Howdy,

I have an 02 Civic Ex. The deal that I bought the car from, has Castrol Syntex Blend 5w-20 with what I am assuming is an OEM filter.
Having seen more than enough filters and price ranges at the local Shucks/Pep Boy type shops to fry what's left of my old brains, what's a good filter to buy?

I was thinking of grabbing a K&N air filter next time, just so I don't have to change that in the future, and noiticed they also make an oil filter, but know that get's changed out just like any other filter, but was wondering what if any benefit would such a filter be? IN the past I just used whatever Grease Monkey or Jiffy Lube had, and changed the oil every 3 months (mostly stop and go with the odd trip over the mountains to eastern Washington).

So far having parked on butcher paper for 3 weeks, (Hey it's the only why I could think of to check for leaks), have not seen any leaks of any sort, other than dew formation and rain, and I'm sure my apartment neighbors think I'm a bit odd now for parking my car on paper.

So I guess what I'm asking in my long winded rambling way.... Are there any filters I need to stay away from? And are there any filters that you folks think would be stars, to stock up on, and take in for those times I don't feel like changing it myself?

 

Stay away from Fram filters. They have cardboard paper end caps, and plastic bypass valve. Check out Napa Gold filters. There actually a Wix filter and are pretty good. Mobil 1 makes an excellent filter as well but are usually $10 or so. Just stay away from Fram and Pennzoil and your good.

 

I remember someone on here posted about this last week and provided a few links to independant oil filter tests. Do a search for it if you want to read all of the results and responses. What I got out of it was that Fram was near the bottom of every test and K&N wasn't much better, especially for 10 bucks. I forget which filter he was so high on but after reading all of the results I decided STP is going to be the filter that I start using.

So for the money and quality I would go with STP.

Oh yeah, here it is. Oil Change Post 97CivicEX is big on Mobil 1. He has obviously done more research than I so Mobil 1 must be bad ***.

Read up and tell us what you think.

 

Personally I think the filter is more important than the oil you use. If price is a factor, mobil1 is about 10 bucks, then like mentioned before look for a wix filter at a lesser price. The reason I think the filter is more important is because it is a known fact that contaminants/particles will be introduced to your oil. Why trust a cheap filter with such a critical job. Filters are rated on filtration by the ability to remove these contaminants in relations to the particle size and capacity or amount of particles it can hold. A larger capacity filter with a smaller particle filtration while not adding too much pressure drop is what you are after.
Now about this castrol syntax blend. Don’t waste your money. I would say regular dyno will lubricate just as well. If you want to maintain the recommended oil change intervals then stick with a good quality regular oil. If you plan on keeping your car and want to benefit from less frequent oil changes I’d say go with a good quality “REAL� synthetic. I like Amsoil personally, but it is only sold by authorized dealers(or online) and not regular autoparts stores. If you want something quick and easy to get mobil1 synthetic is sold at most stores, even Costco. It is all based on what you value, how long you plan on keeping your car, and taking advantage of the less frequent oil changes that a real synthetic will allow for. Now keep in mind the filter should still be changed at recommended oil change intervals.

 

Thanks Glada96EX,

Have pretty much decided that Fram would not be what I'd be using in an oil filter, just from the posts here on HCF and a few other sites that have been suggested in a few threads.

 

Howdy 97CivicEX,

Having read your posts and a many of the others here and at other sites, (Bobtheoilguy was one), my head hurts!
Ok the Castrol Syntec Blend is out at the next oil change. May try Mobil 1 or Amsoil as there are several walk in dealers here in the Seattle area.

 

Howdy Street Sniper,

What I think is I'm glad that there are people around that have experince in doing more than I have done over the years, which was add gas before it stopped moving forward and putting oil in when needed. Start and go that was my motto!

Now that I have more time off, I can do a few more things myself as far as car care. Too bad there are not any of those rent a bay type places around anymore, like there were in the 70's and 80's. There's nothing like walking under a car to take care of things under it, or having the use of a lift to get it up high enough to crawl under the car with several of your best buddies showing you how to do things (while letting them do it all!).