–I–

THE BEST: Baldwin: B7311-MPG

If you have the room, presently the very best of the best of all the spin-on full-flow oil filters we could put on
our engine, and by a wide margin over any stock filter, is the synthetic oil filter made by Baldwin, the B7311-
MPG.
.
– II – The best 7 inch (referred to as 2 quart) oil filters in preferred order:
– 1 – Baldwin: B7311-MPG - the best of all Wix/Baldwin oil filters
– 2 – Baldwin: BT217, BT237 - same filter, different part numbers
– 3 – Baldwin: BT251
– 4 – Wix: 51459

– III – The best 5 inch (referred to as 1 quart) oil filters in preferred order:
– 1 – Baldwin: B2-HPG
– 2 – Baldwin: B2
– 3 – Wix: 51452
– 4 – Wix: 51806
– 5 – Wix: 51515

For our daily driver applications, I would always prefer any 7 inch filter listed here to any 5 inch filter. They
flow better, with less pressure drop, have more contaminant holding ability, and it’s less likely the by-pass valve
will open on cold starts because of the greater flow/media filtering area.

Note that all of the filters listed above meet and most far exceed the original OEM requirements with
technologies not available 40 years ago. I would not hesitate to use any of the above listed filters on my truck.

The goal of this whole post is maximum protection and ultimately extended time between engine rebuilds. My
IH 304 holds 9 quarts of oil. I don’t know how typical that is of these V8 engines, but that’s a lot of oil and $$ at
oil change time. I don’t need that oil to get dirty from an inferior filter any sooner than possible.

FILTERS CONSIDERED:
Due to time constraints, I only looked at the oil filters from two manufacturers, Wix and Baldwin. But of the
thousands of oil filters Wix and Baldwin makes, there are 147 Wix and 226 Baldwin full-flow spin-on oil filters
that will “fit” our engine. Yes, I counted and looked at them all. And this is not taking into consideration the
other “brand” filters they manufacture such as Napa, Carquest, Hastings, Purolator, etc. Both manufacturers
seem to keep their best filters in their name only. Hence you will not find a Napa equivalent to the Wix 51452,
or a Purolator equivalent to the Baldwin B7311-MPG filter. Therefore in this comparison I did not ever look at,
consider, or in any way include the other “brands” these two companies manufacture.

Our V8 engines could possibly have either of two different sizes of spin-on oil filter threads. The oil filter plate
that attaches to the block in a Loadstar* type of gasoline V8 engine application uses a 1 – 12 oil filter thread
which is different from the oil filter plate that attaches in a Scout or pick-up application with the exact same gas
V8 engine block. That plate has an oil filter thread of 3/4 – 16. And all those other Loadstar type filters were
looked at too.
But as it turns out if you have a Loadstar type gas engine, and want the very best filter present production
technology has to offer, you need to get an oil filter plate from a Scout or pick-up truck engine, put it on your
engine block, and run one of the 7 inch filters listed above. I have not found any Loadstar type filter you can run
that exceed the specifications, and most don’t come close, to the filters listed above. So based on that fact, that’s
another reason why my belief is all the filters above meet, and most far exceed the requirements of the old IH
V8 gas engines in all categories - for particle size captured, quantity of contaminants held, and equal or better
less restricted flow. And in some cases significantly less restriction and much better oil flow than a stock**
filter and therefore less pressure drop resulting in higher oil pressure for the engine. And all filters above and in
the tables attached use the properly rated by-pass valve and contain the anti-drainback valve.

*Note: I use the word “Loadstar” to represent all vehicle applications larger than a 1 ton truck that use these
gasoline engines.
**Note: For the purpose of clarity and comparison in this post I am calling the Wix 51452 or 51515 as “stock”.

FILTERS NOT CONSIDERED:

By-pass oil filters were not considered. Although highly desirable as evidenced by their use on larger, more
expensive engines, I would not recommend them because our oil pumps have such marginal reserve capacity.
Although they (by-pass filters) could be used utilizing a small electric 12 volt oil pump, such as a Weldon,
Mocal, Exa-Pump, Tilton, Shurflo, Varna, or something custom from companies like
www.enginegearonline.com/, etc., the additional plumbing introduces the potential for more leaks, especially
when driving hard off-road.

Also stainless steel screen mesh filters, despite their use in aircraft and in race cars, were not considered.

Canister filters were also not considered as very little data is available on them.

And there are other oil filter manufacturers not considered but worth taking a close look at too, such as
Donaldson and Racor come to mind. But in the end there is only so much time and so I concentrated on the two
largest, most established companies that produce the largest selection of spin-on engine oil filters, Wix and
Baldwin.

I have no brand loyalty. I have no pre-conceived idea or emotional preference to which brand filter is best. My
conclusions are not based on “feeling” this brand or that brand filter is best because I’ve always used that filter
all my life, or my friend’s supermarket butcher recommends it because its always worked great in his truck.
Before I purchased my IH truck, I’ve never seen an IH pick-up truck before, and never met anyone who has
owned an IH, and could care less about filters. A Fram or a Sears automotive brand was fine with me for my car.
My filter conclusions above, starting from a clean slate, are unbiased and based solely on current and available
published engineering data. Consequently you may see other filters here more highly rated than your “favorite”
filter.

FILTER REQUIREMENTS:
To me, the most important requirement of a filter is to filter. And the finer the contaminant particles it filters, the
better for less engine wear. (For a frame of reference, 25 microns is about .001 inch). And it must filter finer
particles without increasing the pressure drop across the filtering medium. In other words, it must not cause
your engine to see a lower oil pressure from increased resistance to flow just because it is filtering smaller
particles. This also directly equates into better lubrication protection for your engine from the higher oil
pressure, and better gas mileage from less parasitic drag losses, although that may not be noticeable.
In addition, the filter must provide a by-pass in the event it becomes plugged up with contaminants, or more
importantly, when the oil is too cold to pass through the filter medium such as when the engine is first started on
a cold morning. The by-pass valve allows continued full oil pressure to the engine, even though that oil is then
dirty, unfiltered oil. For our engine, that by-pass setting should be at 8 psi.

Also, it should contain an anti-drainback valve, so at start-up your oil pump does not need to refill your oil filter
before pressurizing the remaining engine. But more importantly a one-way anti drain back valve keeps dirty oil
from back-flushing into the engine from the filter when the engine is shut down. Otherwise this could happen
regardless of the filter’s mounting orientation.

Some filters also contain a “standpipe”. All that does is allow the filter to be mounted in any direction, including
pointed upward in addition to horizontal or downward. For our stock applications, a standpipe does not matter
in any way. I just mention it only for those who may see that spec on some of the filters and wonder what that is
all about.

JUDGEMENT CRITERIA:
Despite the attempt by the Filter Manufacturers Council (the organization that represents the entire North
American filtration industry) to standardize testing procedures so comparisons between different manufacturers
and their filters can be made, in reality they have not been very successful in doing so. There aren’t a lot of
cross-over specs between manufacturers, so comparisons between the different manufacturers’ filters can be
very difficult, at best.

And the comparisons between Wix filters and Baldwin’s filters are even more complex because each company
takes an approach to their filters’ specifications/applications exactly opposite of each other. Wix takes the
“application” approach where you tell them the vehicle, and they will tell you which filter they recommend.
Consequently they see no need to share most of their filter specification data. But if you highly modify your
engine, that leaves the Wix phone tech just kind of guessing which filter to recommend, depending on their
understanding of your modified engine and its intended use, and the time they have before they must move onto
the next caller.

And many of the specs Wix does share are very incomplete or make no sense. For example, they state all their
filters have a maximum flow rate of 7 to 9 gallons per minute, but never mention at what pressure. Is that
maximum flow of 7 to 9 gpm at 25 psi, 50 psi, 75 psi, or what? Higher pressures flow higher gpm but our
engines are low pressure engines – compared to most present day engine manufacturers. And it becomes even
more clearly a bogus spec by Wix when they say all the filters (under consideration for our application) all flow
the exact same maximum 7 to 9 gpm regardless if it’s a 3 inch filter with a paper medium such as the Wix
51085, or a 5 inch filter, or a 7 inch filter using a synthetic filtering medium, or some other size/media
combination. And they never state any minimum flow rate at lower pressures.

So how is one to select the best Wix filter if they have made upgrades to their engine and want to upgrade to a
newer technology with a better filter specification, rather than the 40 year old spec originally dictated? It’s very
difficult with Wix, but I’ve done my best to answer that question with this post.

Contrast the Wix “application” approach to the Baldwin’s “engineering specification” approach. Using the same
example, Baldwin will tell you exactly how well each filter flows compared to their other filters (if you ask
them), or any other engineering spec requested too. For example, the B2 flows 1.5 gpm @ 3 psi; 3 gpm @ 5 psi;
5 gpm @ 10 psi; 7.5 gpm @ 15 psi; 9 gpm @ 20 psi; and 11 gpm @ 25 psi. And the B2 has 315.3 sq inches of
filtering medium capable of holding 20 grams of contaminants. And this filter’s filtering is rated at 12 microns
nominal and 30 microns absolute with 85.44% average efficiency. All these specs as compared to only the Wix
7 to 9 gpm and 21 nominal micron rating specs. But Baldwin only lists a handful of applications for the B2
when in reality it includes the same hundreds of applications as Wix lists for its 51515 filter. So you can see this
comparison and quest to find the best filters with the newest technologies for our engines has been no easy task.

The specifications for all the filters above and for a few close filters that would work as good filter replacements
but that did not make the grade because they were not the “best” IMHO are in the two tables attached to the
bottom of this post.

Wix is happy to share all kinds of general information about filters in general, as you can see by my previous
posts. However they have told me both over the phone and in email that they will not share any specific
technical information about any of their filters other than what is on their web site. For example, they will not
disclose the square inch filtering area of their various filters. This, despite the fact that anyone can buy a filter,
cut it open, unravel and measure for themselves the sq in. area of the filtering media.

Basic information, such as nominal and absolute micron ratings, flow rates, the filtering area and contaminant
holding ability are needed in order to do basic comparisons not only between the filters they sell, but also
between their filters and their competitors’ (Baldwin) filters. Consequently, for the filtering medium part of the
comparison I can only use their nominal micron rating. But that is definitely not the only specification taken
into account, as you will see by my comments below. The filter’s engineered specifications (all that were made
available), intended applications, physical size, flow rates, and micron filter ratings, on filters with anti-drain-
backs and proper by-pass valve psi ratings were all used in the filter comparisons. Chances are a couple of the
Wix filters could move up in placement if technical data was available on them. But in this comparison they fall
where they do because I will only rate them based on the data they provide, and not what is “inferred” or what I
“feel” about them.

The attachments at the bottom of this post contain tables comparing all the different filters listed above and their
specifications, (or all that were made available), with a few other filters. Information for this post is culled from
a stack of catalogs and technical brochures almost a foot high mostly from Wix and Baldwin, and some
technical info from the Filter Manufacturers Council in addition to multiple emails and phone discussions with
the tech support of both companies.

Online retail price is mentioned for each filter in the attached tables but only for your comparison, and is sure to
be different from place to place. Price was Not taken into consideration for the selection of filters made, only
the filters’ performance data was used. Prices in the table of Baldwin filters were obtained from
www.apartsdepot.com. And prices for the Wix filters were obtained from www.rockauto.com except for the last
two were from http://woodys-auto-supply.com because they were not listed online by rockauto.com. This is not
an endorsement of these sellers, only the source of my price comparisons. And the prices are current as of April
11, 2013. Prices constantly change, but should hopefully stay in the same relative proportion to each other.

BALDWIN OIL FILTERS TABLE ATTACHMENT:

B7311-MPG
This filter flows much better than any other filter listed above (10 gallons per minute at only 3 psi, while other
filters require 10 to 20 psi to achieve this flow), resulting in the least pressure restriction/drop of any of the
filters. This has the resulting benefit of allowing the highest possible oil pressure throughout the engine of any
above listed filter. (This is important for our low pressure engines). And it does this while providing the finest
particle filtration of any full-flow oil filter I’ve ever found that will fit our engines, (trapping particles 4 times
smaller than a stock 51515 filter). This high-end synthetic media filter has smaller passages to trap smaller
particles, but can also pass more fluid through because it has more passages, thus increasing the inherent surface
area. It provides 5 micron nominal and 20 micron absolute filtration as opposed to the Wix 51515’s 21 micron
nominal rating and unknown absolute micron rating. (in other words, the B7311-MPG filters far better than any
other filter listed above, my most important requirement for a filter, while providing the least resistance to flow
and therefore the highest oil pressure to the engine of any filter listed above, my second most important filter
requirement).

It holds 32.4 grams of contaminants in 463.1 sq. in. of filtration media, which is more than any stock filter, but
not as much as other 7 inch filters. Therefore this filter is best on regularly maintained engines for keeping the
oil absolutely the cleanest of any full-flow filter I’ve found. But for a very dirty engine that has not had its oil
changed regularly, you may want to first use the BT217 or BT237 as they hold the most contaminants of any
filter at 49.5 grams. Of course the largest, most efficient filter with the finest filtration with the best flow with
the least pressure drop comes with almost the highest retail price of any filter, just under $12 a filter.

Also note if you live in a cold climate: On a cold start your engine oil is much more viscous than at other times,
creating a lot of resistance to flow through the pickup screen and passageways. Cold oil has a very hard time
passing through a cellulose paper oil filter, usually causing the bypass valve to open. And an open bypass valve
may allow the crud the filter has already captured to flow through the engine. This is another example of when a
high-flow synthetic oil filter such as this B7311-MPG would be better.

They (Baldwin) do not usually record flow rates above 10 gallons a minute because a stock engine is only going
to pump 3 gallons a minute, so anything more is unnecessary. Therefore the B7311-MPG was only tested for
flow up to 3 psi as there is no point going further, as who cares if it may flow 30 gallons per minute at 25 psi, if
the engines are only capable of pumping 3 gallons a minute. Bottom line, this filter has the least restriction to oil
flow of any filter here.

However, this filter and all Baldwin filters are cycle tested with oil pressure pulses of 0 to 100 psi 50,000 times
to insure the integrity of the filter design. And all Baldwin filters listed here have a burst pressure of 200 psi. So
us starting an engine cold where the oil pressure spikes at 60 psi will not harm these filters. This was important
to know as some of these filters in the attached tables have published flow ratings with pressures as low as 1 psi,
so I needed to verify that each of these filters would perform properly at our 10 to 60 psi pressure range.
Another possible point of confusion I had to clear up before recommending this filter was its only listed
application, Carrier Refrigeration Units. This could have meant it’s intended to filter the refrigeration
compressor’s oil on the Refrigeration Units of large high-rise office buildings, which would render it useless for
our vehicles. But Baldwin assured me in an email that was not the case, but rather it’s the filter for the engines
that drive these Refrigeration Compressors, especially in semi-trucks. And they assured me it’s used in other
truck engines too. It just happens to initially be designed for the engines that drive the Carrier Refrigeration
Units.

This is the only Baldwin filter with no average efficiency rating because despite its very fine particle filtration,
it’s off the scale with its flow-ability rating at normal operating pressures.
OEM NOTES:
Anytime you see the word OEM in the attached tables, it means Baldwin is the original equipment manufacturer
for that filter. Wix won’t tell you that kind of info, but I suspect Wix at one time was the OEM for IH with its
51452 filter. No proof, just a hunch.

SYNTHETIC FILTER NOTES:

Here is a quote about synthetic media, but don’t recall where I got it from: “An engineered synthetic media is
course on the outside and progressively finer toward the inside effectively increasing its filter area by "filtering
in depth". All filter media to some extent filters in depth but the synthetic media can be so much more uniform
in thickness and spacing that not only are comparisons between cellulose and synthetic area based on visual
inspection or area meaningless, but visual comparisons between different synthetic media also can not be done”.

I would change that slightly to read “meaningful visual comparisons can not be done without a microscope”.
That’s why engineering data like Baldwin provides and Wix won’t is so important when choosing to upgrade
your engine’s filtration system/filter.

BY-PASS VALVE NOTES:

Our engines definitely need a filter with a by-pass valve (which should be 8 psi). This allows oil to flow through
to the engine when the filter becomes too plugged-up with debris to allow the oil to flow through its filtering
medium. And the by-pass valve allows the oil to flow through to the engine when the oil is too thick or cold to
flow through the filtering media, which frequently happens when the engine is first started on a cold morning
with a paper filter. Unfortunately every time the valve opens to allow the oil to flow through, that oil is
unfiltered, dirty oil.

There are two schools of thought regarding the best location for the by-pass valve. One is that the best place is
at the top of the filter so the unfiltered oil does not wash across the dirty side of the filter first, collecting more
contaminants before entering the engine.

The other, held by Baldwin, is that actual testing has determined it really doesn’t matter where the valve is
located. The contaminants are lodged in the filter medium, and either way the valve is below the threads, and
the swirling, pulsating oil will still pull any loose contaminant not embedded in the filter’s medium and pump it
through your engine in addition to the other unfiltered oil when the bypass valve is open. And if your filter is so
loaded with contaminants that it’s not all imbedded in the filter medium, but rather sitting loose at the bottom of
the filter can, then you should have changed your filter long ago as it’s now in a fully loaded state where the
filter is already mostly operating in a state where the by-pass valve is always open.
Just another reason why it’s important to replace your filter regularly.

I was going to describe the specifications about each filter and why I ranked it where I did, like I did with the
first filter, but I can see now, if I did that, this post would be 20 pages long. So open a second window for the
attachments as I refer to them for filter specification details and I’ll keep my remarks to a minimum, only
stating my reasons for ranking it where I did. For flow rates I did not list all the test points in the attached tables,
only the top and bottom published flow specification for each filter.
BT217
BT237
These are exactly the same filters in every way, per Baldwin, except they have different part numbers for
marketing/OEM purposes.

I ranked this set of filters second because of their good flow rate but especially because of their exceptional
ability to hold a lot of “dirt”, almost 50 grams with 515 sq. in. of filter paper. And the only filters with
substantially finer filtration than these two filters (other than the B7311-MPG) are the two B2 series of filters,
but their flow and filter capacity can’t compete, so that leaves this set of filters as my second choice.

BT251
I ranked this third because it doesn’t have quite as much contaminant holding ability as the previous set of
filters. However it does flow better than the above filters because it doesn’t have a standpipe or as much
filtering paper stuffed into the can. And if you consider the better flow (less pressure drop) to be more important
than the extra contaminant holding ability, I see where you could easily rank it above the BT217/BT237 set of
filters. But these filters all flow so well, I don’t know if the pressure difference would be noticeable until they
start to reach the limits of their dirt holding capacity. Perhaps someone some day can try both and let us know if
there is any noticeable pressure difference between the BT251 and the other filters.

B2-HPG
This comes in at the top of the 5 inch filters because it has good flow, great contaminant filtering ability and the
best dirt holding capacity of any 5 inch filter.

B2
With a little better flow (less pressure drop) and about the same or slightly worse filtering ability than the B2-
HPG, but because of much less contaminant holding ability, I rank this below the B2-HPG. But here again, if
you consider the flow/pressure drop more important, I can see ranking it above the B2-HPG. But at this point I
don’t know if the very slight difference in flow characteristics would equate into a noticeably different engine
oil pressure reading. I suspect it would not until the filter begins to approach the limit of contaminant holding
ability. That’s why when things are nearly equal I will go with the filter that can hold the most contaminants.

BT216
I debated if I should include this filter in the list of the best of the best at the top of the post. It appears to have
almost double the flow of the other 5 inch filters above, and the same contaminant holding ability as the best 5
inch filter, the B2-HPG, both very important to the ranking of the filter. But it achieves this by doubling the size
of the holes in the filtering medium compared to the other 5 inch filters. And based on my premise that the most
important requirement of a filter is to filter, is the reason why I did not put this filter in the list of the best of the
best. But study the specifications in the attached tables as you may find you would prefer it to the other filters if
you have to run a 5 inch filter. It has the same filtering rating as some of the 7 inch filters.

WIX OIL FILTERS TABLE ATTACHMENT:

51459
The 51459 filter seems to be the verifiably best filter of any of the Wix filters. It has a higher capacity (therefore
should hold more “dirt” and flow better) than any of the Wix 5 inch filters with similar or better filtering
abilities compared to all the other Wix filters, except for the unknown Wix filter 57515, which has finer
filtering. And as for applications, it has a long list of heavy duty and off-road truck applications with many
similar to the same heavy-duty off-road applications as the Wix recommended 51452 filter. And it has what I
feel is a better by-pass valve psi rating for our low oil pressure engines – a rating of 7 to 9 psi as compared to
most of the other filters’ 8 to 11 psi ratings. And it’s the only Wix filter where their beta ratios and nominal
micron rating specifications seems to be almost congruent. But because of its lack of technical data, I cannot
rank it higher among the 7 inch filters. Based on applications, and that’s about all I have to go on with Wix, it
should be an excellent filter for our engines. It’s the second filter I ever put on my IH 304 V8 truck, and
presently have on there now as of the date of this post. Once I install an accurate oil pressure gauge to
supplement the dash gauge, I will be able to provide some actual numbers.

51773
The 51773 filter Wix says is the high capacity version of the popular 51515. But according to their published
data, it doesn’t filter anywhere near as well as the 51459, or any Baldwin 7 inch filter, and there is no beta ratio
data published for the 51773 filter. Consequently it does not make the recommended grade. It’s mostly used on
a lot of Ford big cu in engines, and a few diesels. And I’m sure it’s a good filter that you can use ok, but why
when there are other better filters available.

51452
51806
51515
The next set of filters, the 51452, 51806 and 51515 all seem to be identical filters, except the 51806 has a
slightly lower cut-in psi value for its bypass valve, which I think is good for our low oil pressure engines.
Therefore application data was the primary determining factor for ranking these filters. Although the 51806 has
many off-road truck applications, it should be noted that the 51452 is the filter Wix recommends for our IH gas
engines. Be sure to read my previous post detailing the application differences between the 51515 and the
51452 filters. If you want the Wix recommended truck filter, use the 51452, if you want the same truck filter but
with a slightly lower by-pass valve psi cut in point, use the 51806, and if you want to use the same filter but
made to passenger car specs, use the 51515. All good filters.

57515
The Wix non-paper glass media filter, 57515, is supposed to be the equivalent of the 51515 but claims to filter
twice as well as any of the paper media filters. This filter could potentially be at the top of the list of Wix filters
and above many Baldwin filters, if actual engineering test data was available for it. However, this data is not
available so I cannot recommend it, and it has no applications listed. It’s here primarily because it has the
potential, based on its published nominal micron rating and media type. However, if you plot out the beta ratios
on a graph, at some point it would seem a filter’s stated nominal micron ratings would be crossed, but with Wix,
unlike Baldwin, it does not happen with all but one of their filter’s beta ratio filter specifications. Therefore it
would seem either their beta ratios or their stated nominal micron ratings are bogus in most cases, just like their
flow rating specifications, as explained earlier. Therefore you can see why I cannot recommend this potentially
great filter. The filter’s here because I’m sure it could be a great filter for our use, but how good, I cannot say,
and Wix will not say. With Wix, in the quest to find the best filter, I can only recommend filters which include
listed applications, and not based just on their partially disclosed, and often-times questionable engineering data
alone.
51515XP
The 51515XP is touted by their marketing department as the Extended Performance, or for their diesel
applications, Extended Duty, premium filters because of its extended time period before it needs to be replaced.
Of course, when asked directly how it compares with another filter, such as the 51515 or the 57515, they reply
with “that information cannot be released” and to just “look at the web site”, which doesn’t tell you any needed
technical details. However, through unofficial channels it was learned that the XP line of filters really is only a
marketing ploy and that these filters last longer because they don’t filter as well. And that would make sense
based on the nominal micron rating compared to their other synthetic filter, the 57515. The 51515XP has a
micron rating only equal to their paper filters. It gives you less value, but technically it is Extended Performance
because less particulate will be caught by the filter, so it will last longer. So if you want a good synthetic filter
but with only paper filter performance, here it is.

The filters listed in the tables are only intended for the gasoline IH 304, 345, and 392 engines but there are
many other engines, both IH and non-IH that these filters also apply to. In my quest for the best, only the ones
in black are my pick as best of the best. But the other part numbers in brown are listed because you may
consider some specification they have as more important for your application than I do for my application.
Hopefully these tables take the mystery out of selecting the best filter for your application. It’s not rocket
science, and you really can’t go wrong with any of the filters in the tables, even if I did not select it to be in my
best of the best group. I’m sure they are all better than Fram and many other similar manufacturers’ filters that
are “made” for our engines.

Be aware this list of filter recommendations only applies as of right now. Any day Wix could come clean with
their engineering data and publish true specifications. I have seen in other forums where people have
documented conflicting specifications released by Wix for the same filter. And I found one instance where they
had a different spec for the same filter in two different places. And there could be changes made to a particular
filter by any manufacturer at any time or a new line of superior filters by any manufacturer could be added at
any time. Technologies are constantly changing and there could come a day soon when even these filters in this
post will become “old technology” or obsolete and replaced by something different and better. Nano
technologies are still in its infancy, and that opens up a whole new universe of possibilities.

WARNING: If you use a Wix or Baldwin oil filter, do not trust their interchange tables. Doing so can do serious
damage to your engine. As of the date of this post, some of their web site interchange recommendations are still
wrong! If you use a Wix or Baldwin oil filter, use only the filters listed in the attached tables (except for
Loadstar filter applications). Do not use any of their other cross-recommended oil filters on these old V8 gas
engines.

There are a couple other filters worth mentioning but not listed above, and not listed in the attached tables
because I have not done the research needed to say more than just passing comments on them. I mention them
only because they might apply to someone else’s situation, but they definitely don’t apply to mine.

8431-L
First, there is a spin-on stainless steel filter made by a company called Pure Power - http://gopurepower.com. It
is a lifetime spin-on filter that can be disassembled and cleaned as it uses a very fine stainless steel screen mesh
filtration media. They also manufacture FAA approved aviation filters, and on the surface have some very
impressive flow numbers that paper filters cannot achieve. Here are a few quotes from their web site: “multiple
patent pending designs… provides for “One-pass” absolute filtering… Filtration: SAE J1858 Tested: 90% more
efficient than "throw away" filters… Cooler operating temperatures, increased horsepower, extended oil drain
intervals, greater oil flow, improved fuel mileage. 100% Absolute filtration”. Of course many of these same
claims can be made by any good-flowing filter – cooler operating temperatures, increased horsepower, extended
oil drain intervals, greater oil flow etc. Although this could be a good race car filter, no actual micron filtration
numbers are provided by them. Also could not get a straight answer regarding bypass valve psi rating. They are
also the manufacturers of the K & N stainless steel screen mesh oil filters.

Wix 57514
If you have a show only truck, Wix makes a chrome spin-on oil filter, part number 57514. However, it is for
show only as it is intended for small engines of 200 cu. in or less. Same claimed rated filtration, flow, etc as our
stock 51515 filters, but I don’t know about its ability to properly seal on our engines as it uses a different gasket.
Best use - after you put your truck on the showroom floor, then put the chrome filter on it.

Wix 51515R
And finally there are the race car filters, such as the Wix 51515R. If you’re looking for that last bit of
horsepower, and great flow to keep your high-revving engine well lubricated, this is a filter to consider.
Although it has very poor filtration ability, with a 61 nominal micron rating, its rated flow is 28 gallons per
minute. By comparison most filters listed above are flow rated at 7 to 9 gallons per minute but our stock engines
only pump about 3 gallons per minute.

And for the sake of completeness, although not heavily researched, my gasoline filter of choice would be either
the Baldwin BF7633 (2 micron nominal, 5 absolute at 98.11% average efficiency with 651.5 sq in of filtering
media capable of holding 25.4 grams of contaminants, and tested with 0 to 50 psi pulses 100,000 times) or the
Wix 33528 (2 micron nominal, ? absolute, ? efficiency). This high-capacity spin-on gasoline filter should go
between the gas tank and fuel pump. Both use Wix base part number 24770. As contrasted to the little plastic or
metal in-line gas filters that have between 12 and 140 micron nominal filtering capability and ? absolute
filtering capability. In my truck I’ve attached the 24770 / 33528 filter to the firewall below and to the right of
the heater box. (Next time it will be a Baldwin) ;-)
And if your fuel pump has the glass bowl filter attached, that is a 19 nominal micron filter, Wix 33943 or
Baldwin PF859.

And as for coolant filters, I’ll do an update to this thread or create a new thread in the Engine Cooling section
later as that topic can be much more involved. But you should also consider a quality cooling system filter for
maximum protection.

So is all this over-kill? Perhaps. But then again so is fuel injection on these engines, unless you want the best of
the best from these power plants. Or you want the best engine protection insurance money can buy. It’s all about
educated choices and I hope I provided you with a few with something as simple as your engine’s oil filtration
choices.

And know these filters may plug up sooner than the filter you are presently using if it filters finer and filters
more contaminants out of your oil than your present oil filter. So initially when converting to some of these
filters, it’s possible you may want to change the filter more than once between oil changes. The best way to
monitor your filter’s status is to install an accurate oil pressure gauge. And when you see a 5 psi drop compared
to the time the filter is first installed, you will know it is time to change the filter as soon the by-pass valve will
be doing its thing, and you will not notice a drop in pressure much beyond that.
I would like to conclude with a quote from Jeremy Wright of Noria Corp, a well-known and factual reference on
anything related to lubrication, “It may cost a few extra dollars in the beginning, but there have been multiple
case studies on the effect of the cleanliness of the oil affecting component life to the tune of three to four times
the life extension of the engine.
Ask yourself the next time you are standing in front of a store shelf full of engine oil filters … “Is it worth a few
extra dollars to me now to save an expensive rebuild down the road?” ”

Disclaimer:
I am neither a professional engineer nor a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers, or a professional
mechanic. Therefore my opinions expressed are not professionally held and should not hold any more weight
than any other person’s uneducated opinion.
This post is only for the education and enjoyment of IH enthusiasts.
:-)

And so why did I do all this? For a couple reasons. First , I’m new to the IH world of trucks. And I did not seem
to find any definitive answers as to which oil filter is best. It all seemed to be circumstantial or anecdotal
evidence such as “I’ve always used this one” and someone else stating “But I’ve found that one to be better”.
But never this one or that one is best because it filters the most efficiently, capturing the smallest contaminants,
or most contaminants, or flows the best with the least pressure drop, etc. So after I found my answers, I wanted
to put something together for the education and use of all IH enthusiasts because I wanted to give back to the
community that has helped me so much with my project truck. And won't you have an answer the next time
someone innocently asks, "What filter do you think I should use?"

Thank you all for the help, support, advice and motivation throughout this forum, thereby keeping my project
on track.