Oil filters are a crucial part of maintaining your car’s engine. In this article we cover what a car oil filter is, how it works, how to pick a car oil filter, and some of the best oil filters.
What is a car oil filter?
Oil filters are important for the health of your car engine. They are responsible for catching any particles that could damage your engine. Oil filters are usually in the form of a disposable paper, metal, or plastic canister, mounted on the outside of the engine block.
The best car oil filters are those that have high-quality filtration materials and are designed to be durable enough for long-term use. It is also important to make sure that the filter is not too restrictive. A restrictive oil filter could cause oil starvation and damage to the engine.
Many people think about their car’s air filter when it comes time for maintenance, but they often neglect their car’s oil filter. Oil filters are essential because they protect your engine from clogs and other contaminants that can affect performance and lead to expensive repairs in the future.
Why does your car need an oil filter?
A car needs an oil filter for many reasons. In order for your car to run smoothly, it needs an oil filter.
Oil filters are a small, cylindrical device that are usually mounted near the engine. It removes contaminants from engine oil, such as dirt and metal particles, to keep the engine running smoothly.
The main function of an oil filter is to remove contaminants from the oil to protect the engine from wear and damage. In this way, an oil filter can increase the longevity of the engine and reduce maintenance costs.
How do car oil filters work?
Oil filters are pretty simple. As discussed above, oil filters are a small, cylindrical device that are usually mounted near the engine.
Oil filers help remove contaminants and other particles, that if not filtered, can damage your engine. The oil used in your car helps keep the engine lubricated so it can protect the engine from wear and damage.
How to pick the right car oil filter?
Efficiency
When picking an oil filter, you want to look at the efficiency of the filter. An efficiency of an oil filter can be determined by how much or how well the oil filter captures debris. The higher the percentage of debris captured, the better and more efficient is the oil filter.
Capacity
Understanding how much debris or particles an oil filter can hold is important. Most high quality and efficient oil filters are built to have a big capacity. This means that once the contaminants are captures, the oil filter will have enough capacity (i.e. space) to hold on to the contaminant or particles, and continue to hold on to any new particles.
As you can imagine, changing a car’s oil filter anytime there is an oil change is important because at some point the oil filter may no longer have capacity to hold onto more particles.
Size
When picking an oil filter, you want to make sure you pick the right size that fits your car. Not all oil filter sizes fits all cars.
If you’re buying at a store, ask a sales rep to help you identify the size hat fits your car. If purchasing online, most online websites have a “fit” tool to confirm whether the one you selected fits your specific car or not. If not, the tool helps you identify the specific one that fits your car.
How much do car oil filters cost?
Typically when you take your car to perform an oil change, a new car oil filter is included in the cost of the oil change.
Car oil filters on average can cost anywhere between $3 to $20 depending on the type, brand, and quality oil filter you buy.
For instance, this PurolatorTECH Spin On Oil Filter costs approximately $3. Whereas, this PurolatorTECH Boss oil filter costs approximately $17, which provides protection up to 15,000 miles.
How often should you change your car oil filter?
It is important to know how often you should change your car’s oil filter in order to maintain a healthy engine. The car oil filter is an item that should be changed regularly to improve the performance of the engine.
The frequency of changing oil filters depends on the type of car, how often it’s driven, and how old it is. You can change your own oil filter or take your car to a mechanic to have them do it for you.
You should check your car manual to determine the recommendation made by your car manufacturer. Each car has a different recommendation.
In past years, the most common recommendation is to change your car oil filter and oil every 3,000 miles or 3 months, whichever occurs first.
With the more recent car models and latest technology, you may not need to change your car oil and oil filter as often. Checking your car manual will provide you a better idea of how often the oil filter should be changed.
Top Reviewed Car Oil Filters
There are a lot of car oil filters out in the market. You might have a hard time identifying which one is the best oil filter for you to use.
To help you with the curating process, we’ve identified the top reviewed oil filters that you can use as a starting point to help you pick an oil filter for your car.
FRAM Ultra Synthetic Automotive Replacement Oil Filter
FRAM has been providing automotive filtration solutions since 1934. Here are some of the advantages of the FRAM Ultra Synthetic Oil Filter.
- The FRAM oil filter is designed for synthetic oil changes.
- Oil filter lasts up to 20k miles, which may mean longer times in between oil changes.
- Provides for 99%+ filtration efficiency.
What people are saying about this oil filter:
“EDIT: So I have been using these in oil changes for the last year or so and so far so good. The grippy coating is really nice and helps you get it on tight and remove it easily.
Original review: Fits, but is CONSIDERABLY smaller than the stock filter that goes on my 2013 Elantra. My Filter wrench (which I have used for dozens of changes prior to this purchase) does not fit on this filter because the filter housing is too small. Odd that the fitting and seal are the same size but the overall size of the filter is much smaller. This will most likely lead to earlier failure in use.”
– Elanor O., Amazon.com, Reviewed on August 15, 2015
“it does its job, paint finish is very cheapy, light years away from the finish quality of a purolator one filter, but hey, you dont buy a filter by its looks, you buy it because of the internal quality of the filter media, and as far as I know, Fram ultras have the best of the best.”
– Jorge V., Amazon.com, Reviewed on December 11, 2018
“Great filter, a lot of people don’t like Fram but this is a good one.”
Hans., Amazon.com, Reviewed on June 30, 2019
Mobil 1 Extended Performance Oil Filter
Mobil 1 is a brand of ExxonMobil around since 1974, and has been selling synthetic oil and other engine lubrication products, including oil filters.
- Mobil 1 oil filter is designed for synthetic oil changes.
- Oil filter lasts up to 20k miles, which may mean longer times in between oil changes.
- Provides for 99%+ filtration efficiency.
- Anti-drain valve prevents against dry starts.
What people are saying about this oil filter:
“I bought this along with some OEM ones for my car that were a couple bucks cheaper. They weigh almost exactly the same. The OEM ones had a protective plastic on the rubber seal. Mobil 1 has no protection on the rubber. No idea how long it sits on the shelf or warehouse before using. It’s certainly not an airtight package, just a cardboard box.”
– Trinny123, Amazon.com, Reviewed on September 9, 2022
“I’m sure the filter works just fine compared to others. but I wont purchase again. I will look for a filter that has a grip end instead of the super slippery shinny metal this has.”
– K.S., Amazing.com, Reviewed on December 22, 2020
“Pretty decent. I change my filter with every 2 oil changes. My oil change interval is every 4500 miles. I use Mobil 1 5W-20 High Mileage Synthetic with this. I drive an 04 Accord with 115k. My oil, when changing, comes out smooth and not lumpy. When I watch the remaining oil trickle out, there are no fine partials. This is a very good filter. I usually pick it up from wally world for 10 bucks.”
– E.D., Amazon.com, Reviewed on December 12, 2017
David is an avid car enthusiast. Whether it is classic muscle cars or electric vehicles, David loves everything about cars. Over the years David has bought and sold many cars, as a consumer, and take an active interest in car repair. Outside of cars, David loves to regularly bike to stay active!
