🔴💊 Engine Oil Red Pill Thread: Only Post If You Have UOA - Official Honda Civic Type R K20C1 Engine Oil Analysis

[cryptolime]

The 15400-PLM-A02 was manufactured under contract by Honeywell/Fram (the blue-can version which was cut open and compared to Fram PH7317 Extra Guard).

Fram’s parent company (First Brands Group) did file Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and Fram filters are no longer available, thoush

Which is why I did not compare it as I assume that it is no longer available like other Fram made filters.

Yet it seems that Honda still has a large stock of the A02


In March 2026 First Brands agreed to sell the Fram brand name, trademarks, patents, engineering know-how, and related intellectual property assets for 12 brands to Premium Guard Inc. (PGI), but it seems that the original Fram factories are permanently closed and being liquidated. PGI will probably sell their own filters under the Fram brand name

i bought one yesterday

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[zumbooruk]

I suspected that the reason Royal Purple was both a very good filter, and is no longer available meant that it was a rebranded Fram.

I was close. Royal Purple was made by Champion Labs, which was another company under the same parent company of Fram.

Mobil 1, Royal Purple, Amsoil, and K&N oil filters were all primarily manufactured by Champion Laboratories (Champ Labs) under the First Brands Group umbrella.

Champion Labs produced these to each brand's specifications using similar synthetic or synthetic-blend media platforms. This is why many of them share comparable internal construction, anti-drainback valves, and performance characteristics in cut-open comparisons and independent testing.

The Albion, Illinois plant closed abruptly in February 2026 following the First Brands bankruptcy.

apparently Mobil 1 is the only one still widely available because of larger inventory and distribution warehouses (as it is one of the most purchased brands)

bottom line, seems that the current choices are:

Mobil 1 was made by Champion Labs, but still seems to be available

Purolator and Wix are both made by MANN+HUMMEL

Bosch

 

[zumbooruk]

One last observation per my latest research

Apparently the "regular" Wix and Purolator are better at ultra fine particle filtering (turbocharger protection), with Purolator ONE slightly better than regular Wix.

Purolator ONE
real world is model-specific up to 99% at 17–20 µm
mfg claim: 99% at 20 µm

Regular Wix (non-XP)
~95% (historical beta ratios)
mfg claim: 95–99% at 20–23 µm

 

[cryptolime]

One last observation per my latest research

Apparently the "regular" Wix and Purolator are better at ultra fine particle filtering (turbocharger protection), with Purolator ONE slightly better than regular Wix.

Purolator ONE
real world is model-specific up to 99% at 17–20 µm
mfg claim: 99% at 20 µm

Regular Wix (non-XP)
~95% (historical beta ratios)
mfg claim: 95–99% at 20–23 µm

do you have any more info on how fine particles can damage turbos? i'm guessing the GDI soot isn't great for it

hard to find info on the most efficient oil filters.

what's the efficiency of the Honda PLMA02 filter?

 

[johnloov]

This is great information especially for those running 5k-10k miles between oil changes. All this data and conversations are coming to a head, which is replacing your engine oil a lot more frequently at 2000 3000 miles and transmission fluid eliminates particles floating through the system and the best way I can describe it is like imagine putting sand into oil and rubbing your fingers together. No matter what oil you choose the frequency of changing it matters more. I may even try at some point Costco motor oil at half the price and just change it often.

 

[zumbooruk]

do you have any more info on how fine particles can damage turbos? i'm guessing the GDI soot isn't great for it

hard to find info on the most efficient oil filters.

what's the efficiency of the Honda PLMA02 filter?

I did not research damage to turbos, I stumbled upon it while searching for replacements to First Brands oil filters. several mentions that the "ultra fine particles" act like abrasives, amplified since turbos spin extremely fast (if I recall correctly, one mention said 100K to 300K RPM)

It is indeed not easy to find reliable info for oil filters. most are "manufacturer's claims" or "manufacturer's testing"

yet the only independent test I found showed that Puroloator Boss was way under performing the claims 99% vs 62% if I recall correctly.

Honda A02 was made by Fram, tear down / cut up showed it was identical to the cheapest Fram model.

this is what I found:

FRAM Extra Guard ( representative model PH7317):
Filtering efficiency per ISO 4548-12: 95% for particles greater than 20 microns.
Effective micron rating at 99% capture: Not published by the manufacturer.

Honda 15400-PLM-A02 (OEM filter manufactured by Fram/Honeywell):
Filtering efficiency per ISO 4548-12: No official manufacturer-published value located.
Effective micron rating at 99% capture: Not published. Third-party parts databases report 95% efficiency at 40 microns and 50% efficiency at approximately 23 microns.

 

[BLU RRR]

first oil change at 1000 miles and second at 3200. Copper and Iron significantly lower, Aluminum up but was double the miles. Horizon/Amsoil uses a different test for fuel dilution than blackstone.
My car runs short trips during the week and gets exercise on the weekends. Interesting this is significantly less wear metal than my 24 subaru crosstrek at approx the same OCI.

 

[zumbooruk]

Authors Eric W. Schneider and Daniel H. Blossfeld of GM Global Technology Operations developed a radiotracer technique to quantify real-time wear at the piston ring–cylinder bore interface in a spark-ignition engine. Baseline measurements established high wear during initial break-in followed by much lower steady-state rates. The subsequent investigation varied lubricant service classification, antiwear additive concentration, synthetic versus conventional base stocks, viscosity grade, and degree of engine aging or degradation. None of these lubricant variables produced meaningful changes in ring or bore wear rates. The dominant factor identified was engine operating temperature, with cold-temperature operation emerging as especially detrimental. Cylinder bore wear was characterized as the cumulative result of break-in, cold-start events, and shifts in operating conditions rather than steady-state running.

https://www.sae.org/papers/effect-l...ore-wear-a-spark-ignition-engine-2006-01-3413

from the video: "The key to these million mile engines seems to be a lack of cold starts. The more miles the vehicle is driven for each cold start that it does, the more miles the engine will last regardless of the oil motor oil used or the brand of the vehicle. To prove this theory, I referenced some SAE technical papers and conducted my own experiment by preheating my engine using a block heater and oil pan heater to warm up the engine before starting it. I was able to cut the wear of my engine in half just by preheating the engine to about 130F before attempting to start it using the same oil and filter."

 

[johnloov]

That’s exactly what I found to be true from reading all the technical papers. Cold starts do the most damage by an extremely wide margin. Getting the oil to circulate instantly is #1.

 

[zumbooruk]

That’s exactly what I found to be true from reading all the technical papers. Cold starts do the most damage by an extremely wide margin. Getting the oil to circulate instantly is #1.

FL5/K20CA has a coolant to oil heat exchanger to heat up the oil faster during startup, and cool the oil via the engine coolant/radiator once the oil gets hotter than the coolant.

btw, found these cheap heating pad on Amazon, probably never get. too much of a hassle to plug/unplug, and seem unnecessary in Southern California

https://www.amazon.com/DXNQ-Car-Engine-Heater-Pad/dp/B0DNS14DHF

and since just heating the oil does not "circulate it instantly" I could not help myself and researched more about pre-lubrication:

https://infinityaerospace.com/product/other/pre-oiler-and-back-up-engine-oil-pump/

https://www.cantonracingproducts.com/accusump

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