I also changed to the spin on filter adapter last fall and I like it.

Who makes the Wix/NAPA Gold filter? as in is it just a rebranded German filter?

No, Wix filters are an American company headquartered in Gastonia, NC (with additional plants all over the world), that produce filters for a lot of other "house" name brands, as well as their own. They developed and patented the spin on design filter in 1954. Their own "premium" line is the Wix/NAPA Gold sold through the NAPA chain of stores, but also available online from vendors such as FleetFilter. Very well made unit with an excellent filter media:

http://www.wixconnect.com/images/filters/1363_1.gif

I just bought an LN engineering spin on filter, but now I'm confused. How does it fit on my Kodak camera?

LOL

Getting back on topic - just changed over to a spin on oil filter and i enjoy the fact that my filter is filtering ALL my oil...

You guys have made me think, tho. When I do go and change out my oil filter for the first time, I'll make sure to check out the filter media. Any recommendations on a cheap can opener?

FYI unit pictured is the same plastic construction as the Porsche part, don't know if that is because it's for a 9A1 but the mahle is the same too.

Yeah, I've been googling that too; Amazon has one for around $40; that's about the best I can find, price wise

The Mahle oil filter with paper end caps.......................

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg

The last Wix filter that I bought at a local O'Reilly auto parts store was a little more expensive ($18) compared to the Mahle or Hengst brands from Pelican ($12).

But I guess its not that much of a price difference compared to dumping out 9-10 quarts of Mobil 1 every 3K miles.

I pay $7.00 for the Wix spin-on filter which is actually a corvette filter

I use the Wix/Napa Gold like JFP pictured. Get them by the bunch when they are on sale. About $7 bucks. I have 4 on the shelf now. Great filter and they have never failed.

If you cut the unit you pictured open it too has a plastic inside. I'm sure the anal retentive Germans have done due diligence on the NAPA. If Mahle was suffering a severe loss in market share because the design they used was causing engine failure, would they not update? Would Porsche use filters they knew would ultimately cause engine failure? For sure the NAPA is a great product at a great price point, the difference using either product over time is about as important as which vacuum cleaner bag you choose. Frequency of oil change and filter change is the most important factor, period! Reduce the mileage in the change interval and use whatever filter you want.

When you can post engine failure data tied directly to using the stock oil filtration set up PM, actually don't we are never going to agree, let's pretend each other died in a plane wreck. If it makes you happy you can pretend it the plane crashed due to the use of a Mahle filter.

PS Lastly, I don't know of a manufacturer that does not require the use of their parts during warranty period, frankly I was surprised the oil change did not have to happen at the dealer for said warranty to stay in effect, to suggest getting a lawyer and suing for that fact seems incredibly idiotic to me.

Well, when one of our customer's year old quarter million dollar Ferrari California suffered a catastrophic engine failure, and the dealer refused to cover it under warranty because "non-OEM products had been installed during service by a shop outside the Ferrari dealership network", a quick and relatively inexpensive filing by his attorney and suddenly it was fully covered and the owner was afforded "kid glove" treatment at the same dealership. And he is not the only on that we are aware of that has successfully pressed this issue.

You need to know your rights, and exercise them when appropriate...............

Anytime the oil is by-passing the only source of filtration, good things are not going to happen. Metal or other debris circulating freely over bearing surfaces might not kill it today or tomorrow, but it eventually will lead to problems.....

Better alternatives are available, it is your choice to use them or not......

Answer from Mahle corporate


thanks for the link. This Original Equipment design with the fleece endplates is made for and approved by Porsche, and it has to go through rigorous testing inside MAHLE and at the Porsche test facilities in different climatic regions and dust environments, before it is released for production. One example is the pulsation test. Here the filter is pulsed 500 000 times to see if it still holds its shape and performance. The endplates are actually made of flexible fleece (polymeric) temperature resistant material that will assure a tight seal to the tube that the filters is being pushed onto all the way to the next oil filter change. The material is superior to a plastic and even an elastomer (rubber) seal, due to the fact that it can compensate the thermal expansion and contraction of the filter module components during different operating phases such as cold start, warm-up, cool down etc.....

As far as the filtration efficiency, I can assure you that anybody who only claims a percentage and maybe a particle size that is being filtered out is ignoring a whole lot of detail filter media knowledge that is necessary to select the correct filter media for a high performance engine like the Porsche. What about the dirt holding capacity over the oil change interval, meaning can it hold all the dirt and filter all the particles out after a few thousand miles or does it get plugged up and the oil bypasses the filtered without any filtration? What about the structural integrity of the filter over the lifetime? Does the paper stay connected to the endplates, does it disintegrate due to pulsation, temperature fluctuation, oil containing detergents and condensation? There are many more questions that need to be answered before making statements like about the performance filter you had mentioned. MAHLE has a selection of different filter media, (cellulose resin impregnated, plymerfic fleece, different proe sizes, different dust hoilding etc. etc....) with different performance criteria, that are specifically tailored towards to the automotive manufacturers requirements, and we use exactly the same filter media in our Aftermarket filters, not a generic lower grade filter media for all oil filters.

Does the 991/981 use a "fool proof -no oil can get past" type filter?

I'm pretty sure all production engines bypass the filter on high pressure (when the oil is cold).

Obviously, you are now just spoiling for an argument here because you perceive that I insulted your beloved employer. Fine. I could also totally waste my time and address every single technical point quoted in your post, item by item, in lugubrious detail, with references, and you would still argue on, ad nauseam. No thanks, I have better (and more profitable) things to do with my time.

All of the technical information for both filter manufacturers is available if you do a thorough search; as are the noted issues with the Mahle filters (we are not the only ones to have observed them). Based upon years of experience with Porsche’s, we cannot recommend Mahle filters to our customers and instead recommend a replacement that has never demonstrated any of these issues.

Have a nice life………………………

Most vehicle manufacturers strive to "idiot proof" their vehicles, thus the use of lower filtration oil filters & bypass valves for owners that often extend oil & filter change intervals.

Some do, some do not. While the concept of an oil filtration by-pass seems like a good idea, a lot depends upon how it is done and how, when, and how dependably the by-pass operates. Approaches have been all over the map, some OEM’s put the by-pass in the filter mount (Porsche), other use a by-pass valve in the disposable filter itself. Others use none at all. Each has its own merits and drawbacks.

In a modern engine running a multi-weight full synthetic oil, there is really no need for a cold engine start by-pass, the oil viscosity change provides that function itself. Some would suggest that even then the by-pass would be a good thing if the filter clogged with debris from failing engine components as it would still allow some oil to circulate; but unfortunately by the time that would happen in a Porsche, the engine would already be toast and need to come apart anyway due to the damage done to the bearing surfaces by the circulating abrasive debris. And if there were a by-pass in this situation, the circulation of the contaminated oil would only worsen the situation; so at least if the oil pressure drops off due to a clogged filter, you would get a warning light and could shut the engine down before things got even worse.

Most by-pass valves are simple spring-loaded devices, which sometimes get stuck in the open position either temporarily or permanently (and why some use the “in the filter” style so it is regularly replaced with a new one). Unfortunately, you get no warning when this the by-pass fails, and dirty oil goes back to the bearings, and things get ugly.

We have had a lot of customers running without the by-pass for a lot of miles and over a wide variety of temperature conditions; to date none has suffered problems that could be tied to the lack of the by-pass, and during those miles every drop of oil was filtered at all times.