The Nissan Path

There are many oil filters out there that fit the VQ40 DE V6 the following is my thoughts and feelings on the subject your thoughts and results May very.

For starters the factory Nissan oil filter is a great oil filter I always cut my filters open and the factory Nissan filter is built real well and it's price is reasonable so when in dought use with confidence.

Fram filters ... Some people will not use a Fram filter and that's fine you have your reasons. My father always used the cheep orange can Fram filters and drove many a car and truck to 300,000 miles so they can't be all that bad. I don't feel all that comfortable running the cheep orange can Fram I do use the next model up the the Fram Tough Guard it's good for up to 10,000 miles. I have cut many Fram TG filters open and all look great. On that note some of you do not like the TG filter since it has fiber end caps I see nothing wrong with fiber end caps and they can't be all that bad since Rolls Royce high dollar oil filters have used fiber end caps for years!

Fram Ultra Synthetic.... This filter is considered the current benchmark in oil filters right now it is rated for up to 15,000 miles it has a two stage wire screen backed media that really holds up and this filter has a real high efficiency rating of I think 98 or 99% the Fram Ultra uses metal end caps (Fram says the metal end caps were a must with the two stage wire backed media) on sale this filter is a real great deal for the quality.

Purolator oil filters... Just as the Fram some guys won't use a Purolator oil filter if they threw it at them for free and that's fine.

Purolator filters have been going threw a real difficult time with tearing filter media many people on oil change web sites have complained about this and it does not seem to matter what model it seems to be effecting them all. For years all I ever used was Puro Pure 1 oil filters and then I had several failures with media tearing upon opening them up this was before I owned my R51 Pathy and was when I owned my 06 Toyota 4Runner. Purolator is under new management since then and they have revamped there entire line. I have not used any of the new ones yet so I cannot comment on them yet.

Bosh Distance Plus .. This is a real high quality filter with real good media and lots of it I have no reservation on running them.

STP Long Life High Millage .. This filter is miles ahead of the standard STP filter and is rated for up to 10,000 miles I have no dought it would do it on a clean motor. Upon cutting open it has a dense high quality media a solid can with metal end caps and an orange nitride anti drain back valve. Also the model for the VQ40 DE V6 has a high quality O ring sealing ring. I like this filter.

I have more oil filter info but I'm out of time so I will add more to this post down the road.

I remember back in the '80s, using Purolator oil filters on Datsuns and early Nissans would cause the oil light to come on. It doesn't seem to be an issue, anymore, and I use the Pure One's in a pinch, when I run out of the Nissan filters.
The cheaper construction has people leery of the cheap Fram filter, but, I have to admit, I've yet to see a failure caused by a Fram filter. Most filters do a good job at filtering, regardless of whether they are a bargain or standard filter compared to some so-called "premium" filters and I doubt whether the high-cost of those premium filters really pays much dividends on the daily driver vehicles on the road. If the engine was being used under extreme conditions, such as a racing engine, then it might be a different story. Many of the filters on the market, including Pronto, Motorcraft and Bosch, are made by Purolator. There are also quite a few made by Champion Labs. One filter that if often overlooked is AC Delco, which is an excellently constructed filter.
While this is a bit dated, this has always been one of my favorite oil filter studies:

http://minimopar.knizefamily.net/oilfil ... rence.html

"Fram Ultra Synthetic.... This filter is considered the current benchmark in oil filters right now it is rated for up to 15,000 miles it has a two stage wire screen backed media that really holds up and this filter has a real high efficiency rating of I think 98 or 99% the Fram Ultra uses metal end caps (Fram says the metal end caps were a must with the two stage wire backed media) on sale this filter is a real great deal for the quality."

Kestral -

Do you have photos of this Fram at all? Looked online, but don't exactly understand the end caps stuff you are talking about...

Also - how fine is the wire mesh? Is this something that may have about 20 wires per inch? Or something like the woven screens seen here
www.bwire.com
which can have up to 200 wires per inch?

Let me know if you have any photos or ideas,

Thanks

Unfortunately I don't have a camera right now to take picks and the one on my "I" phone took a dump last year so no pix. If you go to bobistheoilguy web site and do a search on the filter section you can find many pix.

I just installed another Fram Ultra a few days ago they are a great filter extremely well built.

Frankly though many people I talk to with high millage Pathfinders, Frontiers, and XTerras with the VQ40DE V6 that have high millage seem to care less what filter or oil they use. They all take good care of there rigs and change there oil and filters usually between 4,000-7,000 miles but most of them are not selective of there oil or filters with most running cheep conventional oil.

Engines that last is mostly a fact of good engine design and not so much of what oil and filters we use. I have no dought that I could use cheep filters and conventional 5/10w30 oil and change it every 5,000 miles and my VQV6 would last just as long as me running high quality synthetic oil and expensive filters.

I resently saw a Nissan Frontier with the VQ40DE V6 with its valve covers off (one was leaking so the guy decided to do both) the Frontier was an (08) with 175,000 miles and he had it serviced at the same place I have my Pathy serviced. This truck was run on conventional oil (Havoline 5w30) and changed no longer then 6,000 miles with either Nissan or AC Delco oil filters and the motor looked great! No sludge just a slight gold color to everything and the cams showed little wear.

It was at this point that I realized I am a bit excessive on my oil and filter choices and that the rest of my truck will wear out before I have to worry about my engine failing from my oil and filter choices.

I don't know how the smiley face got in my post it was supposed to say (08)

Ok so I can't type .... 2008

Blackstone Labs, who many have used to do their oil analysis, state on their site that their own employees use conventional oil, which says something. I had a '97 Hardbody that I bought brand new with a KA24DE engine. Since I worked for Nissan at the time, I got my 5W30 for free as they bought it all bulk and it was conventional oil. I used Nissan oil filters most of the time. I changed my oil at the Nissan recommended interval of 3750 miles and had over 200,000 miles on the engine before the main harness went up in smoke. The only internal work I ever had done on the engine was replacing the lifters (rocker arms) before the warranty ran out due to them tapping, which is normal on those engines. The top of the cylinder head was always spotless and it didn't burn any oil. There's no question that synthetic oil is better than conventional oil, but, I think the more important thing is that the oil is changed at the recommended interval and is the proper viscosity, rather than whether the oil is conventional or synthetic.
If you service your oil appropriately, I think the oil filter brand is also less of an issue, because if you have enough debris and dirt in your oil to restrict the flow of the oil filter, you have some issues going on with your engine! Nissan oil filters have always been well-constructed and only about $2 more than many aftermarket filters, so, I use them when I can. If I'm working on a GM product, I'll go with A/C Delco and then Motorcrafts on Ford and Mazda products, both which you can pick up at Walmart for around $4-5.

I thought I would bring up an old topic and mention that I always look over an oil filter real close before purchasing and for good reason. I have seen a few filters where the center metal core where the holes on the inside are closed where they should be open! This is not a good thing since it will restrict oil flow! I noticed it on a low cost STP and also a Napa (silver) mid level filter I usually get the Napa Gold but Napa was out. Anyway something to watch out for. Also the STP top oil filter model (forget the name) but it's good for 10,000 miles not that I would run it that long has a different center tube with much bigger open holes so no issue with flow.