Several oil filter site rank Fram as the cheapest and low quality filters. I have never had a problem with them, but I figure why take a chance Purolator, wix, and champion usually have good ratings and reasonable priced. google serach or goto www.bobistheoilguy.com for one site that rates oil filter and explains who makes whos filters.

Champion makes a LOT of oil filters that are sold under various names.
Probably one of their best is the Mobil 1, while Mitey (used in a lot of quick lube places) is probably their lowest end, which I'd still pick over FRAM.
My main problem with FRAM is their anti drain back valve often don't "anti". Thus the filter drains out when the engine is sitting. When I start an engine, I don't want to wait several seconds, while the filter refills, before I get oil pressure
Their paper end caps don't really bother me, since the media is basically made out of paper too.

rcmoser,
I went to www.bobistheoilguy.com, but could not find any oil or filter ratings. There was a lot of information on oil additives and how they work, but I did not find actual product information. Am I doing something wrong? Charles Ranheim

They won't give ratings as such, but some users have devised various "tests" that you can buy into or not. You will find lot of pictures and a lot more redundant posts.
Go to the main menu and then you can select the various forums like oil filters, oil analysis (new & used) etc.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=6&PHPSESSID=

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=cfrm&c=5&PHPSESSID=

Here is a link that might be useful: Filter section

As bill said you have to do the rating based on there findings. like material, amount of media, and hype. I guess rating or rank wasn't a good word to use cause it can be so subjective by who or what being evaluated. I took it there ratings as quality filters, good filters, and not so good filters by there wording. Basiclly you have to gather the information, data, and your beliefs what maybe facts or important features, and make a decession. I probably don't leave any filter on long enough to cause a problem away unless it totally fails.

I use to by the Kmart 1.99 filters and dollar cans of havoline and change my oil every two or three months back in the late 60's. I never had an oil related issue. Then there was my 69 GTX that changed it's own oil at 100miles per quart

As someone who has worked for 6 years at NAPA as well as independent auto parts stores and have had long, candid conversations with petrochemists and sales representatives from Honeywell (FRAM/Defense/Canadian Tire/Pennzoil), Dana (WIX/NAPA/Kralinator/Delco) and ArvinMeritor (Arvin/Purolator/G.A.P.,), I can tell you that there is NO difference whatsoever as far as the internals of OEM-replacement filters. With regard to specialty filters like Fram Racing, Purolator PureOne, etc., there is a difference. Think of this from the company's perspective. Oil filters must meet or exceed OEM requirements of the vehicles for which the manufacturer recommends. In the case of WIX/NAPA Gold, the silicone-rubber anti-drainback valve is superior to the nitrile rubber valve on the Kralinator/NAPA ProSelect/Silver, but the OEM requirement is only for a nitrile rubber valve. In everyday use with oil changes done at intervals of less than 10,000km, both valves function perfectly. The silicone-rubber valve is made orange in colour to look pretty and make you think you're actually paying for something when in reality, you're paying for overkill. In the case of FRAM, the Defense filters are listed as a second line at a lower cost but have the exact same warranty as the RAM filters. The only difference between the two is paint, marketing and the "easy-grip" is not found on the Defense, Pennzoil or Canadian Tire filters. Think about this from a corporate perspective. If you were making two lines of filters, would you go through the time and expense of stopping the line and retooling just to make an inferior product or would you just do one production run, paint and market them differently and save the time and money? I think we know the answer. It wouldn't make good business sense to stop production because it would cost the company more money to make a product with a narrower profit margin. This is why you NEVER see comparisons of Fram vs. Defense or NAPA Gold vs. NAPA Silver/ProSelect/NASCAR. If they ever did a test like that and published it, nobody would ever buy first-line filters again. The other side of this racket is the oil itself. There are mechanics who swear by Pennzoil, mechanics who swear by Valvoline, mechanics who swear by Quaker State, Castrol, Havoline, Mobil, etc. Either the vast majority of mechanics are automotive morons or they just respond differently to the different marketing strategies of the oil companies. Consumer Reports once did a test of 75 different brands of oil, this test included synthetics, semi-synthetics, virgin conventional and re-refined conventional. They put these oils into the toughest street-legal test imaginable for oils, New York City Taxicabs. The cabs were driven day and night in stop and go traffic with the oil changed every 10,000km (6,000 miles) instead of the recommended 5,000km/3,000 miles in order to get worst-case scenario results. After 100,000km/60,000 miles the taxis were pulled off of the road and the engines were taken apart to test the wear levels on vital engine parts. Their result that the range of wear levels across all 75 brands and types from what could be called the best to what could be called the worst was thinner than a thin, glossy magazine page. They also concluded that no oil brand or type consistently produced more or less sludge or varnish than any other. Their final recommendation: Change your oil at regular intervals and use whatever grade of conventional oil your manufacturer recommends. Regardless of their claims, no oil (conventional or synthetic) will make your engine live longer than the cheapest oil on the shelf. My 1993 Honda Civic that went 300,000km before I burnt a valve which was more a result of towing a U-Haul twice the car's size for 8 hours through mountainous terrain. Even then, the engine still lived for 6 months. I always used the cheapest oil and filters I could get my hands on simply because I had the inside information. Next time you go to a shop, look at the oil and filters in their bays. I guarantee you that you won't see any specialty filters and you'll see the least expensive oils that meet OEM requirements. This is the reason that all those Castrol Syntec and Mobil 1 commercials never compare themselves against other synthetics, only conventionals. It's because their "torture tests" that break conventionals down and not synthetics are more brutal than what oil goes through in a Formula 1 Grand Prix Race! I'm pretty sure that we're all safe in the knowledge that not only will we NEVER drive at 200mph, our engines are not even CAPABLE of imposing that level of stress on oil without destroying themselves in the process! LOL

Here is a link that might be useful: Synopsis of Consumer Reports Oil Test

"I'm pretty sure that we're all safe in the knowledge that not only will we NEVER drive at 200mph, our engines are not even CAPABLE of imposing that level of stress on oil without destroying themselves in the process! LOL"

I wouldn't say "all" because some of us (perhaps very few) have some very high strung horses in the garage. One of my fast ponies is a '87 930 slant nosed turbo cabriolet Porsche which will lift her front tires off the road at 150 mph while accelerating in third gear. I use a mix of Castrol GTX 20/50, and Mobile One for her. 200 mph? well no, she tops out at 198 mph but there are lots of cars in today's world that will top 200.

One note of trivia though is that my sweet old Porsche is one of 78 built and was THE fastest factory built car on the planet at the time she was built.

"Either the vast majority of mechanics are automotive morons or they just respond differently to the different marketing strategies of the oil companies".

First of all taxis are not driven in extreme conditions. Idling around at low RPM dicking around town is not extreme. Once the engine get warmed up and not shut off with no load and no wear. Also they have bunch of those moron mechanic's going over them. NOT like the family car in most cases that most don't even know where the dip stick is. Drain about two quarts out of those taxis cabs and then see what the results are.

I disagree the real morons are the ones who can't fix even the simplest problems reguardless or even check the fluids before they destory their crap. I will include some behind the counter pushing certain brands.

oil is oil if you check it and change it. Do neither and you've got junk requardless of what filter or brand of oil you use IMO.

"Porsche which will lift her front tires off the road at 150 mph while accelerating in third gear."

I dough that if its stock, but IMO what you may of felt would be the "corvair effect" all the weight on the A@@ makes the front end light when you hit the gas peddle feeling like the front wheels are off the ground.

Well, it is stock. That is to say that it is one from the 78 car run that was built in the Special Werks Plant for the VIP list in 1987. No turbo Cabriolets were sold to the genreal public in that year. What they sold were the 282 hp hardtop version.

While those were plenty fast, the VIP list enjoyed the convertable with a much boosted output 3.3 engine and the $35,000.00 steel factory slant nose option with the "gills" in the fenders to evacuate air.

This was an attempt to keep the front end from rising off the road. While it helped, it doesn't prevent the wheels from coming up as I stated in third gear at full throttle at about 150 mph.

At this point, the acceleration is still staggering and your "Corvair effect" is part of the equation. The heavy rear weight bias from the engine and the massive down force from the large whale tail pins the rear end down while the front is being lifted by air.

So, you can take my word for it or not. These cars will lift their front wheels and if you are not aware of this potential and accidentally turn the wheels from straight ahead while they are up, the car will go into a hyper roll when they touch down and you will be very dead.

what is the best oil filter for a 1000 hp 1972 nova thanks.

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