I don't think I will go back to using FRAM filters unless they improve considerably, but I did read that FRAM now has an extended mileage filter with metal endcaps. Is FRAM quality starting to make a comeback? Not that metal endcaps is all there is to filter quality, of course. The anti-drainback valve has to work properly, etc. Just curious. I used to use FRAM filters all the time and Pennzoil oil until I had two FRAMs fail on me and I read the filter studies on the internet.
Is FRAM improving any?
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I once owned a Plymouth Duster with the slant six engine. I installed what was supposed to be the correct FRAM filter according to the catalog and it did not have the necessary anti-drainback valve-I had to use a Mopar oil filter. I also owned a Toyota Corolla and I noticed with a FRAM when I changed the oil that there was no oil in the filter. I had to use a Toyota filter on the car. The anit-drainback valve on the FRAM did not work.
It seems to me that Fram made a less than excellent product for years bc they figured they had the market. So they advertised and continued making the product as cheap as possible - yet still give "satisfactory" service. Finally other manufactures started making their product better with higher filtering efficiencies. Fram was finally forced to keep up with competition and came out with a better line the "X" - something-whatever it's called.
That's just my take-I could be wrong. Anyway I say-screw Fram.
That's just my take-I could be wrong. Anyway I say-screw Fram.
O.K. Patman-everyone else is watching the big screen T.V and you are watching an empty Fram Boxquote:
Originally posted by Patman:
I went to a party last night, and while taking a tour of the house, we got to their TV room in the basement, and on one side was their awesome 52" big screen TV, but then on the other side of the room I spotted an empty Fram oil filter box! I didn't have the heart to tell the guy he should've bought a smaller TV and gave himself a bigger budget for better oil filters!
Patman
Staff member
I went to a party last night, and while taking a tour of the house, we got to their TV room in the basement, and on one side was their awesome 52" big screen TV, but then on the other side of the room I spotted an empty Fram oil filter box! I didn't have the heart to tell the guy he should've bought a smaller TV and gave himself a bigger budget for better oil filters!
Patman
Staff member
quote:
Originally posted by Al:
O.K. Patman-everyone else is watching the big screen T.V and you are watching an empty Fram Boxquote:
Originally posted by Patman:
I went to a party last night, and while taking a tour of the house, we got to their TV room in the basement, and on one side was their awesome 52" big screen TV, but then on the other side of the room I spotted an empty Fram oil filter box! I didn't have the heart to tell the guy he should've bought a smaller TV and gave himself a bigger budget for better oil filters!
Actually nobody was watching the big screen, they had it tuned in on a music channel on their satellite (one of those music channels with no pictures)
I keep hoping this guy bought that filter only to experiment on, and that they don't actually use them on their cars!
Well you could have cut it open for him-then you would know he is not going to use it
Who cares? There are too many other filter manufacturers to care about Fram. They are irrelevent.
Patman
Staff member
BINGO!
Even if Fram seems to think that cardboard is safe, why should we as a consumer take that risk? There are so many other choices out there for the same money, or less, which have better construction and better quality materials.
Amazing that a company could have such an awful reputation among knowledgable users and yet dominate an industry. Can't think of any other product that this applies to. Certainly Linux fanatics complain about Windows, but Windows reputation is no where near as bad as Fram.
GM?
I don't understand the basis for all this anti-Framism. Fram offers 3 quality levels of filters and all the negativism seems unfairly focused on the cheapest model.
1) The cheapest model is aggressively marketed, resulting in the "Wall of Orange" at many parts stores, making it harder to get good filters.
2) For the price of the cheapest model, you can get much better filters.
3) Fram says that cardboard is OK, but doesn't use cardboard in their expensive filters. Which is it? I don't want to do business with a company that talks out of both sides of its mouth.
4) There's no reason to believe that the more expensive models compare well with similarly expensive filters from the competition.
5) They've apparently underbid Filtech, and now Honda filters, which enjoyed a good reputation before, contain cardboard.
Basically, the company doesn't deserve my money. If the top-of-the-line filters were clearly better than the competetion, then they might. But I have no reason to believe that, and don't care to patronize a company that makes crap like the basic orange filter.
Do you have a good argument for using Fram's better filters, taking into account their competitors' products? ("It's better than Fram's worst filter" is not a good argument.)
Look at is this way fram 10.00 filters are as good as Wallmart's 3.00 filters . That is an improvement.
if you didn't g2 walmart, fram usually is about 4 bucks at other auto parts stores. Besides, motorcrafts usually sell for 3 bucks, as do ac delco. Much better filters that use a better media. Supertechs are also good since they can be bought for under 2 bucks yet have the quality of a bosch premium filter. Fram just plain sucks, they need to focus on quality rather than quantity.
Or you could buy a Fram that is suposedly upgraded from the base Extra Guard, only to learn it too uses crappy cradboard insides and suspect quality, all at a price two or three times higher than the base filter. Sad you have to spend $10+ on a Fram to get a filter that compares to any of its competitors at a lower price (like the $3 motorcrafts for Ford owners).
The sad part is that according to my tape measure he could have had more than twice the filter area for less money by buying Super Tech. Once upon a time I thought I was taking good care of my truck by buying that trusted old name Fram. I was bitterly disappointed to find out Fram filters have less than a third of the filter area as ACDelco. Nobody has as much filter area as AC, but all the other brands have at least twice as much as Fram. This includes the dirt cheap Super Tech from Wal-Mart.quote:
Originally posted by Patman:
I went to a party last night, and while taking a tour of the house, we got to their TV room in the basement, and on one side was their awesome 52" big screen TV, but then on the other side of the room I spotted an empty Fram oil filter box! I didn't have the heart to tell the guy he should've bought a smaller TV and gave himself a bigger budget for better oil filters!
Thanks to unDummy for giving me some good numbers to look for under Wal-Mart recalls ST2808. I will be checking the 3985.
somebody said why don't we talk about tough guard or double guard. well they're just as bad. i believe tough guard just has the thicker can + cardboard, and double guard is the worst with teflon and cardboard. X2 is their only decent filter, with the metal endcaps, which they justify because they say the cardboard won't hold the metal screen.
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