oil filter other than subaru

[brus brother]

Is there a sure bet oil filter other than the original subaru for my 05 outback non turbo?

[SuBrat84]

Carquest premium oil filters are very well built. They use WIX for their oil/air filters. They are just labeled for carquest. They even have an anti back flow valve so the oil doesn't drain out of the filter while the car sits.. (usually not a problem on most subarus where the oil filter is vertical. Nice on the ones where the filter is horizontal.) Carquest will usually have two options for most of their filters.. "red" and "premium." Red is usually a couple of dollars cheaper... still better than most.. but premium is the better.

Fram is junk.

"Service Champ" (a lot of oil change places use them cuz they are super cheap) is junk.

Anything with the name "Pennzoil" on it is junk.

I don't have any experience with Purolator.. but, they are supposed to be good.

(I worked in a Texaco Express Lube for almost a year.. I Saw about 150 cars a week.. This information is my "professional" opinion.)

 

I always go with the Genuine Subaru parts now. Honestly, it seems like any time anything "after market" goes on one of my Subarus it gets ***************y about it. Subarus have too much personality.

[forester2002s]

The question of which are the best (and worst) oil filters comes up frequently on this board.

 

And the answers are predictable:

- Brands X, Y and Z are the best; and

- Brand F is complete junk, don't buy it.

 

But none of these responses are of much use to me, unless they are accompanied by some real life experiences.

 

- For instance, if Brand X is the best, why? What happened to the engine to give Brand X an excellent rating? Or did the engine just perform normally?

- And did Brand F lead to mechanical failure, not just once, but many times? And what exactly went wrong?

- And how long is the oil-change interval? Did Brand F fail because of an extended filter-change period?

- And was the car driven normally, no red-lining, no rallying, etc?

 

I suspect that, for most normal drivers, driving a mixture of city/highway, with the recommended (or sooner) oil-change intervals, that any brand of oil filter will work well.

 

But I am open to be convinced otherwise (with the relevant explanation, not just opinion).

[Mike104]

Here is a similar thread that talked about the same question:

 

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/89-oil-fuel-discussion/25013-oil-filter-use.html

 

My personal opinion is that while the most significant difference between the Subaru OE filters and the aftermarket ones is the Pressure Relief setting (23psid for Subaru) and that many of the aftermarket ones don't meet that spec, that any good quality filter changed at regular intervals 3-5k miles with good quality oil should be just fine.

 

Here is a link to a discussion about the oil filter history as used by Subaru:

 

http://allwheeldriveauto.com/subaru-service-seattle-subaru-oil-filters-explained/

 

My current engine warranty requires Subaru OE filters for the next 50k miles so my choice is made. Once the warranty expires I am going to use this filter:

 

http://allwheeldriveauto.com/subaru-oil-filters-for-sale/

[gbhrps]

Forester2002s,

I couldn't agree more with you! I've serviced my own vehicles for 45 years and I've never had an oil filter or oil related problem. I always followed the specific manufacturer's oil related policies to the letter, and bought whatever oil filter was available at the autoparts store. As well, I never drove any of those cars hard.

 

When the internet came along at about the same time when I became able to acquire a small stable of cars I'd always wanted, I joined a forum for every one of them.

 

I can't believe the number of people on these forums who swear by this oil or by that filter, for use in cars that are just daily drivers. I'm not talking high performance race cars, or cars that have heavy demands on them. Just daily use drivers, cars that they'll never own long enough to be able to wear the engine out, before the body falls apart from rust (like they do here in Ontario).

 

The tuner crowd are the worst. "Got to use premium fuel in a low compression engine." "Just got my 13 year old RollsCanHardlyMakeIt UpTheHill with 227 000 miles on it, and I'm changing it over to sythetic oil." "Just got the nitrogen put in my tires." And on and on.

 

They obviously have bought in to the advertised hype, and can't spend their money fast enough. For those who drive their cars hard, or use them on the track on the weekend, maybe it is good insurance. For the full race vehicle, absolutely. But for the average guy driving the average car ... I don't think so.

 

For those who think otherwise, you are welcome to do so, as is your prerogative.

 

This is my one and a half cents worth.

[SuBrat84]

Well, you know opinions are like a holes. Everyone has one.. and more often than not they stink.

I agree, to a point, that the OIL you use doesn't matter THAT much if you are changing it every 3,000 miles like you should. I have SEEN from personnel experience that Pennzoil makes sludge. In EVERY CASE it makes sludge. Castrol / Valvoline / Mobil 1 stays the cleanest between oil changes IN EVERY CASE.

I totally disagree that the filter doesn't matter. There is such a wide range in the production quality of the filter housing and filtration media. I have seen the media in Fram/Service Champ/Cheap filters collapse thus not allowing the oil to flow/filter properly under the required pressure after only a couple of thousand miles. I have seen service champ filters that were put together so poorly that when they heated up they ruptured from the pressure and DESTROYED the engine because the ignorant driver just kept on driving. I have seen filters cut in half to see the guts of them. A good quality filter is a MUST. If you drive less than 1000 miles between oil changes, use whatever junk you want. If you want drive 3-5k miles between oil changes and you want your car to last and act like new after 100,000 miles.. use quality products and keep up on your maintenance.

[subaru360]

I've never seen an oil filter related problem on a subaru. I work on these cars every day. So I just buy whatever store brand filter is the cheapest.

[idosubaru]

I've never seen an oil filter related problem on a subaru. I work on these cars every day. So I just buy whatever store brand filter is the cheapest.

+1 , well said. anyone that bent about oil and filter is showing more about personality traits than anything helpful or technical.

 

i avoid fram and don't like their choice of cardboard materials, but even then i don't think it really matters. it's perfectly possible to run a subaru 200,000 miles with Fram filters so it's not a worthwhile topic. i prefer WIX and Purolator Pure One when I can't get those.