Oil Filter from Walmart

[FreeBeeTony]

What is the brand oil filter I hear recommended from Walmart?

 

[Bondo]

Donno,.... I buy Napa filters from Napa, which are rebadged Wix filters,....

 

[tpenfield]

:noidea: Sorry, but we weren't with you when you heard it.

They seem to have some major brands though Motorcraft, AC/Delco, etc.

 

[Fun Times]

I thought it was mostly the cost of the engine oil was much cheaper at Walmart vs most other stores....You can also find quicksilver high performance gear lube for the lower unit gear housing at a much lower cost too.

Some Walmart's carry AC Delco and Mobile 1 oil filters that are considered pretty good..... Wix type filters are usually considered one of the best on the market once they are cut open for overall inspection out of all the filters on the market including OEM filters as a norm.

 

[harringtondav]

Years ago I read an auto magazine review for oil filters. It appeared legit. They tested effectiveness, etc. Then cut new filters apart to measure filter area, bypass function, etc. Those blue Walmart filters rated on top.

 

[thumpar]

Walmart sells Quicksilver/Mercruiser brand filters. That is where I buy mine because they are close.

 

[cableguy1979]

Yep Walmart does in fact sell Quicksilver and thats what you should be buying. Same for the gear lube.

 

[harringtondav]

I focus on good oil. Merc. or a high quality Syn. 20W40, which is OK with Merc's ambient temp. chart. If you change your engine oil annually as recommended, the filter will be going into the trash, and be probably half spent. So I use Fram, Napa, whatever is close or on sale.

 

[Oshkosh1]

SO much drama over oil filters no matter the engine or application.

All the BS you read or see on YT concerning them is mostly just that. There are very, VERY few PROVABLE oil filter related failures or as a result of insufficient filtration or build quality. The el cheapo and infamous Fram "OCOD"(OrangeCanOfDeath) and the generic labeled equivalents probably protect more engines by a wide margin than all others combined. Much is made over their "cardboard" (which it's not) construction...but that was done to hold a price point...which is just fine for 3-5k mile(in auto's) OCI's. Very few people will see that on a boat engine so buying expensive filters which are mostly designed to extend oil changes is truly a waste.

Apparently they're good enough to protect the most expensive car ever sold at auction (a 240GT Ferrari) with an irreplaceable engine...so probably good enough for anything else.

As mentioned, the Wally World "Supertech" filters are rebranded Wix or Purolators depending on specific application so you can't go wrong with them(I've used them for probably a couple hundred thousand miles in different cars/trucks) and the K&N's they sell are also fine...plus they have a welded nut which can be handy in tight spots.

Bottom line is this; Use whatever makes you sleep better at night. Use the correct weight of oil(or close) for your particular climate/engine and change it seasonally.

I work at an engine building/machine shop and see every type of engine on a weekly basis. From old tractors to 1000hp strokers to Diesels...I've NEVER seen a "blown" engine in which the genesis was the oil filter.

 

[Leardriver]

Oshkosh, good comment.
My brother was being considered for the world marketing manager for Fram. We have all heard how Fram is horrible and will cause impotence, male pattern balding, and engine failure.
He toured the factory and talked to the engineers. They have been hearing the same rumors for their entire life also. They test every other manufacturers filter on the market for filtration, case strength, longevity, and make sure that Fram beats every one by 10%.
The Fram engineers have developed a product that has 65% of the world market share, no one else even has 10%. But, we have all heard the horrors stories.

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Donno,.... I buy Napa filters from Napa, which are rebadged Wix filters,....

Wix ...........that was it...........I bought a Fram.

 

[Bondo]

Wix ...........that was it...........I bought a Fram.

Ayuh,...... Many claim Wix is the Best, hands down, in many different areas,......

 

[harringtondav]

....my deceased pa in law told me that he bought a new car in the early '50s, with an engine oil filter 'option' Oil filters screen out abrasive debris, After engine break-in in modern engines, there shouldn't be too much of this w/in an annual oil change, unless your engine is already in self destruct mode. Annual oil changes with quality spec. oil and a filter that fits is good enough for me.

I've used the 'orange can of death' filters on cars that have gone well past 200K miles. I won't credit Fram, but I think the syn. oils had something to do with it.

 

[jimmbo]

I like Baldwin, they are well made, and have a generous media area

 

[Oshkosh1]

My father worked as head of R&D at Kimberly Clark. We were talking about filters one day. He's very familiar with the design and materials used in the construction of those specific filters(he was literally a paper chemist) as one of the local mills actually manufactured the material used and he helped come up with the adhesive bonding it all together years ago. Now, he's NOT a "car guy"...although he holds two PhD's...the last car he worked on was our 67 LeMans we had back around 1974. He said that adhesive was designed as an aerospace grade product for the (at that time new) Boeing 747 and has since found some pretty unique places to also be used. He knew a couple of the engineers at Allied Signal and said that there would be no way they'd let such an inferior product come off of their line knowing they had a "fatal flaw" such as known delamination or disintegration on a wide spread basis. None. All of the YT videos showing rubes slicing filters open and tearing them apart means nothing. Neither does the fact that some are all metal construction.

Some of the specific Napa(Wix) filters had some issues with the threads not being cut square. As a result, many an aluminum stand pipe was ruined in old MGB's and a few others. There was no doubt it was the filter as you could take an identical piece of threaded rod or a bolt to see that it didn't fit them either. They did get it rectified but as some of those older filters are still in stock I just avoid them in that application.

I always tell people that so long as you're doing regular oil changes based on your specific driving/boating habits it truly doesn't matter what the name on either the oil jug or filter says. I've seen many cars go over 200k running nothing more than the cheapest no name oil and filters...and I've seen a couple which are internally sludged up far under that running more expensive stuff but thinking they could extend their OCI's to the max.

 

[Oshkosh1]

I like Baldwin, they are well made, and have a generous media area

Yeah Baldwins are great filters. It's the only ones we mount on the engines we build. I just finished up balancing a blueprinted set of 540CI BBC marine engines and that's what they got as well...

 

[nola mike]

If you really feel like geeking out about oil and filters, check out
https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=cfrm
if you've never seen it. Some good pretty good analysis of filters, oil, etc. I avoided Fram for a while, but they're back in favor over there.
FWIW, search these forums for engine self destructs that can be traced back to oil (not lack of) or a filter. LMK if you find a thread...