8.1 Oil Pressure and Filter
Last oil change I installed a Fram Ultra Guard since the Wal-Mart by me stopped carrying AC Delco filters. Local auto parts stores don't seem to carry the AC Delco filters either. Right after that I ordered some OEM PF-454 filters from Rock Auto so now I have a few on hand.
On a road trip to Chicago last week I noticed that the oil pressure was lower than normal....it was only running about 20 psi at idle and about 45 psi at 2500 RPM. I did an oil change yesterday with a little over 5k miles on the oil, and today I see the oil pressure is running about 10 psi higher, 30 psi at idle at about 55 psi at 2500 RPM with the AC Delco filter installed. This is where the oil pressure always was on this truck, so I consider this to be normal, so the oil pressure was running about 10 psi lower overall with the Fram filter.
The oil I am using is Mobil-1 5W30 Hi-Mileage formula.
I'm not sure if this is a function of having 5k miles on the filter or if the Fram filter is too restrictive vs. OEM. I never recall seeing a drop in oil pressure over the life of an oil filter. Does that mean the Fram is filtering better?
As an aside, I changed to synthetic at about 100k miles (160k on the truck now) and have noticed about 1 mpg improvement and I no longer get the infamous "piston slap" at startup...much quieter now. For the first 100k miles, I used regular dino oil with a 3k change interval, now I go 5k with synthetic.
Who makes the best oil filter these days anyway? The AC Delco's online were only $3.40 each, the Fram was $8+ at wally world, and I see they now have Bosch filters at $10+. Tempting to think that the more expensive filter is better, but as with anything else, that's more often marketing than actual quality.
I also did another Blackstone sample, and will post results when it comes back.
On a road trip to Chicago last week I noticed that the oil pressure was lower than normal....it was only running about 20 psi at idle and about 45 psi at 2500 RPM. I did an oil change yesterday with a little over 5k miles on the oil, and today I see the oil pressure is running about 10 psi higher, 30 psi at idle at about 55 psi at 2500 RPM with the AC Delco filter installed. This is where the oil pressure always was on this truck, so I consider this to be normal, so the oil pressure was running about 10 psi lower overall with the Fram filter.
The oil I am using is Mobil-1 5W30 Hi-Mileage formula.
I'm not sure if this is a function of having 5k miles on the filter or if the Fram filter is too restrictive vs. OEM. I never recall seeing a drop in oil pressure over the life of an oil filter. Does that mean the Fram is filtering better?
As an aside, I changed to synthetic at about 100k miles (160k on the truck now) and have noticed about 1 mpg improvement and I no longer get the infamous "piston slap" at startup...much quieter now. For the first 100k miles, I used regular dino oil with a 3k change interval, now I go 5k with synthetic.
Who makes the best oil filter these days anyway? The AC Delco's online were only $3.40 each, the Fram was $8+ at wally world, and I see they now have Bosch filters at $10+. Tempting to think that the more expensive filter is better, but as with anything else, that's more often marketing than actual quality.
I also did another Blackstone sample, and will post results when it comes back.
