Am I wasting $12 on M1 filters?

[00firebird]

I've been using mobil 1 oil filters for a long while, but the price keeps climbing and climbing. I'm wondering if there are superior products out there at cheaper prices? are they not that great of filters?

Just for fun, heres a motor shot (160,000mi) i've been using mobil 1 5w30 syn/mobil 1 filters for about 80,000 miles since I got the car. There's nothing wrong with it, i'm just wondering if I'm spending money for a "better" product and not getting my moneys worth. I don't mind spending more for better, but I guess I don't know what "better" is.
I use an M1-101 on a 2000 firebird

 

[mrcoolguy]

How long are your OCI's?

 

[Barkleymut]

IMHO you can use a Fram and Supertech oil, change every 5,000 miles and still get 250,000 miles on a decent engine. I use pureones because I got a dozen of them on Ebay for a dollar each. When I run out I fill find some other cheap ones somewhere. I usually buy what ever oil I can find with a rebate that makes the cost as close to $0 as possible.

 

[00firebird]

I generally go between 3-5000, I like to do it every 4-5 months or so.

 

[LeakySeals]

That pic is your engine after 80k running M1 w/a M1 filter and under 5k OCI?

 

[dvldoc]

You can get Baldwin B35S from filter barn for less than $3 dollars those have a nominal rating of 12 microns plus they hold more dirt than your average filter. It doesn't get to much better than a Baldwin for that price.

They also have the LF3554 which is a full microglass media filter that is 75% @ 10 microns, I use that on my Grand Prix GTP Daytona 500 edition. Does easy 10000 mile intervals.

 

[mrcoolguy]

Purones for your application. They're good and relatively inexpensive. Compared to M1 Oil Filters.

 

[00firebird]

I guess I'm wondering what does the mobil 1 filter do differently? from a specifications standpoint are they near identical to the "cheap" ones. I'd probably go acdelco if i switched to a sub $3 filter. Or, if i wanted to keep spending $12 is there a BETTER filter than M1?

 

[dkryan]

Originally Posted By: 00firebird
I generally go between 3-5000, I like to do it every 4-5 months or so.


Yes, you are wasting your money with that OCI. If you're unwilling to extend your OCI, then use a Purolator PureOne or a Wix filter for 45% of the cost of an M1 filter.

 

[GMZ]

I always get the "free" M1 filter deal with 5 qts of M1 from AZ for $35. For your OCI you should run P1 at the very most.

 

[Sayjac]

Originally Posted By: 00firebird
I generally go between 3-5000, I like to do it every 4-5 months or so.

Short answer, yes. M1 are ~10-12k/1year filters. Same goes for using M1 oil for that oci.

Many more quality cost effective filters for 3-5k for M1 ocis, while the engine doesn't look 'bad' (varnish), I'd expect it to look cleaner.

 

[00firebird]

it had the typical GM 3.8L gasket problem so it might not look as great as it should. with that said i'm still glad it runs before it ran into a coolant hydrolock issue or some other disaster. If we completely ignore price for a moment, how much better is the mobil 1 compared to the wix/P1? what internal parts are different? any test numbers to look at?

 

[Virtuoso]

IMHO Yes, you are wasting $10. Find a Menard's in your area (if you're close enough.. there's some in Michigan) and stock up on some Quaker State's when they're on sale. You'll save yourself $10 per OCI.

 

[Mark_S]

You can double that OCI with Mobil 1. Buy the Mobil 1 EP, and they guarantee it for 15,000. I use the EP in my daughter's car, but change it between 10,000 and 11,000 miles. If I don't catch the Mobil 1 oil & filter special at Advance, I buy the oil at WM and I buy Purolator Pure One filters at Advance for about 1/2 what you have to pay for the Mobil 1 filters. I have seen filtration data on this web site that showed the Pure One to capture more/finer particles than the Mobil 1.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
That pic is your engine after 80k running M1 w/a M1 filter and under 5k OCI?


^^2nd

 

[Donald]

Try some PU to clean the varnish.

 

[fdcg27]

I wouldn't say that you're wasting your money, but you are paying for extended filter service life capability that you aren't using.
I'd use a P1 or even a Purolator Classic for the intervals you're running, unless I got the M1s dirt cheap on clearance or as part of an oil change special.

 

[Torrid]

I've always used AC Delcos on my LS1.

 

[00firebird]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
That pic is your engine after 80k running M1 w/a M1 filter and under 5k OCI?


^^2nd

hahah yep! i'm sure it has other problems contributing to it. keep in mind I have no idea what was put in it from 0-80k, only what i've done from 80k to 160k.

 

[LeakySeals]

Originally Posted By: Donald
Try some PU to clean the varnish.


Cant argue with that...clearly regular M1 for 80k wasn't cutting it...wonder what the M1 HM could do, "thought" it was working well for me..but I havent torn the engine apart like he did...