AC Delco PF47
It appears AC Delco has two different manufacturers. This one, is made by Champion Laboratories.(NOT the same people who make the cheap sparks) It's a good design, and appears to be of higher quality than some other Champion made filters(see ST below). It can be distiguished from the Delphi style AC by the smaller holes in the center tube and taller gasket.Appoximate price: $3
Filter Dimensions:
Height - 2.38"
Number of Pleats - 61
Pleat depth - approx. .50"
Length - 55"
Total Area - 131 sq.in.
Thickness - approx. .033"
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The inner tube is metal with many small holes for oil to pass through. It is glued in place, and good in quality.
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The base plate is a thick metal with 6 large holes, which should not restrict flow at all. The thick gasket is held into place with six large protrusions.
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The anti-drain back valve is thick and well made, it seals tightly around the base plate and the filter's end cap.
AC Delco PF47
It appears AC Delco has two different manufacturers. This is a Delphi design and is different from the champion above. It can be distiguished from the Champion AC by a thinner gasket and the anti-drain back valve is visable by looking into the center hole.Appoximate price: $3
Filter Dimensions:
Height - 2.5"
Number of Pleats - 36
Pleat depth - approx. .75"
Length - 52"
Total Area - 130 sq.in.
Thickness - approx. .035"
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Although this AC has many less pleats than the other, the pleats are deeper, giving it nearly the same filter area. It is also evenly packed and neatly glued.
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The inner tube is metal with many large holes for oil to pass through; no restriction here. It is glued in place, and good in quality.
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The base plate is a thick metal with 6 large holes, which should not restrict flow at all. The thick gasket is held into place with six small protrusions.
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The anti-drain back valve is quite different than the other AC. Part sticks down into the filter, and another seals around the edge of the hole. The part of the valve that seals against the base is thin, but has a thick edge. This should seal well against drainback, but doesn't seal as tightly against the cartridge.
Fram PH3387A
Fram has long been known for being a cheap design. Yet somehow, they seem to be the biggest retailer of filters. Fram's apears to have a poor design and is the only company tested that uses cardboard end caps.Appoximate price: $3
Filter Dimensions:
Height - 2.25"
Number of Pleats - 40
Pleat depth - approx. .50"
Length - 44"
Total Area - 99 sq.in.
Thickness - approx. .041"
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The Fram uses a decent material, but it is arranged unevenly between the cardboard end caps, which are actually thinner than the filter element. Since the valve doesn't hold the element in place, they use an octagon shaped end cap, which allows the oil to flow through between the flat section and the round canister. This doesn't leave a lot of room for the oil to flow around the end cap, and puts more stress on the cardboard. The Fram had the least filter area by a wide margin. It was also the thickest, but it was very fragile. Removing a portion of material for measurement totally destroyed the filter cartridge since the end caps and center tube are not attached. This made it very difficult to test, and showed another downside to the cardboard end caps, which are evidently very flexible.
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The inner tube is metal, but has very few holes for oil to pass through, possibly restricting flow. It is also not held in place at all, and moves around easily.
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The base plate is a thick material and has lots of threads. The holes drilled into it are numerous, but small, so their ability to flow is probably on the low side. The gasket is thin both in thickness and height, and crimped on with light indents in five places.
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The anti-drain back valve is cheap, and very thin. It fits loosly into the cardboard end cap. I'm not sure how, if at all this seals.
Super Tech ST3387
This is a Champion Laboratories filter available at Wal-Mart and at less than 2/3 the price of the Fram it's one of the least expensive filters available. It's a good design, but appears to be of slighty lesser quality than the AC.Appoximate price: $2
Filter Dimensions:
Height - 2.38"
Number of Pleats - 58
Pleat depth - approx. .50"
Length - 52"
Total Area - 124 sq.in.
Thickness - approx. .039"
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The filter itself is thicker than the AC's, and has quite a bit of filtering material.(The box claims it filters better than the leading brands) However the filter wasn't square and was unevenly packed, although not as bad as the Fram. There was also some loose glue hanging down, making it look cheaper. The end caps are metal and identical to other Champion filters. The Supertech had little less filter area than most of the other filters, but much more than the Fram. The material was thicker than all but the fram, but seemed a little more fragile than the others. The box advertises a synthetic enhanced media, which apears to be glass fibers made into the paper.
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The inner tube is metal with many small holes for oil to pass through. It is glued in place, and good in quality.
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The base plate is a thick metal with 8 good size holes, which should not restrict flow at all. The thick gasket is held into place with six large protrusions.
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The anti-drain back valve is thick and well made, it seals tightly around the base plate and the filter's end cap.
Purolator L10111
Purolator is one of the largest manufactorers of filters, they make them for several other companies, Including Ford's Motorcraft. This filter is their from their normal line. It has a good design and exceptional quality.Appoximate price: $3
Filter Dimensions:
Height - 2.38"
Number of Pleats - 63
Pleat depth - approx. .44"
Length - 59"
Total Area - 140 sq.in.
Thickness - approx. .032"
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The filter itself is tightly and evenly packed and neatly glued between metal end caps. This Purolator tied the Pure One for the most area of the filters tested, and like the rest of the filter, it showed the best craftsmanship.
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The inner tube is metal with many good sized holes, and is glued in place.
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The base plate is a thick metal with 7 oval holes, which should not restrict flow at all. This is probably the freest flowing base plate of the bunch. The gasket is very thick, and held into place with six large protrusions.
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The anti-drain back valve probably a little thinner than the Champions', but much stronger than the Fram. It seals tightly around the base plate and "locks into" the filter's end cap.
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Purolator Pure 1 PL10111
Mostly indentical to the normal Pureolator filter. Same great design, great quality just with a better media.Appoximate price: $4.50
Filter Dimensions:
Height - 2.38"
Number of Pleats - 63
Pleat depth - approx. .50"
Length - 59"
Total Area - 140 sq.in.
Thickness - approx. .033"
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The filter itself is tightly and evenly packed and neatly glued between metal end caps. Interestingly, the Pure One didn't have any more area than the lesser Purolator, but it still had the most area of all the filters tested. The media is also thicker and glass enhanced, and like the rest of the filter, it showed the best craftsmanship.
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The inner tube has less holes than the normal purolators, and most other filters tested.
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The base plate is a thick metal with 7 oval holes, which should not restrict flow at all. This is probably the freest flowing base plate of the bunch. The gasket is very thick, and held into place with six large protrusions.
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The anti-drain back valve probably a little thinner than the Champions', but much stronger than the Fram. It seals tightly around the base plate and "locks into" the filter's end cap. It is also made of silicone, unlike most other filters. This keeps it from getting hardened by the hot oil, a must or extended drains.
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NAPA NASCAR Select 91040
This is a Wix filter available at NAPA. It has a unique claim: That the flow though the filter is increased, by a special "spin flow" design. Whether or not this is actually achieved, I cannot determine from this test.
Appoximate price: $3.50
Filter Dimensions:
Height - 2.25"
Number of Pleats - 42
Pleat depth - approx. .43"
Length - 50"
Total Area - 113 sq.in.
Thickness - approx. .038"
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The filter itself is evenly packed, the material seems similar to the Delphi AC. The area was less than average though. The plastic fins attached to the top endcap, apears to to be the spin flow technology. What's interesting to not, is that this is different from the cutaway shown on the box. Whether or not this actually changes the flow of the oil, or increases the flow is questiontionable.
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The inner tube is crimped metal with plenty of small holes for oil to pass through. It is glued in place, and good in quality.
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The base plate is a thick metal with 6 large holes, which should not restrict flow at all. The thick gasket is held into place with six small protrusions.
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The anti-drain back valve is unique to Wix. It is a medium thickness, about as thick as the Purolator, and apears to have some reenforcement ribs on the back side. It seals well against the base plate, but instead of sealing directly against the filter end cap, it has a metal insert between the to. The metal insert does a good job holding the valve, and supporting it, but it requires a metal to metal seal against the endcap. Fortunately this filter was packed the tightest, with a coil spring instead of a leaf spring.
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NAPA Gold 1040
This is the best Wix filter available at NAPA. It is similar to most other Wix filters.
Appoximate price: $5.50
Filter Dimensions:
Height - 2.25"
Number of Pleats - 50
Pleat depth - approx. .43"
Length - 59"
Total Area - 133 sq.in.
Thickness - approx. .035"
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The filter itself is evenly packed, with a different media than the other Wix filters. It has more area than the other Wix, a little above average for the filters tested.
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The inner tube is crimped metal with larger holes for oil to pass through. It is glued in place, and good in quality.
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The base plate is a thick metal with 6 large holes, which should not restrict flow at all. The thick gasket is held into place with six small protrusions.
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The anti-drain back valve is similar to other Wix filters, except it is made of silicone. This keeps it from getting hardened by the hot oil, a must or extended drains. It is a medium thickness, about as thick as the Purolator, and apears to have some reenforcement ribs on the back side. It seals well against the base plate, but instead of sealing directly against the filter end cap, it has a metal insert between the to. The metal insert does a good job holding the valve, and supporting it, but it requires a metal to metal seal against the endcap. Fortunately this filter was packed the tightest, with a coil spring instead of a leaf spring.
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What makes a filter fail?
I have taken apart several used filters, in an effort to find failure. A design may look bad. but may never have any problems. Or it may look flawless, but fail in use. So far the only failure I've found is from this Fram PH3387A. This does not mean that all Fram filters will fail, but does back up some of my observations.
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Click for larger picture
This filter element has seen better days. The cardboard end caps are actually intact, but the filter element has been severely damaged.
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As you can clearly see, the filter has a hole in it. This is probably caused by the oil pressure actually pushing the filter right through a hole in the inner tube.
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Here's the most disturbing part. The anti-drain back valve has actually folded over, allowing the oil to completely bypass the filter element. The Fram's thin valve and poor design is the most likely cause. Unlike most of the other filters, there is not a metal end cap to support the valve. Another thing to note is that the valve was rock hard, obviously affected by the dirty oil. This suggest that a Silicone ADBV is a better idea.
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*Note: I am unaware of the vehicle that this filter came off of, or how long it was used.
*Caution: If you want to cut apart a filter, you do so at your own risk. The edges of the cut canister can be very sharp. Used oil is a known carcinogen.