StromTrooper banner

Oil Filter Choices

7K views 27 replies 13 participants last post by  Braz 
#1 ·
all :?:
I took a tip from some article somewhere about substituting a Purolator filter for the OEM one [oil that is], but found it would not work due to thread differences.

can someone give me the shortlist of excellent alternatives to the Suzuki filter? [who makes the Suzuki filter anyways?]

Zapp
 
#3 ·
NAPA Gold Filter 1359

This is a decent filter that I use on my Strom. It costs a few dollars less than the Suzuki part and will not mess up your warranty. See Moss Magnuson Act for details... You can install this filter with two turns, no worries there.

I don't buy these filters to cheat my dealer out of a sale, it's just that the NAPA parts store is right near my house and the Suzuki shop is WAY on the other side of the valley. I'd buy them from Suzuki if I remembered to, but I usually don't.

I used NAPA filters on my Concours for years and years with excellent results. In the case of that bike, the dealer price with the needed o-ring kit was almost double the NAPA price which included the o-rings. Those filters came from NAPA on purpose.

Ride well (filtered).

Jeff
 
#4 ·
Puralator is OK I use em in my car.

Stay Away from FRAM... they Suck

On the DL I use a K&N, I like the NUT that comes welded on it.. makes tightening it (the 2 full turns) real easy. and it's drilled for safety wire.... If that falls into your needs.

K&N ....Excellent Quality .. go for it


Chris
 
#5 ·
Chris: WHICH purolator

chris I tried purolator, but obviously the cross-ref we looked at was wrong because the threads were way different. size and etc was right... threads wrong. help

Zapp
 
#8 ·
I've noticed that all oil filters for the DL have what looks like some kind of leakdown or pressure relief valve built in to the filter. you can actually take a screwdriver and push on it and it will move up and down about 2mm. In some of the after market filters this valve is plastic- Fram,Napa etc. In the suzuki filter it is metal. Dan
 
#9 ·
I'm new here, and should pick up my 05 650 V-strom Wed.
Two questions.

How much does the Suzuki filter cost, and how many follow the recommendation of changing at 600 and them waiting until 11,000 miles for next filter change?

I've almost always changed oil and filter together.
 
#10 ·
I broke mine in hard [following two articles I read on the topic], changed first at 100 miles, oil and filter because the metal will clog the filter. Next change at 800 miles, inspect oil before trashing filter: if there is still metal then dump the filter. if just sooty, keep filter.

after that [breakin] do both at every 5000 miles.

suzu filter 14 bucks! ouch, but no alternative

z
 
#11 ·
Tell me about bad filters

:shock: I bought a Fram filter from Wally World and installed it on DL650. (No problem with the two turn tightening procedure). It's been in place now for more than 1500 miles without incident.
Now someone says Fram filters are no good (or what ever "sucks" means). Can anyone be more specific? Has any manufacturer of any internal combustion engine prohibited the use of Fram? Does anyone have first hand knowledge of an engine manufacturer denying warranty because the engine owner/operator used a major brand oil, air or fuel filter? :roll:



Old george
68 goin' on 17
 
#13 ·
Re: Tell me about bad filters

Fram has gone from a 'good' reputation ( through advertising and race sponsorship ) to a very bad reputation among the motorcycle / car hobbyists. This was largely caused by a website where some industrious engineer type decided to buy filters from all the major brands, cut them up, and check what was inside.

This is what he said about Fram :
"Oil Filters come basically in three qualities. Very good, with excellent filtration; normal; and really incredibly bad. This last category, really incredibly bad, should obviously be avoided. Accordingly, never use a Fram, Pennzoil, Penske, Castrol, or Quaker State oil filter in any motor you like. All of these filters are made by Fram."

Website (2nd article) :
http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Filters.html


I've used Fram before, mostly because it was the only thing around. I haven't had any fail, but I only get them if nothing else is around when I need to do an oil change. The whole thing is probably blown out of proportion, Im sure GM etc would be suing Fram if they were regularly tearing up cars prematurely since they have to pay for the repair on warrantied cars. OTOH, a new engine probably wont fail from something like that.

I would just suggest switching to another filter next time you do an oil change, if possible. And personally, when I don't forget, I order the Suzuki filter online. That way I don't have to worry about the quality, or any warranty issues, from a flaky filter. I change oil about every 2000 - 3000 miles.


-Shady



Mariah said:
:shock: I bought a Fram filter from Wally World and installed it on DL650. (No problem with the two turn tightening procedure). It's been in place now for more than 1500 miles without incident.
Now someone says Fram filters are no good (or what ever "sucks" means). Can anyone be more specific? Has any manufacturer of any internal combustion engine prohibited the use of Fram? Does anyone have first hand knowledge of an engine manufacturer denying warranty because the engine owner/operator used a major brand oil, air or fuel filter? :roll:



Old george
68 goin' on 17
 
G
#15 ·
for mariah

i posted earlier on this and use hiflo oil filters(#138 for the strom's) 1/3 the price of new, and good build quality.

however, my comment about fram filters comes from several incidents at willow springs in the early 1990's where several racers with different bikes and different fram oil filters had them blow off; several crashes occured and i think one guy is in wheelchair to this day! willow springs did ban fram oil filters after it was determined the racers had correctly installed and saftey wired them. that was good enough for me to switch to oem filters for my honda at $6 each ( less than frams at the time ) i have also used emgo's with no ill effect. my local suzuki dealer charges almost $20. for an oem oil filter! a friend who worked at an motorcycle service shop sold me a hiflo and said he and his customers have had no problems-neither have i.
 
#17 ·
we need a good source for the OEM filter. someone who is willing to sell near cost in order to get our business on other Strom accessories & such!
Oneida? AZ Motorsports?
[are you vendors listening?]

Z
 
#21 ·
re oil, while we're on this topic

does anyone know if there is danger in using a 15/40 heavy duty oil like Rotella or the Mobil product, seeing that the spec calls for 10/40?
zapp
 
G
#22 ·
Re: re oil, while we're on this topic

zapp said:
does anyone know if there is danger in using a 15/40 heavy duty oil like Rotella or the Mobil product, seeing that the spec calls for 10/40?
zapp
Not all. I've used it during "break-in" then went with the synthetic Rotella. Great stuff.
 
#23 ·
Re: re oil, while we're on this topic

zapp said:
does anyone know if there is danger in using a 15/40 heavy duty oil like Rotella or the Mobil product, seeing that the spec calls for 10/40?
zapp
I have not used it , but I spent some time on the Rotella page today, and they say it's great for bikes. Getting into the fine print, it does appear to meet Suzuki's requirements in the service manual.I'm thinking it may be my oil of choice.
 
G
#25 ·
The OEM is probably the best filter available and is built to specs used for Suzuki's factory racing bikes. It's bullet-proof but unfortunately is priced accordingly. K&N and Napa Gold filters are good alternatives. FRAM filters are flimsy cardboard garbage and have a well-deserved reputation for destroying bikes. Keep in mind that a high-revving motorcycle's filter has to operate under oil pressures significantly greater than automobile engines. If it blows out, it fills your engine full of it's collected garbage plus all it's internal components. Failed filters often clog the oil channels in the engine, effectively cutting off the oil supply to critical engine parts, causing irreparable damage.

I use Suzuki's brand of oil which is a bargain, change it every 2500 miles and replace the oil filter every other oil change, or 5000 miles, after the first 2400 miles. On ANY brand new bike, I religiously change the oil AND oil filter at 600 miles, 1200 miles and 2400 miles on the odometer.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top