PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

I have read a number of members questions on various posts asking what filters to use. The following is my opinion based on empirical data-EXPERIENCE, and only my opinion. I have rebuilt two GTO's a 70 convertible and 68 HO hardtop (about 5 years ago, still have them). I asked the machinists who completed the work (the premier builder in Idaho-builds engines costing many thousands of dollars!) what filters he recommends for consumer use. His response was Hastings. They have been in business for ever and provided quality filters. My first "real" car was 61 Bonneville Convertible, 389. I used Hastings filters then and I do now. In the 60's I remember we were happy if the cars would go 100,00 miles without major overhaul! My 61 ran up to 180,000 without any major mechanical problems. Never had a transmission problem or leak either! Changed oil in engine often and transmission every 30K miles. Used Hastings filters. I did read a few years back of a Chemical engineer that tested Fram, and his researched showed they were very poor for filtering and the casings are very weak. In the old days "pay me later or pay me now" was true. Not today. The days of loyalty to brands often must be questioned over time, perhaps. Thanks again for a great Club site! BTW have driven Pontiacs since the 50's. When GM shut down the division we had a funeral at our house!

Oh boy, we got a BITOG'er here!!! It might have been more true back in the day, but in our modern world one oil filter is as good as another. I say this because I run Fram on my family's entire fleet. Haven't had a problem ever. The only thing I tell people relentlessly is regular maintenance, maintenance, maintenance!!! You follow your cars outlined maintenance schedule and you'll never have a problem. It's when people get cheap or don't want to spend the money that they run into trouble. Heck, I follow my old Bonne's maintenance schedule to 7,500 mile oil change intervals and change the filter every other time as it specifies. Runs like a dream!

Not all filters are the same. Some do a much better job. Look at this: http://forums.evolutionm.net/evo-engine ... 4b11t.html
and here http://www.gmtruckcentral.com/articles/ ... study.html. Based on these tests Royal Purple, Fram ExtendedGuard, and Amsoil seem to be the best.

Interesting to be sure but one tester admitted to his test being flawed because of the bias of his parameters. The other didn't really impress me either as it was extremely subjective plus his notes were quite sparse. I'm not saying you should use baby diapers to filter oil but to take a stance based on backyard tests is a little extreme.

SuperHbody, perhaps adding comments to a post related to the subject, rather than on a personal basis, would serve all of us readers with greater dignity, respect, and taste. I never intended to display behavior of A BITOG'er, but rather wished to just share some experiences, that covered 50 plus years of time. Any reader who realizes the complexities of the our world would recognize there are many variables when it comes to choosing product. Please do not read between the lines of my post, never did I suggest a scientific analysis, but rather just some old fashion experience. Some even prefer Buicks over Pontiacs GEEEEZ. LOL! You should continue to apply what works for you! And, may you have great experiences driving your SLE!

I didn't intend to be insulting johnrich, my apologies if I came off that way. I get a little caught up in debates on matters such as these. As a former member of the BITOG forum, the amount of well put information usually got so twisted it was hard to decipher and thus I choose to leave. Anyways, do what works best for yourself!

I've only read one controlled conditions blind testing comparative filters test and that was 30 years ago.
Hastings filters got a bad report, and Fram came out best, interestingly UK manufactured Fram filters had superior reserve capacity over US ones. I'm also well aware of British manufacturing's reputation at the time which made for all the more interesting reading.

Jonrich,I have absolutely no doubt you had great results from Hastings filters. I also think you would have no complaint from any other brand you may have chosen to use. Why?. Because I'm sure you would have been very conscientious about maintenance and wouldn't have let a filter that underperformed get old enough to cause trouble.

And anyone who keeps up with their vehicles maintenance schedule shouldn't have any filter issues no matter what brand they prefer unless they are duped into buying counterfeit rubbish.
Unfortunately that is becoming more of a problem in the modern world. Recently the UK's largest supermarket chain found it had been duped into buying fake brand name liquor, and I'm sure they have stringent quality control measures rigorously applied.

Roger.

SuperHbody wrote:: Heck, I follow my old Bonne's maintenance schedule to 7,500 mile oil change intervals and change the filter every other time as it specifies. Runs like a dream!

Help me out here, just so that I understand what you are saying.

7500 miles on an oil change? (Is it synthetic oil?)
And you only change the oil filter every other oil change, so the filter is on there for a total of 15,000 miles?
A good filter is what?,maybe in the $5 range?

I'd be very interested in the year of the car and where you attained this info. (I'm guessing it was the owners manual?)
I just looked in the owners manual for our 2004 Bonneville, and it states the oil AND filter need to be changes at 3000 miles or 3 month, which ever come first.

I'm glad you have good luck with this, but just not what I'm feeling good about doing, myself.

Cheers,

Leon

Haha, that's correct 1tin. You read that right. I have a 1988 Pontiac Bonneville with original owners manual which states this. Its contingent on highway driving, low dust and temperature. I do this on 10w30 full synthetic but I will be changing to a synthetic blend. This maintenance schedule was designed with Dino oil and nothing else so realistically I could go to 10k if I wanted to.

Sadly I see cars all the time that go 10,000-15,000 between oil changes with conventional oil.

burger wrote:Sadly I see cars all the time that go 10,000-15,000 between oil changes with conventional oil.

It is possible to do 10k on regular dino but as I said, it's super contingent on climate as well as driving. Selecting the right maintenance schedule based on driving/climate is critical to oil change interval.

Based on BITOG testing I use Purolator PL10111 PureONE Oil Filter. Order from Amazon.com $5.76 free shipping. Now if I could just find cheap oil to order online I would be set.

Yes an interesting topic. I have been hanging with those who love cars for years, and talking about oil is a bit like talking about politics! I am still of the OPINION that you take all of the conditions into consideration- driving conditions, climate, etc. if you are extending the life of your oil that serves "your engine" well. Most of us do not have the time to conduct an in depth scientific analysis, thus to be on the "safe side" we perhaps change oil more frequently. This attitude has served me well. I do complete my own oil changes, thus keep the cost down. With so many years of having fun with PONTIACS, GTO's, (400 455's)TRANS AM's (Vette Engine with 6 Speed), Fiero's (A cherry 88 GT with about a 300 horse 3800 supercharged engine!) GRAND PRIX's and BONNEVILLES the old Fram advertisement seems to stick with me- "Pay Me Now Or Pay Me Later!". Wow are they good marketers! Pontiacs have served me WELL for 50 plus years! For all who commented thanks for your insight, we learn every day! Rich J

I'm not familiar with Hastings filters. Where do you buy them?

I run Mobil 1, Wix/NAPA Gold, and Amsoil. Fram filters have been junk for at least 20 years...

00Beast wrote:I'm not familiar with Hastings filters. Where do you buy them?

I run Mobil 1, Wix/NAPA Gold, and Amsoil. Fram filters have been junk for at least 20 years...

Outdated thinking. If I can find a link to it I'll post it for you. A gentleman armed with youtube videos and all the Fram failure evidence in the world was invited to tour the Fram factory. He posted it all online and his view was changed significantly. Most of the failure cited was user error and not on Fram. The only issues that the Fram rep admitted too was in the early 2000's they changed over to a new system and had issues which thus affected production.

I purchase my Hastings filters, and I might add not just oil, from a quality parts store here in Idaho. The Hastings filters are made in Hastings, Nebraska, if you are interested I am sure you can find information on line. Again, I am sure there are many good filters out there as has been posted! Hello in Minnesota, I used to live in the cities. Happy Pontiac driving!

Leon, on Cadillacs with the Northstar the DIC automatically calculates when to change to oil based on your driving habits. But on the Bonnevilles, it is 3000 miles for short trips and 7500 miles for highway.
My driving is highway and its easier for me just to change it every 5000 miles.

johnrich wrote:I purchase my Hastings filters, and I might add not just oil, from a quality parts store here in Idaho. The Hastings filters are made in Hastings, Nebraska, if you are interested I am sure you can find information on line. Again, I am sure there are many good filters out there as has been posted! Hello in Minnesota, I used to live in the cities. Happy Pontiac driving!

Interesting. I found their website, I'll have to look into them.

Whereabouts in the metro? My family owns a business in White Bear Lake, but we actually live in rural MN, near New Ulm if you're at all familiar.

SuperHbody wrote:Outdated thinking. If I can find a link to it I'll post it for you. A gentleman armed with youtube videos and all the Fram failure evidence in the world was invited to tour the Fram factory. He posted it all online and his view was changed significantly. Most of the failure cited was user error and not on Fram. The only issues that the Fram rep admitted too was in the early 2000's they changed over to a new system and had issues which thus affected production.

Sorry, I'll trust the failures we've seen here and elsewhere, along with seeing one cut apart, to take my money elsewhere. Glue and cardboard does not a good filter cap make, nor does paper/cardboard make a good filter media. I'll trust the metal caps and high-quality media in the brands I listed above.

00Beast wrote:

SuperHbody wrote:Outdated thinking. If I can find a link to it I'll post it for you. A gentleman armed with youtube videos and all the Fram failure evidence in the world was invited to tour the Fram factory. He posted it all online and his view was changed significantly. Most of the failure cited was user error and not on Fram. The only issues that the Fram rep admitted too was in the early 2000's they changed over to a new system and had issues which thus affected production.

Sorry, I'll trust the failures we've seen here and elsewhere, along with seeing one cut apart, to take my money elsewhere. Glue and cardboard does not a good filter cap make, nor does paper/cardboard make a good filter media. I'll trust the metal caps and high-quality media in the brands I listed above.

Just goes to show how hard it is to build a good reputation and how easy to lose one.

Why doesn't glue and cardboard make for a good filter cap?, how do you think aircraft are put together nowadays?.
And why doesn't paper make for a good filtering media?.

An oil filters job is to trap particles larger than 20 microns - the size that hurts plain bearings. We have come a long way from strips of felt held in a wire mesh, I can think of no reason why paper shouldn't be a splendid media for this job, for a steel mesh filter to be as efficient it would surely be much larger and heavier.

How many AUTHENTICTED cases of filter failure causing damage are there?, as opposed to filters failing due to abuse or being operated outside their design parameters. I don't mean someone on Youtube taking a filter apart and saying "Look at this rubbish",

Roger.

When the pay me now/ pay me later ads started running all of the filters were made in the USA. Consumer Reports even rated them #1. Probably early nineties. Since then Fram has been owned by several corporations and a lot of the manufacturing was moved to Mexico. I live in a small Ohio town with a Fram factory. It nearly closed. In the last few years production & employment has increased. Don't know which of the filters are made here. Wasn't even aware a problem existed till reading it on this site. Seems a bit odd as Fram usage here is very high.