About 15 years ago Volvo had a 4 oil filter display that was in almost every dealer. They had a Volvo (Mann) filter, Purlator, Fram, and a filter I didn't recognize. The filter cases were cut vertically about 3/5 of the way around exposing the pleats, valve and all materials in the construction. Even someone will little or no mechanical knowledge could see the quality difference of the OEM Volvo oil filter over the others on the display. I would like to know why no one who builds quality filters like the ones you rave about on this site, don't set up a similar type of display in high volume retail and dealer locations. By showing the customer that you really do get what you pay for. The customer would then realize that a $3 oil filter is not of the same quality as a $8.00 filter. Why do people who build a high quality products that are superior to all the others don't show their prospective customers why their products are worth paying a few dollars more. If you sold 40 more filters because of the display you would pay for the cost of the display.
Filter Display
- Thread starter ALS
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in south florida, we do have filter displays.
at "congress auto parts" they show a cross section of 3 different filters. a fram, a wix and some other brand i forgot.
it shows, atlest for that application, the wix has a heck of alot more surface area, and generaly looks to be of a better build.
at "congress auto parts" they show a cross section of 3 different filters. a fram, a wix and some other brand i forgot.
it shows, atlest for that application, the wix has a heck of alot more surface area, and generaly looks to be of a better build.
Its a testement to Fram quality when you go to a parts store and see them compare the quality of their brand to the "other national brand" That would be Fram
Al I do not think the words quality and Fram should be used in the same sentence. If anything Fram is the Market leader by market share. Fram is like Budwiser it bennifits from it old reputation and the huge amounts of marketing dolars it spends. Id does not hurt that they are sold at Walmart either.
My post was somewhat misleading. I meant to say that Fram is always pictured as the "national brand" It (Fram) is in most cases inferior to the House brand. Sorry for the confusion. Yes-I agree Fram is now living on its reputation.
What do you guys mean by "cartridge type" filter? I've never heard of or seen what you're talking about.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Regarding oil filters specifically, I believe that the answer to your question is that the owners of the filter brand names realize or believe that most of their customers don't know about oil filtration, don't care to know about it, and, in general, are accustomed to making their purchasing decisions based on flash and advertising, brand loyalty, and shelf space occupied.
I've seen displays over the years like you have described. They're often dusty, unkempt, and look old and neglected.
Those of us frequenting this website are outliers. I believe that you're wondering about an expenditure of resources that the filter companies just don't see as cost effective.
I've seen displays over the years like you have described. They're often dusty, unkempt, and look old and neglected.
Those of us frequenting this website are outliers. I believe that you're wondering about an expenditure of resources that the filter companies just don't see as cost effective.
Patman
Staff member
Are you sure someone did change the order of the display? I recently saw a cutaway with a Fram and a Purolator, and the filters were reversed, the Fram was in the Purolator spot. I was puzzled to see the Fram with the metal endcaps until I looked closer at the display and saw that they were reversed.
Maybe a better term is canister. This is back to the future. Back in
the 50's, you unscrewed a bolt, lifted the oil filter housing cover and
pulled the filter out by a little wire handle. There was an outer
orange perforated metal shell with filter media inside. Then
Purolator rescued us from the mess with the spin on oil filter with a
solid metal housing and a heavy threaded plate at one end. Note, I
was too litttle to be allowed near such messses then.
March 2002. I go to change oil in my new Cavalier. After spending
a half hour or more under the car and not finding the oil filter, I find
this big plastic cap near the end of the intake manifold. It says do
not operate car without a filter. I take it off and there is a tiny
cartridge or canister under it. There is gobs of filter paper in it, 138
sq. ins packed into 2 3/8 X 2 5/8''. However it has nothing except
the filter paper and plastic end caps. No metal shell, no end plate,
no valves, no nothing except an $8 price tag. It looks like what you
find when you cut open a Fram filter, except it has been squashed
down to where the pleats zigzag. Having struck out elsewhere, I
checked with Mr. Goodwrench. He didn't even have one, but was
able to get one in a couple of hours.
These things have got to be much cheaper to make, and I expect
will push the spin on off the market. For now, I resent being ripped
off. $8!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Further North here, I see cut open displays at both my WIX dealer
and Purolator at Advance Auto. They never disclose who the
other brand is, but I am sure it is Fram. Marketing often beats
quality, how about Microsoft?
I seriously doubt you need to spend $8 for a quality common spin
on oil filter. The saddest thing about Fram is that for the same, or even less, you can buy a much betttter filter. Advance Auto has AC's for about the same $3 as their
Purolators. The L10193 I cut open had 72% as much filter area as
the PF 1177. With all the raving here about WIX, I decided to buy
a 51334 to cut open after use. My dealer didn't have it, a 51365, or
a Hastings LF548. They do have a couple of LF548's on order.
The 51365 and LF548 are cartridges to fit my 02 Cavalier.
I think the cartridges are a big rip off, $8 for the media, plastic end
caps, and no metal housing. Likely it costs less than half *** much
as the spin on type to manufacture. For apples to apples, Wallys
wants $8 for the PH9018 and $3 for most of the spin on type Frams,
and $2 for ST's with twice the filter area of Frams. .
and Purolator at Advance Auto. They never disclose who the
other brand is, but I am sure it is Fram. Marketing often beats
quality, how about Microsoft?
I seriously doubt you need to spend $8 for a quality common spin
on oil filter. The saddest thing about Fram is that for the same, or even less, you can buy a much betttter filter. Advance Auto has AC's for about the same $3 as their
Purolators. The L10193 I cut open had 72% as much filter area as
the PF 1177. With all the raving here about WIX, I decided to buy
a 51334 to cut open after use. My dealer didn't have it, a 51365, or
a Hastings LF548. They do have a couple of LF548's on order.
The 51365 and LF548 are cartridges to fit my 02 Cavalier.
I think the cartridges are a big rip off, $8 for the media, plastic end
caps, and no metal housing. Likely it costs less than half *** much
as the spin on type to manufacture. For apples to apples, Wallys
wants $8 for the PH9018 and $3 for most of the spin on type Frams,
and $2 for ST's with twice the filter area of Frams. .
I saw an oil filter display in an auto parts store. Three oil filters had been cut open. The three oil filters were a Casite, a Hastings, and a FRAM.
Casite is apparently a lower quality brand made by Hastings. The opened oil filter had cardboard endcaps! I was surprised-at the time I thought that only FRAM had cardboard endcaps (although I hear that Purolator now has some cardboard endcaps). Aside from the cardboard endcaps, I felt that the Casite oil filter looked trashy.
The Hastings oil filter looked okay.
The big surprise was the FRAM. This was probably an older oil filter display and maybe they had used a FRAM filter intended for heavy equipment or something. But the FRAM had metal endcaps and actually looked quite good! It certainly did not look like the FRAMs that have been cut open for the oil filter studies on the internet. It must have been an older FRAM oil filter. If so, no wonder I used to like FRAM oil filters a long time ago. But I have not used a FRAM for several years now. If FRAM still built oil filters like the one that had been cut open for the display, people at this site would be raving about the high quality of FRAM oil filters.
Casite is apparently a lower quality brand made by Hastings. The opened oil filter had cardboard endcaps! I was surprised-at the time I thought that only FRAM had cardboard endcaps (although I hear that Purolator now has some cardboard endcaps). Aside from the cardboard endcaps, I felt that the Casite oil filter looked trashy.
The Hastings oil filter looked okay.
The big surprise was the FRAM. This was probably an older oil filter display and maybe they had used a FRAM filter intended for heavy equipment or something. But the FRAM had metal endcaps and actually looked quite good! It certainly did not look like the FRAMs that have been cut open for the oil filter studies on the internet. It must have been an older FRAM oil filter. If so, no wonder I used to like FRAM oil filters a long time ago. But I have not used a FRAM for several years now. If FRAM still built oil filters like the one that had been cut open for the display, people at this site would be raving about the high quality of FRAM oil filters.
I've heard that a few models of current Frams have metal end caps, or as suggested, it might be an industrial quality Fram.
Casite is indeed a lower quality filter made by Baldwin/Hastings, as told to me by a Baldwin tech rep. He also said that Hastings and Baldwin filters were identical.
Ken
Casite is indeed a lower quality filter made by Baldwin/Hastings, as told to me by a Baldwin tech rep. He also said that Hastings and Baldwin filters were identical.
Ken
The sad part is Fram dominates the filter display counters at Checker, Walmart and K-Mart. I don't think Autozone carries them, Pep Boys has Fram but the Purolaters are more prominant.
I remember being in a K-Mart a couple of years ago and they had a big poster showing how their house brand "Penske" whupped a$$ on the Frams. They had the cut away photos and an exploded diagram of each.
(Its pretty bad when K-mart is teeing off on you over lousy quality)
Mann makes a solid filter. I'd like to see those in more stores. I attribute their quality to helping a Saab 900 I owned hit 300,000 miles when I would dump the cheapest dino into it sometime between 3K and 5K depending on the weather.
I remember being in a K-Mart a couple of years ago and they had a big poster showing how their house brand "Penske" whupped a$$ on the Frams. They had the cut away photos and an exploded diagram of each.
(Its pretty bad when K-mart is teeing off on you over lousy quality)
Mann makes a solid filter. I'd like to see those in more stores. I attribute their quality to helping a Saab 900 I owned hit 300,000 miles when I would dump the cheapest dino into it sometime between 3K and 5K depending on the weather.
Maybe a better term is canister. This is back to the future. Back in
the 50's, you unscrewed a bolt, lifted the oil filter housing cover and
pulled the filter out by a little wire handle. There was an outer
orange perforated metal shell with filter media inside. Then
Purolator rescued us from the mess with the spin on oil filter with a
solid metal housing and a heavy threaded plate at one end. Note, I
was too litttle to be allowed near such messses then.
March 2002. I go to change oil in my new Cavalier. After spending
a half hour or more under the car and not finding the oil filter, I find
this big plastic cap near the end of the intake manifold. It says do
not operate car without a filter. I take it off and there is a tiny
cartridge or canister under it. There is gobs of filter paper in it, 138
sq. ins packed into 2 3/8 X 2 5/8''. However it has nothing except
the filter paper and plastic end caps. No metal shell, no end plate,
no valves, no nothing except an $8 price tag. It looks like what you
find when you cut open a Fram filter, except it has been squashed
down to where the pleats zigzag. Having struck out elsewhere, I
checked with Mr. Goodwrench. He didn't even have one, but was
able to get one in a couple of hours.
These things have got to be much cheaper to make, and I expect
will push the spin on off the market. For now, I resent being ripped
off. $8!!!!!!!!!!!!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WOW! My TR3 Filters is now the latest design in Filters. Got to love progress!
the 50's, you unscrewed a bolt, lifted the oil filter housing cover and
pulled the filter out by a little wire handle. There was an outer
orange perforated metal shell with filter media inside. Then
Purolator rescued us from the mess with the spin on oil filter with a
solid metal housing and a heavy threaded plate at one end. Note, I
was too litttle to be allowed near such messses then.
March 2002. I go to change oil in my new Cavalier. After spending
a half hour or more under the car and not finding the oil filter, I find
this big plastic cap near the end of the intake manifold. It says do
not operate car without a filter. I take it off and there is a tiny
cartridge or canister under it. There is gobs of filter paper in it, 138
sq. ins packed into 2 3/8 X 2 5/8''. However it has nothing except
the filter paper and plastic end caps. No metal shell, no end plate,
no valves, no nothing except an $8 price tag. It looks like what you
find when you cut open a Fram filter, except it has been squashed
down to where the pleats zigzag. Having struck out elsewhere, I
checked with Mr. Goodwrench. He didn't even have one, but was
able to get one in a couple of hours.
These things have got to be much cheaper to make, and I expect
will push the spin on off the market. For now, I resent being ripped
off. $8!!!!!!!!!!!!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WOW! My TR3 Filters is now the latest design in Filters. Got to love progress!
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