Fram filters I have to ask

[HouseTiger]

Originally Posted By: Linctex
This video has been out for a very long time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRRgw4B7R-I



There are a lot of stupid videos on U-tube, but that one rates up there with the most nonsensical. Okay, so oil filters make cool plinking targets, but only after I remove and drain them after service.

 

[fdcg27]

I used the basic orange can for many years with no problems to report and have also used the TG and XG with no complaints.
One day somebody discovered the fiber end caps on the PH and decided that this must be a BAD THING and so the trashing of Fram filters began.
Purolator used and uses metal end caps, which was regarded as a GOOD THING, but this was before we discovered how commonly the media in them tore in use after relatively modest numbers of miles or hours.
Nothing wrong with any Fram oil filter. Each line is as good as anything else at their respective price ranges.

 

[WellOiled]

I used lots of orange cans while I was driving GM vehicles. I never had any issues with them even when they were abused.

 

[InvalidUserID]

I used to blindly buy into the hype that orange cans were all time bombs waiting to happen however for all the cars on the road that use them, they wouldn't be allowed to exist if that were true.

I use Fram Ultras on all the vehicles that I service now. They're great.

 

[CR94]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
...
One day somebody discovered the fiber end caps on the PH and decided that this must be a BAD THING and so the trashing of Fram filters began.
Purolator used and uses metal end caps, which was regarded as a GOOD THING, but this was before we discovered how commonly the media in them tore in use ...
I doubt it's fair to generalize as to the goodness of metal vs. plastic vs. "fiber" vs. no end caps. Any of them can be reliable or unreliable, depending on other details.

 

[Padawan]

Originally Posted By: steve20
Author of the above response: please advise the names of filters superior to the Orange Can which are better for the same price-----?


This is a common argument made against Fram Extra Guards, but rarely does anyone provide the examples you're asking for. Sometimes it's a Chinese-made jobber filter with completely unknown efficiency and questionable longevity that must be "better" simply because it has metal end caps. Then there are some of the higher-end filters that you can buy for close to the price of an Extra Guard if you wait for the once-every-leap-year sale, receive a secret invite code from a friend, and order a minimum of 12 dozen.

As many of us already know, there is nothing wrong with Fram filters, including the orange Extra Guards. I pay $3.77 for mine whenever I need one, they are in service for the full manufacturer's recommended intervals, and none that I've cut open has ever shown evidence of a failure. Add to that the 95% efficiency and the fact that they're made in the USA by a company that stands behind their products, and I can't see what there is to disparage.

 

[4ever4d]

Originally Posted By: Padawan
Originally Posted By: steve20
Author of the above response: please advise the names of filters superior to the Orange Can which are better for the same price-----?


This is a common argument made against Fram Extra Guards, but rarely does anyone provide the examples you're asking for. Sometimes it's a Chinese-made jobber filter with completely unknown efficiency and questionable longevity that must be "better" simply because it has metal end caps. Then there are some of the higher-end filters that you can buy for close to the price of an Extra Guard if you wait for the once-every-leap-year sale, receive a secret invite code from a friend, and order a minimum of 12 dozen.

As many of us already know, there is nothing wrong with Fram filters, including the orange Extra Guards. I pay $3.77 for mine whenever I need one, they are in service for the full manufacturer's recommended intervals, and none that I've cut open has ever shown evidence of a failure. Add to that the 95% efficiency and the fact that they're made in the USA by a company that stands behind their products, and I can't see what there is to disparage.

Well said sir!

 

[jongies3]

I used to run orange cans when I started driving, but as I got more mechanically interested in cars and heard the "bad stories" I stopped and went to Wix and Purolator. Nowadays Purolator are the junkers and Fram is golden it seems so I am warming back up to Fram after being here and have an orange can ready to go on my 7.3 Powerstroke the next change. I'm not wild about the $23 oil filter for my truck from Wix, and this Fram is only $3 more than the OEM Motorcrafts I have been using. I decided to go with Fram to avoid the tearing issues Purolator is having (they make MC filters) and after doing research on here and other boards, I am not the least bit concerned about using it on my work truck that is constantly being pushed to the limit and constantly towing and hauling really heavy stuff. My only complaint with this typical orange can is it doesn't have the cool grippy stuff on the dome like others do, wth, Fram?

 

[Corelokt]

I want billet end caps and hand punched louvers in left hand spiral pattern in my filters. The media needs to all hand woven under a microscope using black widow spider webbing knitted with itsy bitsy knitting needles to keep every pore a guaranteed 2 microns.
My filter hangs down, so no adbv needed. If it did have one it would be made with only the finest synthetic material and hand inspected to guarantee a fit within 10k of a millimeter.

 

[Arved]

Most here, at the time (the early days of BITOG) objected to the use of paper end caps. Cheap in comparison to the metal end caps used by others. Some reported separation between the paper end caps and the filter media ends.

While paper end caps might sound like a worse idea than metal, it's no worse than having paper media. FRAM defended the use by claiming that it's easier to glue to a porous paper end cap than a smooth metal end cap. Makes sense to me, but then why go to a smooth metal end cap for the more expensive lines of filters? If this is a good idea, why implement it only on their least expensive line of filters? It was still viewed as inferior build quality.

FRAM was also involved in an NHTSA mandated recall. The issue was over improper threads in the end cap resulting in the filter being blown off.

Related to the above, a few motorcycle racing sanctioning organizations (WERA being one that I remember) also banned FRAM oil filters after accidents resulting from filters falling off.

It wasn't a very good era for FRAM. The "Orange Can Of Death" stigma persists to this day.

All that said, times change, companies change, and products change. I happily use FRAM Ultras on my MX-5 (Miata), and will do so on my Toyota Pickup when the time comes.

 

[Arved]

Originally Posted By: Corelokt
I want billet end caps and hand punched louvers in left hand spiral pattern in my filters. The media needs to all hand woven under a microscope using black widow spider webbing knitted with itsy bitsy knitting needles to keep every pore a guaranteed 2 microns.
My filter hangs down, so no adbv needed. If it did have one it would be made with only the finest synthetic material and hand inspected to guarantee a fit within 10k of a millimeter.


Have you considered going to a hydraulic fluid filter? That'll get you down to sub-2 micron at very high efficiency.

 

[HouseTiger]

Originally Posted By: Corelokt
I want billet end caps and hand punched louvers in left hand spiral pattern in my filters. The media needs to all hand woven under a microscope using black widow spider webbing knitted with itsy bitsy knitting needles to keep every pore a guaranteed 2 microns.
My filter hangs down, so no adbv needed. If it did have one it would be made with only the finest synthetic material and hand inspected to guarantee a fit within 10k of a millimeter.



His oil comes from laboratory created liquid neutronium and is blended with unobtainium viscosity enhances to make the purest synthetic lubricant known to man.

 

[SirTanon]

Originally Posted By: Padawan
Originally Posted By: steve20
Author of the above response: please advise the names of filters superior to the Orange Can which are better for the same price-----?


This is a common argument made against Fram Extra Guards, but rarely does anyone provide the examples you're asking for. Sometimes it's a Chinese-made jobber filter with completely unknown efficiency and questionable longevity that must be "better" simply because it has metal end caps. Then there are some of the higher-end filters that you can buy for close to the price of an Extra Guard if you wait for the once-every-leap-year sale, receive a secret invite code from a friend, and order a minimum of 12 dozen.

As many of us already know, there is nothing wrong with Fram filters, including the orange Extra Guards. I pay $3.77 for mine whenever I need one, they are in service for the full manufacturer's recommended intervals, and none that I've cut open has ever shown evidence of a failure. Add to that the 95% efficiency and the fact that they're made in the USA by a company that stands behind their products, and I can't see what there is to disparage.


Very well said. OCOD's are very capable filters for the price.

... but I will counter with this. For MY daily driver (The 2010 Fusion), I can cite a filter that compares... and IMHO is at least marginally superior to the OCOD - Motorcraft. My car specs the FL910s, which is comparable to the Fram 3614. Based on my experience with these two, I must say that the FL910 is a superior product, and can be had for about 8 cents less at my local WalMart ($3.69 vs $3.77). The same holds true for the oversize version - FL400s, which is comparable to the Fram 3600. Again, I must give the upper hand to the Motorcraft.

I can't say the same for all vehicles, though.. and I will admit that it's hard to top the OCOD in general, for the price, if you're doing an apples to apples comparison.

 

[UG_Passat]

All the years I've been on BITOG, people hating on Fram due to the MiniMopar "Oil filter" study, and always insisted on steel endcaps. They never had a response to the paper endcaps on Mann cartridge filters. And since the Tearolator, BITOG is embracing Fram orange cans again.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Originally Posted By: Arved
While paper end caps might sound like a worse idea than metal, it's no worse than having paper media. FRAM defended the use by claiming that it's easier to glue to a porous paper end cap than a smooth metal end cap. Makes sense to me, but then why go to a smooth metal end cap for the more expensive lines of filters? If this is a good idea, why implement it only on their least expensive line of filters? It was still viewed as inferior build quality.


The Fram Ultra needs the metal end caps with some depth in the gluing area so they can firmly glue all the layers to the end cap.

 

[BironDanmum]

I didn't know much about filters pre-internet, but I found out back in the 1970s that Fram had a lousy reputation among racers. Two tracks that I race at have banned Frams in part or in whole- one track has had a blanket ban on any Fram-branded filter since 1977, and the other allows the HD/Racing Frams- if they're secured by a safety wire.

While I personally never had any issues with Fram, they always felt lightweight compared to equivalent filters from other manufacturers. The Racing/HP filters were certainly an exception, but my problem with those was that my oil pressure always shot down dangerously low after about an hour of sustained use. I'd pop a Wix on it, and the problem would go away.

I favored Purolators but I don't know what to make of them since they were bought out. I fear the Wix may end up the same way, so I'm not sure what I should run.

 

[4WD]

Fram Ultra is a good performer - but as indicated by others they are lighter than other premier filters and in some ways don't appear to be what they are put up to be. I changed both a Wix and FU today and could see this just inspecting them.
(I cut open new filters too).
The first FU for my oil change cost me 10 minutes of frustration - could not get it started. Grabbed another and had it spinning up in seconds. Good thing I had a spare.
I'll hold the first one and see if it does better on a GM motor.