotella or similar (like brand name or something) to see if I got a different result, but I'm not seeing any. Anything that doesn't match IH or have had the same oil is Cenex. I believe just about everything I have is now synthetic*(I believe IH switched a while back, don't quote me on that, if not then most vehicles are synthetic )

Air filters: outer element either changed or blown out as needed(either gauge or curiosity), depending on how it is after being blown out. Inner element: never blown out or touched, only changed when needed.