Oil Filter Catalog - Select your Make

Oil Filter Information

Automotive Oil Filters
The oil filter is used to clean the oil as it is being pumped thru the engine. Most cars have an external oil filter to help keep the engine oil clean between oil changes. For vehicles with external oil filters, there are two types used.

The first and most common on domestic and Japanese cars is the spin-on oil filter. This is where the entire oil filter is self contained and can be removed and properly disposed of when you do an oil change. These spin-on oil filters are usually made of metal with a paper-filtering medium inside that traps metallic shavings and dirt that end up in engine oil. Some spin-on filters will have an internal check valve to keep oil inside the oil filter when the engine is off. This helps the engine get oil faster when it is just started up. Another feature some spin-on oil filters have is an internal bypass. This allows unfiltered oil back into the engine if the filter gets clogged because dirty oil is better than none at all.

The second type of oil filter is used mostly on European vehicles and is a cartridge type oil filter. This is where a reusable housing is used and you only change the paper-filtering medium inside. These are usually sold as oil filter kits where you get the paper filter oil filtering material and the associated rubber O-rings that seal the paper inside the housing. You should always change your oil filter ever time you change the vehicles engine oil.

There are some newer vehicles that suggest you can change the oil filter every other oil change. Drivewire does not subscribe to this thinking, and for a few extra dollars at the time of a oil change this is just good common sense. oil filters on most vehicles today have been downsized to account for the reduction of space in the engine compartment, and yes cost is a factor! So smaller oil filter equals less filtering capacity. So it is Drivewires recommendation that the oil filter be changed along with the oil every 3,000 miles or six months.

The oil filters job is to remove solid contaminants such as dirt, carbon and metal particles from the oil before they can damage bearing, journal and cylinder wall surfaces in the engine. The more dirt and other contaminants the oil filter can trap and hold, the better. In time, though, accumulated dirt and debris trapped by the filter begin obstruct the flow of oil. The oilfilter should be changed before it reaches this point, which is why the filter needs to be replaced when the oil is changed.

Drivewire recommends trying to always use the oil filter that is OEM (original equipment manufacturer) quality. This means the same oil filter that you would buy at the car dealership. Make sure the oil filter you are replacing has the same tolerances as the factory oil filter including filtration level and anti-drain back valves etc. So try to avoid cheap oil filters, because in this case better is typically more expensive.