Oil filter Fram or OEM Volkswagen

Pros - They have a real oil filter, the case is sturdier, they can handle more power and bigger displacements, they last forever without machining, the stock heads were pretty solid. Cons - They are harder to work on since there is more to assemble and disassemble, parts are slightly more expensive (not much though), they are harder to find, the different year engines had many variations so you have to know which one you've got.

I have it, and the car is alot more smooth. Good filter.

I also change it every 3,000- 3,500 miles and use the Fram Tough Guard oil filter. it's all i have and i gotta keep it clean.

I have been running the larger filter for about 10,000 miles now- haven't had a bypass valve issue. I am using the same filter as a an audi/VW V6 30 valve engine. I do not know if that is the same as the diesel one though But- 62,000 miles so far, no valve lifter noise yet!

oil filter that i run is off of a 1995 Eurovan Part # 074-115-561 hold about 1qt in the filter itself. had to slightly bent the secondary air pump a tad so it wouldnt rub.

my experience was on my monte carlo ss, the oil pressure flickered and went through the roof, something happened with the filter and almost caused me to blow my motor, i tried another one for about an hour or so and sure enough it happened again. changed to a different brand, worked fine. my buddies dad who is an avid car collector and builds race cars told me after the incident occured that those filters are crap.

Fram makes a decent filter for everone else but not for VWs. Something about the cold start bypass valve not working well, or something.

Me too, so I went back to the stock size filter and the issue improved.

I've tried this filter and it produced lots more startup rattle from the lifters. Something to watch out for when trying it out.

I've used the larger oil filter for a couple changes and have gone back to the smaller stock filter for one reason. The drain-back valve on the diesel filter didn't work nearly as well as the valve on the smaller stock filter. I'd get a little valve rattle at startup with it which was noisy and embarassing to put it mildly. It did this consistently while the larger filter was used over 3 oil change intervals. Back to the stock filter now and all is silent.