Best Oil Filter Brands

Welcome to Best Oil Filter Brands, your one stop shop for oil filter tips, facts and discussion. We'll talk about the major oil filter brands on the market and why you might consider each for your vehicle.

How do you determine the best oil filter brand for your vehicle? First off, your owner manual will most likely be a great resource to determine which one fits your vehicle and suits it best. It's best to follow your vehicle owner's manual if they have a suggestion as to what brand they feel is best but at the end of the day you'll have a number of choices available.

What Does Your Oil Filter Do?

The purpose of motor oil is to lubricate the various moving parts of your engine and the primary function of an oil filter is to filter out (i.e. remove) various contaminants and pollutants from your motor oil as well as transmission oil, hydraulic oil and/or lubricating oil. These contaminants come from the atmosphere and from other sources like engine additives that produce dust, particles and soot that develops as a result of combustion that can damage engine parts. Over time these particles - if not removed - will damage your engine and thus the purpose of the oil filter is to keep the oil clean and to prevent contaminants from causing this damage from occurring. In that regard, the best oil filters will filter out the maximum amount of dirt possible and will not fail as quickly as cheaper, lower quality brands.

When Should You Change Your Filter?

Typically your vehicle manufacturer will recommend that your change your oil filter at every oil change. Your vehicle owner's manual will outline your automobile's recommenede oil change schedule and it will most likely differ from the one provided by the little sticker that your oil change center will place on the inside of your windshield. The oil change centers typically recommend changing your oil more frequently since they're obviously going to get more business out of it but you may be wasting your time and money - and causing more damage to the environment - with too frequent oil changes. In that regard, stick to the oil change schedule recommended by your vehicle manufacturer.

Filter Types

The three main types of oil filters that you'll tend to see are:

Mechanical Oil Filter: The "spin-on" metal-encased filter is the most common version and is installed and removed in one piece that contains a paper filter element with a bypass valve that controls oil flow in and out of the filter. Some filters come with a removable filter that can be replaced when necessary but most people go with the disposable filter and simply replace the entire filter at each oil change. This is the common filter that most people use and the most cost effective option. Over time reusable filters will most likely become more widely available to reduce waste produced by used filters.

Magnetic Filter: As the name would suggest this filter contains a magnet that helps to draw out metallic particles from the oil which is the main advantage it has over regular spin-on filters. Another advantage is that the filter magnet can be cleaned and reused.

Centrifugal Filter: Rather than using gravity, this type of oil filter uses centrifugal force to separate the contaminants from the oil. Periodic cleaning of the housing of this design type is necessary to keep the device clean and functioning properly.

To find the best oil filter brands for your vehicle, it's best to first know what your vehicle recommends and the size of filter that it requires. Also you need to balance the extra cost associated with any filter that isn't a standard mechnical oil filter with the possible benefit(s) of a more expensive one in addition to the availability of them.