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I went with the Mahle for around $17 bucks on Amazon:
Comparison between Mahle and Lexus OEM:
Lexus OEM with 25K miles on it. Much dirtier than the photos highlights.
Mahle Replacement
Quality edge might go to the Mahle because they have the plastic ribs positioned exactly where the OEM fabric is depressed. Seems like a more rigid profile on the Mahle. The Mahle is made in Bulgaria and their oil filters were made in Mexico. Seems to be wherever the labor is cheapest is where the product is made. German labor is the highest in Europe.
Last edited by grunner58; Dec 18, 2015 at 09:27 AM.
Pressure drop across the filter (affects engine performance), total surface area (affects usable life of filter), and minimum particulate size that can pass through the filter (affects erosion and life of engine) are all that matters. You can tell none of those things from the photos.
Pressure drop across the filter (affects engine performance), total surface area (affects usable life of filter), and minimum particulate size that can pass through the filter (affects erosion and life of engine) are all that matters. You can tell none of those things from the photos.
Mahle:
THE ESSENCE OF A GOOD AIR FILTER
An important quality characteristic is the so-called collection efficiency. It is measured in percentage and indicates the proportion of particles from the intake air that remains in the filter. MAHLE and Knecht air filters achieve here up to 99.9%. This means that practically everything that can affect the function and service life of the engine is filtered out by them – and this creates the conditions for long engine service life even under-extreme temperatures or chemical effects.
Mahle is 100% aware of your concern as they are a $5.5 Billion dollar business.
Block forming in air filters - an expensive phenomenon
When the pleat geometry is unstable and the folds are too close together, little or no air can flow through the filter in these areas. This increases flow resistance, filtration deteriorates, the service life of the filter is reduced and fuel consumption and pollutant emissions increase significantly.
In order to prevent loss of stability and shape, our filter paper is impregnated with special resins during a complex treatment process.
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That! Is why they have the ribs running the entire length of the filter housing. Yes, that is more expensive than not doing it, but that is NOT the German way!
Last edited by grunner58; Dec 18, 2015 at 03:12 PM.
grunner58 must have stock in mahle, although $17 is a reasonable price.
Nope! Just have a fairly intimate knowledge about Germany and German manufacturing ideology. This has advantages for the Japanese manufactured car owner.
That said, I would buy a 5 year old plus Lexus over ANY German made car. Why? because the German's are eco fanatics, and they are very proud of NOT Using virgin materials in their cars unlike the Japanese. So, a BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Audi, etc is going to leak fluids after about 5 years because the heavily recycled materials of vinyl, rubber and plastic breakdown since they are not virgin.
LS430 Air Filter Replacement
