Fram XG3614 Cut Open

[Darwin1138]

Photos from a Fram XG3614. It was in use in a 2012 Ford Focus 2.0 for about 25,000 km. Oil in use was Valvoline Full Synthetic 5W-20. I ignore if and with what oil the engine was topped off. Almost 4 liters came out. Replaced with another Fram, that was silver in color, and Castrol Edge 5W-20.

The filter held up fine the high mileage. No tears or signs of crushing, but the construction seems very poor to me. The base plate is very thin and the can is very flimsy. A can of soup is made of thicker metal.

If it was my car, I would not use this again.

 

[BigShug681]

So in short nothing is actually wrong with the filter and it did it’s job, thanks for the C&P

 

[ZeeOSix]

The filter held up fine the high mileage. No tears or signs of crushing, but the construction seems very poor to me. The base plate is very thin and the can is very flimsy. A can of soup is made of thicker metal.

Never been any reports here of base plate or can failures from being under designed or constructed - many other oil filters have just as thin of can metal. If it works, it works.

As far as filtering, which is the main job of a filter, you won't find many as efficient and long OCI rated as the Ultra.

 

[bullwinkle]

Thin can was always the OG Ultra’s Achilles heel, along with rust when the Sure Grip got chipped or fell off. Then the media changed! That OG one does look awesome, though.

 

[aquariuscsm]

the construction seems very poor to me. The base plate is very thin and the can is very flimsy. A can of soup is made of thicker metal.

That's always been what I don't like about Fram as well. I can smush them in my hand.

 

[53' Stude]

So in short nothing is actually wrong with the filter and it did it’s job, thanks for the C&P

Yeah, it’s wire backed and looks good. There isn’t anything wrong with the filter. But the OP has his opinion which is fine.

I have run UKTRA’s for way more than they’re rated for; never a issue

 

[odie]

Here's the new ULTRA with no wire ( ) . Might give this a try with the '18 Accent for 5,000 > 6,000 miles from October to mid May or early JUNE . Is a bit wavy at 4,120 miles . Wonder if the wire mesh would have helped to keep them in place .

.

Not sure if I had post this before .

 

[odie]

Looks like waves from the factory . Thanks to mphilleo for new post .

Fram XG3614 Cut Open

Photos from a Fram XG3614. It was in use in a 2012 Ford Focus 2.0 for about 25,000 km. Oil in use was Valvoline Full Synthetic 5W-20. I ignore if and with what oil the engine was topped off. Almost 4 liters came out. Replaced with another Fram, that was silver in color, and Castrol Edge 5W-20...

bobistheoilguy.com

 

[Chris142]

How thick do you think the can needs to be? Seems thick enough to hold back 60+ psi of oil.

 

[ZeeOSix]

How thick do you think the can needs to be? Seems thick enough to hold back 60+ psi of oil.

The old Fram testing video shows them pressure testing to 250-300 PSI, and the base gasket typically will start leaking at that level before the can fails.

 

[umungus1122]

There seems to be very few holes drilled in the center steel tube. I just bought a Fram Ultra XG9688 and it too has only 3 rows of holes. Other filters of the same model by different manufacturers have had quite a few more holes in the center tube. This would seem to restrict flow with so few holes. Any thoughts on that?

 

[ARCOgraphite]

There seems to be very few holes drilled in the center steel tube. I just bought a Fram Ultra XG9688 and it too has only 3 rows of holes. Other filters of the same model by different manufacturers have had quite a few more holes in the center tube. This would seem to restrict flow with so few holes. Any thoughts on that?

They have supercomputers to model the flow. They know what they are doing. I was a minor co-owner of a startup early Y2K and we did advanced mold flow modeling for the liquid crystal polymer injection molding we were doing. Took all night to run the program. Sometimes the result was a bit different that what one expected even for experienced Mechanical designers well versed in fluid dynamics. Intuition is good but not always correct.

But I understand your concern , even with the circumferential channels allowing imporved access to the media surface, one might expect more punched holes than we are seeing here. But this is a filter, and particulate damming/plugging must be a major consideration.
- Ken

 

[ZeeOSix]

There seems to be very few holes drilled in the center steel tube. I just bought a Fram Ultra XG9688 and it too has only 3 rows of holes. Other filters of the same model by different manufacturers have had quite a few more holes in the center tube. This would seem to restrict flow with so few holes. Any thoughts on that?

How many holes are in the center tube? Here's a flow area comparison I did on an XG3600, but the 3600 is taller so it will have more holes. But the center tube holes on all Frams seem to be 0.125 inch diameter, so knowing that you could calculate the total center tube flow area if you know the total number of center tube holes.

On the XG3600, the total center tube flow area is about 6 times more than the area of the filter mount hole to the engine oiling system.

 

[ZeeOSix]

In the OP's Fram XG3614, looks like it has ~50 center tube holes, which would be a total area of 0.615 sq-in which would be around 2.5 times more than the area of the filter mount hole.

 

[umungus1122]

In the OP's Fram XG3614, looks like it has ~50 center tube holes, which would be a total area of 0.615 sq-in which would be around 2.5 times more than the area of the filter mount hole.

The XG9688 has 41 of what appear to be 1/8in. holes.

 

[MrStamper]

How thick do you think the can needs to be? Seems thick enough to hold back 60+ psi of oil.

Ikr. Plastic 2L soda bottle will burst at 185 psi….

 

[OLEJOE]

How many holes are in the center tube? Here's a flow area comparison I did on an XG3600, but the 3600 is taller so it will have more holes. But the center tube holes on all Frams seem to be 0.125 inch diameter, so knowing that you could calculate the total center tube flow area if you know the total number of center tube holes.

On the XG3600, the total center tube flow area is about 6 times more than the area of the filter mount hole to the engine oiling system.

View attachment 118002

What about the base plate holes and having an ADBV helping to restrict the flow?

 

[ZeeOSix]

What about the base plate holes and having an ADBV helping to restrict the flow?

See post #13 for base plate hole area calculation - basically the same flow area as the filter mount. The flexible rubber ADBV ads miniscule delta-p. The media is by far the largest percentage of the total delta-p across an oil filter.

 

[OLEJOE]

Post #13 is the reason for the question. Close but not equal to or greater than.

Actually the small inlet holes reduce the dp inside of the filter and reduces the likelihood of a bypass event. Also reduces the total flow.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Post #13 is the reason for the question. Close but not equal to or greater than.

Not different enough to matter.

Actually the small inlet holes reduce the dp inside of the filter and reduces the likelihood of a bypass event. Also reduces the total flow.

Nope, delta-p occurs independently across each flow component in the flow path. The inlet holes in the base plate don't cause the delta-p to decrease across the media or across the center tube because the flow going through the filter isn't changing due to the PD oil pump. Again, the PD pump is misunderstood in the oiling system.