Oil Filters Revealed Toyota Filters

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Description

This page covers a common oil filter used on many current Toyota engines.  Mainly I was interested in the best filter for our vehicle (1999 V6 Camry).  The domestic manufacturers are covered as well as the OEM Toyota filter.

The other parts of this project:

• Project Overview - high-level view of this project.
• Reference Filter - original, most complete reference for the common Chrysler/Ford filter.
• HP1 Filter - for racing applications of the above reference filter.
• Mopar Choices - filters of varying dimensions that are also compatible with the Chrysler 2.2L/2.5L engines
• German Filter - a common filter for German vehicles in order to get a look at some unique brands.

Brands

The analysis is sorted by brand name in alphabetical order.  Common brands and manufacturers link back to the reference filter page were more information can be found.  Detailed sections of some of the models follow, though not all filters listed have them.  These filters were all tested in 2008.  Since some brands often switch manufacturers without warning, check the reference filter page for any updates.  If a filter has never been acquired, the vintage is marked as N/A.  Note that even though the surface area is listed for comparison, the values don't correspond exactly to the filters' holding capacity.  This is a function of the media's composition as well as the surface area, which is not something I am equipped to compare.  However for filters in similar price ranges, it is reasonable to assume that the filter medias are somewhat comparable.

AC Delco Duraguard PF53

This filter is manufactured by Champion Labs using their "Ecore" design.  It is the same in every way with the STP filter below.

Baldwin B1405

This filter is manufactured by Baldwin/Hastings.  It has the second-largest surface areas out of the group partly due to its combination of a long cartridge and deep pleats.  It's constructed in the same way as the reference Baldwin filter.

Bosch 3330

This filter appears to be a Purolator, though the short cartridge doesn't seem to require an assembly string.  It has shallower pleats than some of the other filters due to the larger diameter of the core tube.

Car Quest Red R85348

This filter is manufactured by Dana/WIX.  Due to the short length of these filters, the WIX design seem present a problem.  The separate bypass valve assembly wastes enough space in the filter that the 1/4 inch loss of filter element width causes a 12% drop in overall surface area.  This gives the WIX filters some of the lowest surface areas for this type of filter.  I suspect that other short/wide filters would show similar results.

Fram Extra Guard PH3614

Well, it's a Fram.  Enough said.  It has the usual cardboard-end-capped cartridge with the lowest surface area of the group (101 sqin).  Along with the spring-loaded plastic bypass valve, it has the nitrile rubber diaphragm that seals rough metal to cardboard. 

Mobil 1 M1-102

This filter is made by Champion Labs using their "performance" design.

NAPA ProSelect 21348

This filter is manufactured by Dana/WIX.  It has all the same dimensions as the CarQuest R85348 filter and the same issue with the low filter element surface area.

Purolator Premium Plus L10241

This filter is like most Purolator filters.  It has steel end caps, but with the bypass valve at the back of the cartridge.  The anti-drainback valve is a typical nitrile rubber diaphragm type.  It does not have the typical Purolator assembly string.

STP S3614

This filter is manufactured by Champion Labs using their "Ecore" design.  It was this filter that had two pleats that were not bonded to the fiber end cap on one side.  The diameter of the plastic core tube is the same as the reference filter, which is rather large for such a short filter.  In fact it is the largest out of the group which means that despite a high pleat count of 63, the pleats are shallow and the filter element surface area is well below average out of the group.

Toyota 90915-YZZD1

This filter is manufactured by Denso and is rather unique.  For starters, the cartridge has no end caps to speak of.  Each pleat is thermally bonded shut at the ends about 3/16" inward.  This was accounted for in the surface area measurement, however this filter still has the largest surface area out of the entire group: 160 sqin.  The main reason for this is the narrow core tube, which allowed for very deep pleats and thus a very long filter element.  A wide core tube is not needed for such a short filter.  The filter does use a plastic bypass valve similar to the Fram filter, however I could not make this one leak.  It is also held in place by a steel clip rather than plastic tabs like the Fram.

Exploded view:

Conclusions

See the AC Delco, Champion, Fram, Purolator, and WIX sections for information on how to identify these manufacturers by looking at the backplate.  A quick reference of manufacturer backplates and internal views is available on the overview page.

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Updated 01/25/2008.

Copyright © 1996-2008 Russ W. Knize.