The Supertech 7317 filter I removed from a friend's '93 MX-6 on the weekend was rattly with loose internals. I've seen this happen with a Fram ('98 Tercel), two NAPA Pro-Selects ('05 Tribute), and a new uninstalled Purolator Pure One ('87 Suburban), but this is my first bad experience with a Supertech. I've been using Supertechs on this car for years, and comparing with the previous ones in the bin it appears they've been doing some cost-cutting. It looks the same externally and is still marked as made in the USA, but the shell is made of thinner metal and the center tube has sections pressed out to allow oil flow past the slots instead of the circular holes that the older filters use.
That was my last ST7317 so I'll be using something else in the future. I don't have easy access to them anyway since WalMart only sells Fram in Canada. I had picked them up when I was in the U.S. I had to go with Fram for this change. I had hoped to grab a Quaker State filter for it from Canadian Tire, but they were sold out of those. At least the grippy stuff on the Fram made installation easier. It's hard to get a good grip on the filter in that car. I'll have to either stock up on the QS filters or Mazda filters in the future.
I was also unimpressed at the Made in China Supertech cartridge filter I removed from my Mazda3. It appeared to be have been either crushed or twisted, but the filter media was still completely intact so no problem there. Checking against my used OEM Mazda filters, it's the same height in the center, but the edges of the plastic endcaps seem to have shrunk and compressed the media. I had another ST filter for this oil change so I installed it then removed it, and it still looks brand new, so it's not that it isn't fitting properly. I didn't have anything else on hand so I used it. I may change it early and I'll definitely use something else next time as I only had the two of those anyway. I'll probably stick with Mazda filters in the future.
Looking through my pile of old filters, I've personally installed and removed 26 Supertech filters between this MX-6 and a '99 Sunfire, so they did have a decent run.
That was my last ST7317 so I'll be using something else in the future. I don't have easy access to them anyway since WalMart only sells Fram in Canada. I had picked them up when I was in the U.S. I had to go with Fram for this change. I had hoped to grab a Quaker State filter for it from Canadian Tire, but they were sold out of those. At least the grippy stuff on the Fram made installation easier. It's hard to get a good grip on the filter in that car. I'll have to either stock up on the QS filters or Mazda filters in the future.
I was also unimpressed at the Made in China Supertech cartridge filter I removed from my Mazda3. It appeared to be have been either crushed or twisted, but the filter media was still completely intact so no problem there. Checking against my used OEM Mazda filters, it's the same height in the center, but the edges of the plastic endcaps seem to have shrunk and compressed the media. I had another ST filter for this oil change so I installed it then removed it, and it still looks brand new, so it's not that it isn't fitting properly. I didn't have anything else on hand so I used it. I may change it early and I'll definitely use something else next time as I only had the two of those anyway. I'll probably stick with Mazda filters in the future.
Looking through my pile of old filters, I've personally installed and removed 26 Supertech filters between this MX-6 and a '99 Sunfire, so they did have a decent run.
