Black oil filters

Chris & Rosy B · 02-25-2012, 08:40 PM

If you prefer black over blue.. Roger Clark Motorsport
Back by popular demand are the original ‘Black’ Genuine Subaru Oil filter! Ever since the introduction of the newer ‘Blue’ type of oil filter we have been overwhelmed by the continued demand for the original ‘Black’ filter from Subaru customers all across the world.

Roger Clark Motorsport is now proud to announce that we can once again offer these very high quality filters, made in Japan, as in stock and ready for immediate despatch!

wwwrogerclarkmotorsport.co.uk

Ask for Tim.

* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.

CosmoTheCat · 02-25-2012, 09:18 PM

Yeah, we only get the blue filters for the EJ motors. They're um, well, <opinion withheld>.

The Tokyo Roki filters are much better quality.

Unabomber · 02-25-2012, 10:09 PM

And when you post proof that they are far superior via SAE testing or other outside source, send me a PM with your paypal information and I'll send you 20 pounds. I'm waiting.

gathermewool · 02-26-2012, 02:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unabomber

And when you post proof that they are far superior via SAE testing or other outside source, send me a PM with your paypal information and I'll send you 20 pounds. I'm waiting.

+1 Doesn't Nasioc have vendor rules for things like this?

Chris & Rosy B · 02-26-2012, 04:17 AM

[quote=Unabomber;36473764]And when you post proof that they are far superior via SAE testing or other outside source, send me a PM with your paypal information and I'll send you 20 pounds. I'm waiting.

Is that better

Out of interest a friend did cut open a blue/black/and pink filter and said there was a huge difference between them,but this was just his own test.
I was just throwing up the fact black filters are available guys

Unabomber · 02-26-2012, 08:58 AM

Know two things:

We still can get the blacks as they are actually lawn mower oil filters.
You can tell ZERO by opening up an oil filter and using the visual as a comparison.

Uncle Scotty · 02-26-2012, 09:50 AM

welllll.....................i was there when a guy who usta post a lot here but got pissed off and left.....opened each of the filters up on his bench at the dealership

it was glaringly apparent which one was the better quality filter....materials and construction wise

and it is theorized that the blue filter is made for a 3750 mile OCI and NO MORE...and thus is made more cheaply than the black ones

but what do i know about these kind of things, anyway.....

CosmoTheCat · 02-26-2012, 10:04 AM

The blue oil filters have fiber end caps to the filter media. The black ones have metal. The blue filters have essentially no seal between the pressure relief valve and the fiber end cap. The black ones have the pressure relief valve integrated into the metal end cap.

Do you want more?

Ron I know you're just trolling for proof, but it's plainly obvious to anyone who has actually cut the filters apart and looked.

I have. The blue filter has a slightly higher pleat count than a "Champ" cheapo filter, but the pressure relief was of similar construction and the Champ actually had metal ends on the media.

Having seen the construction, I'll never run the blue filter on any car I care about.

yeos · 02-26-2012, 12:57 PM

Opening it up and judging it by appearance doesn't mean squat. I'm tired of people bitching about the blue filters being inferior to the black filters. How does its appearance correlate to actual filtering performance? I want to see comparisons, graphs, 100k mile blue vs black filter...oh wait...I'll just shut up now

bluesubie · 02-26-2012, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CosmoTheCat

The blue oil filters have fiber end caps to the filter media. The black ones have metal. The blue filters have essentially no seal between the pressure relief valve and the fiber end cap. The black ones have the pressure relief valve integrated into the metal end cap.

Do you want more?

Ron I know you're just trolling for proof, but it's plainly obvious to anyone who has actually cut the filters apart and looked.

I have. The blue filter has a slightly higher pleat count than a "Champ" cheapo filter, but the pressure relief was of similar construction and the Champ actually had metal ends on the media.

Having seen the construction, I'll never run the blue filter on any car I care about.

You can look at all of the cut open filters that you want but it doesn't tell you anything about filtering performance or how the oil filter will hold up. While it's not a scientific test by any means, running two oil intervals each on two different oil filters and performing a used oil analysis will tell you more than looking at a filter.

I've been running the blue Honeywell's on three Subaru's for 6-8k miles since day one. The only time that I had a problem is when I DIDN'T run the OEM oil filter.

-Dennis

DrD · 02-26-2012, 01:58 PM

On their website they list for 11.66 pounds - so around $18.50 each - and that's without shipping! That's a bit on the spendy side for an oil filter...

As far as the construction issues with the blue filters - a number of manufacturers have been using the cardboard ends for quite some time without a whole lot of drama - sure, the metal should outlast them, but if the paper gets the job done, the added benefit of the metal parts is lost.

There are a few tests out there where folks tried to quantify filter performance (not with the Subaru filters, specifically, though) - this ones interesting -
http://www.gmtruckcentral.com/articl...lterstudy.html

I seem to remember a study out there looking at the pressure drop across the filter, too, but can't find it - would be nice to see a review that looked at pressure drop vs. flow of a filter which has some debris in it, filtering efficiency, and bypass valve release pressure - the first and last are important as if the filter is wonderful at pulling out contamination, but plugs/gets too resistive to flow and has a low bypass valve release pressure, it's going to be bypassed rather than filtering the oil...

EdHilario · 02-26-2012, 02:16 PM

While I do miss the Tokyo Roki's I wouldn't spend more than $10 on a filter now. As long as I'm maintaining a regular change interval with the oil I'm using, I'm happy.

gathermewool · 02-26-2012, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Scotty

welllll.....................i was there when a guy who usta post a lot here but got pissed off and left.....opened each of the filters up on his bench at the dealership

it was glaringly apparent which one was the better quality filter....materials and construction wise

and it is theorized that the blue filter is made for a 3750 mile OCI and NO MORE...and thus is made more cheaply than the black ones

but what do i know about these kind of things, anyway.....

I'm going to have to disagree. I've run 7k+ OCI's and cut open two blues already. Both looked perfect inside.

424wrx · 02-26-2012, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gathermewool

I'm going to have to disagree. I've run 7k+ OCI's and cut open two blues already. Both looked perfect inside.

you do 7k oci with a turbo subaru? even subaru says no more than 3750 for turbocharged engines. good luck.

gathermewool · 02-26-2012, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 424wrx

you do 7k oci with a turbo subaru? even subaru says no more than 3750 for turbocharged engines. good luck.

That's right, back up by UOA. Not all oils are created equal, my friend. Subaru no longer holds ALL turbo Subies to 3,750. Good luck looking that up.

Uncle Scotty · 02-26-2012, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gathermewool

I'm going to have to disagree. I've run 7k+ OCI's and cut open two blues already. Both looked perfect inside.

and you did a microscopic analysis of the filter media to prove that they were, indeed, 'ok'???

that is the only way you could know

and there is no way in hell i'd use one past 4k anyway....they arent very good filters.....no

Uncle Scotty · 02-26-2012, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gathermewool

That's right, back up by UOA. Not all oils are created equal, my friend. Subaru no longer holds ALL turbo Subies to 3,750. Good luck looking that up.

the oil can test fine and the filter can still be garbage...or didnt you know that??

gathermewool · 02-26-2012, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Scotty

the oil can test fine and the filter can still be garbage...or didnt you know that??

I cut the filters open and played with their innards...or didn't you know that?? I like this game

Rally Monkey · 02-26-2012, 06:04 PM

I went back to the 6 cyl filter for my 03 wrx. The dealership had that in the Tokyo Roki. Who made the larger white filter(same size as for the 6 cyl) that Subaru used to sell?

CosmoTheCat · 02-27-2012, 12:11 AM

Purolator used to make the OE filter for the EJs, not sure if that's the white filter you're talking about.

While cardboard end caps may be perfectly fine, I'd rather spend a buck or two more and get a more substantial, higher quality filter.

Heck, I know there are plenty of guys out there using rolls of toilet paper to filter their oil with great success, but that doesn't mean I'm going to do it.

Your local dealer should have 3 different black oil filters now - 2 of them are meant to be installed upside down on the FB motors, make sure you don't get one of those.

While extremely rare, we've installed a few blue filters that were defective. I don't like or trust them.

Granted, this is a comparison of Mopar-spec filters done some time back, but look at the construction differences between the Fram filters and the Purolator filters. Look at their graph of filtering surface area - the Purolator PureOne filter had 400 square inches of filtering area, whereas the Fram filters ranged from 193-248 square inches.

http://minimopar.knizefamily.net/oil...reference.html

More surface area is better, right?

bluesubie · 02-27-2012, 08:05 AM

I'll take gathermewool's uoa's by one of the top tribologists in the country over any oil filter "study". He spotted that there where problems with the '08/'09 turbos well before the stop sale. Heck, I'll even take a $30 Blackstone uoa that shows insolubles over the "inspection" of a filter.

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/what-are-insolubles.php

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=2238924

Anyone have any uoa's with high insolubles on an OEM filter?

-Dennis

CosmoTheCat · 02-27-2012, 09:28 PM

Is there a uoa showing that water doesn't lubricate properly? If there's no proof, you might as well go with it, right? I mean, clearly just inspecting it isn't proof enough.

gathermewool · 02-27-2012, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CosmoTheCat

Is there a uoa showing that water doesn't lubricate properly? If there's no proof, you might as well go with it, right? I mean, clearly just inspecting it isn't proof enough.

como?

Uncle Scotty · 02-27-2012, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gathermewool

I cut the filters open and played with their innards...or didn't you know that?? I like this game

keep doin what you think is all k00 and ****.....I know better

bige1919 · 02-28-2012, 12:02 PM

Not sure if anyone else has noticed this, but awhile back I bought a case a of the blue OEM filters. My car never consumed oil before, but during the time period of 4 oil changes with the blue filters, my car ate 1QT each of my 5k mile intervals. I did 2 oil analysis while on the blue filters and they were fine.

I switched to the pureone PL14460 last couple of times, and no more oil consumption

02-25-2012, 08:40 PM	#1
Chris & Rosy B Scooby Specialist Member#: 99500 Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: The Midlands, UK Vehicle: 2004 WR1 Ice Blue	Black oil filters If you prefer black over blue.. Roger Clark Motorsport Back by popular demand are the original ‘Black’ Genuine Subaru Oil filter! Ever since the introduction of the newer ‘Blue’ type of oil filter we have been overwhelmed by the continued demand for the original ‘Black’ filter from Subaru customers all across the world. Roger Clark Motorsport is now proud to announce that we can once again offer these very high quality filters, made in Japan, as in stock and ready for immediate despatch! wwwrogerclarkmotorsport.co.uk Ask for Tim. * Registered users of the site do not see these ads. Last edited by Chris & Rosy B; 02-26-2012 at 04:10 AM.

02-27-2012, 08:05 AM	#21
bluesubie Scooby Guru Member#: 767 Join Date: Jan 2000 Chapter/Region: Tri-State Location: N.J. Vehicle: 04 FXT	I'll take gathermewool's uoa's by one of the top tribologists in the country over any oil filter "study". He spotted that there where problems with the '08/'09 turbos well before the stop sale. Heck, I'll even take a $30 Blackstone uoa that shows insolubles over the "inspection" of a filter. http://www.blackstone-labs.com/what-are-insolubles.php http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=2238924 Anyone have any uoa's with high insolubles on an OEM filter? -Dennis Last edited by bluesubie; 02-27-2012 at 08:13 AM.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
('11+) Back to Black oil filters???	zoomnrx8	Impreza Forum	1	01-03-2012 10:21 PM
WTB: Subaru OEM black oil filters	Gouki	Private 'Wanted' Classifieds	29	10-12-2010 01:46 AM
A100 black oil filter?	jonney_boy	Vancouver Impreza Club Forum -- VIC	29	06-20-2010 12:37 AM
black oil filter	sch3838	General Community	2	12-27-2008 04:20 PM
Black Oil Filter help!	ex_boyometric	Vancouver Impreza Club Forum -- VIC	35	10-20-2008 12:29 AM

02-25-2012, 09:18 PM	#2
CosmoTheCat Scooby Newbie Member#: 3409 Join Date: Jan 2001 Chapter/Region: NWIC Location: Woolley Vehicle: 1998 Ram 2500 Green.	Yeah, we only get the blue filters for the EJ motors. They're um, well, <opinion withheld>. The Tokyo Roki filters are much better quality.

02-25-2012, 10:09 PM	#3
Unabomber Big Ron Moderator Member#: 18062 Join Date: Apr 2002 Chapter/Region: MAIC Location: I can save you a ton of cash Vehicle: on car parts so PM me b4 j00 buy	And when you post proof that they are far superior via SAE testing or other outside source, send me a PM with your paypal information and I'll send you 20 pounds. I'm waiting.

02-26-2012, 04:17 AM	#5
Chris & Rosy B Scooby Specialist Member#: 99500 Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: The Midlands, UK Vehicle: 2004 WR1 Ice Blue	[quote=Unabomber;36473764]And when you post proof that they are far superior via SAE testing or other outside source, send me a PM with your paypal information and I'll send you 20 pounds. I'm waiting. Is that better Out of interest a friend did cut open a blue/black/and pink filter and said there was a huge difference between them,but this was just his own test. I was just throwing up the fact black filters are available guys

02-26-2012, 08:58 AM	#6
Unabomber Big Ron Moderator Member#: 18062 Join Date: Apr 2002 Chapter/Region: MAIC Location: I can save you a ton of cash Vehicle: on car parts so PM me b4 j00 buy	Know two things: We still can get the blacks as they are actually lawn mower oil filters. You can tell ZERO by opening up an oil filter and using the visual as a comparison.

02-26-2012, 09:50 AM	#7
Uncle Scotty NASIOC Supporter Member#: 16200 Join Date: Mar 2002 Vehicle: OK Houston we have an Uncle	welllll.....................i was there when a guy who usta post a lot here but got pissed off and left.....opened each of the filters up on his bench at the dealership it was glaringly apparent which one was the better quality filter....materials and construction wise and it is theorized that the blue filter is made for a 3750 mile OCI and NO MORE...and thus is made more cheaply than the black ones but what do i know about these kind of things, anyway.....

02-26-2012, 10:04 AM	#8
CosmoTheCat Scooby Newbie Member#: 3409 Join Date: Jan 2001 Chapter/Region: NWIC Location: Woolley Vehicle: 1998 Ram 2500 Green.	The blue oil filters have fiber end caps to the filter media. The black ones have metal. The blue filters have essentially no seal between the pressure relief valve and the fiber end cap. The black ones have the pressure relief valve integrated into the metal end cap. Do you want more? Ron I know you're just trolling for proof, but it's plainly obvious to anyone who has actually cut the filters apart and looked. I have. The blue filter has a slightly higher pleat count than a "Champ" cheapo filter, but the pressure relief was of similar construction and the Champ actually had metal ends on the media. Having seen the construction, I'll never run the blue filter on any car I care about.

02-26-2012, 12:57 PM	#9
yeos Scooby Specialist Member#: 133855 Join Date: Dec 2006 Chapter/Region: NWIC Location: Seattle Vehicle: 2009 STi SparkSilver Dom Tuned @ MPS	Opening it up and judging it by appearance doesn't mean squat. I'm tired of people bitching about the blue filters being inferior to the black filters. How does its appearance correlate to actual filtering performance? I want to see comparisons, graphs, 100k mile blue vs black filter...oh wait...I'll just shut up now

02-26-2012, 01:58 PM	#11
DrD Scooby Guru Member#: 22412 Join Date: Aug 2002 Chapter/Region: SWIC Location: Albuquerque, NM Vehicle: 2012 Legacy 2.5GT Ice Silver Metallic	On their website they list for 11.66 pounds - so around $18.50 each - and that's without shipping! That's a bit on the spendy side for an oil filter... As far as the construction issues with the blue filters - a number of manufacturers have been using the cardboard ends for quite some time without a whole lot of drama - sure, the metal should outlast them, but if the paper gets the job done, the added benefit of the metal parts is lost. There are a few tests out there where folks tried to quantify filter performance (not with the Subaru filters, specifically, though) - this ones interesting - http://www.gmtruckcentral.com/articl...lterstudy.html I seem to remember a study out there looking at the pressure drop across the filter, too, but can't find it - would be nice to see a review that looked at pressure drop vs. flow of a filter which has some debris in it, filtering efficiency, and bypass valve release pressure - the first and last are important as if the filter is wonderful at pulling out contamination, but plugs/gets too resistive to flow and has a low bypass valve release pressure, it's going to be bypassed rather than filtering the oil...

02-26-2012, 02:16 PM	#12
EdHilario Scooby Specialist Member#: 137398 Join Date: Jan 2007 Chapter/Region: E. Canada Location: Toronto Vehicle: 2004 Impreza 2.5RS Platinum Silver Metallic	While I do miss the Tokyo Roki's I wouldn't spend more than $10 on a filter now. As long as I'm maintaining a regular change interval with the oil I'm using, I'm happy.

02-26-2012, 06:04 PM	#19
Rally Monkey Scooby Newbie Member#: 36310 Join Date: May 2003 Chapter/Region: SWIC Location: Scottsdale, AZ Vehicle: 03 WRX Sedan Silver	I went back to the 6 cyl filter for my 03 wrx. The dealership had that in the Tokyo Roki. Who made the larger white filter(same size as for the 6 cyl) that Subaru used to sell?

02-27-2012, 12:11 AM	#20
CosmoTheCat Scooby Newbie Member#: 3409 Join Date: Jan 2001 Chapter/Region: NWIC Location: Woolley Vehicle: 1998 Ram 2500 Green.	Purolator used to make the OE filter for the EJs, not sure if that's the white filter you're talking about. While cardboard end caps may be perfectly fine, I'd rather spend a buck or two more and get a more substantial, higher quality filter. Heck, I know there are plenty of guys out there using rolls of toilet paper to filter their oil with great success, but that doesn't mean I'm going to do it. Your local dealer should have 3 different black oil filters now - 2 of them are meant to be installed upside down on the FB motors, make sure you don't get one of those. While extremely rare, we've installed a few blue filters that were defective. I don't like or trust them. Granted, this is a comparison of Mopar-spec filters done some time back, but look at the construction differences between the Fram filters and the Purolator filters. Look at their graph of filtering surface area - the Purolator PureOne filter had 400 square inches of filtering area, whereas the Fram filters ranged from 193-248 square inches. http://minimopar.knizefamily.net/oil...reference.html More surface area is better, right?

02-27-2012, 09:28 PM	#22
CosmoTheCat Scooby Newbie Member#: 3409 Join Date: Jan 2001 Chapter/Region: NWIC Location: Woolley Vehicle: 1998 Ram 2500 Green.	Is there a uoa showing that water doesn't lubricate properly? If there's no proof, you might as well go with it, right? I mean, clearly just inspecting it isn't proof enough.

02-28-2012, 12:02 PM	#25
bige1919 Scooby Newbie Member#: 146333 Join Date: Apr 2007 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: Columbus, OH Vehicle: 2003 Impreza WRX WRB Cobb Stage 2	Not sure if anyone else has noticed this, but awhile back I bought a case a of the blue OEM filters. My car never consumed oil before, but during the time period of 4 oil changes with the blue filters, my car ate 1QT each of my 5k mile intervals. I did 2 oil analysis while on the blue filters and they were fine. I switched to the pureone PL14460 last couple of times, and no more oil consumption