Changes to Wix XP filters?

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Aug 16, 2016
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Massachusetts
I was down to my last oil filter for my 19 Wrangler 3.6, so I ordered two more on Rockauto over the weekend. I’ve been using Wix XP filters (for no particular reason really) so I figured I’d stick with those. But the new filters that came in are very different than the XP filters I’m used to. They have the part number right on the filter so I know they aren’t boxed wrong, they’ve just changed. Instead of the metal wire mesh it looks like a thin clear plastic mesh which you can’t really see in the picture.

All in all I’m a bit disappointed, they just seem much cheaper to me. But I’m no expert. What do you all think? Is it time to switch brands? Do you think the canister filters will look like this on the inside going forward too?
 

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NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Mann couldn't resist the urge to cheapen the XP :sneaky: :poop: :mad: o_O (n) :devilish:

I guess it shouldn't be a surprised given how the non-XP was cheapened by Purolator, and I guess now the XP is being consolidated to the Boss. The Fram Ultra also looks like that same cartridge (the new design) :unsure:

I know the Pentastar has problems with the oil filter twisting, even the plastic mesh Ultra and Boss, so the stronger metal wire mesh of the XP was needed. Do you have any used (metal) XP filters posted? I hope the plastic mesh holds up in your Jeep :censored: 😒 😬

I found a Purflux knockoff on Amazon :D
61NTao86J+L._AC_SL1000_.jpg
 
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Previous histrionic posting aside, having recently cut open a filter using the nylon type backing, it's pretty tough. And as shown in videos in another forum, the XP/Plat has gone to this type backing on the spin on type OFs too. And it's been posted for awhile, so not new. It 'seems' to be the same type backing as used on the Purolator Boss filter.

It should be noted for comparison purposes, the Fram XG Ultra equivalent to topic cartridge also uses a similar looking nylon type backing (not wire mesh), made in S Korea.

So, I wouldn't not use topic XP simply because of the change in backing.
 
So WIX was bought by another oil filter company and Fram was bought up by TRICO Group, a windshield wiper company.
 
Wix was acquired by Mann+Hummel, the same company that ran Purolator in the ground. It wouldn't surprise me if they were to do the same to Wix. There's a thread on here by Ascent Filtration Testing where he performed ISO 4548-12 multi-pass filtration testing on several filters. The Wix XP was the worst of all of them by a rather large margin.
 
My WIX 51515 is 99% efficient at 23 microns. Give the windshield wiper company a bit more time, they have already cheapened the design of the Fram Ultra cannister oil filters.
 
Not sticking-up for WIX... but, why is this a bad thing? It could be a good thing!

The plastic mesh might not be as good as the metal wire backing it replaced, and Pentastar cartridges twist and buckle easily and need a strong reinforcement to survive an OCI.

Also, the new plastic mesh is Korean, while the old ones came from Mexico or the US, if that matters to anybody
 
My WIX 51515 is 99% efficient at 23 microns. Give the windshield wiper company a bit more time, they have already cheapened the design of the Fram Ultra cannister oil filters.
If that's true, that's great. Wix told me a year or so ago a figure that was much worse than that.

I'm sticking with the Fram Ultra in my Pentastar. 99+% at 20 microns and 93% at 15 microns in the new version. Also glad to hear they are moving production of the XG11665 to the US from Korea.

Btw, the twisting is a non-issue. Kevin @OIL_UDDER said they did a great deal of testing on that issue and found it to cause no trouble at all. So I wouldn't worry about it. Especially since the Mopar filters twist the worst of them all, from my experience. If a problem, the OEM filter would have been addressed long ago. Lots of Pentastars with hundreds of thousands of miles on them leaving a trail of twisty filters in their wake. So again, not an issue.
 
The plastic mesh might not be as good as the metal wire backing it replaced, and Pentastar cartridges twist and buckle easily and need a strong reinforcement to survive an OCI.

Also, the new plastic mesh is Korean, while the old ones came from Mexico or the US, if that matters to anybody
As CarbonSteel has pointed out - not sure what doesn’t go wavy in the Pentastar
Here is a factory Mopar with only 500 miles:
(new Fram XP in pic too)

D84300A7-30D0-4DEC-8DCE-348237AD90AA.jpeg
 
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