Oil Filter Advice Needed...

[rtc]

Hello,
I have a 2002 Legacy wagon with the
2.5 liter 4 cylinder.
Have been using the Subaru oil
filter no. 15208aa060 which is made
here.
The dealer moved and so got one from
a subie place online.
They sent a Subaru no.1508aa100,
made in japan,and it is way smaller
than the 'aa060.
Called the place and they said this is the
new subaru filter style,the smaller size
is better.
Is this on the level,or what?
Also,does Fram or someone make a
suitable filter?
Thanks very much,in advance.

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

Hello,
I have a 2002 Legacy wagon with the
2.5 liter 4 cylinder.
Have been using the Subaru oil
filter no. 15208aa060 which is made
here.
The dealer moved and so got one from
a subie place online.
They sent a Subaru no.1508aa100,
made in japan,and it is way smaller
than the 'aa060.
Called the place and they said this is the
new subaru filter style,the smaller size
is better.
Is this on the level,or what?
Also,does Fram or someone make a
suitable filter?
Thanks very much,in advance.

I think there are likely several aftermarket filters that would be OK.
Personally, I'd stay with OEM or Purolator PureOne.

Carl

 

[Richard E Courtright]

Called the place and they said this is the
new subaru filter style,the smaller size
is better.
Is this on the level,or what?

Could be... is there a clearance problem that might be helped with the
smaller unit? I know Honda changed the size of the filters for recent
Civics downwards a coupla years ago, but the one I "babysit" showed no
difference in oil color at similar mileage between the old and new
styles. Considering how clean most new engines are, I wouldn't worry.

Also,does Fram or someone make a
suitable filter?

Not sure if Fram has a catalog number for your car, but if they do, the
Tough Guard (TG) series seems to be a reasonably good filter, better
than the standard orange ones. They also have an extended life unit, but
I've no experience with it. Most people I know say to stay away from the
one that releases Teflon, and there's a new one that supposedly releases
some "high mileage" additive--I'd be skeptical of that one, too!

My best results have been w/ OEM, with Purolator and Bosch generally
right up there (remembering Purolator makes many, if not all, of the US
filters.)

Rick

 

[Pinehollow]

I found the following site informative about oil filters. I don't know how
accurate the guys findings were, but it changed my opinions about some of
the filters that I thought were the best.

http://people.msoe.edu/~yoderw/oilfilterstudy/oilfilterstudy.html

Don D.

 

[Jerre Bassler]

Check out the Amsoil EaO 20 filter for Subaru. This a new filter using
full synthetic nanofiber technology. It has 98.70 % efficiency at 15
microns per ISO 4548-12. When used with Amsoil synthetic oil it is
guaranteed for 25,000 miles or 15,000 severe duty.