You’ve been there before. You spent weeks researching the perfect Kubota machine. You compared specs, pored over brochures, maybe even walked the lot a few times before finally pulling the trigger. It’s a big investment — not just money, but time, energy, and pride.

And then comes maintenance day. You’re on the hunt for an oil filter. You see the genuine Kubota part on the shelf, but you also see a “compatible” filter online for half the price. The description looks close enough. It’ll fit, right? How different can it be?

That little voice in your head says: “Save the twenty bucks. It’s just a filter.”

But here’s the thing: it’s not just a filter.

Your oil filter is literally the gatekeeper between clean oil and an engine full of abrasive particles. If it fails, the cost isn’t twenty bucks — it’s potentially thousands in repairs or even a shorter lifespan for the machine you spent so much time picking out.

And don’t just take our word for it. Kubota put this to the test.

They compared their genuine Kubota oil filter against two alternatives: one from A&I and one off Amazon (branded GXFCY). Four separate tests. Real data. No marketing fluff.

The results? Let’s just say the knock-offs didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory.

Build Quality – Cut It Open and See

Kubota started by cutting the filters open to inspect how they were built. This test looks at filter media, glue joints, bypass valves, and spring strength. Why does that matter? Because the inside of a filter is where the magic (or disaster) happens. If those parts are flimsy, it doesn’t matter what the outside looks like.

Results:

• Kubota Genuine: Solid build, clean joints, strong bypass valve and spring
• A&I: Smaller filter area, poor glue joints, weak spring
• Amazon: Same story as A&I — cheap construction, weak valve and spring
  

Air Leak Test – Under Pressure, Do Seals Hold?

Next, Kubota dunked the filters in water and pumped them full of air to see if bubbles escaped. If you see bubbles, it means the seals aren’t tight. And if a filter can’t hold pressure in a test tank, good luck inside your engine.

Results:

• Kubota Genuine: Passed, no leaks
• Amazon: Passed, no leaks
• A&I: Failed — bubbles leaked at just 250 kPa

Bubble Point Test – Hidden Leaks

This one tests whether the filter media is sealed properly to the end caps. If it isn’t, oil can sneak around the paper instead of going through it. In other words, dirty oil takes the shortcut right into your engine.

Results:

• Kubota Genuine: Passed
• A&I: Failed — bubbles at joints
• Amazon: Failed — bubbles at joints
  

Multi-Pass Test – The Real Performance Check

This is the big one. The multi-pass test runs contaminated oil through the filters to see how much dirt each one traps and how long it lasts before clogging. If a filter fails here, it means your engine is circulating dirty oil day in, day out.

Results:

• Kubota Genuine: Passed with strong filtration efficiency and dust-holding capacity
• A&I: Failed — low efficiency, clogged quickly
• Amazon: Failed — same as A&I

The Takeaway

So, what did Kubota prove? Pretty much what you might already suspect: not all filters are created equal. The genuine Kubota filter passed every test. The Amazon filter showed a bit of backbone but burst under high pressure and leaked under closer inspection. The A&I filter failed multiple tests before it could even finish the lineup.

And here’s the kicker: these aren’t exotic tests that only happen in labs. They mimic real-world conditions. Leaks, burst failures, weak springs, dirty oil bypassing the paper — those are the things that kill engines.

So when someone says “all filters are the same,” the data says otherwise.

Why This Matters for You

Sure, you might save twenty bucks today buying a cheap filter. But that savings is a rounding error compared to what you’ve invested in your machine.

Do you really want to risk an oil-starved engine, clogged filter, or premature wear for the cost of a fast-food lunch?

A genuine Kubota filter isn’t an upgrade. It’s what your engine was designed to run with.

Stick With Genuine

At DLE Avenue, we see both sides. We’ve had customers come in with machines that run smoothly year after year because they’ve stuck with Kubota genuine parts. And we’ve seen the ones who tried to save a few dollars — only to spend thousands fixing what a cheap filter caused.

So here’s the bottom line: if you’re serious about protecting your investment, keep it genuine.

Your Kubota deserves it. And frankly, so do you.