If you think the stock oil filter is just fine, stop reading. If you think it's tiny, read on.

After discovering that Nissan specifies a tiny oil filter, I went out to find a larger one. That led me to the Purolator L14610, which is a very common filter. It's all of 1/2" longer than the spec L14612, which is pretty much the same size as Nissan's 15208. The L14610 is a no-brainer to use, since it costs the same as the L14612. Blowing my $5, I cut open a L14610 to find it has a whopping 103 square inches of media. The L30001 has 316 sq.in. of media. Now, that's what I would rather have. Too bad the base is wrong.

A search of Purolator's site didn't turn up anything hopeful. So, I turned to Wix's site, which offers much more useful information.

What I was hoping for was a filter the size of the L30001 or the Wix 51515, but with our thread and gasket size. Remote filter mounts I've seen are sized for the 51515 anyway. I wanted to avoid putting in a remote filter, especially since there's room for a large filter in the regular location! Plus, I couldn't find a decent place to mount a remote base that didn't have me pulling the front of the car apart to run lines or mount the base.

For our small filter base with M20-1.5 threads a couple of options appeared: 51344 or 51318.

So, I bought a 51344 at a local store and cut it open. I measured 167 sq.in. of media. Not a bad improvement. And, it's not much more than the L14610 when purchased by the case. For someone who wants a larger filter, but still doesn't want to spend much, get a case of the 51344 filters from somewhere like fleetfilter.com. It's an excellent option.

But, the filter that shines is the 51318. It's only a little smaller than the 51515, but has the right base. Too bad they're expensive at $14 each. Hey, it's a hobby, so I buy a few to play with. (They may be under $10 each if I buy a case.) Cutting it open, I find the media covers 314 sq.in. That's a winner. The nominal filtering is 13 microns. That's a winner. Too bad Wix doesn't tell me the beta... Since it's nominal microns are smaller than the others, I'm going to assume the beta is better.

To summarize:
sq.in. media area
L14610: 103
51344: 167
51318: 314
51515: 349

nominal microns
51365: 19 (spec)
51344: 19
51318: 13
51515: 19

size: H x OD
51365: 2.6 x 2.7
51344: 4.1 x 3.25
51318: 4.8 x 3.7

Ok, so the bypass valve in the 51318 is higher at 16psi than either the 51314 or 51365 (8-11psi), but so what? The bypass valve is to protect the filter. Besides, if it's too high or gets stuck, Nissan put in a bypass valve around the whole filter anyway. You could run a filter without an internal bypass valve in this car.

Last weekend I put in a 51318, and it just fits. It's about 1/8" away from the alternator bracket. The plastic cable mount for the oil pressure sender wire rubs on it, but that's not a problem. I refilled with 5-1/2qt oil to compensate for the larger filter, and put 8oz of oil into the filter before mounting it to help with that first dry start.

So far, my oil pressure is the same as before. No suprise as it looks like the pressure sender is before the filter. The pressure seems to come up at about the same speed when I start the car. That's good.

Comparison photos can be seen here.

What this gets me is peace of mind as I aim to go 7500 miles until my next oil change. From used oil analyses I've seen, Mobil 1 5w30 should easily last 7500 miles. This engine seems to be very clean, so maybe I could use a tiny filter to go the distance. Then again, after spending $30k on the car, why not spend $10 on an oil filter? It's a small expense compared to gas...

Asterix

 

I used to burn M1 5w30 as well as some other local guys around here.

 

Great post, I going to change to the Wix filter. I a little confused though, You state that it is a Wix 51318 but the photo shows 551318. I do appreciate the time that you taken to post this information.

 

+1 Royal Purple burnt even faster GL!

 

here goes another oil filter thread

https://my350z.com/forum/engine-driv...elocation.html

https://my350z.com/forum/engine-driv...-filter-z.html

https://my350z.com/forum/engine-driv...-filter-z.html

https://my350z.com/forum/engine-driv...-more-oil.html

 

That extra 5 came for free. I ordered 51318 and one marked '551318' is what I received. From Wix's site, it looks like 551318 is an old number. It's not like filters have a limited shelf life, so this one may have sat on Wix's shelf for a while. There's not much demand for this model filter since it's only specified for a John Deere 84, 244E Loader w/Yanmar engine. Nobody else uses it.

This is the start of my second run of 5w30 Mobil 1. I drained the first at about 3700 miles; there's about 34k on the car (an '04). It's not burning oil as far as I can tell. If it starts burning the M1, I'll look for the German Castrol (which may be hard to find now).

Asterix

ps thanks Z04 for tying all the threads together...

 

Yes, but the OP found one that takes the cake! Nice job OP!

Too bad it's too big for those of us with oil coolers and extra sensors in place. (I actually have 2 sandwich adapters, and then an M110 oil filter).

 

I'll be using the German Castrol once I get enough miles on the new motor. I was running it before without a problem

 

Yeah. I m using German Castrol one as well.