What are the best filters in your opinion? I've bought k&n, motorcraft for the mustang, napa gold and fram. I read somewhere that the high end fram filter is a good filter (extra guard?)

 

do not use fram, there filters fall apart during normal operating conditions. the times i used Fram, at the oil change interval (3000mi) i could shake the filter back and forth after the oil was pored out, and the filter itself would slap back and forth in the case. i like to use the half sleeved mobile 1 filters, i use them in my T/A and in my jeep. there work great and you can usually get a good combo deal with them on some Valvoline syntech!

 

Consumer Reports rated Pureone Purolator very high, and it's reasonably priced. I don't recall where K&N rated.

Fram was a dog.

 

i used to run Purolator all the time, and loved it, but i can not find it anywhere but Pep Boys, and the closest one out here is 1 hour away. so i use Mobile one.

FWIW, K&N was rated pretty high by reviews.

 

I ran Mobil 1 oil in my 1998 TJ for 7 years without any problems. Being used in the High temp area,Southern Nevada Desert, I still changed oil every 3000 miles. No leaks, ran cool, no problems.

 

I haven't gone as high as 10k oil changes, but I just stay at 6k to be safe. How long have you been doing this for? I don't doubt how long lasting synthetic oil is, but I'm just curious.

 

Castrol 10w30, been happy with it!

 

As with all things, I don't think you should rate something just based on a couple of experiences. Consumer Reports rated both the Purolator and the Wix very high. Many people trust these filters. The myth about using a synthetic in older vehicles is also misrepresented. The reason that the valve tap was sounding with synthetic in is because it flows better than conventional and conventional can actually "smother" the tapping symptoms, just like using a heavier weight oil can. Don't say something is bad just from one experience. It's like calling all Sony televisions pieces of crap because that person happened to get a bad one in the bunch. I could say "don't use conventional" and back it up a lot better with actual facts about its performance compared to full synthetic.

 

Just a general note: if you're going to go with extended intervals with your synthetic, make sure your filter can handle it, or change your filter more frequently.

 

Most all the synthetics with agood filter-Wix-Pure One- K & N-Mobil One- is an excellent choice.

The debate is really what TYPE of oil--5W30 vs 10W40 and so on. Synthetis vs Dino
Most cars of the same brand like anything else are not all ALIKE or are put through the same rigors in their life.

I would say that lower start up viscosity is better UNLESS you have a bearing-lifter-oil pump problems. I have run-0W30-5W-30- 10W30- 10W40-

My Jeep here in Vegas gets.much different attention than if I was in Canada.
Here in Nevada I have a PureOne with some 10W30-I also never had an engine oil pressure problem except where I had LOW pressure at idle- after some oil changes and good filters my pressure came up to specs+ 10psi. So I assume there was some crud built up that came out with some quick changes.
In a NY winter I would have changed in the Fall to 0-5W-30 instead of the 10W30-40 I would have had in from the Summer .

 

It was just my personal experience, but Efficient Mileage.com said and i quote "Some brands should be avoided like poisonous frogs. Fram, Bosch, and Wix make the worst oil filters." I usually go by the old saying; fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. I'm usually not going to spend money on something that's already burnt me. Just wondering, have you ever purchased a Wix filter? Also, how do you rate something if not by experience?

This is not meant for conflict and i mean no offense.

 

I have a Wix on now. No difference from any other I've had on. Same lifter tap as usual. I rate something based on a combination of experience and lots of research.

 

My wife's daily driver is a 99 Suburban. 249,000 and going strong. Mobil 1 all the way, and I have had several intervals where I pushed it to 12,000. (When I got sick, it went to 18,000. Don't tell anyone) My wife is hard on vehicles, so it's a testament to the oils durability.

My last DD was a 95 corolla with 230,000. I scrapped it when the gas tank fell off. (the frame was rusted so badly, I had no place to hang it!) The motor purred. Never a problem. 10,000 intervals on that motor.

I used fram filters for a few years until that consumer reports test came out. About made me sick to see that I could have just jammed some coffee filters in a mayonnaise jar and filtered the oil better.

From what I have read, heat isn't a problem for synthetics. Cold weather (technically anything below 65) is when oils start to deposit waxes onto your engine. That is why I change the oil when spring rolls around. That, and the fact that I just had several months of cold, hard starts, and I want to get the impurities from those starts out of my engine.

I am a huge believer in block heaters as well. Block, lower radiator hose, however you can keep the oil warmer. It helps.

 

Valvoline full syn 10w30 and a k&n filter.

 

High mileage oil is a waste of money--I use regular store brand oil--in my case it's OReilly house brand--10-30 weight and a quart of Lucas oil stabilizer and an ac delco filter. Stay away from regular Fram oil filters--they use recycled cardboard to hold the filter material together--if you must use a Fram go with the extraguard version.