A Look Inside the Body of an Off-Duty Oil Filter

[SparkYellow]

This is my new hobby. The $20 tool works very much like an electric can opener. The hardest part is holding the unit steady. The black one is Bosch 3300, the blue one is Purolator, both in service for 8K miles.

Bosch was easy to cut open, Purolator was five times as hard. The walls seem to be of the same thickness though. The media in Bosch was collapsing, whereas Purolator is still intact. Bosch has been sitting upside down in the tray since May. Purolator let out a lot more oil when cut open, after sitting upside down for two weeks.

Bosch was filtering regular 0w20. Purolator was filtering Royal Purple. I am surprised that the media didn't turn purple. Can you imagine if I put these pics on my dating profile haha ha. Wish I had kept a Mazda filter to cut open for comparison.

Not knowing anything about the filtering capabilities, I can only say that Purolator has a more solid construction than Bosch. My next one is a Royal Purple, which should come off in December. I might have to cut it open to decide which one to use next. I felt the RP filter is smaller than either Bosch or Purolator. Does size matter here?

 

[SparkYellow]

Purolator One is designed to last 15K miles.

 

[SparkYellow]

It doesn't look very good.

 

[N7turbo]

Looks like the Mazda filter is well-made and did its job.

 

[SparkYellow]

Wow the media on Fram is tiny. One of the comments on this video pointed out that Wix 57002 is the aftermarket equivalent of Mazda OEM.

 

[SparkYellow]

Looks like the Mazda filter is well-made and did its job.

True, it shouldn't be clean and pretty.

 

[Mazdiod2]

Both of the filters looked very clean, even under the microscope.
I agree that it looks like the Mazda filter might have better flow as not only the element has more area but the media is much more 'open' .

 

[ColoradoDriver]

I use a Wix 57002 if I cannot find a reasonable priced Mazda (non value line) filter.

Wow the media on Fram is tiny. One of the comments on this video pointed out that Wix 57002 is the aftermarket equivalent of Mazda OEM.

To my knowledge, the Wix 57002 is the only aftermarket that matches the OE spec filter for the NA engine. It's the only aftermarket filter I use if I can't easily acquire a reasonable priced Mazda filter (non value line).

Filters are getting pricey. Last time I bought a 57002 it was like $13. Need to see if Mazda OE filters have swung back the other way to being the better buy. Doubt it, but worth a look.

 

[SparkYellow]

I I use a Wix 57002 if I cannot find a reasonable priced Mazda (non value line) filter.

To my knowledge, the Wix 57002 is the only aftermarket that matches the OE spec filter for the NA engine. It's the only aftermarket filter I use if I can't easily acquire a reasonable priced Mazda filter (non value line).

Filters are getting pricey. Last time I bought a 57002 it was like $13. Need to see if Mazda OE filters have swung back the other way to being the better buy. Doubt it, but worth a look.

I was about to order the Wix filter. The cut-open video on YouTube (

) shows a very small media area, 1 1/8 inch wide. Still trying to figure out why. The micron rating is 15 which is better than others at 20.

 

[SparkYellow]

Both of the filters looked very clean, even under the microscope.
I agree that it looks like the Mazda filter might have better flow as not only the element has more area but the media is much more 'open' .

I noticed how the media area can be smaller on some. Thought about Denso but it does have an ADBV. I may have to just go back to OEM because I can't process the differences any more.

 

[Mazdiod2]

I use a Wix 57002 if I cannot find a reasonable priced Mazda (non value line) filter.

To my knowledge, the Wix 57002 is the only aftermarket that matches the OE spec filter for the NA engine. It's the only aftermarket filter I use if I can't easily acquire a reasonable priced Mazda filter (non value line).

Filters are getting pricey. Last time I bought a 57002 it was like $13. Need to see if Mazda OE filters have swung back the other way to being the better buy. Doubt it, but worth a look.

The last batch I bought ...about $12 each

. https://www.amazon.com (commissions earned)

 

[SparkYellow]

The last batch I bought ...about $12 each

. https://www.amazon.com (commissions earned)

I ordered 3 (before seeing your post) from MazdaSwag so it's about $16 each after shipping.

 

[SparkYellow]

This is a $18 Royal Purple oil filter for my Skyactiv 2.0. Cooked and boiled for 6300 miles in Royal Purple 0w20. It is well built all right. The ADBV extends deeper into the center tube. The bypass valve at the bottom looks aggressive. I picked at the ADBV through the inlet holes with a tweezer and couldn't get much residual oil out.

The media looks rough though. It looks much worse than the previous two that I cut open. It claims to be extended life but that's not a lot of surface area.

 

[SparkYellow]

A shot of the interior of these filters. All three have the grater type of slits.

 

[SparkYellow]

Besides one RP, I have two more new filters on my supplies shelf. This is a Premium Guard 4612EX. The holes are large inside. From what I can see, the filter media goes all the way to the bottom.

 

[SparkYellow]

This is a Pentius Ultra Flow PLB6607, also with holes in the center tube, smaller though, than those on PG. It is also shorter. The PG has 5 rows of holes inside, this, only 4. The filter media also seems to go all the way to the bottom, but it is smaller than PG.

Hmm, does that spring stay put inside?

 

[SparkYellow]

OEM has large inlet holes. The holes in the center tube are much smaller but densely spaced.

 

[SparkYellow]

I wonder how the ADBV on these non-oem filters impact the flow. On the RP unit, the diaphram seems to be very close to the inlet holes. On the Pentius, the diaphram sits a bit deeper.

Thinking about changing out the current oil/filter at 5K and then go 3K on the non-oem filters so they don't go to waste.

OEM > Purolator One (20 microns) > PG (25 microns) > Pentius (small media) > Bosch (weak media) > RP (tiny media)