Oil filters

Looks like a solid alternative, especially with the odor control. And typically the non-Mazda replacements don't have the foam at the top for better sealing, but these do. But at virtually the exact same cost as OEM, it's a toss up. Have you tried both and can offer a compare/contrast?

 

I read some unfavorable things about the Febreze filters, and went with Wix when I swapped my cabin filters back in May. Just under $20, but that's for genwon.

 

They do mount up just as well as OEM and they don't flop around at all. I like the odor control. I have zero musty smell when I fire up the AC after the car has sat for awhile. I've only changed these filters a few times, but when I used the cheaper ones they seemed a bit looser inside the compartment. When I went to replace them this time the top filter hard slid partially behind the bottom one. I don't know how it managed to separate at the interlocking seam, but it did. I'm interested to see how these hold up and how long the odor control lasts.

 

I'll give them a shot; thanks for the recommendation!

I'm not sure if you already know, but I learned a tip about A/C musty smells. The trick is to turn off the A/C a few minutes before you arrive at your destination and turn the car off. This gets the vents' cold air out of the system, and makes it much less likely for condensation to form on the air passageways. This is the primary culprit for a musty smell: then mold/mildew can take hold on the moist channels inside the vents and cause the odor. Sure, you have to deal with non-cooled air for a few minutes, but I think it's a worthy trade-off.

 

I will be doing my cabin filter later in the summer as part of a general maintenance overhaul and i plan on wearing gloves, in 65k miles and 7 years shit is bound to be nasty.

Fuck i still think of my car as being a new car but i bought it labor day 2009..........

 

my '06 fusion uses the same cartridge filter as the speed. i have thought about doing the spin on conversion, but i'm kinda lazy. and i've never replaced a cabin filter in my life. maybe i should check for one.

also, i'm all about that purolator pure1 life for filters

 

i just rolled over 70k miles in my ms3 2008 and I have never changed the in cabin filter, never any smells, but I do have brand new carbon activated ATP brand i think filters on standby. I bought and never installed, now my Honda accord 1994 that mofo has no cabin filter and smells musty when I start up ac i hate it. I tried spraying lysol up in it

 

Thanks for the recommendation. I just swapped mine out. Seems like I couldn't get the top one to stick in place without getting the bottom one underneath it. Regardless, I felt around in there after both were in, and they're in perfect position/fully seated.

Now, the carnage. I got the Speed at 23k, and I'm now at 68k, so I know my filters were at least 45k old. But by the looks of them/the debris in there, they actually could've been the original filters:

 

Holy shit that's a lotta debris. Mine didn't have much of anything like that when I swapped them (84k, purchased around 63k IIRC) but the filters were verrrrrrryyy dark with dust and grime. Yuck.

 

For sure! In the pic, that's actually the exit side of the old filters, the other side of them was terrible! I got so much debris out of there that I'll bet my blower motor will flow a lot better. Setting 1 may feel like 2 used to; setting 2 may feel like 3 used to, etc. LOL

 

That's the one
[doublepost=1484531553][/doublepost]I just started using HP-5001 from amsoil . It seems decent

 

My genwon has the spin on conversion. I've been using Motorcraft fl910s oil filters for the 191k I've personally put on the car. Theyre about $3 each at walmart

 

Im a little confused but after i convert my 08' speed 3 to a spin-on filter i can just go ahead and use any oil filter that a 10' and up would use correct ???

 

You definitely don't want a 10 foot (10') filter that won't clear the ground at all.

What's confusing, you're swapping the oil filter housing on from a 2010+ speed 3 so yes you need a filter that a 2010-2013 speed 3 would use. Wouldn't be using "any" because all filters are not made equally

 

As Awa said I'd be a bit more particular about your choice of filter.

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/t...ters-with-99-efficiency-at-20-microns.362682/

Take a look around that site and you'll figure it out.