I have about 750 miles on my G37 now and I was thinking of changing the oil for the first time. I've always wondered what an OEM filter looked like inside. I had some free time today and decided to find out.
I visited my local dealer today and bought myself a 15208-65F0C, the stock-sized filter specified for a 2008 G37. The guy at the counter said it's the same filter used for the G35. It costs about $7/ea.
I had an extra Purolator oil filter at home. It costs about $3 (sometimes $0.01 after rebate) and is readily available at PepBoys.
NOTE: The Purolator oil filter I used is L14610. It's the longer version of the L14612 which is listed on the Purolator website as the oil filter for G37s.
Here's some pics:
Nissan OEM oil filter
Purolator oil filter
The Purolator filter is larger than the OEM filter
Now it's time to cut these open! Prepare to be shocked and disappointed.
NOTE: For those of you who've read about oil filters, you probably know that Fram has the worst reputation amongst widely available oil filters. They tend to have flimsy cans and, most disturbingly, their filter elements are made with weak cardboard end caps that can collapse or fragment in hot oil. Good filters, like Mobil 1, Purolator PureONE, and K&N are made with heavy metal "skeletons" that will neither collapse nor break down in hot oil.
OEM filter bottom
OEM filter cut open (I immediately noticed the cardboard endpiece)
Everything inside the OEM filter laid out
Close up of the OEM filter's cardboard endpiece
Time to open up the Purolator
Purolator filter bottom
Purolator filter cut open (Metal endpieces)
Everything inside the Purolator filter laid out
Close up of the Purolator's metal endpiece
Side-by-side comparo of both filters (Purolator on the left, OEM on the right). The Purolator filter element is approx 2 1/2" tall with 50 pleats vs the OEM filter element which is approx 1 7/8" tall with only 41 pleats. More pleat area = better filtering ability.
Filter top
Filter bottom
Anti-drainback valve (Purolator is made with a thicker, better quality rubber. OEM was thinner and felt flimsy)
Bypass valve
So what did I learn from all this? Pretty simple... the OEM oil filter is basically a Fram in disguise. Will I ever use one in my G37? Probably not.
Also note that the Purolator filter that I used was the PremiumPLUS filter. Purolator also makes their top oil filters called PureONE, which costs more ($5-$6). The PureONE filters are even better than the PremiumPLUS Purolators. I'll try and open one of those too when I get a chance.
So what's the best oil filter to use in our cars? You can't go wrong with any of these:
Purolator PureONE
Mobil 1
AMSOil
Bosch
K&N
Napa Gold
If you wanna save some money and do regular oil change intervals, any of these oil filters will suffice. Hell, anything's better than a Fram/OEM Nissan oil filter.
Purolator PremiumPLUS
SuperTech
STP
AC Delco
Valucraft (Autozone brand)
I've heard good things about the $2 SuperTech oil filters at Wal-Mart. That may be another viable option. I gotta read up some more and maybe cut one open. I plan on doing my first oil change in a couple of days.
Anyway, hope this post was informative for you guys.
Happy motoring!
