Both are considered "premium" oil filters
Mobil 1 – ML209 (& M1-301 oversized)
Mobil 1 oil and oil filters have long had an outstanding reputation. The filters have a synthetic element media and the strongest shell on the market. The outside shell is .0195" thick on the large ML-301 or .0170" thick on the smaller ML209. Mobil 1 is maybe the most forthcoming with information since for a long time they have been the 100-year-old scotch of quality oil filters. They are proud of their "Hydrostatic Burst" values, which are three times the SAE standard. Their "Pressure Impulse Cycles to Failure" values which are the highest, and only ones I have found; which mean the guts of the filter are made like a tank. The whole filter is an engineering exercise in loving design excess. Is it the best oil filter made or has anyone come up with a better design while Mobil 1 has rested on it's reputation? Lacking extensive and expensive laboratory tests I can only say Mobil Oil filters are somewhere in the top three, in a class of outstanding over achievers
K&N – HP-2009
Champion Laboratories in Albion, IL make both the Mobil 1 and the K&N. So the family resemblance between the two is more than coincidence and to the K&N's credit they use about 17% more synthetic media, that to the untrained human eye looks identical to the Mobil 1 medium. For some reason the "Hydrostatic Burst" on a K&N is 550 to the 600-psi of the Mobil 1 using the same thickness shell. Thrown against a wall hard enough either the Mobil 1 or the K&N would dent the wall (not an official SAE test mind you). One extravagant feature of the K&N is the one-inch nut on the dome end of the shell to ease removal. That may not be crucial, but I don't think it is a gimmick either. It is a nice finishing touch to an uncompromising design.
The Mobil 1 and K&N share the same SPFE rating of 98% but the Mobil 1 has a better multiple pass rating, even though the medium looks the same and the K&N has more of it. Both are well made and should perform very well. One can't go wrong with either the Mobil 1 or the K&N, either is great choice, so buy based on availability and price. I would expect them to be very close in performance, as they are so close in design and construction.
