Recommend me: Oil/Filter

well it's not more expensive if your parts house (an indy) is an Amsoil distributor and sells me my parts/oils etc … at his cost .. if I go somewhere else and buy synthetic, I have to pay full price

Wix / NAPA Gold on everything in our fine fleet of automobiles (newest is 14 years old). Purolator in a pinch or Motorcraft for the '99 Windstar.

GRM did an article in the mid-'80s about oil filters where they actually cut open a bunch of them for the same application. Wix "won" because they have lots of filter media, metal media end caps, an anti-drainback valve, and a true coil bypass spring. Purolator scored well but got dinged for its sheet steel bypass spring.

FRAM was close to the rear due to its small amount of filter media, cardboard media end caps, and sheet steel bypass spring. However, Hastings brought up the rear because it lacked an anti-drainback valve and a bypass valve on a part number that should have both.

Another filter to avoid, especially in performance apps, is the newer AC filters with part numbers ending in "e", they plastic center tube which has been known to collapse (and take the engine with them) on engines with oiling mods. Some other filter brand is using the same tech, can't remember who right now, might be the wal mart house brand, just pull it out of the box and look inside.

Last I heard, the Wally World motor oil is made by a company called Warren Products. They are located somewhere down south or in the midwest. My car usually gets whatever is on sale or whatever they use for regular dino oil in the oil change where I get it done. I have never had any issues with using regular plain jane motor oil. I have had good luck with Valvoline and the Motorcraft Synth Blend and any filter brand except Fram. Heard and seen too many bad things about them to use.

rotella T6 for the 2.5RS, 5W-30 pennzoil platinum for the Xterra. i prefer OEM filters for both, but have used NAPA Gold and Purlators when i can't get those. on the subaru its particularly important to consider OEM as many aftermarket filters don't support the correct bypass pressure that they run.

i used a few used oil analysis to figure out how far to run my changes out. about 7 to 8k miles for the subaru, 4 to 5 for the Xterra due to a tiny sump. i think that's a helpful tool if you're going to spend the extra coin on synth, and get your money's worth of its advantages.

i've tried a bunch of oils over the years, and its hard to go wrong.

I run Pennzoil plat 5-30 in the Hyundai with OEM filter, Rotela in the Malibu with Napa gold. On the bike I ran Rotela for break in and am about to switch to T6

gofastbobby wrote: I also will not buy a Fram product, as I have seen first hand what happens when their filters fall apart.

Those destroy rod bearings in sho's.......it wasn't a small number of them either.

I use predominately Wix filters here and use whatever oil I started the vehicles with. The fukus gets Valvoline Dino oil, the '91 sho gets the long change interval amsoil, the '95 sho is still sitting with royal purple in it, the '63 is getting rotella....and the bmw and zx10 will get Motul only. I don't like mixing different types of oil.

Personally, I think people WAY overthink the whole oil-and-filter thing. Evidence: the BobIsTheOilGuy forums.

Stay away from Fram filters and you'll be fine. /thread

Tom_Spangler wrote: Personally, I think people WAY overthink the whole oil-and-filter thing. Evidence: the BobIsTheOilGuy forums. Stay away from Fram filters and you'll be fine. /thread

+1... Bobistheoilguy is way more complex than it needs to be.

This is the internet, our job is to overthink things.

I run Shell Rotella oil in everything these days, T6 synthetic or T dino depending on the car. OEM, Wix, Bosch, Mobil filters. Never, ever Fram.

If you really want to get into some crazy oil discussions, start hanging out on bobistheoilguy.com and your head will explode.

I run whatever synthetic oil is on sale at Crappy Tire and normally a Fram. I have a Fram Synthetic Filter on the WRX right now and jug of Penzoil Platinum 5W30.

I run Motorcraft filters and Mobil 1 synthetic. I get the oil at Wally World on sale and the filters at the Quick Lane at the local Ford dealer where I get the oil changed for $15.