Quick TestUltimate Plug SocketThe war of headers versus spark-plug tools is over, and the headers lost. There isn't a gearhead alive who hasn't had trouble getting a tool onto a spark-plug thanks to the tight confines of big-tube exhaust headers, but the bag of tricks available from Header Sockets makes it easy. Available in different sizes and configurations, these tools are scalloped on the side so they can slip onto plugs from nearly any angle, and then the plug can be loosened with a 51/48-inch end wrench. We've tried them, they work-and that's not always the case with trick-of-the-week tools.-David Freiburger
Quick TestThe Pure Power Oil FilterHere's an oil filter that we're happy to pay $200 for. It's the Pure Power Lifetime Filter System from a company known for performance lubricants. It's a convenient spin-on-style filter that's available for most engine applications, but it features a removable, cleanable stainless-steel filter element captured in a billet-aluminum housing that's burstproof to 1,000 psi and leakproof with Viton seals. Remote filter setups are also available.
The immediate benefit is that you can take it apart, clean it, and reuse it so you never have to buy a filter again. However, we also see it as a valuable engine diagnosis tool, as it's easier than cutting apart a conventional filter to see if there's any bearing material or other badness circulating in the engine. Also, according to Pure Power, its element is 90 percent more efficient at removing particles of 10 microns or smaller. Pure Power says that, while some filters claim to remove smaller particles, the elements in those filters are so restrictive that the oil cannot pass through them-therefore, the oil is not filtered because the bypass is constantly open. In the Pure Power filter, all the oil must pass through the element. We've used them enough now on the dyno and in our Bonneville race car that we believe in them.-David Freiburger