Originally Posted By: goodtimes
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I thought someone did say people use the MC because they are bigger than the Toyota. The Toyota makes a 400s size, the yzzD3 I believe. It will have more media in it than a 400s. Then there is the base end bypass, which in a pointing down filter, defeats the benefit of not washing settled dirt through the bypass, in that case dome bypass is better.
In the (recent) past, the 400S was MUCH bigger than it is now and the -D3, so that's less of an issue like it used to be; you're right. MC shrunk it just a few years ago so the benefit is less. The other reason was ADBV function, some people complained of rattle w/the OE, and MC cured it. And it may just be anecdotal because probably a lot of people experienced it the other way.
AFAIK, the base-end bypass of the MC filter is going to be effective in the Toyota orientation, too. I don't see a difference there. And availability is also one of the reasons - like the OP, you can get them at a very fair price for their features anywhere instead of a dealership that may be 30 miles away.
I like Toyota filters in most all regards, but I quit using them after I started getting cleaner oil going to a higher-efficiency media (e.g., 99+% @ 20microns) on another car. They Toyota filters just don't deliver that level efficiency yet, and they won't talk about it. The MC has some very, very good Purolator media and is the most efficient filter for the money.