Just use the UFI. They are cheap. My current retail on the latest batch I got is AUD $ 42. That's about US$30, for the genuine part. I'm sure you can all find a dealer/specialist near you with the correct item.
AFire -- The oil filter characteristics that are important for the upside-down 308 application IMO are: 1. Good quality, high-strength outer case -- most "typical" filters that will fit a 308 don't have this because they are designed for relatively low oil pressure US V8s (and to be inexpensive). The Baldwin B253, the UFI 23-162-01, and the Fram PH2804-1 all have excellent outer cases -- you'll notice the extra heft compared to a "typical" oil filter. 2. Good sealing ring design (UFI used to be bad here, but they fixed that problem). 3. Internal standpipe (Baldwin, UFI, FRAM, and Hastings? -- IIRC -- are the only brands that so far have been identified here as having this special feature. If the Champion has one, please post). 4. By-pass valve (the Baldwin has a great one, the FRAM one is very "cheap", and not sure about the UFI or Hastings -- but this isn't a heavily weighted factor). 5. (Good) anti-drainback-valve (the Fram is very lacking in this area IMO and should be avoided for this reason alone). I know your location makes the Baldwin brand impractical, and there are plenty of 308 running around out there with a "typical", non-standpipe oil filter that are doing just fine, but if you can match the above factors at reasonable cost that would be good value IMO (and why buying an $8~9 Baldwin is a better value in the US than the $14~20 UFI, but I wouldn't hesitate to use the UFI for any technical reason). Do a search on "Baldwin standpipe" -- you should get a lot of prior discussion.
Dear 91tr, thanks for the detailed informations. I've mounted the CHAMPION filter last weeekend. The UFI was ordered but didn't arrive yet. In the CHAMPION list this filter is made for the 308, but also for ASTON MARTIN, TOYOTAS and some more cars. It is shorter than the UFI. I will change it as fast as possible. Best regards, AFire
Keep in mind that the label on the outside is only part of the story. Hastings oil filters are made by Baldwin. Champ Labs makes the Mobil-1, K&N, and Wallmart SuperTech filters, and a few others. Likely the Champion is also made by Champ. The web can help connect the dots, here. For example, the Mobil-1 filter for my EVO runs $11.99 at AutoZone. The K&N runs about $20. The SuperTech is virtually identical to the K&N and costs $2. (In a turbo environment, I use the Mo-1, after talking to the Champ Labs tech line, because it uses a higher quality filter element tailored to pure synth oil, and because it uses the traditional spring bypass, while the SuperTech uses a cheaper diaphram bypass valve.) Note that hardly anyone wants to put their name on a Fram, these days. They used to be pretty good back in the muscle car era (when gas was less than $1 a gallon). But today, they're the last thing you'd want to put on your car, due to multiple reports of internal element collapse, blocking oil flow. The Fram Gold are a different construction, but the association with Fram has kept them from being a recommended filter. I have the Baldwin on my 328, but mail order in quantity is viable for me, because the 328 and the Alfa spider take the same filter (and Agip oil, too). But if I needed a local filter in a hurry, I'd go to Wallmart for a SuperTech before I'd use a Fram. (I haven't actually checked that Wallmart stocks a SuperTech that size -- the Italians take a much larger filter than the EVO uses.)
