Curious on what you're seeing regarding the construction that makes you say that.
Well, seems to be quite evident thay the pleats are not uniform in spacing and angled in the US made Ultra in comparison to the China made Extra Guard.
Uneven pleat spacing is really not a concern on wired backed full synthetic media. The pleats aren't going anywhere like they could on uneven cellulose media. Even spin-on wire backed synthetic media filters will have some uneven pleats. I certainly wouldn't say the pleat spacing is any reason to be concerned about unless it's on non-synthetic media where it could cause tearing, like seen in may Purolator filters.
I am aware regarding wire backed media in comparison to cellulose based media. Essentially my point is more related to quality control. The same level of quality that is expected from a cellulose based media regarding pleats and spacing should be the same for a synthetic media which has a wire backing to enhance structural integrity. Would you not agree? Or should wire backed synthetic media be oriented in whatever manner as long as it fits within the end caps and thus be deemed acceptable?
Looking at the particular Ultra you got (and based on many other photos of Ultras), IMO there is absolutely nothing wrong with the pleat spacing. It wouldn't deter me from buying any wire backed full synthetic filter just because it didn't have perfect pleat spacing or alignment. It's pretty much the nature of the beast.
I never said I wouldn't use the Ultra, rather I said they are my go to filter. In fact, they are my preferred filter in all non-European applications. My major point of interest was: if it can be done on their "lower end" filters, then it should be able to be applied to their "high end" filters. There really should be no free pass. We can agree to disagree regarding the spacing and angle of the pleating.
Maybe it's just not that easy to do with the wire backed media. It is what it is ... and it doesn't impact performance or reliability in any way. Not something that I would consider "bad quality".
Maybe it is as easy, maybe it is not. A larger sample across various manufacturers from varying manufacturing regions would enlighten that question with quantitative and qualitative data.
Or better yet, have them made in Canada.LoL ... guess they better move Ultra production to China.
