Are all Wix oil filters created equal?

The annual Mopar Max races and car show are coming up in June this year at Cedar Falls Motorsports Park. I am getting the old 64 ready to go if I can find a driver for test and tune. I thought I had a Wix racing oil filter in the garage but it turns out to be a Wix 85515 for Carquest. The box reads contents made in USA...So what is the difference between this filter and a Wix racing filter? Do you fellas think it is safe to use? Thanks!! Ted

The R filter has larger filtering media. I've run both. Currently the standard filter after the rebuild. I figured it would catch finer debris. I'll go back to the R filer after break-in.
Doug

The standard filter 85515 filters to 21 microns and flows 7-9 gallons per min. the 85515r filters to 61 microns and flows 28 GPM.


Joe

When I was still working, our preventative maintenance foreman toured a Wix filter plant. What he was told during the tour was that Wix makes privately labelled filters for others to their specifications. When our guy asked if that meant some are better than others, the factory rep just smiled and repeated that they are made to the customer's specifications. Take it for what it's worth.

Use Baldwin. You'll be much happier with the quality when you pull one apart.

Makes ya wonder what the media difference might be between standard Wix filters (say the 51515) and the Napa Gold equivalent.

Probably nothing, that factory guy isn't going to tell everyone that they label the same filter for everyone. My .02.

The GPM flow difference between the R and standard filter is staggering. How much does a high volume R or LA oil pump flow?

What the engine will let the pump flow is the determining factor.

I believe all filters are normally rated without a restriction. Based on past tests I’m betting most engines won’t allow more than 5 gpm to pass through the system.

Canister burst strength is more with race filter too ..

Comparing the two filters, if one has a third of the filtering capacity, that translates into a third of the pressure drop so for a constant inlet pressure, three times the flow (roughly).

When I was searching for a filter for my race car, I called Mobile One support for the filters. I was shocked that the plant where Mobile One filters are made also made Wix and a bunch other makes of filters. That does not mean that they are all made the same though.

EngineMasters did a dyno shoot-out on oil filters last year. The Wix did real well. I have ran the 51515 for many years now. Never a problem.

The strange thing we noticed, when comparing the Wix 51515 to the Wix racing 51515R filter at the dyno ; the racing filter actually had Slightly SMALLER openingson the filter base plate. That did not make sense to us nor the dyno/shop owner.

Anyone have a clue as to why that would be?

RE: higher burst pressure required a stronger base plate, easier to stamp smaller holes than make that part out of thicker metal

Ever see one fail?

Great info guys! Thank you! I have blown the "O" ring out of a Wix racing filter years ago..Also seen a Wix racing filter let go on my friends 8 second Roadrunner..

i too have blown o-rings out of wix filters, but i was jacking around with pressure relief springs.
the only other wix problems i have had with using them for over 45 years, was a filter with no threads, and a filter missing the o-ring.
i buy them by the case [51515's] because they fit everything here.
unless they take a dump quality wise, i will keep on buying them.

i have ran two and four remote mounted stock type oil filters in the past doing dyno testing looking for more power, no gain but it would suspire me that the added filters did more filtering than one
All the Mopar type oil filters have built in bypasses so they don't filter all the oil like some of the GM type filters due
I tried using the 51515R for a short while and went back to the stock 51515 Wix filters do to Murphy loving messing with me every chance I give him
40% less filtering on the R version
I do set my oil bypass pressure to equal 10 lbs. of pressure for each 1000 RPM at the shift RPM,7000 RPM equals 70 lbs. Of pressure with hot oil at 7000 RPM

That is because of the micron ratings effect on flow rates. You cant have your cake and eat it too with oil filters and race engines. Micron rating, flow rates, oil viscosity all are at play.

You can't, wait no, I should say you shouldn't, run any stock style oil filter on a race engine that sees high RPM due to the low micron rating and lower flow rates.

Just the same you shouldn't run a WIX racing filter on a street engine that see's thousands of miles either....

I run the WIX R filter on my engine. Reused the bearings when we had it apart over the winter....

I guess it works.

Same here. I use the WIX 51515 or NAPA Gold 1515 on all our BB Mopars. No problems ever.

i use balwin b-2 only