AAP Fram Titanium

[ZeeOSix]

This guy cut a titanium last year and the media was white which I thought was what made it synthetic.

The media on the Titanium in that video is light pink, just like the OG Ultra use to be. You can see the fibers glisening in the light, like synthetic fibers would do.

I'm a gambler so I'd bet first brands cheapened the titanium cause they know bitogers will trip over themselves paying more for some chicken wire 🙂

Seems everything in life is subject to some kind of conspiracy theory. 😄

 

[ZeeOSix]

It has previously just said "2-ply synthetic, metal-screen-reinforced media":
View attachment 109525

From the web archive:

FRAM ULTRA SYNTHETIC® Oil Filters & How to Install | FRAM

Want the best performance from your new engine or the best protection for your older vehicle? There’s no better choice than ULTRA SYNTHETIC® oil filters.

web.archive.org

But it doesn't say "Full Synthetic" or "100% Synthetic" either. Just like "Full Synthetic" oil isn't really full or 100% synthetic. Filter makers may just use the phrase "synthetic media" even if it's really a slight blend.

 

[OVERKILL]

This guy cut a titanium last year and the media was white which I thought was what made it synthetic.


I'm a gambler so I'd bet first brands cheapened the titanium cause they know bitogers will trip over themselves paying more for some chicken wire 🙂

It's clearly pink:

Also, he incorrectly states both filters he's looking at are synthetic. Only the FRAM is synthetic, the Mobil 1 filter is a traditional blend-style media, which is why it looks like cellulose.

 

[OVERKILL]

But it doesn't say "Full Synthetic" or "100% Synthetic" either. Just like "Full Synthetic" oil isn't really full or 100% synthetic. Filter makers may just use the phrase "synthetic media" even if it's really a slight blend.

Well, unless FRAM has gone to great lengths to invent a special "blend" media that isn't like any other blend media, my posit is that the OG media was synthetic (glass or polymer fibre) and since they updated the Ultra to a traditional blend-style media with a synthetic "topper", in order to not confuse and anger people, they've just started calling both filters "blend" media filters.

In my disassembly of a virgin OG Ultra, I didn't see anything that would suggest there was any sort of cellulose fibre in the media at all:

Which of course looks markedly different from what you find in terms of the synthetic blend media in the Mobil 1 filter:

The FRAM was like handling fibreglass insulation, while the Mobil was like handling extremely heavy cardstock.

 

[Braapdaddy]

 

[Koainn]

It looks pale pink instead of more orange so has less of the cellulose mixed in.



Easier to see the white synthetic media in this video

 

[Sayjac]

While the OG Ultra may not have used the word "full" or "fully" with synthetic in the media description, it definitely did NOT use the word blend or blended media anywhere in the media description either. That being the case I think it's very reasonable for one to infer the OG media was full synthetic. And repeating what I said back in August of 2021 with the intro new "ultra".... Afaik, the OG Ultra always promoted this subforum as full synthetic 2 ply media, including by the Fram rep that used to frequent the site.

Unless FB has changed the Titanium media to match the current ultra but kept the wire backing, (very unlikely I'd think) I believe the topic Titanium to be superior to the current FB ultra.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Well, unless FRAM has gone to great lengths to invent a special "blend" media that isn't like any other blend media, my posit is that the OG media was synthetic (glass or polymer fibre) and since they updated the Ultra to a traditional blend-style media with a synthetic "topper", in order to not confuse and anger people, they've just started calling both filters "blend" media filters.

In my disassembly of a virgin OG Ultra, I didn't see anything that would suggest there was any sort of cellulose fibre in the media at all:
View attachment 109527
View attachment 109528
View attachment 109529
View attachment 109530
View attachment 109531

Which of course looks markedly different from what you find in terms of the synthetic blend media in the Mobil 1 filter:
View attachment 109532
View attachment 109533

The FRAM was like handling fibreglass insulation, while the Mobil was like handling extremely heavy cardstock.

Guess the only way to compare would be to cut open a current Titanium and peel the media layers open. From the virgin Titanium cut-open videos, the outside layer still looks light pink like the OG Ultra. The new Ultra media without the wire backing is clearly not light pink looking - so that pretty much shoots down the theory that the Titanium is the same media as the new Ultra but with just wire backing added (as was mentioned by someone else). Who knows, maybe Fram added a little bit of blend material to the media, but it's still mainly synthetic. 🤷‍♂️

 

[OVERKILL]

It looks pale pink instead of more orange so has less of the cellulose mixed in.

Wood pulp (cellulose) is yellow/brown, it has absolutely no pink to it. There's no cellulose in the synthetic media, it's pink, like fibreglass pink insulation, which also, doesn't have any wood pulp in it.

Also, quoting Motorking (who worked for FRAM) back in 2016:

What gives it the ability to go that far is capacity. Most Ultra models can hold 25-32 grams of dirt to full. Given that the dirtiest of engines make around a gram per 1000 miles, they easily go the distance. Lots of filters have great capacity and still are not rated to 15k. Why? Construction and filter media. Synthetic glass microfiber media filters will never degrade when immersed in oil. Typical cellulose/synthetic blends can and will degrade over time. The silicone adbv also stays pliable forever. Stay tuned, we will be upping the mileage interval on these in 2017.

And:

The OE Nissan filter is not made by FRAM even though internally it looks very similar (fiber end cap). Being the owner of a Turbocharged 350Z, I use the FRAM XG7317, a slightly larger version of the 6607 called for. It is the only oil filter in the market with two layers of full synthetic media, has 99% [email protected] microns and holds 13 grams of dirt, unheard of in a filter that size.

So, from the horse's mouth, the OG Ultra media is synthetic glass microfiber media.

 

[OVERKILL]

Easier to see the white synthetic media in this video

Yes, the AMSOIL media (made by Donaldson) is white, so is the Purolator synthetic media and the Fleetguard synthetic media. FRAM went pink with theirs, I have no idea why, maybe to differentiate it? Could just be a gimmick, or could also be the bonding agent they've used has a pink hue. Clearly, this is their own media and they aren't buying it from somebody else. Of course the pink media is also from before First Brands took them over.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Maybe Whip City Wrencher can cut open a current Titanium and peel the media open like he does on his more recent videos - hint, hint. The old video he did linked above didn't do any media dissection.

 

[Hessam]

Does anyone know the difference between the flow rate of the Titanium and the new FU?

 

[ZeeOSix]

Does anyone know the difference between the flow rate of the Titanium and the new FU?

Nobody knows without seeing test data. The flow rate vs delta-p was tested and posted in this forum for the wire backed Ultra, and I would say theTitanium would flow like the OG Ultra. Fram increased the media area when they changed the media on the new Ultra to retain the holding capacity and low delta-p, so I'd say the new Ultra will low pretty good too. I wouldn't be concerned about using any of them.

 

[53' Stude]

Wood pulp (cellulose) is yellow/brown, it has absolutely no pink to it. There's no cellulose in the synthetic media, it's pink, like fibreglass pink insulation, which also, doesn't have any wood pulp in it.

Also, quoting Motorking (who worked for FRAM) back in 2016:

And:


So, from the horse's mouth, the OG Ultra media is synthetic glass microfiber media.

OVERKILL: thank you for the details and info. Much appreciated 🍻🇨🇦🇺🇸👍

 

[ZeeOSix]

Looks like Whip City made a separate video of the Titanium and OG Ultra that he cut open in the previous video. This one gets into the media comparisons.

 

[mphilleo]

Looks like Whip City made a separate video of the Titanium and OG Ultra that he cut open in the previous video. This one gets into the media comparisons.

That settles the debate as far as I'm concerned.

 

[wpod]

That settles the debate as far as I'm concerned.

Cept Fram changed the media in the ug

 

[Koainn]

That video is 2 years old before the change over

 

[mphilleo]

That's what I get for posting while at work. I'm never focused as I oughta be. 😗

Anyway, that just speaks more for the Titanium and underscores that there had to be some sort of transition in the XG.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Cept Fram changed the media in the ug

That video is 2 years old before the change over

The point was to show that the Titanium stayed the same and still uses the wire backed media the Ultra used 2 years ago, and the new Ultra changed to a non-wire backed media around Spring of 2021.

Edit - I still think the OG Ultra at some point before it went to the non-wire backed media was still a synthetic blend (mainly synthetic, little blend - so they called it "synthetic media") that required the wire backing like the current Titanium needs to support the media. That 2 year old OG Ultra vs Titanium video pretty much shows that, and at that time of that video Fram was calling the OG Ultra media simply "synthetic".