This is my first posting on a forum, so please be patient, and help me with the typo errors.
I recently cut apart the two General Motors oil filters that are available for my 2003 Tracker, equipped with the 2.5 L V-6. I had accumulated 10,000 km on this, so I figured it is well broken in and decided to go with Mobile 1 synthetic. What I was not ready for was the surprise in quality when I cut open the two previous oil filters.
There are two oil filters available for this engine from your friendly GM dealer. In the owners manual is GM part number 91176162. If you pick up this part, you will easily see that it is a Genuine Suzuki Part with the Suzuki part number (16510-85FAO) This is the oil filter that Suzuki put on the GM tracker at the assembly line when they made the engine. This filter is black , and also had the Suzuki identification on the filter case. Canadian list price on this filter is about $18.20 from a GM dealer .
The other filter that is available from your GM dealer is the A/C Delco PF1245. The actual GM part number for this filter is 25014441. List price is around $12.75. My parts man thought he was doing me a favour by saving me $6.00 on the filter by using the PF 1245.
I decided ( as I have done in the past with my other vehicles) to cut open and compare the filters. I was not prepared for the differences between these two filters. You Suzuki lovers will be pleased to know that the Suzuki filter is one of the best quality fillters that I have ever cut open. First off, I am not an engineer, but anybody can see the obvious differences.( If some one can reply to this post, and explain to me how to display the digital photos, that would be appreciated). I think most will be disappointed if they have been using the PF1245.
Ok, so here is what I found. First off the surface area of the Suzuki filter is a whopping 260 square inches. Pretty darn good for the small packaging required to fit this into the small canister. The paper pleets are much deeper, and the anti drain back valve is good quality as well. Now the bad news. The GM PF1245 oil filter paper works out to 120 square inches. The spool of this filter is shorter, and a smaller diameter, but externally the filter is only slightly smaller. The paper pleets are only half as deep as well. The filter media appears thinner, but then again I cannot test its actual filtering ability. The fact is the Suzuki filter has over twice the filter surface area!!!
When I unrolled the two paper filtering media beside each other the PF1245 is 43 1/2 inches long and narrower. The Suzuki filter paper is 89 inches long.! I plan to keep my Tracker ( ok, Suzuki) for many years. I also know on my previous experiances that good engine oil, and filter contibutes to good engine life.
I will post the actual filter digital photos as soon as I learn how.
PS. My wife and I are very pleased with the V-6, and the automatic overdrive. I have a relative who owns the GM dealership, so Ijust had to wait a couple of extra years for GM to finally turf the 2.0 liter, and finally go with the V6 like the Grand Vitera. I keep looking under the hood, and see if I can retro fit a belt driven supercharger under there.
