Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: C2H5OH
These tests are far more accurate than cutting a filter open and LOOKING at it without any understanding of what really makes a filter good or bad. Fram Filters are among the best in the industry when used as they're intended.
Most of us agree on that point. It's extremely easy to complain about "cardboard end caps" and the like. That's never been my complaint. My complaint has always been as to why a filter with engineered fibre end caps costs more than plenty of other reputable competitors. The only time Fram products are competitively priced, particularly up here, is when one goes to the top end XG and compares it to filters of the same tier available at the same place, such as the M1 or the K&N. If I want a basic Fram, I'm paying high mid-tier pricing. If I want an XG, I'm finally paying a competitive price.
To be blunt, why can I get a Bosch Premium for my G for under $5, yet I'm looking at north of $8 for even the basic Fram?
Originally Posted By: C2H5OH
The same is true of oil and the ACEA and OEM oil service ratings (API service ratings are far too weak to be taken seriously - try to find an oil product that fails API approval)
Be cautious where you draw analogies. The average North American manufacturer oil specification (dexos1 aside) is nothing more than window dressing on the SN/GF-5 specification. Will Fram guarantee an orange can for some of the 30,000 km European drain intervals made possible by ACEA specifications? Before one complains that those are all long life or cannister filters, my old Audi had a 12,500 km severe service interval, and I don't recall how long it was for normal service. It used a traditional filter and there was a Fram orange can cross. Then again, the OEM Mann, Mahle, and Bosch were under $5, so I had no incentive to experiment.
I agree with both C2H5OH and Garak. There is a rampant viral infection running around, which I call "Fram Derangement Syndrome" (FDS) in which the ability to be objective is diminished or lost completely. I once thought it worked in only the "anti" direction but, sadly, it appears it also works in the "pro." (Who could I be talking about?) In any case, I see cardboard endcaps as merely another means to an end. If I was buying low end filters, that feature wouldn't be high on my list either pro or con. But I agree with Garak that the base orange Frams are somewhat higher priced than than they ought to be. AFAIK, Frams are all, or mostly made in NA and that's a definite plus for them and a negative for other brands on my list of preference points. Given the economic climate, I prefer my money to stay here as much as possible.
