September 2016

IN Lately On the market, filters from little-known manufacturers have become more common, which in their design repeat the packaging of well-known manufacturers. At the same time, the quality indicators of such products are significantly lower.

To protect you from purchasing low quality filters, we will provide guidelines on the website for identifying original filters from reputable manufacturers.

Example 1: filter with a design that matches the MANN-FILTER corporate identity

The customer was looking for a PreLine PL 270 fuel filter from MANN-FILTER.
I purchased a fuel filter with part number PL270.
At first glance, the resulting filter matched the design of MANN-FILTER filters both in color and appearance. However, this is a fake and does not match MANN-FILTER filters in terms of quality, efficiency and service life. Needless to say, the resulting filter had a flask glued on.

How to distinguish the original MANN-FILTER filter:

1 PACKAGE

Pay attention to colors, fonts and the presence of a brand name. Each box containing MANN-FILTER filters must have the following logo:

We check:

• Color design: green-yellow box +
• Brand name (logo): absent -

The MANN-FILTER logo must be placed on a green background at the top of the box.
In our case, the MANN-FILTER brand name is replaced with the inscription "FUEL FILTER".

CONCLUSION: this box contains a filter that has nothing to do with the MANN-FILTER brand.

2. APPEARANCE OF THE FILTER

Visually check the quality of the filter. There are no dents on the original filter, the paint is applied in an even layer, the markings are even and clear. Each MANN-FILTER filter is marked with a logo.

We check:

• Color design: white body with black markings +
• Fonts: match (visual assessment) +
• Brand name (logo): absent -

In this case, instead of the logo, the name “FUEL FILTER” is placed.
The "ZTD" sign acts as a brand name.

CONCLUSION: the resulting filter has nothing to do with the MANN-FILTER brand.

Please be careful when choosing a filter, trust only authorized distributors and be sure to test the filter before installation.

Recently, a significant number of counterfeit filters from the well-known German manufacturer of filter elements MANN-FILTER have appeared on the Russian market.

In this article, we will look in detail at how counterfeits differ from original Mann filters, how these same counterfeits threaten your car, and we will also give brief instructions on how to distinguish a fake Mann from an original one right in the store.

The object of our research will be one of the most popular oil filters.

External differences

Box

Let's start with the box. I must admit, the counterfeit MANN looks quite decent. At first glance, both cardboard packages are practically no different from each other. The differences in printing and packaging quality are almost indistinguishable. But if you look closely, you will notice that the fake filter box is a little paler.

Print quality on the filter housing

Tearing off the box and “seeing the product in person” the differences are more noticeable, and then it becomes clear where exactly the fake MANN-FILTER is:

The first thing you should pay attention to is the quality of the print on the filter housing:

Filter cover quality

Now let's look at the covers of the fake and original Mann filters:

The cover profile of the fake and original MANN is also different

The quality of the rubber seal built into the lid varies significantly

MANN filter thread quality

And the last thing that can be seen with the naked eye is the thread of the central hole of the filter. By the way, according to many experts, a fake filter thread is one of the most common signs of a fake MANN-FILTER:

On the counterfeit Mann, the threads are made much simpler, unlike the original filter. If you run your finger along the thread, you can feel that it is very rough, with small burrs that scratch the skin. This thread was most likely cut on a machine. The thread height is one turn less than that of the original MANN filter.

The threads on a real MANN-FILTRE filter are smooth, even and shiny. The finger does not catch on the burrs. This thread was most likely made using a more technologically advanced, expensive and high-quality rolling method. In addition, the thread of the original Mann filter has one more thread. The thread quality factor plays a big role in the operation of the filter. When driving, the car shakes, and poor threads do not allow the filter to remain stationary.

If you reach into the outlet of the filter with your finger and feel the edge of the thread, and it turns out to be smooth and even, then the filter is most likely not a fake.

Internal differences

Now let's pay attention to factors that cannot be seen when purchasing a filter, but which clearly explain the difference between a fake and an original MANN filter.

Filter paper quality

The most important thing in a filter is the quality of the filter element, namely the amount of filter paper, the quality of its placement, structure and density. And here you can see the huge difference between the fake and original MANN-FILTER filters.

In a fake MANN filter, the folds of the filter paper are glued unevenly: in some places they are adjacent to each other, in others they lag behind each other. This factor significantly affects the quality of filtration. During filtration, dirt will very quickly clog the part where there is practically no clearance between the folds, which will reduce the oil filtration area, and as a result, the oil will be filtered with greater difficulty. At the same time, the oil will be pushed most strongly where the folds are widely spaced, and most likely the filter paper will not withstand the increased oil pressure, which will result in dirty oil getting into the engine

The original MANN filter has many more folds than the counterfeit one. They are spaced evenly and fit tightly to each other. The filter surface area of ​​such a filter is much larger, and the oil pressure on the folds is distributed evenly

Bypass valve quality

One important factor affecting the quality of the filter is the bypass valve. When producing its filters, MANN-FILTER pays close attention to the size of the filter bypass valve for each individual vehicle model. Therefore, even filters of similar sizes, but with different valve characteristics, are not considered substitutes. Comparing the real MANN W914/2 and the fake one, it is clear that they have valves of different sizes:

Filter housing quality

Now let's look at the “glass” in which the MANN-FILTER filter element is located

Go ahead. The part supporting the filter element of the fake Mann filter does not fit, it is smaller than required. The filter element will move and rattle - there is no point in it. It happens that in fakes, a spring acts as a support for the filter element.

To check for a fake, you just need to shake the filter; if something rattles inside, then most likely it is a fake.

The original MANN filter has a slightly different tab in shape, there is no spring, and the size is exactly right for this filter. The filter does not rattle, and the filter element is motionless inside.

So, to summarize this article, let’s highlight the main criteria by which you can distinguish a fake filter from an original MANN filter right in the store.

• 1. Printing quality onto the filter housing. The original MANN filter is brighter and clearer.
• 2. Metal filter cover. The original Mann filter is shiny, without dents or scratches
• 3. Filter rubber seal(one of the simplest and most revealing methods of verification). In a real MANN filter, the rubber band is recessed deeply and cannot be pulled out by hand. The elastic band has three yellow stripes. On a fake filter, the rubber seal can be pulled out without much difficulty by hand; there are no yellow stripes.
• 4. Filter thread quality. With the original MANN filter it is even, smooth, without jagged edges. The edge of the carving is neat.
• 5. Filter element stand exactly matches the bottom of the case. If you shake the filter and it rattles, then the filter is fake.

This concludes our article. We hope it will be useful to you.

There is only one thing left to add: purchase original MANN filters only from official distributors and suppliers.

Original MANN filters are available

Expanding on the topic of counterfeits famous brands, we present to your attention a fake of one of the popular oil filters MANN-FILTER W914/2. In this article we will look at how you can visually distinguish a fake from the original.

I must admit that the counterfeit that fell into our hands looks very decent. For example, both cardboard packages are almost indistinguishable from each other, and the differences in font, quality of cardboard and printing are so insignificant that only a professional can identify them (all images below are clickable):

So let's not get hung up on the box and move directly to the filters.

Let's open the boxes... now the differences are more noticeable, and it is already clear where exactly the fake MANN-FILTER is. However, see for yourself:

The first thing you should pay attention to is This is the quality of the print on the filter housing:

Somehow the unscrupulous manufacturers did not try to make a high-quality print on the body of the fake MANN-FILTER - and their paint was thin and pale, and the design layout was clearly not created from scratch, but “licked” from somewhere (well, you understand, where!), and therefore strange and clearly unnecessary contours appeared in the drawing

This MANN-FILTER W 914/2 oil filter has a clear print on its body. The drawing is not to say that it looks pure white, but the paint lies quite evenly and allows you to clearly see the drawing

Continuing the topic of fakes, today I would like to talk about the MANN-FILTER company and its W914/2 oil filter. We all know very well that the more popular and high-quality a brand is, the more people want to make money from it by churning out ridiculous fakes that are many times worse than the original product. Often, in pursuit of a “good” price, we agree to buy a so-called “high-quality” fake. But do not forget, fellow drivers, that today you bought a “so-so” filter, and tomorrow your engine may present you with such a “surprise” in the form of a serious problem that will cost a large sum. So this article is for those who still want to buy and know in person quality product.
To complicate the task, we purchased the same MANN-FILTER W914/2 oil filter in one of the stores in our city for a suspiciously low amount, which immediately alerted us, but after a direct inspection, our specialists quickly determined that “this creation” has nothing to do with Naturally, it does not have any connection with MANN-FILTER.
Let's start with the first thing that the buyer actually sees, namely the packaging. To be honest, she good quality, thick cardboard, not smeared font, bright colors, in general, everything that should confirm that you have an original spare part in your hands. There are, of course, minor differences from the original, but they are so small that it is almost impossible to find them.

For ourselves, we conclude that before purchasing, be sure to take the filter out of the box, since now they don’t skimp on cardboard in order to stuff you with crap!
Having taken the filter out of the box, it becomes clear that the quality paints and clear font did not make it beyond the box. I don’t know whether it’s laziness or attempts to save money on just about everything that force unscrupulous manufacturers to stamp all the necessary markings with dull, thin, and sometimes crooked clichés. The photo clearly shows the discrepancy between what the happy owner of the MANN-FILTER W914/2 oil filter should see and what he will see if he buys a fake.

After looking at the paint and fonts, we move on to inspecting the quality of the metal on our filter. We look at the cover of the spare part. It should be smooth, without dents, traces of paint, shine and inspire a feeling of admiration for high-precision German technologies. The fake we are looking at may have a slightly matte color, giving the impression that it was painted with gray paint. The presence of small dents and scratches from squeezing the middle part of the filter is frustrating.

Looking at the lid from the side, the picture turned out to be even sadder. The side to which the rubber seal is attached on the fake filter is almost two times smaller than on the original one. If on the real W914/2 it is clearly outlined and has specific transitions, then on the fake it seems to blur into the general relief of the lid.

As a result, with a slight movement of the hand, we pull the elastic band out of the poorly made cover of the spare part. Here you yourself must understand with what incredible ease it can jump off the filter while the engine is running. We perform the same experiment with a spare part from MANN-FILTER. For 15 fascinating minutes, we, three adult men, tried to get the elastic band with our fingers, pens and even compasses. It is more likely to begin to crumble than to fall out of this thread; in the process of pulling it out, we discovered three yellow lines, which apparently are the markings of the original product, since this was not the case on the fake.

The last thing that catches your eye is the thread of the filter's central hole. Remember, on a real W914/2 oil filter, the threads, like the cap, should shine and shine. All “ridges” should be smooth and pleasant to the touch. Apparently, the MANN-FILTER campaign uses the rolling method in their production, which is more technologically advanced and expensive than the cutting we are used to, and ensures the high quality of their products. Note that this is quite important, especially when driving on our roads.

Not to mention the fact that on the fake we bought, the carving is made very “clumsily”; when you run your fingers over it, you feel small burrs and scratches. But that’s not even what caught our eye as soon as we looked at her. I was struck by the lack of the required number of turns on the thread. Apparently, the workers of the underground workshops had no time to count how many turns there should be on the oil filter.
Having completed the external examination of the MANN-FILTER W914/2 filter and its low-quality copy, we move on to the second stage of the study, namely their internal differences. Having sawed the filters, this is what we saw.
Since we have completed the external inspection on the thread of the central hole of the filter, we will begin the internal inspection from there.
And even from the inside, the carvings of the original products please with their accuracy. Everything is shiny and smooth to the touch, the part is truly made to last. What do we see on the fake!? – yes, the same as what was seen outside the filter. Everything looks careless, the ends of the thread are not processed, they feel rough and sharp to the touch. So, here is our advice, so to speak, from those who saw it with their own eyes. If you have any doubts about the originality of the product that is being offered to you, without warping, stick your fingers into the outlet hole and feel the edges of the thread: smooth and even, then most likely you have a real MANN-FILTER W914/2 filter in your hands.

Now let’s move on to the insides of the filter, because the quality and service life of the filter depend on them.
What is the most important thing in a filter? – That’s right, filter paper, or more specifically, its quantity, the quality of its placement, structure and density. This is where the fake filter completely capitulated to MANN-FILTER products. Several inconsistencies can be identified here:
Paper. On the original filter it is thinner, not loose. The counterfeit is the opposite.

Density. On a fake, the folds are glued unevenly, which can lead to a breakthrough and oil leakage to the engine and there are significantly fewer of them than there should be. The number of folds per 5 cm for a fake is 13, while for a real filter there are 14.

Glue. On a fake, the glue can be seen “from all the holes,” but this reduces the filtering surface, and it barely resembles glue - soft, plastic, more like plasticine, we easily picked it out with our finger. Such glue will not be able to hold the filter paper in place during operation, most likely the folds will come off and all the “dirty” oil will end up in your engine.
In the original Manov filter, the folds are carefully glued; the glue is more like foam, so you would have to use a knife to pick out a piece of it. So there is no doubt about the strength of the folds.

Another important factor in the filter robot is the bypass valve. Everyone knows that the MANN-FILTER company prides itself on its precise selection of the bypass valve size and pressure in it for each individual car model, and therefore even filters of similar sizes, but with different valve characteristics, are not considered analogues. Comparing the original W914/2 and the fake, you can see that their transition valves are of different sizes

And finally, let's take a look at the filter housing. Although they are not particularly different on the outside, the difference is felt on the inside. It can be seen that rust has already begun to appear on the body of the fake filter, but the body of the original product is safe and sound, as it is covered with a protective coating that prevents erosion.

Well, the final chord was that the supporting tab at the bottom of the fake simply does not fit in size, which means that during operation it will rattle and squirm, but will not bring any sense. The real MANN-FILTER W914/2 oil filter has a slightly different shaped insert, and no matter how you look at it, its ends rest against the body of the spare part and conscientiously fulfill its purpose.

On this optimistic note, we finish figuring out why the fake MANN-FILTER W914/2 campaign oil filter is bad and praising all the advantages of buying original products from this company.
We wish you, dear customers, to always purchase quality products and, most importantly, at affordable prices. And you can do this in our online store. Enjoy your shopping with our charming and qualified staff, represented by me.

How to distinguish an original oil filter from a fake? We share a useful article from the website www.9000rpm.ru

Oil filter 15400-RTA-003

Filter 15400-RTA-003 is manufactured by MAHLE Tennex Corporation. It appeared in 2005 and is still produced to this day. Its predecessor is the Tennex Group filter 15400-PLC-003, which was produced from 2000 to 2005.

Small historical reference. In 2001, MAHLE buys the Japanese company Tennex Group

Sample 1 Sample 2

It is very difficult to distinguish a fake from the original by appearance. You can pay attention to the bolder font. For such little things as the rounded corners of the labels of fake filters and the sharp ones on the original, the color of the paper. But even here our Chinese comrades burned themselves to death.

Sample 1

The inscriptions in Japanese, English and French were excellent, but the German language let us down. The standard warning from Honda - “Make sure the old seal is removed” in German reads “Stellen Sie sicher, dass der alte O-Ring entfernt ist.”

In the word "siche" r"Forgot one letter and it turned out to be "siche" _ »

In the word "ent" f ernt" changed one letter "ent i ernt"

Sample 2

1. The bold font of the original number 15400-RTA-003 is immediately noticeable. True, this is noticeable if you have the original at hand, the standard, so to speak. The majority of counterfeits have bold font and grammatical errors in the instructions in German.

2. By the way, we have come across counterfeit packaging where everything was written correctly. This is exactly the kind of filter they recently sent us from the hero city of Belgorod. The inscriptions in German have already been completed without errors. Apparently they did Hausaufgabe perfectly. Crumpled appearance these are the costs of transportation by Russian Post in the Central Federal District :)

Sample 1

It’s not surprising, but the packaging on the fake filter is made more carefully. The filter is sealed in neat cellophane. This is where the beauty of the fake filter ends.

Sample 1 Sample 2

Sample 1 The inscriptions on the fake are unclear and blurry.

Sample 2 The fake is made at a highly artistic level. All letters are printed very clearly.

1. The bypass valve is welded with neat welding spots.

2. There is grease under the gasket.

Sample 1 Sample 2

Sample 1

1. The bypass valve is roughly welded. Near the welding site, excess glue-sealant (yellow) is visible, which secures the paper filter element.

2. There is no grease under the rubber band and if you remove it, traces of unpainted blue paint are visible.

Sample 2

1. Traces of excess glue are visible inside the filter. If this glue falls off, it ends up in the central oil channel of the internal combustion engine.

2. The bypass valve is made not of metal, but of plastic. Mahle did not use such valves in Honda filters.

3. The rubber of the non-return (anti-drainage) valve is made of black rubber.

4. There is no grease under the rubber band and if you remove it, traces of unpainted blue paint are visible.

The carving is made neatly and has 5 turns

Sample 1 Sample 2

On both fakes the thread is rough and has 4 turns

Sample 1 Sample 2

Both fakes are significantly heavier than the original. We decided to take not by skill, but by numbers.

Sample 1 Sample 2

This is where the fundamental difference in filter designs is visible. Both are fake filters uses a standard spring shape. This design has not been used by serious manufacturers for many years. (It's like brushing your teeth with tooth powder instead of toothpaste). The spring presses the non-return (anti-drainage) valve to the inside of the filter and the oil does not drain into the sump when the engine is turned off.

1. The original uses a leaf type spring. This allows you to more accurately fix the filter element inside the housing, and most importantly, increase its height. More filter element - better and longer filter performance.

Sample 1 Sample 2

Sample 1 The filter element is of very poor quality. Some curtains are stuck together (one plane will no longer be able to filter), some have traces of mechanical damage. The depth of the curtains also varies.

Sample 2 A fake of even lower quality than Sample 1. To save even more, they made the filter element even smaller in height, and increased the support spring to incredible sizes. There are traces of glue even on the outside.

1. Look carefully inside the filter and you will again see huge excess glue. All this is located inside the filter, where only purified oil should be. This glue is waiting in the wings to fall off due to constant temperature changes in the engine oil and fly through the oil channels of the engine.

2. The filter curtains there are glued together, so this part of the filter will not filter.

3. The curtains should be straightened so that the oil passes through a larger surface, thereby cleaning as much as possible.

Sample 1 Sample 2

Sample 1 The non-return (anti-drainage) valve on the fake is made of non-elastic rubber. It is smaller in diameter and height. In the free position, it does not fit tightly to the filter cover. The original non-return (anti-drainage) valve is made of silicone and has additional stiffening ribs. They prevent the formation of a gap between the valve and the filter base.

Sample 2 The non-return (anti-drainage) valve on the fake is also made of hard rubber. The shape of the elastic band is not symmetrical. The check valve (anti-drainage) does not work on both fakes.

Sample 1 Sample 2

Both Samples have poorly processed surfaces. Sample 1 The filter seat could not be made straight. The result was a crooked cut cone.

Sample 1 Sample 2

Sample 1 and Sample 2 have sharp seats have sharp and rough edges. The original has all the details carefully polished.