STP MAXIMUM LIFE Filter At 6000 Miles

[johnnyz73]

Yesterday I changed the oil and filter in my wife's 2018 Chevy Trax ... When I pulled out the oil filter it was a bit concerning as the media is a bit deformed after only 6000 miles... this bothers me as these particular filters are marketed to be good for up to 15,000 miles yet it looks likes like this after only 6000 ... Thoughts? .. Is this a bad filter or am I making too much of this?

 

[Malo83]

This is why i stick to 5K oil changes.

 

[johnnyz73]

I hear ya... I normally do 5,000 mile oci's as well, just let this one go to 6000 as Im using full synthetic oil ... which in reality should still be safe to do with synthetic oil... Not really worried about the oil itself here, it's the filter that's bugging me.

 

[zorobabel]

I wouldn't do 15k miles on this filter.

 

[johnnyz73]

Originally Posted by zorobabel
I wouldn't do 15k miles on this filter.

Definitely not... I normally do 5000 mile oci's but i'll sometimes go 6000 ( regardless of what the filter manufacturer claims ) since I use full synthetic oil in both our vehicles.

 

[NormanBuntz]

How about a Fram Ultra instead of that sick looking thing?

 

[johnnyz73]

Originally Posted by NormanBuntz
How about a Fram Ultra instead of that sick looking thing?

Lol, I may try one..

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted by NormanBuntz
How about a Fram Ultra instead of that sick looking thing?

Good idea.

 

[bullwinkle]

Wonder if Hengst makes one for your Trax? They made the OEM AC Delco ones for the Ecotec 4 cylinders, I honestly have never seen a BAD one! Your STP looks like it was made a little long, got squashed a little. Winter condensation didn't help either.

 

[johnnyz73]

Originally Posted by bullwinkle
Wonder if Hengst makes one for your Trax? They made the OEM AC Delco ones for the Ecotec 4 cylinders, I honestly have never seen a BAD one! Your STP looks like it was made a little long, got squashed a little. Winter condensation didn't help either.

That could very well be... I actually used the same filter ( Not literally but the same MAX Life filter model ) the oil change prior and it didnt look like this when I took it out at 5,000 miles ... thinking this may have just been a bad one... This time out I used STP's Extended Life model.. made for up to 10,000 miles, but I of course will change it at 5,000.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Winter months driving can cause higher levels of water contamination in the oil (especially with short trips), which can cause cellulose media to absorb water and expand. Since the ends can't go anywhere, the pleats will warp as the media expands.

 

[StevieC]

Most filters come out of Chrysler PentaStar engines looking like that and they are rated to go up to 10K miles (16,000km) as per the OLM.

Sometimes this waviness happens because the housing is over-tightened. No need to crank the heck out of it.
Just enough that it's snug against the O-Ring is enough.

I wouldn't worry about it and would run this filter as long as it says it's good for.

 

[Malo83]

No thanks.

 

[incognito_2u]

Jeeeezz. Wow, that's an ugly looking filter.

Put two eyes on the front of that thing and it would look like "Cousin It".

Don't have much experience with those cartridge filters, but if it were me I would stick with an OEM filter from Chevy.

 

[harry j]

I don't like the looks of this filter, and would not use that type again.

 

[mrdctaylor]

Does it depend on the application? I'm wondering if some filters are slightly too long and get crumpled a bit when they are installed. Just a thought.

 

[johnnyz73]

Originally Posted by ZeeOSix
Winter months driving can cause higher levels of water contamination in the oil (especially with short trips), which can cause cellulose media to absorb water and expand. Since the ends can't go anywhere, the pleats will warp as the media expands.

Makes sense... While we don't have the level of severe winters as the northern parts od the country, we did have an unusually cold winter this year along with quite a bit of rain, so that may have something to do with this... Also, I might be guilty of over tightening as well... ill make sure to be more mindful of that next time ... oh well, as long as the filter still did it's job I guess I wont be overly concerned with its looks upon extraction..

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Why would anyone offer a pic of this filter, with a pukey-red background behind it?
Any filter, including Royal Purple, Mobil-1, Amsoil and Fram Ultra, would look like like crappola with that background behind it.

The waves in that long filter mean absolutely nothing. BTW. Unless it's torn media in there, there's no misrepresentation of it's quality level.

 

[johnnyz73]

Originally Posted by Triple_Se7en
Why would anyone offer a pic of this filter, with a pukey-red background behind it?
Any filter, including Royal Purple, Mobil-1, Amsoil and Fram Ultra, would look like like crappola with that background behind it.

The waves in that long filter mean absolutely nothing. BTW. Unless it's torn media in there, there's no misrepresentation of it's quality level.

Well, I guess you answered my question then... I was concerned with the waving of the media, not the oil itself.... I'm certainly no expert which is why I posted to begin with... Good to know that all is good with the filter then.

 

[Skippy722]

Originally Posted by mrdctaylor
Does it depend on the application? I'm wondering if some filters are slightly too long and get crumpled a bit when they are installed. Just a thought.


When I pulled the M1 filter out of my 300 it had some waviness to it, but not nearly as bad as this. I think it was just a little too long... next time I'll bring my calipers home from work and measure a few different aftermarket ones and one oem one.