Before I begin let me start by saying if it was practical for me to use OEM I would, but considering my dealer is almost an hour away I'll stick with autozone.

I've always used the Mobil M1004 and it fits like a glove no problems so far. During my last oil change I ended up asking the parts person just out of curiosity what filters are compatible with the outie, to my surprise the m1004 was not one of them, but the M1008 was, which has the same inside diameter and threads but the filter it self its a lot smaller, so should I keep using the M1004 which is larger or the smaller M1008? I would think the bigger the filter the more flow it can handle at high demands correct?

 

You would acutally be suprised how small some filters on cars are. The VQ series motor in the Infinity G35 and 350z take the same size filter as the one in my brothers Lotus Elise (1.8L 2ZZ Engine).

My point is that the size really doesn't matter a whole lot. I would say continue using what you have been, just for the sake of sticking with what works.