Cut open a Napa gold 1515 and a NAPA silver21515 and what do you find 7 more pleats 13% more of paper in the gold and an antidrain back valve that is supposed to better at below freezing temps like 10 deg. A 1515 is $6.30 and the 21515 is $2.97 is a 1515 worth the difference?
The silver filter has a combined bypass/anti-drainback valve; the gold filter has 2 separate valves, and the anti-drainback valve is made of a silicone material for better sealing and longer life. The silver filter uses cellulose fiber media, the gold filter uses fiberglass combined with the cellulose media for better filtering efficiency; and the increased surface area gives it increased capacity (gives it the ability to hold more contaminants, longer service interval, and less operation in bypass mode). The Platinum filter uses all synthetic media for increased efficiency, and better sealing ring on the base. As a long time Chevy guy, I've always liked AC Delco filters and have used them for years.
The silver one also has a 5000 mile limit on change interval. I know everyone here changes their oil more frequent than that but it tells me that filtering capacity isn't near as good as the gold.
I'm debating whether I should change the filter on my 28 chevy. My guess is that it's been on there for 75 years.
Entirely agree on the gold being better than the silver, but was unaware of a new "platinum" filter. Please, tell us more. I once wholeheartedly agreed with you about AC Delco filters being good, maybe the best. But in the past few years with all the influence that the bean counters have had @ GM, I'm not so sure of that anymore. Have read refences that they have followed the lead of other once great parts brands and are "farming out" the manufacturing to the low bidder. Anybody cut open an AC filter recently???
Looking at the base of an AC filter recently, they look like the house brand filters....nothing special. Then again, maybe the filter wars have got us to the point where the worst filters are plenty good to help a modern engine last 300k miles. So, it doesn't matter what filter you use.
AC Delco no longer seems to manufacture oil filters. They are now made by Champion Labs using their new "Ecore" design. Champion Labs touts their new "Ecore" design as a major advancement in oil filter technology. In my humble opinion, they are a major advancement in cost savings for Champion. I have no data to back this up, but that's what fiber end caps and plastic core tubes say to me. I particularly don't like their "patent pending" bypass valve design, which depends on the stamped leaf spring at the back of the filter to regulate the bypass pressure. One unlucky dent in the back of the can knocks it out of whack, assuming it was correct to begin with.
Gee.....I'm almost sure. Let's see. "What's a traditional hot rod?" 237 threads "SBC casting numbers?" 129 threads "What PSI for an Edelbrock 1406 carb." 125 threads "What's the best oil filter?" 50 threads Yup........50. But whose counting?
Only if the radials are on the right side. The DPS has determined that old cars turn right, 68% of the time. So, you'll need that lateral support, whipping through the turn.
Oberg...SS screen..by pass valve has micro switch for light that tells you if its bypassing which is when you definatly have to take apart and clean..Instructions say to check after couple hundred miles [works great for first start new builds] as it never bypasses unless clogged except for about 3 seconds when it is started cold and if a particle can get through the screen it won't hurt a thing.....I checked and found a bunch of aluminum mud and particles from trashed roller rockers and alum retainers that I had replaced..Few thousand miles later I checked again and was pleased to see nothing more accumulated..Been waiting for the light to come on since 1989..
I've heard and read a little about the Oberg NASCAR guys supposedly like them to check an unusual increase in oil temp or pressure fluctuation, etc. Don't they also make one that fits inside the circle formed by the rubber gasket on a twist on filter?
LMAO Not sure if the classic replies are written while drinkin, but I am readin them while drinkin and lovin them! Avatar car is currently running a Napa Silver with Bias fronts and Radial rears. Not makin that up.
on my hot rods i use nothing but Wix on my daily driver i use whatever the quick oil change place uses. at the auto parts store where i work part time we sell 12 packs of filters for $19.....about $1.50 a filter. my `95 S-10 went 292,000 miles before i sold it using these cheap filters. i see it around sometimes and it's still going strong
FYI, the human eye can only see down to about 30 - 40 microns. The particles that are most common from wear, and also the most damaging to an engine, are far smaller, <10µ. You would need some kind of magnification to see these particles. If you can see particles, you've really got a problem. But cutting open filters is a common practice among the customers I work with. Every oil change the policy is to cut open the filter, pull out the media and open it up and inspect it. It gives them a heads up if something is coming apart. If they see something we can then take the pleats and wash them in a solvent and filter the solvent through a .8µ filter patch and look at them under a miscroscope to give them an idea of the type of material and the type of wear (cutting, chips, etc). So do you run that filter in addition to the spin-on filter, or in place of it?
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