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Latest Synthetic Oil Filter material vs Regular Oil Filters

Synthetic Oil Filters vs Regular (Cellulous) Oil Filters

Early automobile engines didn’t use oil filters, or air filters for that matter. For this reason frequent oil changes were a must. Motor oil quality wasn’t really that important in those days, anyway. It was the discarded by-product of processes designed to create other products from crude oil, like fuel, benzene and other petrochemicals.

The first oil filters were simple, generally consisting of a screen placed at the oil pump intake in order to keep mice, cockroaches and other debris from getting churned inside the pistons. (OK, just checking to see if you’re paying attention.) It was, however, a fairly crude setup.

In 1923, a pair of American inventors, George Greenhalgh and Ernest Sweetland, filed a patent for a new kind of oil filter that they called the Purolator, which became a handle for “pure oil later.” The Purolator oil filter was the first oil filter invented specifically for cars, generating a whole new industry – the oil filtration aftermarket.

To many people, oil filters are a generic product. Price is the only factor considered when they choose a filter. But just as today’s engines have become increasingly sophisticated, so have many of today’s oil filters. They may look much the same on the outside, but what’s inside can make a big difference.

Oil filters are not created equal

A couple weeks ago I shared a lexicon of filter terms.

It’s true that some things are overpriced, like movie theater popcorn, but more often than not the other side of the coin is true: you get what you pay for. That is, quality costs more than going on the cheap. All kinds of sayings come to mind, like “Don’t be penny wise and pound foolish.” Cars cost a pretty penny these days, even used ones if you want something reliable, so I suggest thinking twice before going cheap on maintenance.

An oil filter’s job is to capture contaminants and hold them prisoner.

Let’s start with the filter media

As the oil circulates through the engine, it picks up contaminants. The filter’s assignment is to capture these contaminants and hold them prisoner, so to speak. Some of these contaminants come from the atmosphere, some from wear and some are byproducts of combustion.

The challenge for filter manufacturers is to use filter media that is porous enough to allow good oil flow, but not so impermeable that it blocks flow and causes oil starvation. It’s a big challenge, especially in racing applications, which is why so many manufacturers of auto aftermarket products are involved in racing. Racing pushes product performance to its limits, and manufacturers learn the stress points of engine components, lubricant capabilities and filters, among other things.

The four oil filter families

Filters come in four basic families.

  • Standard oil filters sold at most oil-change facilities
  • High-performance filters
  • Racing filters
  • Synthetic-media filters

AMSOIL Ea® Oil Filters feature advanced full-synthetic media that traps and holds a greater quantity of small, wear-producing contaminants compared to conventional filters. Because AMSOIL Signature Series Synthetic Motor Oil is designed for a longer drain interval – 25,000 miles/one year/700 hours (whichever comes first) – we recognized the need to offer filters capable of protecting for an extended service life while reducing wear.

Other areas where there can be a quality difference include the gaskets, the canister itself, the back-plate and the all-important anti-drainback valve. But the media itself is the heart of the filter’s effectiveness, or ineffectiveness. If you do a search and read forums on this topic, you’ll find stories about bunched-up material clogging oil passages and see photos of other horrors leading to a filter’s early demise. At one forum, I saw a photo where the filter looked like it had been twisted in a blender (the canister had been removed to reveal this inner destruction.) More startling, though, was that in the background was a fairly new Cadillac. Why would people go top drawer on a car and low-ball it with the filter?

All that to say that there are some pretty good reasons to choose a quality filter. There are already enough problems in the world. Why worry about your filters doing what they are supposed to do.

Find an AMSOIL Ea Oil Filter for My Vehicle

Remember This When Trying to Find Which Transmission Fluid You Need

Remember This When Trying to Find Which Transmission Fluid You Need

Take a look at just a few of the dozens of automatic transmission fluid (ATF) specifications on the market:

  • ATF+4
  • Mercon V
  • Mercon LV
  • Dexron VI
  • ATF DW-1
  • ATF T-IV
  • SP-IV
  • Toyota ATF-WS
  • Honda DW (ZF
  • Diamond SP-IV

You’ve likely heard the term analysis paralysis.

That’s what many people feel when they scan the shelves at Advance Auto in search of transmission fluid. They just want a quart or two of ATF to top-off their vehicle, but instead they must decipher a series of hieroglyphics or face the specter of ruining their tranny by choosing the wrong fluid.

There’s a sure-fire way to avoid this hassle.

But first, check out this survey by the Petroleum Quality Institute of America (PQIA), which confirmed what many already know about buying ATF – the specifications listed on ATF labels can be confusing and misleading.

One reason is the sheer number of ATF specifications on the market. Interpreting the made-up words (“Mercon” and “Dexron” sound like diabetes medication or the latest U.S. Defense Department initiative, after all) leaves you shaking your head and vowing to service your transmission next spring.

It wasn’t always like this. At one time, Ford Mercon- and GM Dexron-type ATFs dominated the market and reduced your choices to a manageable few. Today, demand for those fluids has slipped below 50 percent and is declining as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) continue to introduce their own, proprietary specs.

What is an ATF spec?

Simply put, it’s a set of performance standards. It’s not an actual fluid, meaning you don’t go to NAPA in search of Mercon or Dexron transmission fluid. You go in search of a fluid that meets the Mercon or Dexron specification. In an attempt to make it easy for you, many ATF manufacturers print those specs in giant letters on the label. Judging by the survey, though, it’s not working. This means the fluid was subjected to – and passed – a series of performance tests stipulated by the authors of the Mercon or Dexron specifications.

Today, it’s normal for most OEMs to author their own performance specifications rather than recommend using a fluid that meets a different OEM’s specifications, for example Mercon or Dexron. You can blame it on technological advancements that have made vehicles tougher on transmission fluid than cars of yesteryear. An automaker that introduces its latest 500-hp land rocket wants to be sure you’re using a transmission fluid capable of standing up to the intense heat and stress churning through all those gears.

It may also have something to do with money. Brand XYZ would rather you buy Brand XYZ transmission fluid than another company’s fluid, which helps explain why some OEM-branded fluids are so expensive.

That brings us back to analysis paralysis.

How can we cut through the confusion and make transmission fluid selection easy? And how do we do it while meeting the performance demands of most modern automatic transmissions?

One transmission fluid to rule them all

That’s a bit of hyperbole in honor of my favorite trilogy about hobbits and orcs, but it’s not far off.

We formulated AMSOIL Signature Series Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid and OE Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid to take the guesswork out of ATF selection. Both fluids are recommended for most of the common ATF specs on the market.

Mercon V? Check.

Dexron III? Check.

ATF+4? We cover that, too.

We take convenience a step further with our online Product Guide, which tells you which fluid your vehicle needs.

LOOK UP TRANSMISSION FLUID FO MY VEHICLE

If you tow, haul or engage in other types of severe service, use Signature Series Synthetic ATF. If you stick to the highway and mostly run to work and home, OE Synthetic ATF is your best bet.

So, when it comes to finding the right transmission fluid, forget about the hieroglyphics and just remember these six letters: AMSOIL.

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