Car_Almond

An E60 with an N52 engine uses a BMW-approved Mann HU-816x. The NAPA Gold oil filter FIL 7327 has noticeably more pleats (filter surface area) than the Mann. Maybe better performing.
Anybody know who makes the NAPA Gold oil filter FIL 7327 ?

http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Ca...327_0238830603

Car_Almond

Interesting video: BMW likes real Mann oil filters, dislikes Chinese counterfeit bootleg ones:

Car_Almond

I did just call up Wix and they said yes, they do "make" NAPA oil filters, HOWEVER, they also said that they have surrogate "partners" that make some of the NAPA oil filters on their behalf. So, even though the "7327" part number for the NAPA Gold oil filter is similar to a Wix part number, we still don't know where the oil filters are sourced (engineered & made).

Also, Wix refused to give me any performance specs for the NAPA Gold filter. (Maybe there is something printed on the box.)
Whoever engineered the NAPA Gold 7327 had some reasons to make it with more surface area than any other filter, more pleats (sturdier?), plus using glass-cellulose premium media.

tonyb635

Where did you get the infor that NAPA filter has more pleats, from an oil change you did? I've not seen any comparison so can't really say. I do know that if you compare Mann+Hummel HU-816x that was purchased from the dealer to one that was purchased from an auto parts store you will probably see a difference in the number of pleates and the actual filter material. The parts they sell back as service parts to dealer are just the like ones that come on the car but when they sell to part houses they can and most often reduce or change this as a cost savings.

Car_Almond

I based my pleat-quantity comparison on the picture at http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Ca...327_0238830603

An update: I got a NAPA Gold oil filter 7327 today. It doesn't quite look like its web picture, as mine has Wix-like plastic end plates, and it does have more pleats than an HU-816x at least.

Also, the HU-816x is all cellulose paper media, while the NAPA Gold is glass-cellulose mixed, maybe better.

Car_Almond

If you look at the HU-816 in BMW's own "Counterfeit..." youtube video above, you'll see the HU-816 has fewer pleats than a NAPA Gold. Here's the thing: In the absence of good ISO test info, one can only choose 1) More Pleats, and 2) Glass-Cellulose Mixed Media as the better filter.

BMW says the HU-816x is good enough, yet I wonder if its really a minimum performing product. Removing more particles gets you better wear results over the long haul. More pleats can hold more particles for longer, avoiding clogged conditions longer.

Car_Almond

I'm a little spoiled, as I previously got to use MicroGreen filters which removed a lot of the small 5 micron particles in a clever built-in internal parallel flow bypass arrangement. They don't make the cartridge filters like our BMW nor for my other car, another cartridge filter car, 2011 Camaro V6 witht the Cadillac V6.

tonyb635

Well from my opinion I'm sure all of the filters one can get at the store will work just fine. Sure some are better but I wonder if you could ever trace any failures directly back to them. I personally use Mann but if one was available I would stick a STP in there.

I kinda view it as too much filtration could have a neg effect. Like your home AC system. A lot of people buy the expensive allergy filters but they actually cause the unit to work harder to pull the return air through it. So with an oil filter that can trap smaller particles perhaps it becomes restricted which then I would assume restricts oil flow? Not sure just thinking.

Car_Almond

"Too much filtration" comments above, all good points. When a filter is clean-new, ISO tests are run to measure what size particles it traps at what percent per set of multiple-passes. And, flow restriction is always an issue, as there is a max pressure drop allowed for a given viscosity clean oil flow rate, all part of the testing procedures...... Interestingly, if you view the BMW youtube video above, a BMW engineer is showing us how the counterfeit cheap filter has larger pores and they show a cheesy animation to support their view that particles slip through. However, as we know, oil filters start to snag 70 micron sized particles, trapping them on the filter media, creating smaller pores from those, with just a little age in your engine. So I don't quite buy the BMW view about greater porosity being a big issue.

And thats why I think the main things that make a great oil filter last longer is filtering area and the addition of glass fibers (not cellulose alone), all there to keep pressure drop lower longer as it naturally clogs up over time.

Its true its fine to go with BMW's view and just put on a Mann HU-816x. I am wondering if we can get filtering down to a smaller size while still maintaining low flow restriction (low enough pressure drop). The premium media oil filters appear to all use a glass-cellulose media, and some have noticeably more filtering surface area. I've noticed Bosch Premium, NAPA Gold, Mobil1 Oil Filters, etc., all using glass to enhance the dirt-holding capacity while filtering down to low micron levels.

ssalb

I've have pretty much exclusively used NAPA Gold (Wix) oil filters in all of my vehicles over the past 25 years. BMWs, Mercedes, numerous Fords some that have seen track time. Never an oil related failure of any sort.