What type of filter do you use?

I usually buy what is on sale usually Purolater, Fram or Bosch.
Being that I change my oil every 3k does it really matter all that much what filter you use? Any thoughts??
Are there any brands I should avoid, Many people tell me not to use Fram?

Dazed and confused--

 

I use and recommend the K&N oil filter. Or the Toyota dealer supplied, as a standby.

K&N's are made by the manufacturer of the Bosch and Mobil 1 .

Long Life and great oil flow with better than good filtration.

Yes. the quality of the oil filter matters. Cheaper ones have a tendency to restrict flow and bypass quickly.

 

I second Tammy, K&N pretty much built like a tank, good quality, one of the best flowing filter on the market. Mobil 1 has the similiar Champion Labs design but the filter media is different, trading flow with better filtering effeciency.
Bosch is also manufactured by Champion Labs, I cut one (part #3300) open, I could not figure how the bypass valve functions. I got it free but do not recommend it. STP built quality is the worst, don't use it.
Use only FRAM Extended Guard, the other ones have paper end caps. Some claims paper end caps do not cause failture, but for the same $ for Tough Guard, I would buy Purolator Pure One or Napa Gold (Wix) filter.

 

K&N all the way. That nut on top makes removal easy.

Only filter I can actually remove from the top on my RX300 as opposed to the the normal way of doing it underneath (which takes more time).

Better flow than OEM.

Cannot imagine using anything else.

 

I only use Purolator. pepboys usually have it for sale for $2.50, and $0.50 after rebate.


For more filter reviews, check these two links out:

http://people.msoe.edu/~yoderw/oilfi...lterstudy.html
http://people.msoe.edu/~yoderw/oilfi...ilfilters.html

 

Good links except that oil study is a little dated and not really for Toyota application. Here is a more recent review.
http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/...=002853#000003
$2.50 per filter you can get the NAPA Gold, they have $6.6 rebate plus 7% off for AAA members, plus a free NAPA hat.
http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/...;f=35;t=001046

 

If you can get ahold of the Power Enterprise line of filters they are supposedly VERY good .

 

Prety much anything but FRAM. Garbage. Yes quality does matter, my friend blew his engine with a FRAM on it, oil starved the engine on a downshift sent a rod through the block.

I usually stick to only OEM .

Those new studies are very eye opening.

 

"LTVibe, Their is no such thing as a one manufacture Toyota Filter. The dealers get fitlers from all over the world. Toyota filter design and nomenclature is very very confuseing. It is a can of worms you really do not want to open unless you are truly comitted as it will confuse 98% of the board. To make matters worse each country that has a Denso filter company has some variation of the many Toyota filters.

Here in the USA it used to be Puro/Denso but denso bought out Purolators portion of the plant. The USA made Denso look nothing like the one cut open and detailed in this post. The USA made Denso's look like a Puraltor andhave the oval inlet holes and do not have the over torque protection. The 90915-YZZA1 pictured above is a Thailand knock off of the Japanesse filter 90915-YZZZ1. The Japanesse filter has even more of the exotic fiberglass like Toyota media(about 30% more), has a plastic center like a Chapion Ecore with long slits instead of holes but it is yellow in color and it does not have a bypass valve if my memory is correct. The Japanesse made ones are hard to come buy and cost a lot more.

Some of the Toyota filters available in the USA have a conventional media and design just like what you would expect to find in a Puralator but they have the Toyota end plate, over torque protection and shrink wraped and pre luped with silicone grease.

I am not trying to confuse you but last I checked their were at least 6 different versions of oil filters on the market sold by Toyota dealers as geniune oem Toyota/Denso oil filter for my application in a red and white box. It just depends if it was made in japan,Thailand,Brasil,China etc.... and wich version it is from that plant etc......"

 

Wow.. What did I start..

I've visited many of the links that everyone posted.
K&N seems rock solid, the problem is that nobody stocks it .. at least the autoparts stores that I visited. Ordering on the web would be the only way for me.

However, I really looked at all the filters at Pep Boys ,Autozone also Checkers etc. The Purolater PURE ONE (High Gloss Blue Filter) looked like a pretty good value and you can get em anywhere. I change my oil religiously every
3k.. So unless the filter fails I should be ok.

One conclusion that I came to--- FRAM is absolute garbage, (I use to buy a few when they went on sale) I actually threw the two I had in the trash can.
Good luck--- Thanks for all your comments.

 

Most of the auto stores stock K&N, only not near the other filters; always off to the side. You may have to ask for their shelf location.

 

www.ajusa.com has the best price on K&N, free shipping > $25. For the 1mzfe, it is $8.5 per, so buy three and save yourself the time and gas spend to visit your local auto store. Icing on the cake: Non-CA people do not even pay tax.

PureOne is a good filter with great effeciency. Many have questioned it packs so large of filtering media that actually restricts oil flow. Two oil changes ago, I found out my Acura TL 's oil pressure expanded those ridges (you can grab on) to almost the round cylinder shape like the rest of the can. Starve the engine with oil increases wear, not just from filter clogging, but also from winter cold startup and high rpm. From now on, it is K&N, Napa Gold as my first two choices, effeciency is nothing if oil is bypassed or restricted. Just my $0.02

 

k&n and Mobil filters are the only ones I'll use on any car I care about...

never had an issue with them, nor have I ever heard of an issue with them...

 

i use Bosch... its a premium brand, and i trust it.

can anyone show me a cut-open pic of a Bosch filter?

from now on i may consider K&N...

 

Mobil 1 - extended performance.