I went to AA with my 3 gallon peanut oil container of old oil and it was full. My car's, my daughter's, and Ma's for an OCI each. I asked him if it was too much, he said "The more the merrier". They MUST be getting dough for the old oil, right? I would think at these prices, the stuff would be a commodity. I drain the filters and throw em away, but the oil I hand over to AA. They've never asked me for name, rank or serial number. They just give you the hitchhiker's thumb to the back of the store and away I dump.
I'm not a big fan of the ST e-cores either. I realize on a practical level they're ok/adequate/good enough, but the glued or bonded fiber endcap is a little hinky. I'd prefer to go with the AA filters by Purolator, or a WIX/Napa and run those a couple of OCI. Changing a decent filter in 5000 miles is nuts. In my car anyway, cut open, I can't tell a filter with 10,000 from a filter with 3,000 or 5,000 miles on it. Using them for two OCI eliminates all doubt about fiber endcaps, combi-ABD/bypass issues in the e-core vs. a good filter, and makes up the difference in cost.
Meanwhile, Wally-World and Jiffy Lube and the rest DO serve their purpose. We here take it for granted, but most peeps are too old, aren't capable, not inclined, or simply not equipped to change their oil or maintain their cars on their own. So to those folks, I say, trust but verify.
