New to the cartridge oil filter party....

[MrMoody]

Originally Posted by rooflessVW
OE, Mann, Mahle, Hengst, Purflux.

Different filter, but we always ran Hengst in our Buick Encore and never had an issue, not even the dreaded squished pleats.

 

[CR94]

Originally Posted by rooflessVW
... There are (at least) two failed Ultra cartridge threads on this board.
... and at least one about an Ultra cartridge that wouldn't fit. (or are you counting that one?)

 

[RooflessVW]

Originally Posted by CR94
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
... There are (at least) two failed Ultra cartridge threads on this board.
... and at least one about an Ultra cartridge that wouldn't fit. (or are you counting that one?)

Nope I wasn't counting that one.

 

[miden851]

another vote for Ultra here

regarding those two oil ring that come with the filter, I really replaced them just few times, never had a problem with leaking oil on my Mazda

 

[MCompact]

At least with respect to my BMWs, Mazda, and Mini I have never had a problem with the OEM cartridges- and in most cases the prices have been competitive(if not less than) the aftermarket alternatives.

 

[IllinoisSparky]

Originally Posted by rooflessVW
OE, Mann, Mahle, Hengst, Purflux.


This.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
I really like the Looks of the Santa Fe but seriously any car with a cartridge filter is off my buy list.

Why?

Assuming it's top mounted, it's the easiest to access and replace, with minimal mess.



They cost more for less filter and they can be a pain. Spin on filters are cheaper and easy. You can buy any car you want however and if its not an issue for you I don't care. I was real happy to see the spin on filter come back on some of the Toyota's.

 

[jurko]

Originally Posted by MCompact
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
OE, Mann, Mahle, Hengst, Purflux.


Agreed.


I would add WIX to the above, acquired by Mann+Hummel. Great cartridge filter made with synthetic media.

 

[DoubleWasp]

Originally Posted by Kira
See if there is there is a preferred installation method.

It could be "click into place in the engine first" or "click into the housing first then install the complete housing" for this engine.

It may or may not matter. I do not know.

The "Do I benefit from filling the housing with oil to shorten the dry start-up" madness will be along shortly.

Best of luck with your new vehicle.

Q: Who has Pureflux? Never heard of 'em.


Purflux does a lot of OEM on high end Eurotrash. My OEM Maserati filters as well as my OEM Benz filters are both Purflux builds. They are responsible for the special "fleece" filter you can find referenced in Benz materials.

 

[CR94]

Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
... They cost more for less filter .... Spin on filters are cheaper and easy. ...
The higher cost of cartridges is annoying, I agree. However, I suspect that's a temporary anomaly, due to their novelty and tooling costs. Spin-ons obviously should be more expensive, with all their additional parts and assembly, assuming the same size and quality media.

Besides, isn't it worth more to be able to inspect the media easily, both before and after use? A manufacturer inclined to sloppy construction might be a little less careless, knowing you can see the "guts."

 

[blupupher]

Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
They cost more for less filter and they can be a pain. Spin on filters are cheaper and easy. You can buy any car you want however and if its not an issue for you I don't care. I was real happy to see the spin on filter come back on some of the Toyota's.

A poorly designed one is a pain, a properly designed is not.
Yes, Toyota decided to do a goofy under mounted cartridge design. No reason to make it complex.
Top mounted is easy for the most part. You can check filter status mid-OCI if you want to with a top mounted cartridge with no oil loss.

I do agree on the cost.
$8-9 for a spin-on Ultra, $12-15 for a cartridge Ultra.

Originally Posted by CR94
...

Besides, isn't it worth more to be able to inspect the media easily, both before and after use? A manufacturer inclined to sloppy construction might be a little less careless, knowing you can see the "guts."

I don't think I have seen a cartridge filter with poor media spacing like we see on so many of the spin-on filters. I agree with it being seen, it has a little tighter tolerances.

 

[BHopkins]

Originally Posted by rooflessVW
OE, Mann, Mahle, Hengst, Purflux.


Being new not only to cartridge type oil filters, but also to Mercedes engines, I followed the advice of many on MBWorld where I researched how to care for my new-to-me SL550. The recommendations for oil cartridge were overwhelmingly for the Mann, which is the manufacturer for the Mercedes OEM filter. In fact there are a number of pictures that show the end caps of the M-B and Mann filter side by side. The only difference is presence of the M-B tri-star on the OEM. So it was a no brainer. I ordered a couple Mann filters. Mann and Mercedes say this is a fleece filter, which according to M-B, is a must to give the protection M-B says the engine needs. It doesn't look that much like a fleece filter, but they say it is, so OK. Made in Germany, so they have got to be good, right? Everyone on BITOG says Made in Germany Mann filters are top notch.

Then on my occasional visit to Walmart I pick up the equivalent in a Fram Ultra, open the box and inspect it. What? This filter is clearly far superior to the Mann filter. Now this looks like what I would expect a fleece filter to look like. It doesn't have the number of pleats that the Mann has, but by far it makes up for that it filter media thickness. Holding it in my hand, I can feel the mass is significantly more than the Mann. It does have the glued on end caps that is so widely trash talked on every discussion board and video sharing site on the internet. But so does the Mann. In fact the end caps on the Mann are entirely made of glue.

So I'm going to use my last Mann for a mid-oil change filter exchange. But after that, it will be a Fram Ultra protecting my SL550 when I take it out for a spirited drive.

 

[Chuckh]

Originally Posted by oil_film_movies
Originally Posted by MCompact
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
OE, Mann, Mahle, Hengst, Purflux.
Agreed.
None of which have the filtering performance of a Fram Ultra. Why recommend inferior filters? Are you saying it doesn't matter, and the engine won't explode? That would be true and the only possible way anybody would say to use paper oil filters over double-layer synthetic media.


Mann filters are used by many Audi and Volkswagen owners. They are usually pretty good. I bought Purolator and the last Purolator I bought for my Volkswagen was a Purolator Boss. It sold for close to the price of the Mann filter and looked almost identical except for the color of the filter. The Purolator was white but looked identical to the Mann filter. These days that Mann filter is made in Mexico but the Purolator was made in Germany. The Mann filter for my car was usually German (probably still is if the VW dealer has some old stock). I don't doubt the quality of the filter at all just because it is not German, it is the brand that counts. Just as long as the quality is all still there that is what I like. I personally don't like Fram at all. I have seen the what they try to hide in the metal can. With a cartridge filter they can't get away with those shenanigans because you can see the filter media for yourself. Does the Mann filter cost too much? Shop around and look online for prices. There are places where you can find these things cheaper sometimes.

 

[Talent_Keyhole]

Originally Posted by oil_film_movies
Originally Posted by MCompact
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
OE, Mann, Mahle, Hengst, Purflux.
Agreed.
None of which have the filtering performance of a Fram Ultra. Why recommend inferior filters? Are you saying it doesn't matter, and the engine won't explode? That would be true and the only possible way anybody would say to use paper oil filters over double-layer synthetic media.


I went to Fram website and could not find any performance data on the Ultra or any other filter. Maybe I missed something.

 

[Garak]

I believe the Mahle is also like that, with a more "obvious" fleece construction and slightly different ends. A Baldwin I saw pictured for a Mercedes application looked like a Mahle, and another looked like a Hengst. It's probable that Baldwin outsources Benz cartridge filters.

Take a look at some of the competitors online, notably the Mahle, and see how it compares to the Ultra you saw.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Originally Posted by Talent_Keyhole
I went to Fram website and could not find any performance data on the Ultra or any other filter. Maybe I missed something.


The ISO 4548-12 efficiency is shown on their website.

 

[RooflessVW]

Originally Posted by BHopkins
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
OE, Mann, Mahle, Hengst, Purflux.

*snip*

So I'm going to use my last Mann for a mid-oil change filter exchange. But after that, it will be a Fram Ultra protecting my SL550 when I take it out for a spirited drive.

I hope the Fram works well for you.

Fram Ultra Failure

Fram Ultra P.O.S.

 

[53' Stude]

Here you go

 

[MCompact]

An excerpt on my experience with Fram cartridges- from another forum:

I recently encountered a textbook example of why you NEVER take a BMW to "Bubba's Fix-It Emporium."

First off, the drain plug was extremely difficult to loosen; when I finally did break it loose I found that the plug was missing its copper sealing washer. Odds are that Bubba didn't see the washer fall off when he drained the oil; so when he reinstalled the plug without the washer it probably dripped- so he really cranked down on the drain plug to stop the leak. Idiot.

Next up was changing the filter. Bubba had used a Fram cartridge which had plastic end caps(which were crumbling) and a filter medium that had started to distort. The correct BMW filter -manufactured by Mann of Germany- cost me $10.85 while Fram's alleged "filter" costs $2.50 more. Such a deal...

The BMW filter also comes with a new drain plug sealing washer and a new o-ring for the oil filter housing cap. Anyway, I wiped out the filter housing as best I could, and I think I got 99.99% of the plastic bits from the worthless Fram piece.

 

[oil_film_movies]

Originally Posted by rooflessVW

I hope the Fram works well for you.

Fram Ultra Failure

Fram Ultra P.O.S.


Neither of those cases resulted in a tear or hole in the media, nor was there any path for dirty oil to get through.
The function of an oil filter is to get the best efficiency and not get tears or holes in them. Fram Ultra does that, regardless of whether you like how it comes out at the end.

For a while, there was one part number Fram Ultra cartridge that had a 1.091" inside (tube) diameter, when it should have been 1.110", a delta difference of about 0.02" which caused a very snug fit.
The filter does need to drop in the tube housing or cage-guide easily, and Fram did have a problem for a while with that.
"funflyer" posted those measurements years ago.