"Well made" is a very subjective term as most backyard mechanics and engineers can only speculate on what is considered "good" and "bad." That's why I just stick with the recommended part # and let the engineers do the R&D work for me and not worry about this stuff. There is way too much liability for such a crucial part for them to really produce something that'll cause serious problems.

My point is that the oil filter is most important during the initial engine wear-in and after that, it isn't nearly as important as some say it is. As long as the filter is replaced at reasonable intervals, your engine will live a very long life. I wouldn't try to go overboard and use a super-duper filter and think that your engine will last a gazillion miles longer....as I doubt it would.

There's really no such thing as "crappy" oil. SM/GF-4 mineral oils all perform similarly and do fine for a 5-7k/6mo interval in nearly all daily drivers that do not require a specific synthetic oil. For the entry-level mineral oils, performance differences are minimal between brands so I just use the cheapest I can find. For instance, I use Chevron 5w30 in all daily drivers as I can get it from Kragen's for $0.59/qt after mail-in...

I don't disagree that better oil and filters do exist and they may provide a benefit. But the question is, will most daily drivers actually see a benefit from using top quality oil and filters, or is it just peace of mind? Will there actually be a noticeable difference at 200k miles between the car that used the latest API oil and mystery filters at 5-7k intervals compared to the car that used top quality oil and filters? Hate to say it, but its unlikely that the car that used top quality oil and filters will run significantly better and deliver noticeably better economy and performance...which is why I just use the cheapest I can find.

Oil consumption is annoying but adds a tremendous safety factor to the oil…and for my Saturn S-Series, 1 qt every 2-3k miles is consider very average consumption. Consider that a good number of those vehicles consume a quart every 500-1000 miles, yet still last > 250k miles…LOL.

 

So do you have to figure the oil consumption into the FE since that car is not running on gas alone?

That is almost the same consumption as a 2-stroke engine uses with pre-mix.

 

“Believe It Or Not” While at the Toyota dealer today to have my wife’s TCH serviced (Just a code change for the headlights) I inquired if it was possible to obtain the oil filter made in Japan (90915-10004) rather than the Thailand version (90915-YZZF1). He informed me that the 10004 is only installed on first production engines in order that if a customer comes in for warranty service for the motor they’ll pull the filter to see if its been changed at recommended intervals. Than if the factory filter is still installed they claim it’s the owner negligent because he didn’t change the oil and filter with the factory filter as verification. My take on this is made in Japan buy in Japan, sell to do it yourself owners buy low sell high. Any thoughts on his statement? Cause it shocked me!

 

Sounds like a line of BS to me. The Thailand version of the filter is just cheaper for Toyota of North America to purchase. Denso would be a high end more expensive filter and could result in dealers losing oil change business to independent shops if their prices went up to cover the higher costs.