new oil filter for LT1

[TraceZ]

I stopped in at the dealer Friday to pick up some Delco oil filters for the Z. My parts guy informed me that the Delco PH30 was discontinued and replaced with the PF454. The PF454 is shorter than the PH30.

I just got done with the oil change and here is a picture of the old next to the new. I'm not sure if I like the fact it is shorter. I think that would mean the filter has less internal surface area.

Feedback?

[AmericanZ28]

Im assuming the same thing. There are two possibilities here. Either the original area of the filter is not necesary for the service intervals, or GM is trying to make more of a profit by saving on raw materials.

[TruckMuddr]

My parts guy informed me that the Delco PH30 was discontinued and replaced with the PF454. The PF454 is shorter than the PH30.

I didn't think AC Delco made a PH30. All I knew about was the Fram PH30.


I know Fram makes a shorter and longer filter other then the PH30

Fram HP4
High Flow; For Racing Only Not OE Replacement; Tall Filter; Usable If Space Permits $7.98

Fram HP8
High Flow; For Racing Only Not OE Replacement; Short Filter $12.88

Fram PH30
Extra Guard $3.38

[darksky]

For what it's worth, I used the HP4 for the first 4 or 5 oil changes on my Z. After a while I got sick of shelling out the 12 bucks for the thing and switched to the PH30 which I've used ever since. I remember the HP4 held hearly 1 quart of oil itself. I dunno if it really give you any advantage over the smaller HP30.

[Joe 1320]

Fram PH5 is a truck filter that can be used on LT1s and is a little larger.

[TraceZ]

The fram "orange can" is the worst filter you can put on an engine. Stay away.

Top ranked is the Mobil 1, followed by Delco.

The Mobil 1 is $$$, so I use the Delco from now on. My dealer cost on it was $4. I have a dealer account at the local chevy dealership and get all my parts at list price, not extended...

Does anyone know of a Delco that is bigger and will fit?

[Mike71]

The fram "orange can" is the worst filter you can put on an engine. Stay away.

Top ranked is the Mobil 1, followed by Delco.

The Mobil 1 is $$$, so I use the Delco from now on. My dealer cost on it was $4. I have a dealer account at the local chevy dealership and get all my parts at list price, not extended...

Does anyone know of a Delco that is bigger and will fit?

when u worry about the filter element being smaller what are u really worrying about? are u worried that itl "fill" up quicker with crap

or that it will not be able to support the flow??

u should change it every 3-5k miles anyways so i doubt itl get "full" or crap

[darksky]

If you read the specs on Fram filters, they stop smaller particles than the delco does. All are made of a high quality mesh also. I've used fram filter now for over 15 years on all my cars/trucks and parents cars/trucks. Never had a related problem

Where is your source of info on the fram being a POS?

[MN6WS6]

I don't have the article in front of me, but Fram's are prone to internal failure, typically at the joints, which end up allowing unfiltered oil to pass over to where the filtered oil is only supposed to go. My personal experience with Fram is that they repeatedly leave the rubber seal behind on your motor instead of coming off with the filter. It's not a big deal to me because I always check it, but it's annoying that I have to reach up there (especially on the bike) and peel it off before I put the new filter on. I have one Fram left for the bike, and after I use it I'm switching to WIX, and a longer one than I'm using now for more filter area. I'm sure you're wondering why I still use the product even though I know that they are prone to failure and the seal comes off. Well, for one, I got them for $2 a piece, and two, I change my bike oil every 3,000 miles even though the oil is good for 10,000 miles.

There is this huge page online where this guy bought like 20 filters, cut them open, and shows you which filters are built best and which are crap. It even shows you who uses who's filters but repainted and stamped with their name and accordingly repriced even higher. Fram is most assuredly on the crap list. The best filters available are the WIX line, but are sometimes hard to find. O'Reilly's carries them.

[Injuneer]

There are a couple of reasonably decent oil filter comparisons on line, and all of them downgrade the Fram. The most notable was one that compared only the physical construction, and the Fram was found to have poor quality filter medium, cardboard endcaps that allowed bypass up dirty oil, and a string inside that had been used to hold the filter medium round so it could be assembled. Filtration area was lower than others. A similar study of actual filtration performance also found the Fram to be inferior.

The first site/study actually had a letter from a Fram engineer that confirmed the poor quality of their product. Fram took the owner of the website to court to get the letter removed, claiming it was private correspondence.

My personal experience with Fram has been nothing short of disasterous... frequent leaks, internal threads so poorly cut that they galled onto the threads of the filter mount and made it virtually impossible to remove the filter, cans so thin that they collapsed under the stress of most filter wrenches.

When I first saw my 381 stroker on the engine dyno at the shop that built it, it had a Fram filter on it. The shop claimed they had used them for years with "no problems". When I told them about the above info, they sort of shrugged their shoulders. When I took my car in about 2 years later for some additional work, I brought my own filter - Moroso - and told them I didn't want the Fram. They told me they no longer used Fram, because after thinking about what I had told them, and looking at the actual performance of the Fram, they found them to be inferior. They no longer stock Fram, and would not use them on their 7-second Pro 5.0 Mustang, or the numerous 1,000+HP engines they turn out.

I would NEVER use a Fram product on my cars.

Oil Filter Study

[Mike71]

plain and simple...next time u change ur oil take ur old fram off and cut it open..then look inside =)

[darksky]

Here is that oil filter review website some in this thread talked about.

Anyone know a cheap source of AC Delco or Wix filters (online or not)?

edit: the link in my original post is now 404. Use the one that injuneer gave in his reply which is currently still working.

[ryan34]

.

My personal experience with Fram has been nothing short of disasterous... frequent leaks, internal threads so poorly cut that they galled onto the threads of the filter mount and made it virtually impossible to remove the filter, cans so thin that they collapsed under the stress of most filter wrenches.



Oil Filter Study

If you ask me, if you need to use a filter wrench to take of an oil filter and it collapses...i'd have to say you put it on too tight to begin with. I personally have had no problem with fram, but then again i don't have a real powerful machine.

[Injuneer]

If you ask me, if you need to use a filter wrench to take of an oil filter and it collapses...i'd have to say you put it on too tight to begin with. I personally have had no problem with fram, but then again i don't have a real powerful machine.

Trust me... I know how to install an oil filter on after 40 years of maintaining my own cars. I actually worked for 10 years in a shop, changing oil and filters, in my "youth". So, let's assume I'm not too stupid to figure out how to install a filter.

[ryan34]

I have used fram filters, and never had one get stuck before. Most of the time i can take them off with my hand, never had leaks or any engine problem. The only time I've had trouble getting any filter off is if the car is new to me or I'm helping someone with there's and they've had a shop do it befor or something. So next time stop being so defensive on such a small subject.