Why is it my Olds Bravada with a 4.3L V6 has a bigger oil filter than my Silverado with a 5.3L V8.  Shouldn't the bigger engine have the bigger filter??

nobody knows??

What kind of oil does each use?



Tighter bearing clearances for lighter oil can get by with smaller filters.  Since the mid 1990s, most engines come with roller tappets due to the eventual phase-out of ZDDP and other organo-metallics/phosphorous   As such, scuff products from flat tappets are gone.  The only wear metals are from startup and what little comes off the rings/bores.



Once broken in,  modern rings have almost zero wear, even considering they operate in boundary lubrication conditions.

In general, yes. The bigger the engine, the bigger the filter requirements. However, many engines have a filter that is way too big. Cut one apart and you will find very little debris in it as long as your engine is healthy.

Part of the reason for a large filter on a small engine is for proper oil pressure during cold start, without engaging the filters internal bypass valve. Today's engines use thinner oil and have fewer problems with filter plugging during cold weather.

and sometimes it comes down to space. See how much room one has over the other where the filter sits.

Both use 5W 30.  Both can use 10W30 or 0W30 for extremely cold conditions (im in texas don't have to worry about that )  I run synthetic in both of my vehicles.

This.

Plus internal and external design features, upgrading a generic design the engineers tend to cut corners and use existing proven technology.

The 4.3L V6 is the same as the 350cid small block except with two cylinders removed.  It probably uses the same filter as the 350cid small block, which is probably a bit larger than the one used in the 5.3L LS engine.

if one wider and one longer? Could be that the shorter fatter one has more filter media in it. Just a thought.

J-

Ugh...I hate seeing remarks like this, no offense to you.  It's usually due to old school ways of thinking during the time iron engines were the norm.  When you see a motor oil that is graded a multi-viscosity rating, the first number indicates the viscosity at somewhere around 40 celsius (like 90F); the second number is somewhere around 100C.  I don't remember the exact temperatures, but the main point is the first number is viscosity of the oil at somewhere near an average "warm" outdoor temperature; the second number is the viscosity when the engine is considered to have reached running temperature.  

You'll notice that an oil graded 0W30 has a higher viscosity at a higher temperature.  So think for a second...why in the hell do you need a really thick oil at the lower temperature?  The answer is you don't.  In fact, utilizing such an oil, like 10W30 or 15W30 could do damage to your engine over time.  When an engine goes through a cold start, there is no oil running through it.  Once the oil pump is engaged there will be, but it takes a moment to kick in.  During that time you've got metal to metal friction so it's in your engines best interests to get oil flowing as quickly as possible.  Guess which oil would probably flow the quickest at a temperature of around 80-90F?  0W or 10W?


I've been using 0W oils for 3-4 years now and will never go back to a 5W or 10W.
And yes, I'm in Texas.

The size of the can does not always indicate the amount of filter area present.


Filtering is an area driven thing, not volume driven.

Filter size has more to do with interchangability than what the engine actually needs...

Don't forget that the bigger the gap between the multi weight numbers, the more viscosity modifiers(useless to lubrication, suspension and corrosion protection) are included in the recipe...

I agree.  However, most all motor oils with the 0W viscosity these days are synthetic anyway, but the more important thing to keep in mind is that cold starts are hardest on an engine for a reason.  They will kill an engine PDQ which is why it's important to get the oil circulating ASAP when starting.

Edit:  I stick with the 5 gallon jugs of Mobil 1 synthetic from Wal-mart...usually comes out to around $4.50/quart.