Heads up on PLM-A02 filters

[ChangeYourOil]

Hey! Just a heads up to look over your filters, especially the threads.

I have been doing this just out of habit. But in the last 4 years or so, the A02 filters have really bad QC. I have seen many with metal shavings and burrs on the threads. Some I couldn't take off and were large.

Some had a bunch of glue residue on the base plate on the edges and seams.

Some had spots of rust.

These A02 filters were bought from different dealers, local and online through the last few years. I became fed up with the inconsistant quality of these filters.

So last year I switched to the RTA-003 filters. Noticed the QC was much better. However, when doing my first oil change on the FL5, I noticed some overspray from the blue paint on the edge of the baseplate.

I opened another RTA-003 I had, and the overspray was all around the edges (worse).

I ended up using the one pictured below (the one with less overspray). Hopefully there won't be any issues.

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[ChangeYourOil]

A good example of the metal shavings I have consistently seen on the A02 filters is at the 1:30 mark in this video. He tried to pull it out later in the video.

 

[AspecR]

The PLM A02 filters are cheaply made by Fram, RTA are made by Mahle in Japan which does better with their QC. I've also heard the RTAs give a little better oil pressure, IDK how true it is but at the very least they're a higher quality filter than the PLM-A02

 

[Stanleywinthrop]

Where do you get your RTA filters?

 

[AspecR]

Where do you get your RTA filters?

From Amazon of all places, tried doing it through a couple Honda parts websites and they sent the PLM-A01 since the reference numbers are the same.

https://www.amazon.com/Genuine-1540...ce-9661-7325bcd07685&pd_rd_i=B0CWG8JYDS&psc=1

 

[ChangeYourOil]

The PLM A02 filters are cheaply made by Fram, RTA are made by Fintech in Japan which does better with their QC. I've also heard the RTAs give a little better oil pressure, IDK how true it is but at the very least they're a higher quality filter than the PLM-A02

Yep agreed with the QC. Only thing I found so far is some blue paint overspray on the base plate of the RTA-003. Pictured in my original post. I ended up using that one. Since the second RTA I had was worse .

It's interesting you mentioned oil pressure with this filter. With the factory fill and oil filter (A02 was installed at factory). My psi at idle after driving for an hour was 17.

After this first oil change and using RTA-003. I noticed the idle psi is 19 (similar ambient temps).

So there is certainly some truth to that. I thought it might be the oil I was using . But the different oil filter makes more sense.

 

[jtlctr]

Thanks for the heads up! This is a real bummer to learn about. I’ll be looking over my 4 remaining plm filters really well before installing.

 

[WindJunkie]

Interesting on the paint over spray, is there any functional benefit of painting filters to begin with? Seems to me to be an unnecessary thing to do in the first place - painting something that goes in a spot where the sun doesn't shine so-to-speak

 

[AspecR]

Interesting on the paint over spray, is there any functional benefit of painting filters to begin with? Seems to me to be an unnecessary thing to do in the first place - painting something that goes in a spot where the sun doesn't shine so-to-speak

Rust protection and Aesthetics im assuming

 

[ctechauto]

I've seen this a time or two, and have exclusively kept stock of Wix filters in the shop for years now. I run them on all the personal cars and have UOA done on all of them each oil change so I'm comfortable sticking with them.

 

[ctechauto]

The PLM A02 filters are cheaply made by Fram, RTA are made by Fintech in Japan which does better with their QC. I've also heard the RTAs give a little better oil pressure, IDK how true it is but at the very least they're a higher quality filter than the PLM-A02

I dont have any evidence either way but I thought A02 was Honeywell and 003 was Mahle?

 

[AspecR]

I dont have any evidence either way but I thought A02 was Honeywell and 003 was Mahle?

A02 was Honeywell until they sold some of their subsidiairies which included Fram. Your right the 003 is Mahle, I mixed it up with A01 which is made by Fintech

 

[ChangeYourOil]

Interesting on the paint over spray, is there any functional benefit of painting filters to begin with? Seems to me to be an unnecessary thing to do in the first place - painting something that goes in a spot where the sun doesn't shine so-to-speak

Yeah dont know why they can't paint it before assembling the base plate lol. I have the one pictured installed right now. Oh well, at least the threads aren't coming out LOL.

Im hoping the paint will just melt from the heat of the oil, or it will be caught by the filter since it's on the inlet side. Or it will just stay there lol.

I dont have any evidence either way but I thought A02 was Honeywell and 003 was Mahle?

Yep, that's correct. The Filtech ones were the PLM-A01 filters. Those were really good and very high quality. I used up my stock of those years ago They cannot be purchased anymore.

 

[cryptolime]

i don't think the overspray will have any negative effect. hopefully, any small metal shavings are caught in the filter before circulating through the engine.

 

[MoodySara]

I've had a couple of A02 filters that just looked bad - the printing was fuzzy and unclear, the paint felt 'not smooth', not a good look at all.
I tossed them.

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