I looked around and decided on an oil filter sandwich plate for my oil feed and eventual oil pressure/temp gauges. I have a '99 nb.

I understand that when people source the feed from the stock pressure sender they route around the back of the engine. Can you route around the front of the engine with a feed line off of of the filter?

My oil fitting on the compressor is about parallel with the engine hoist bolt, so routing the oil around the font would mean a lot shorter line.

Any experiences? I searched but didn't really come up with much.

 

You can route the oil line however you choose to. Going around the back is largely a cosmetic decision, though of course there are also fewer obstacles on that side (belts, intake piping, radiator hose, etc.)

 

You could go under the middle of the oil pan if you want to. It won't matter because it is a pressure fed line.