From what I have read ........ K&N and Mobil 1 are made by Champion with different internal components than the PureOne filters.
K&N Performance Gold HP-1003 - $9.94
Base-plate: 8 hole openings. Thickness of the plate approx. 0.10". The gasket is held in by a continuous circular lip. The gasket that contacts the engine block has a rounded surface and the structure that hold it is lubricated to facilitate easy removal of the filter from the engine block after use. Stamped: “AA".
Case: Thickness approx. 0.021" (thicker than the other Champion-made filters). There is a stamped spring in the bottom of the case.
Anti-drainback valve: Black rubber. Thickness of 0.065" and the outer lip having a rim thickness of 0.092". Total width of 2.1". Hole in center of 0.85". Stamped: “Parker" and “10". I did notice one thing about this anti-drainback valve compared to the others like it (the AC-Delco, STP and Bosch), this valve is the same design and I'll guess that it is the same rubber material (but I have no way of knowing this), but it has a considerably deeper lip that mates and seals to the end-cap of the filter element. This would give it a better chance of staying sealed properly if oil-filter pressures were high and less chance of popping loose.
The by-pass valve is at the back-end of the filter, the opposite side from the base-plate. It is a nice design, with a frame holding a coil spring, which pushes the valve sealing surface against a rubber gasket and exactly like the AC-Delco, STP and Bosch filters.
Filter element: Paper - thickness 0.025". 49 pleats of width 0.40". Filter element height of approx. 1.95". Approximately 76.44 sq. in. of filtering surface area. Metal support structure in the center of the filter to prevent collapse. Metal end-caps glued to each end of the filter element. The paper filter element seam is glued together.
General observations: I believe this oil filter is also made by Champion and I think this is a quality filter, just a step above the AC-Delco, STP and Bosch (the Mobil 1, which is also a Champion, probably has a better filter media than this K&N, but I'm not going to cut my Mobil 1 open, I'm going to use it on the car instead and maybe I'll cut it open after I use it). The pleats in this filter were very nicely spaced, better than any other Champion designed filter I've seen. The glue at metal end-caps was a little sloppy. I do like this by-pass valve design, it is just like the AC-Delco, STP and Bosch filters and in my opinion it's a good one. I really like the seal that mates to the engine block being rounded too, which the AC-Delco, STP and Bosch also have. This filter has a 1" nut welded onto the outer case to facilitate removal of the filter by a 1" wrench. This nut also has a hole drilled in it, the idea being that if you're going to race you can wire the filter in pl ace to prevent it from ever loosening and coming off, kind of boy-racer stuff and not needed for normal service and besides there isn't anyplace to attach the wire. This is similar to how you safety wire an oil filter onto an aircraft engine (look at a Continental or Lycoming aircraft engine sometime). This filter is made in the USA. It doesn't say which standard it meets, but if you read the box the filter comes in it speaks very highly of itself. It’s different than the AC-Delco, STP and Bosch in the thickness of its case and the slightly longer lip on the anti-drainback valve but otherwise everything else looks the same at the others (I can't say about the filtering media itself, but it looks the same but there is just a little more of it).
Purolator PureOne PL14476 - $5.99
Base-plate: 8 hole openings. Thickness of the plate approx. 0.10". The gasket on the base-plate is squared and is a red gasket material with a slick Teflon-treated surface to ease the removal of the filter from the engine block after use. Gasket is held in by 6 pressed lips. Stamped: “X" and “3/4-16-S".
Case: Thickness approx. 0.018". There is a stamped spring in the bottom of the case, it is stamped “1".
Anti-drainback valve: Silicone. Its supposed to remain more pliable and seal better at higher and colder temperatures. Thickness of 0.041" with the outer lip having a ridge that is 0.063" thick. Total width of 2.05". Hole in center of 0.9". Stamped: “1".
By-pass valve is the typical design made by Purolator and also used in the PremiumPlus and the Toyota filter, it is a stamped spring mounted into the metal end-cap that holds the paper filter element. The spring hold a metal plate which seals the opening.
Filter element: Paper with a thickness of 0.031". 48 pleats of width 0.39". Filter element height of approx. 2.0". 74.88 sq. in. of filtering surface area. There was the funny string tied around the filter element, and tied in a knot. The seam for this filtering element was very nicely put together with a metal clasp. Metal end caps glued to each end of filter element. Metal support structure inside element to prevent collapse.
General observations: Another nice quality filter. The Purolator by-pass valve seems very hard to open, I don't know that there is anything wrong with this, I just note it, it's the design as used on the PremiumPlus and Toyota filters. The pleats in the filter were nicely spaced and the glue job holding the filter element to the end caps was OK, but a little sloppy in a couple of places. The anti-drainback valve in this filter is probably the best of the filters tested I would guess in that its silicone. The lubricated gasket which contacts the engine block is a nice feature, removal should be easy (but I don't find the other hard to remove). This filter is made in the USA. It wasn't noted on the filter what standard it met (J806 or J1858).
