Oil Filter

I have been using Wix 51515R filters on my Hemi. With the recent info about these being made in China. I do have a Moroso filter I can use but was interested in Baldwin products. Any one use Baldwin filters on their racing big block and, if so, what part number? I see where the 51515R translates to Baldwin B2 but I may be wrong.

If you can get past the China part there is nothing wrong with the current Wix 51515R. I have also used the K&N HP-3001. It is Made in Mexico. Fram HP-1s are fine now too.

Thought about trying Baldwin but lack of local availability has kept me from trying one.

Bob is the Oil Guy website likely has posts on oil filters, and what ones are good as well.

The Wix ones here I end up with typically are made in Mexico. I have not seen a China made one yet so far.

You can buy Baldwin on Amazon, they have a store. We used to use them on our construction fleet. For some reason I’ve not considered them for the old cars. Probably because Wix was all I used, it did the job, was always available at my buddies at the old Car Quest, and wasn’t made in china. I’ll give Baldwin a try when my stash runs out. I’d have zero hesitation based on previous experience.

I have been using Wix 51515R filters on my Hemi. With the recent info about these being made in China

Is this info publish anywhere? (link)?

While not a race filter I have had really good luck with the Mopar branded filters. I believe they are actually made my Purolator but I am not positive. I had a situation where I lost some rocker arm needles. The oil pump looked exactly like you would have expected from eating needles. My bearings looked excellent so the filter no doubt did its job.

according to a thread on forbbodiesonly, Wix 51515 are USA-made but 51515R 's have been outsourced to China.

I primarily use the Moroso filter. I did try the Wix Racing once without issue, but here is something to think about.

I like the extra holes for max flow. I dont understand why Wix would make the holes so small and few.

As long as the area of the holes combined is larger than the center hole I am not sure it matters.

So when I was building my W2 stroker motor I had a choice of:
1) re-using the 90 deg adapter
2) using just the regular factory retaining plate (block)
3) purchasing a new aftermarket plate

...and all along, I always paid attention to the actual filter 'input flow capacity' it had, after all it does me no good to have a huge amount of oil flow from the block to the filter, if the filter itself cannot absorb all that flow.

Anyways...I crafted myself a little spreadsheet calculation that gave me a quantitative picture, take a look at the attachment.

Bottom line: the limit, by far, was the size of the flow through the block's oil ports, so on a SB Mopar that's the output port that feeds into the filter and the input port that feeds from the filter.

BTW: I use Wix filters all around, and the field marked EXTRA in that spreadsheet reflects the additional holes I drilled in the factory plate so that the overall flow through the plate would exceed what the block openings themselves were capable of flowing.

I agree, but why would Moroso put so many large holes in their filter?

Perhaps intended for non-OEM installations where the passages have been enlarged and a non-factory filter install is used...maybe like a remote filter install???

Probably due to the oil filter maker they use told them that having more, larger, inlet holes, is way better than having to little and not enough holes for the oil to flow into their filters

More like as long as the ring of holes flow more than the filter area that they are feeding. The filter element should be the restriction, not any holes. Use a low restriction/higher micron rated element, and the flow requirement goes way up.

Filters made in PRC is a deal breaker for me. Quality control is out the window. Don't make the mistake of thinking the company putting their name on the stuff has control of that.

Agree and makes perfect sense to me.

You can always use Mopar 05037836AA, it's the Viper filter, 3/4-16, high pressure rated, and short enough to not touch the belts on BB with the lower idler pulley. I think I pay 18.00 Canadian for these at the dealer.

thanks. I'll look into that filter. I have a 51515R on the car now and 2 more on the shelf. I'm a bit leery about continuing to use them.

I have a case of each from at least 5 years ago ..

Baldwin has a factory about 35 miles from me in Yankton,sd

Has there been any documentation of a decline in quality with the 51515R? I have continued to use them since this China flap started and have cut several apart and I see no difference in quality or performance from the one's I have used.

Still following the results of 51515R disclosure to see if quality declines. I, too, have been using them for years but am proactively concerned.

Jomar no-bypass filter - http://hughesengines.com/Index/prod...amp;level2=RmlsdGVycw==&partid=23365

I used to use those on my small block 10 or so years ago. I tried one on my Big Block and the filter barely grabs any threads on the filter adaptor. Not sure why, but i think it only grabs 1 or maybe 2 threads max. I did not like that, so went to the Moroso instead.

Race motor?


This, or some version of it, and don't look back

Total Seal did a test where they analysed the oil with two different types of filters, I'll never run a screen type filter after watching this.

https://youtu.be/bVEbHTNWxoQ?si=pEGUjxsZHeb-ofJ9

I always had bearing wear issues with the system 1 filters. Guy that does my machine work and builds circle track engines talked me into going back to a paper element filter years ago and the wear issues went away.

IMO the system 1 filters screen the oil instead of filtering it. The 61 micron Wix does a better job of filtering than a 45 micron system 1 did on my engine. My bearings were reused with the Wix, and we never could with the System 1. YMMV

I’m not running a filter, too much restriction -hp loss. Stick a bunch of magnets in the pan and valley to catch the iron particles. Aluminum and brass won’t hurt anything. If engine blows no filter will save you, it’s over so fast you can’t shut it down quick enough. Streets a different animal. Besides how can dirt get into a closed engine unless you’re racing in a plowed field or building it out under the oak tree. First start up use plain jane oil for 5-10 minutes then change out to the good stuff. Use the magnetic drain plug, if it’s got trash on it pull the pan and start checking.

I started using JoMar filters about five years ago. So far everything looks good. My reasoning for using the Jomar is a) non-bypass design for used with bushed lifters and b)quality control. I run Delo 400 or Shell Rotella 15-w40 in almost everything.

B2-HPG.

Seems like a good product. I’ve been using them for 25 years on my muscle cars with no complaints. But I’ve used just about every other brand on everything else. No Complaints on any of them.

I’ve been using Moroso filters since 1985. Blessed by Tesar, good enough for me. They have built hundreds of high profile engines.

Aluminum degrades into aluminum oxide, the grit used in sandpaper, and does so VERY fast.After grinding clearance in my new aluminum block, and missing some fine aluminum particles during cleanup, it took out my bearings (scratched) and the crank needed to be polished. So filters are vital. I firmly believe multiple filters that allow enough fine filtering and flow, along with a well designed magnetic filter to catch fine iron particles would be a good way to go.

All the stock Mopar/Ford oil filters can bypass up to 20% of the oil flow, the race filters can bypass 40%
The stock GM /Chevy type filters are non bypass, 100 % filtration
I do still run the stock type Mopar/Ford oil filters including the big NASCAR type remote mounted Wix race filters

Seems like you could find a safer way to squeeze out a bit more performance w/o sacrificing engine durability. And that's ASSuming you can verify that removing the filter does, in fact, show improved on-track performance.

Ok, why do we remove the air filter or run the drag car without one? Anything that restricts flow..

How much did your oil pressure change after bypassing the filter ?

Jomar 100% No-bypass filters are all I use. They flow a massive amount of oil and have a thicker shell. So far, they have protected my bearings from contamination keeping them clean in spite of my valve train suffering excessive wear and damage and the subsequent metal slurry going into the oil pan..

What's causing the valve train damages

The spring height was insufficiently set, resulting in less spring pressure than was required to control the hydraulic roller lifters. By the time I noticed it, the issue resulted in all the needle bearings in my exhaust-side T&D Rockers disintegrated. My intake pushrods were close enough to the outside of the intake ports to touch them when they began to flex from the harmonics caused by valve float.This was not the case with the exhaust pushrods. They were isolated from contact with anything other than the two ends. This allowed them to effectively turn into a roller bearing destroying harmonic resonance.

Dwayne Porter figured out what went wrong, and helped me switch over to solid rollers. I never looked back.

How much has this improved your ET and MPH?



Excellent question

Can’t find my notes yet

road tested

^^^ Well, that brand is no good - failed the stress test...

I don't consider that an apples to apples comparison for "restriction" examples, but maybe it's just me

I am always amazed at what some backyard mechanics can come up with - some really good ideas and then some really bad ideas - then there is the ones that leave me with no words!

don't forget the canister style, using toilet paper for the filtering element.

FRANTZ. 💩

i only use balwin b2 filters for big block mopars

Not just you. The oil pump is a positive displacement pump. The engine is not. The oil pump will pump a fixed volume with each rotation, with or without a filter. You need to shorten the rotor length to reduce the oil pumped and reduce the hp to drive the pump. Reducing spring pressure will tallow the ho consumed by the pump too.

I want to thank everyone for their input. I'll go with Baldwin or Jomar at the next oil change.