I just use Fram filters and have never had on issue with any of my cars.

 

I always us OE other than tires & batteries.

 

I ordered some filters for a 2013 RWD from a 3rd party on Amazon. I ordered 04152-YZZA3. The boxes say these are 04152-YZZA3 but then I looked at what's printed on the filter itselt and it matches yours: 15613-YZZA2. The filter is 8cm long. I have a Toyota that takes 04152-YZZA1 filters and it has 15613-YZZA1 printed on it. Why does the YZZA3 have YZZA2 on it while the YZZA1 has YZZA1?

So, I'm not sure what the deal is with what's printed on the filter itself. I couldn't find any results for it as a part number or as a replaced part number for YZZA3. Can anyone confirm that their YZZA3 filter has YZZA2 printed on it and is 8cm long? Are the YZZA5 actually the same size as the YZZA3 too?

 

Same exact size, same exact filter, no need to stress over this. Toyota/Lexus will create different part numbers for different cars even though the parts are exactly the same. Toyotas been using the same 3.5L v6 in several cars over many years.

 

In a cartridge they are probably OK but if you have an engine with the oil filter mounted sideways, FRAM was notorious for not having an anti-drain back valve. First fire up overnight would sound like the motor had no oil and it didn't for the first 10 seconds until it could fill the empty filter back up.

I even fill my filters before I install them when using spin-on filters. It helps avoid dry running while the new filter is filled.

 

the real issue is just figuring out the right size filter. a3 is slightly longer than a1. aftermarket filters seem questionable in regards to which size fit. fram i've only come across 9972 filter. stp and purolator the filter seems either too large or small. mobil 1 i've seen m1c-251a, 253a, or 256a. think some references get them mixed up based on turbo, awd, and rwd but in the 16+ rwd 350 its the a1 which is 9972 in fram and 251a in mobil1

a2 filter was d/c and changed to a3 for some reason i think. a5 filter is the same as a3 but one of them just doesn't come with the plastic oil drain plug i believe. this was used in 13-15 i think.

what i wanna know is why they changed from a 1 cm longer filter to a shorter one

 

Has anyone tried the K&N filters?

At ~$5 a pop, it's kind of hard to beat from a price standpoint. Not sure how well they preform though.

 

The genuine YZZA3 or YZZA5 are cheaper than that from Toyota online parts shops and probably about the same from a Toyota dealer.

 

i don't think they're much cheaper than toyota. definitely cheaper than lexus by a lot. I remember asking my toyota dealership for the part and they were curious what lexus was wanting and they were dumbfounded by the insane markup for the same part. k&n is basically a red OE filter and OE filters are good for at least 10k miles. fram ultra and mobil1 claim they're good for 20k miles but i have yet to see anyone prove theres any real difference in any media. all i know is fram is full synthetic with wire mesh and mobil1 is synthetic blend media last i checked. not sure about OE or specs 99% efficacy on filtering what size particles out.

 

I'm not sure if you meant to reply to me or the previous but as the previous post said, K&N is cheap at $5.00 but a Toyota parts dealer that I've ordered a lot of parts from over the years has the YZZA5 for $4.87. YZZA3 is not available perhaps because they are not recommending it for any Toyota models but either will work for a 2013 GS350, you just get the drain spout with the A5 that is not needed.

Even if the genuine filter was more than $5 I'd still get it over the K&N.

 

I just thought since K&N built their reputation on performance filters/intakes, their oil filters would have the same quality.

I also understand that people prefer genuine parts because "the car was designed around it", but I want to put my $.02 in. I'm not sure if this is the same mentality Lexus has since I haven't worked with or for them, but generally OEMs use the parts from suppliers that win the cheapest bid and still works well enough. It is by no means the best part you can get. It's basically just a good middle ground between cost and performance.

 

Performance isn't necessarily best for reliability or longevity. My limited knowledge of performance air filters and the like is that they are less restrictive thus allowing for better air flow but then they also potentially let in more contaminates or those oiled air filters which might contamiate your maf with oil. You might be gaining marginal performance with those things but there are trade offs you have for performance. People who race their cars are willing to live with the trade offs and then have more maintenance to deal with and more frequent part changes but for me I'd rather have reliability and longevity.

I don't know anything about K&N filters in particular, I'm just saying.

 

OK, have you ever seen a better oil filter for the application we are discussing?

 

currently using the TRD filters, although pricey, its well constructed and has synthetic media

 

Some Napa Gold oil filters are made in Venezuela now instead of USA. Napa Gold were made in USA by Wix when I worked at NAPA, don't know how this will affect quality but I will switch to a different brand for both my cars.