Cheap oil filters

[Robert Taylor]

Mention the word CHEAP in a header statement and it will instantly attract interest like bees to honey. I make no apology for often looking at issues from a different perspective, the word cheap and how it is applied is always very interesting.

Maybe we shouldnt always be asking why some products appear to be so expensive, but instead why so many products are so cheap...

Back in the late 80's through early 90's I worked for the then Yamaha distributors Moller Yamaha. At that time aftermarket oil filters were becoming more available and some dealers were selling these. So I took it upon myself to buy up all of the known aftermarket filters and had them independently analysed in a laboratory.

Criteria we were looking for included total paper area, releif valve opening pressure and filtration ability in microns. The results with many or most of the aftermarket filters were frankly, horrifying. One brand had only 60% of the paper area of genuine and consistently they all had significantly less paper area than genuine. Other ''results'' included releif valve opening pressure too low ( significantly ) or too high ( again significantly ) and filtration ability ''very coarse''.

Interpretation, less ability to filter properly, less able to to entrap finer wear particles over the course of its fitment, less total ''capacity'' etc etc. I havent for some time evidenced engine failure as a direct result of fitting cheap filters, but inarguably they will shorten the life of an engine.

I have no doubt that there are a number of perfectly good oil filters on the market and invariably these will be at the higher end price wise. But the passage of time since my analysis has not convinced me that the quality of the cheap and cheerful brands has improved, quite the opposite. More and more goods are being made in China and demonstrably many of these companies are ( shall we say ) largely devoid of ethics. And many of these manufacturers have the temerity to use the word quality with respect to their filthy products.

In the same vein it is intensely annoying when a customer says, ''I only want a cheap part because Im selling the bike'' Funny thing human nature.

I suggest being decent to the engine and decent to subsequent owners, fit genuine oil filters and high quality motorcycle specific oil.

[98tls]

i am an old bugger and still subscribe to an even older buggers theory..my old man used to say "changing oil is like giving a bike a blood transfusion.....only use the best",same applies to filters i reckon........

[HDTboy]

Further to that, there is no point in running clean oil through a soiled filter, I always change filters with oil, and I do it many times a day

[Paul in NZ]

There is a BIG difference between cheap and inexpensive!

[Robert Taylor]

Granted that there can be a difference between cheap and inexpensive. But I hear the word cheap used by most of the people most of the time. Long term ( and often even short term ) the more expensive goods turn out in reality to be inexpensive.

[GSVR]

Sometimes stuff like this is cheap only because it hasn't been through many hands each adding their markup and also having the peace of mind the it is a genuine OEM part. Word I got from someone in the industry for many years was that Suzuki or who ever contracts the same people that make the cheap oil filters to make theirs.

Main thing thats going to really increase you engines life is clean good oil. i.e regular oil changes. And if you save money on filters you can afford to change your oil more often I guess.

[Pussy]

There is only one correct option....OEM. I put up a post a few months ago regarding a Champion filter on an SV1000. It leaked from the main body, and looked like it had been made behind a low class dunny in Soweto. To each their own, but I won't touch aftermarket..... except possibly K&N oil filters

[Robert Taylor]

Sometimes stuff like this is cheap only because it hasn't been through many hands each adding their markup and also having the peace of mind the it is a genuine OEM part. Word I got from someone in the industry for many years was that Suzuki or who ever contracts the same people that make the cheap oil filters to make theirs.

Main thing thats going to really increase you engines life is clean good oil. i.e regular oil changes. And if you save money on filters you can afford to change your oil more often I guess.

Sorry Garry, I disagree with much of what you have said. Cynically, ''the earth is flat'' and ''the holocaust never happened''. My point is people will beleive what they want to beleive, and largely to how it affects their pockets. And in an increasingly manipulated world many people will beleive what they are told to beleive. Joseph Goebbels must be laughing in his grave, as will Kim Il Sung who took mind control and indoctrination to new levels.

Motorcycle manufacturers do indeed use outside vendors to supply them with components, but at least the big 4 and the Euro manufacturers have a rigid standard of quality and performance in their filters. But there is absolutely nothing to stop the same supplying vendors producing filters for aftermarket sales that look exactly the same externally except for a different label and packaging. But they likely will have less paper area of a lower filtration quality.

All is never as it seems and not worth the risk.

Moreover, how many of us stop to think about one of the reasons many or most mainland Asian goods are so cheap? Their workers are poorly remunerated and live and work ( for long hours ) in conditions that we as westerners would not accept. So when we complain about a higher priced product produced under a system that treats its workers well are we not being a little hypocritical? Conversely the reality of low wages and high taxes in our own isolated shaky isles dictates a keen sense of budgeting.

So you purchase a bike and under your ''care'' you always rigidly feed it fresh cheap filters, and maybe cheap oil ( another subject ) When you go to sell it will you do the decent thing and tell the purchaser that you have only used cheap goods that will compromise its ultimate life?

Remember Bill Clinton stating ''I did not have sex with that woman'' or Helen Clark ''I was unaware we were speeding''. Also that Products like Ribena are good for you because its full of Vitamin C, said so on the labelling.......

Caveat emptor.

[sAsLEX]

I see your point about CHEAP filters.

But is OEM the only answer? They are making things to a price and a standard, surely other companies have a higher standard..... its just finding one I guess.

I mean OEM things are nice say stereos, they do the job, but replace it with a say Bose or other high end specialist product and you will get better performance. There must be a high spec filter maker somewhere that out does OEM.

[Robert Taylor]

I see your point about CHEAP filters.

But is OEM the only answer? They are making things to a price and a standard, surely other companies have a higher standard..... its just finding one I guess.

I mean OEM things are nice say stereos, they do the job, but replace it with a say Bose or other high end specialist product and you will get better performance. There must be a high spec filter maker somewhere that out does OEM.

That of course is a very valid point. The only issue is sifting through all the mindless marketing hype. And of course free and easy use of arguably the most misused statements in all languages....''good quality, best quality, high quality'' etc.

One of the filter brands we had tested was from an aftermarket company with a long standing well respected name. I would expect the only way of answering who makes the best ( and the worst ) filters is to do exactly what I did 17 years ago. Maybe consumer magazine? As I said previously nothing is ever as it seems....in this case oem is the safest option.

[Sensei]

Has riding that 1098s on Wednesday put you into a new state of Enlightment LOL , always great reading your posts . Ps remmeber the blinkers next time

[Robert Taylor]

Has riding that 1098s on Wednesday put you into a new state of Enlightment LOL , always great reading your posts . Ps remmeber the blinkers next time

Please, didnt want to world at large to know that I will very occassionally actually ride a motorcycle, but not for enjoyment.

[babyblade250rr]

im sure the same applies to bikes and cages use reputable brands "Reputation" comes from high quality products which = extensive research and quality control which proves "reliable" consistant reliability = quality which = reputable and so on and so forth hehe i could go on all day with just the above two lines.

I'm sure as long as you don't use back yard products that no one has ever herd of you should be fine.

[avgas]

I'm a simple sucker, if i try something and it works. Then i tell the world.
Likewise if i try something and it fails.....all hell breaks loose.
This trial and error approach has taught me that not all OEM stuff is gifts from the gods...nor worth paying through the teeth for all the time.
While i do think some OEM products require merit, i have also been burned big time by OEM stuff.
What really pisses me off is when OEM is so ridiculously overpriced, only to find it was made to the same quality as the after market. Or taking your thing to a Yamaha/Suzuki/Honda/Kawasaki mechanic, only to have it being fixed with aftermarket stuff as they cant wait the 12 weeks for Yamaha/Suzuki/Honda/Kawasaki Asia (usually Malaysia rather than Japan which doesn't make jack) to get off their fat asses and send shit out.
Why is it cheaper, easier and quicker for me to be sent parts from Europe/USA for the bike than it is for stuff to be sent from OEM china to OEM japan to OEM NZ to OEM distributor to the bloody workshop??????

[imdying]

Because reputation never comes from marketing, oh no...