Defective??? Wix WL10332 with closed/nearly closed louvers

Pressing out louvers is monumentally cheaper than stamping holes.

Is the manufacturing process really that much different? I always figured it was just a machine stamping the sheet metal for the center tube, and essentially the difference being punching through all the way vs. punching it just enough to cause the louvers to form.
 
I just can't bring myself to run a China made filter if there is any other option. After the stock of OE is gone, it'll probably get an AMSOIL filter, which I believe to be made in the USA by Champion Labs.
Some are made in both Korea and Vietnam. They have factories in all 3 countries. I wish they were made here also.
 
Is the manufacturing process really that much different? I always figured it was just a machine stamping the sheet metal for the center tube, and essentially the difference being punching through all the way vs. punching it just enough to cause the louvers to form.
Punching a donut hole out (its called a slug in industry terms) is much harder. First you need the die to have a actual punch, that cuts a clean hole. The punch has to be kept sharp. The press has to travel further - to clear the slug. The die has to have a provision to let the slug fall out of the die, which makes the die more expensive to build and more costly to service.

If the punch doesn't fully make the hole the hanging slug could stop the blank from moving forward in the press - causing a double sheet which can cause damage to the die.

If the slug gets stuck and sucked back into the press, it can float around also causing damage to the die and parts.

Its just more complex / more expensive. Worst that can happen with a louver is they don't open enough and you make a bunch of bad parts. But it seems with filters even the bad parts are used, so the scrap cost is on us anyway. :ROFLMAO:
 
Punching a donut hole out (its called a slug in industry terms) is much harder. First you need the die to have a actual punch, that cuts a clean hole. The punch has to be kept sharp. The press has to travel further - to clear the slug. The die has to have a provision to let the slug fall out of the die, which makes the die more expensive to build and more costly to service.

If the punch doesn't fully make the hole the hanging slug could stop the blank from moving forward in the press - causing a double sheet which can cause damage to the die.

If the slug gets stuck and sucked back into the press, it can float around also causing damage to the die and parts.

Its just more complex / more expensive. Worst that can happen with a louver is they don't open enough and you make a bunch of bad parts. But it seems with filters even the bad parts are used, so the scrap cost is on us anyway. :ROFLMAO:
The holes were rarely if ever complained about. Either way one thinks the two processes are harder or easier to make. People shouldn’t have to look for closed louvers.
 
In the case of the louvers shown in post #1, the bypass valve would probably be open all the time.
When I cut open a similarly-sized PurolatorOne PL14615 that had properly formed louvers, I counted and measured the louvers and did some dP calculations. At 10 GPM with warm oil, it came out to around 2 psi (which is already quite high compared to larger filters or those with holes).

dP will increase with the inverse square of the orifice size, so if the louvers had 5 times less flow area, dP would increase to over 50 psi at 10 GPM. This is probably a major underestimate of the dP for the filter in the photos, since it seems to have even less flow area, and I didn't account for the orifices becoming even more rectangular, which will also increase restriction.

The bypass valve on this filter would almost certainly be open at all times. In theory, the bypass valve should limit the pressure drop to a "safe" level, but I wouldn't trust it to in a high flow application.
 
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I asked my friend who has a Napa Auto Care Center to take a look at his Napa Gold inventory to see if his look the same, more as a cautionary tale to him. However his are well defined and well formed. So it is possible for them to be made appropriately on this line, these just weren't.
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those should do the job addequitly, much less than that i would be concerned about using myself
 
I emailed them back. I worked in quality control and a generalized answer like this doesn't work for me.

If the louvers are not stamped,and or punched correctly,then it's a defect, plain and simple.
I assume they were sent a photo of one of the filters in this thread? And that was their response? Typical tech support canned answer it seems.
 
I assume they were sent a photo of one of the filters in this thread? And that was their response? Typical tech support canned answer it seems.

I spent a lot of time yesterday gathering photos from BITOG. I then sent them the photos and an email stating that the defects are a known issue, not only on online forums but are shown in many YouTube videos as well. I also made it clear, it's a defect regardless of what they try to say. I said it's your responsibility to take corrective action or continue to lose customers.

Only response is what I posted above.
 
It almost seems obvious that this process is open to tool wear on a volume production line. Or debris on the rollers, costs money to keep things clean. The holes weren’t causing any complaints.
Ironically, the pierced holes from a stamping die maintenance perspective are FAR worse when compared to louvers, because each hole is a separate pierce punch, and these can get hot if the clearances are too tight, they wear and will cause a 'chad' to hang on the hole, and you need a special operation to ensure the cut hole pieces are completely removed from the tube...all are extra cost and PITA.

Louvers are far less of a problem from a stamping perspective, but as mentioned the die steel elements need to be maintained.
 
No need to pay me for it, Rock Auto issued a full refund. I contacted Wix customer support, and was pushed to technical support. I wanted to inform them that there might be an issue to see if they wanted to examine one, or all of the filters. It was one of the least helpful and most condescending conversations I've ever had with a customer service individual. They took my information and are going to get back to me. I'll give it a day or few to see what they have to say. Then it'll go under the knife.
Yes now we really need to see this bad boy. Thanks

I suppose nothing more back to you from Wix?
 
I spent a lot of time yesterday gathering photos from BITOG. I then sent them the photos and an email stating that the defects are a known issue, not only on online forums but are shown in many YouTube videos as well. I also made it clear, it's a defect regardless of what they try to say. I said it's your responsibility to take corrective action or continue to lose customers.

Only response is what I posted above.
Thanks for reaching out. I never got a response from Fram, Champ or even PG in regards to efficiency.
 
How does everyone feel about a Hengst H97W07 as a substitute for the subject WIX?
From a construction standpoint, Hengst filters generally are much better. The main problem with Hengst IMHO, is that they are very tight to non existent on giving out any specs on the filter media in terms of efficiency ratings. I would still given the chance, pick Hengst made filter over any M&H USA derived made filter
 
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