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Originally Posted by Redleg06Si
are honda OEM filters the best to go with on the Si? I know FRAM are crap as far as construction....any reccomendations??
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Yes, and no, on the Honda filter. I have an Element as well as the 8th-Gen, and it uses the same filter.
To answer the "best filter" question, the Honda 15400-PLM-
A01 is the one to use. I took apart around a dozen "compatible" filters, Honda and aftermarket, and the Honda
A01 is at the top in total filter area, and at or near the top in assembly quality and quality of components. An
A01 filter will say "FILTECH, INC" on the can, and have the Dana Automotive elongated diamond stamped on the base.
Now why do I emphasize
A01? Because Honda will also supply the "equivalent" 15400-PLM-
A02, which is made by the fine folks at Fram (now owned by Honeywell). With the exception of the better rubber used for the anti-drainback valve, the can may as well be orange, 'cause it's the same junk inside. It will say "Honeywell" on the filter can.
A01 filters can sometimes be hard to come by. Honda seems to alternate between Filtech and Fram for their supply, and at the moment the A02 filter is in the factory pipeline.
A good second choice is the NAPA "Gold". It is the same filter construction as the
A01, with about 15% less filter area.
My take on crush washers:- Much ado about nothing. I have a Miata with 150,000 miles on the aluminum crush washer that came with the car. It's never leaked.
- It confuses non-Honda techs. The one time I was forced to use a jiff-lube for the Element, I handed them a new crush washer. The next oil change, I found two washers on the plug.
- It doesn't really "crush". It might deform slightly, but it will continue to deform throughout the life of the car to match any imperfections in the plug-pan interface.
- Yes, they're super-cheap. But it's Yet Something Else to keep track of in a messy process, and forget to have on-hand for the job.
There is absolutely no harm in re-using the old washer. The only "trick" is to make sure that the washer stays in the same direction on the plug.