67tripwr

I picked up the first oil filter for the LS1 engine in my vette. I looked at the size, and said to myself "you gotta be kiddin". Why on earth did GM go to a filter this small? We all know the size of filters used on small block Chevy's. I always ran the PF 35 truck filters on all my small Chevy's. I think the old PF 25's are twice the size of even these filters! Is the situation GM stopped using bypass valves, and therefore all the oil passes through this small filter? I just do not understand more crankcase capacity, and smaller filter???? Anybody????

Dont tell me they crammed more filter media into that small can. More filter media means more filtration, and I loved having the PF35 on my small blocks. I just know I slept easier

djengr

Just guessing, but I would think a lot has to do with the clearance between filter and pavement. Don't know why they did not design for a wider filter though. I replace the filter when the oil life monitor gets to 60%.

madeouttaglass

"Honey, it's not about size, but what you can do with it."

WhiteC5Vette

As technology advances, engines have become better sealed to the outside (of the engine) environment; therefore, less dirt and contaminants get into the oil. The oil filter has an easier job to do; so it can be designed smaller to do as good a job as a large filter would do.
In addition, if GM had decided to use a unique, fat, oil filter, then everyone would be screaming about the cost for this unique filter and the limited places to purchase.
According to my oil filter analyses over the past year, the filter is doing a great job, as well as the Mobil 1 5W-30.
I should also add that oil is also used to help cool the engine, so a larger supply of oil helps to cool. A larger supply of oil also allows for an oil supply to be available when performing high-speed maneuvering.
If you think this filter is small, take a look at the Honda 3.5L V6.

jrose7004

leaftye

There's still a bypass. The filter would have to be much bigger if all the oil passed thru it.

rwlc5

My daughter's 4 cylinder Pontiac Sunfire calls for the same filter as the vette!!

Vetteman Jack

It may be small, but it is effective.

6 speed Sid

Maybe the small size is used to hold down the original factory cost??

BWP 5P

Naw...AC DELCO wanted a bigger one but THE General beat them down so far on price....that's all Delco could afford to sell them.

lvvette777

I know what you mean, I just changed my oil for the second time yesterday and put in the UPF44 Ultraguard gold Delco. I was surprised at how small it was myself the first time I saw the filter.

dkdonkim

but some still prefer size?????

leaftye

You can still spin on a bigger oil filter, UPF 46 or 48 I think, but if you do, I'd bring a stock-size spare, a jack and 6.5L of Mobil 1!

Patman

Because of the small size of the C5 oil filter, it's even more critical to choose a filter which flows very well, to avoid oil starvation if you drive at full throttle a lot. This is why I like the K&N oil filter, it flows very well, but yet my oil analysis results show it does an excellent job of keeping engine wear very low. The Mobil 1 filter is one filter I would definitely avoid, it does not flow very well at all. The Ultraguard Gold (which I know many of you think is the best there is) also does not flow very well.

Cocked and Locked

I guess I wasn't aware there had been a Corvette oil filter mystery

2K14C7

Look at it this way. Would the GM engineers require the use of the filter if there was even a remote chance of it being inadequate?

I use Mobil 1 filters but they are the same size as the stock one.

Patman

Sure they would! They don't necessarily pick every single part on the car based on longevity. The smaller oil filters are there because of packaging, they simply do not have room for a bigger one, nor are they going to redesign the entire setup just for a bigger filter.

I'm not saying this small filter is going to severely shorten the engine's life, but realistically speaking GM doesn't care if the smaller oil filter might actually do that. To them, as long as it gets your engine past the warranty (plus a little more), that's all they truly need. They don't care if you get 200k out of the engine, or 100k.

Like I said, because the filter is small, you don't want to pick a restrictive one like the Mobil 1 or PureONE, or even the popular Ultraguard Gold. You want something like the K&N or Amsoil or Wix (NAPA Gold/Carquest Premium) or even the stock AC Delco filter flows well too. I'd go with a Walmart Supertech (which is actually a very well built and decently high flowing filter) long before I'd ever run the Mobil 1, PureONE or Ultraguard. And don't even get me started on the Fram, those filters are just pure junk.

leaftye

You guys do know that not all the oil goes thru the filter right? The filter would have to be huge to be able to handle that. If Chevy really wanted the oil to be filtered well, they would've run 4 filters in parallel and series (2x2), but oil that clean is just silly. Anyway, if your oil needs that much filtering, your filter should be the last of your concerns!

TheHammer

I think we have small filters to save weight. lol/jk

leaftye

That explains why there's a Mitsu Lancer air filter in my Vararam...