I hear ya. I did not have the proper adpater that fits on a 3/8 drive ratchet when I did the first oil change, and the universal wrenchs that I had would not work do to the fancy drip tray for the filter. I drove a screwdriver through it and even then i nearly could not get it off due to it being so tight. I just kept making the hole in the filter bigger instead of the filter turning. It probbaly took me 15 mins to get the filter off. After that fiasco, I went and bought a proper rachet driven removal tool that slides on over the end of the filter. That works quite well.

 

My first filter met the big adjustable wrench I have. The thing got mangled and smashed but came off.