Arts and Crafts: Oil Filter Madness

Time to change the oil again in my new Toyota 4runner. Overall, I have a lot of ambivilance about oil filters.

Bottom line: This is a part that is only going to be in your car for a few months and then you are going to throw it away and get another one. Great engineering the best oil filter ever is a waste of great engineering. The bar is set at: paper should not fall apart inside your engine for at least 6 months, and paper should allow oil to pass through without the engine oil flow being obstructed.

So, I go to Walmart to find my filter. The FRAM wall has 4 different qualities of filter. WTF, Fram? Why does anyone need 4 different filters to choose from. What was wrong with good, better, best? You had to go to 4 different grades of “average”? They are Tough guard, extra guard, and endurance and extra synthetic. and they range in price from $7 to $15. Made in various places like Mexico, Viet Nam (the other China), and China. Some of these claim 15,000 mile, 20,000 mile and 25,000 mile protection. Nothing says “I’m a girl who doesn’t maintain my car” like keeping the same oil filter for 25,000 miles (2 years of average driving). Most car manufactures want oil changed between 5,000 and 7,000 miles. Some allow 10,000 miles, but that is more marketing promises that engineering does not support. The 4Runner wants new oil every 5K. My old V8 4Runner had a 7K interval. For a 5K interval (3 months of driving for me) I can use the cheapest filter money can buy and not worry about it.

Then there is the Wall mart brand “Supertech”, Made in the USA for only $2.97. This is the one I bought.

Oddly enough, Walmart also sell the Toyota brand OEM filters. That’s because there are people on the internet who say that using anything by an OEM filter will violate your warrantee and go on your permanent record and cause your engine to explode like a Corvette in a Vin Diesel movie. The real-life EOM filter costs half the price of the high end FRAM filters.

Obviously, this is not the right filter for my vehicle. Walmart does not carry it. But the right filter looks a lot like this one. It is constructed of all filter media with no metal or plastic parts on it. Made in Thailand.

All of these filters come with 2 new “O” rings and a plastic “oil drain gizmo” that lets you drain the oil from the filter cup, so it doesn’t run down your arm. I bought a re-usable metal one from Amazon so I don’t need the plastic ones that come with the filter.