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Originally posted by Big O Dave:
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Originally posted by Filter guy:
Unless otherwise corrected every filter built in the USA ( by the usual suspects of filter companies) now uses a blended media of some sort.. Only European and Asian filters still have straight cellulose filter elements.
Wow! This is interesting to me, because based upon what you are saying abome, it appears that the U.S. is in the technological lead in the filter arena. FG, do you know why the Euros and Asians have not yet gone with blended filter medias?
Yeah..i've mentioned it before.
The European and Asian filter companies haven't got into the micron race ( higher efficiencies) like the US companies have.
In general, they prefer longer life lower efficient medias.
If one of the big boys over here marketed a filter like that, you would expect some very interesting "here's our filter v the competition" type comparisions.
But because the filters are made for some rather expensive auto's and one does not want to "p" in one's own shoes..US companies don't ( for lack of a better term) bash their counterparts from either of those regions. Some of those companies have engine plants in the USA and various US filter companies would like that biz if they don't have it already.
Some purchase filters from those companies for those applications but should the volume get to where a company would build it themselves, they would probably use a higher efficient media.
Which is why it is amusing sometimes when some compliment how "good" a filter looks from oversea's. If only they could do a full media test on the element..
As an example, Company A has their filters private branded by a US filter manufacturer. With "globalization", Company A goes back to their US filter source and tells them..I can buy these part numbers at $X.XX from this foreign source. You are charging me $Y.YY each and I could save money elsewhere ( more profit for them, they aren't lowering your price).
So the US filter company shows Company A test data on the foreign filters. Even though the filters do not test near the equivalent in efficiency, Company A may opt to buy the foreign filters even though they go to market with literature telling their customers how "good" their filters perform. As a comsumer you may never know. But if it's not built in the USA or by a foreign plant of a company from the USA ( which again you may be hard pressed to find out unless you're persistant)..then chances are it has less efficient media.
For all intent and purposes, filters outside the USA are NOT a big deal. Most people do not change their own oil. They go to service garages who do that for them and rely on their mechanics to "recommend" which filter to use or just trust the garage. Buying OEM is more the standard outside the US than aftermarket. In the US ( North America) it is the other way around. If you ever go to Europe or Asia ask 10 people who own cars, what filter do you have on the engine. Your likely to get some blank stares..
Obviously some do care about the filter. Especially tuners, racers, hot rodders, drifters, etc. But the general auto owning public..nope.
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I'll give you a different but specific example. I sold Luber-finer. Made by Champ. We private labelled the by-pass filter elements for a German filter company. ( basically everyone calls this by-pass Luber-finers whether they were or weren't. Cummins/Fleetguard had their own housing but still they were called Luber-finers). The by-pass element is made of "special" wood chips and shredded newspaper. The German Company said "we can't sell that in Germany. We've always told our customers pleated paper is good. If they cut it open and see newspaper.....". So the German filter company did their own tests, admitted "our" filter outperformed the pleated paper version in every test they ran. But in their infinite wisdom decided to sell "our" filter everywhere else in the world in their brand name, except Germany. Go figure..
Now is is possible this has changed since I left Champ. But I doubt it..lol
