Fram Oil Filters - A Must Read!

Surprising News - Fram Oil Filters
on: Today at 13:12:30

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Hey everyone.. I hope you are all staying warm and getting ready for a new year.

I thought I'd share some surprising information about Fram oil filters that I read on another site,

Here is the body of that thread:

OK, some of you have heard me say to not use Fram oil filters. Some probably figure I'm being too anal and any filter that meets the car manufacturers warranty has to be good. Maybe you've seen pictures of new unused filters cut open and the cardboard ones look passable. Here's a picture comparing the Fram to the Napa Gold filter (and the Napa is a Wix filter). The Fram has 20 minutes on it, the Napa filter went to Dayton, Ohio and back home filtering the oil in my GTO.

1. Napa pleats are deeper
2. Napa has at least double the number of pleats
3. Napa pleats are a finer material
4. Napa has a steel top and bottom to the inside canister compared to cardboard on the Fram
5. Napa pleats are set in a poured epoxy base, Fram pleats are glued to the cardboard
6. Napa has a real spring to keep canister pushed up correctly to the bypass valve, Fram has a bent piece of spring steel
7. Napa body is much heavier steel. Note the smooth cut on the Napa and the ragged cut on the Fram - both cuts made with a filter rolling cutter.

Anyway seeing is believing so here's the picture. Note how the cardboard has already deformed at the top and the pleats have pushed apart on the Fram. Fram was just taken apart so the oil looks glossy in the picture.

At least now you know how O'Reily can offer a two for one sale on Fram oil filters and still make a healthy profit.

Chris

 

YES FRAM SUCKS!!!!!!:moonu:

 

Excellent!! Always knew Fram was crap, and Wix/NAPA was one of the best. Now side by side very easy to tell.
Thanks

 

My Dad was an automotive machinist and he would say, "Always use Wix, never use Fram." He never told me why, now I know why after seeing that picture. I can't say I've never used Fram before but you can bet I will never use them again. Thanks for the Post :TU:

 

I think this subject has been covered here on the board about a dozen times before, but it never hurts to remind people.

 

There's alot of info and testing over various oil filters here. This makes a good read:

http://people.msoe.edu/~yoderw/oilfilterstudy/oilfilterstudy.html

 

Glad I sprung for a Wix filter from summit instead of the free STP filter I got when I bought 5 quarts of oil at autozone:grin:

 

Might as welll just run the oil through old jockey shorts in a tin can! :spank:

In other oil filter news: I just changed the filter and oil on my 2010 Lexus. Toyota has gone to a replaceable element inside a canister that screws onto the block. The dealer informs that this will become the norm in the near future for new cars in that the replaceable element is more friendly for the environment (alegedly).

 

Yeah but the burning of the vehicle down after getting pissed at the poorly designed filter housing and "wrench" they offer, will not help the environment

 

Nice to see the difference. Picture worth a 1000 words as the cliche goes.

Thanks for posting. Now if only we can get Walmart to start selling Wix!

 

You got that right. It was a PITA; added four steps (at least).

 

You don't Walmart carrying ANYthing like this. I can guarantee you if they started to carry Wix that it would only be under the circumstances that Wix manufactured a whole different "Walmart grade" filter. It would NOT be the same quality as the ones in NAPA. Almost everything China mart sells is made to "their" negotiated price and to meet that price the manufacturers actually cut tons of corners to get the contract.

 

CarQuest's premium filters are also made by Wix! FYI!!
Good picture!

 

I will only mention that your comparing a $4 filter to a $7 one.. prices will vary where and how you buy, but I though I should mention your comparing across price points. Kind of apples and oranges.

I am no fan of Fram anything, but if you go up to their higher line of filters, and cut that one apart, you will find it's very much like the wix.

The point really here is for a single use thing like a filter, always buy the more expensive one, or figure out how to get the more expensive one for the cheaper one's price.

Fleetfilter.com lists the wix 21258 (napa gold 1258) at $4.34 each, in a case quantity. But then of course there is shipping.. which will bring you back up near $6 each probably...

But you get the point, shop around, look for free shipping offers, and local outfits that will hook you up with a good product at the best price you can find.

But if you have to pay retail, don't even bat an eye. A couple extra bucks for an oil filter is nothing to even consider..

If you have more than on GS that is driven regularly, there is no reason on earth to not have a case or two of filters, bought at the right price, sitting on the shelf.

The biggest concern I have is that the BBB filter is starting to disappear from a lot of store shelves, even the chain auto parts guys. Used to be I could walk in and buy one of 3 or 4 different brands, with no real legwork involved, but that's not the case so much anymore.

Case in point, I send a customer home here with a motor recently from the dyno, and just stopped over at the local auto parts store near the dyno shop, to pick up a filter (ran my shop System 1 filter on the dyno). The only choice I had was the PF 25 fram... which works fine as a dust cover, if nothing else.


JW

 

Yup, nothing like the enviro nuts to drag us kicking and screaming back to the pain in the butt cannister oil filters of the first half of the 20th century.


What's next.. ox carts?

:rant:

 

Yeah, it's funny how filters started as canisters 60 some years ago and now alot of cars are going back to them.ou:

Looking at that pic it looks like the Fram paper was alot dirtier. Maybe because it filtered more. Years ago, I swore my oil stayed cleaner with a Fram. I talked to someone at the factory when they were in Rhode Island and he said they treat the paper with a neutralizer to combat acid formation He said that's why the oil stayed cleaner longer. Who knows.....

My point is the type and treatment of the media (paper) may make a difference.

 

The methane emitted from the Ox will be a problem though. :idea2:

 

Dont we have a sticky somewhere titled "FRAM SUCKS"?
If not, we should.

 

Ken is correct on this. I tried to warn my friend that the tv he bought at wally world was NOT the same tv offered at BestBuy for a few $$$ less, but he didn't believe me until it broke. The tech told him the boards are made "dinkyer" and with smaller capaciters that don't last....ou:

 

What cracks me up is reading the car mags and they always have pictures of high dollar engines and I've seen dozens over the years with a Fram filter. You would think somebody who is spending that kind of cash on an engine would pony up a couple of extra bucks for a little added protection.