I photographed two filter elements under high magnification. Interestingly, one filter costs 3X the other but they don't look much different.
Media Pics
- Thread starter Brian Barnhart
- Start date
- Status
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2002
- Messages
- 39,799
You forgot to ask "Can you tell the more expensive one??"
Although I tend to have a gut reaction to the "hairs" as being "cheap" ...they would probably snag more particles than the "trim" media.
Okay ..which is which?
Although I tend to have a gut reaction to the "hairs" as being "cheap" ...they would probably snag more particles than the "trim" media.
Okay ..which is which?
Looks like a big diff to me. The one with the loose "hairs"(bottom pic) has a media that is not as tightly weaved or made as the other filter. I would guess the filter with "hairs" has a better flow, but the tighter filter would filter out smaller particles better. Ok, so what two filter are they.......
The two filter elements were taken from, in no particular order, Fram Extra Guard and Mobil 1 oil filters. I looked at several more, but even at that magnification, they all look pretty similar and there doesn't seem to be much, if anything, one can accurately deduce from their appearance. Here's another that looks a little different (the pleats are narrower) with one from my earlier post (next to or below it) for reference:
OK so their in no particular order. What we want to know is... the hairy one a Fram and the one with the fresh haircut a Mobil 1 or visa versa. Which one is the hairy one?
Anybody else got a sudden urge to go to Mcdonalds for some fries?
I’ll fess up on which is which even though I hesitate to do so since a filter media’s appearance (at least under moderate magnification like this) obviously means little if anything. They are all for the same application (4.0L Jeep).
The first one (without the fuzz) is from a Mobil 1.
The second (fuzzy) one is from Fram’s basic ExtraGuard.
The third one with somewhat narrower pleats is from a Supertech.
The last one is a repeat of the Fram ExtraGuard for comparison.
The first one (without the fuzz) is from a Mobil 1.
The second (fuzzy) one is from Fram’s basic ExtraGuard.
The third one with somewhat narrower pleats is from a Supertech.
The last one is a repeat of the Fram ExtraGuard for comparison.
Is there any chance that loose hairs can dislodge and get into the engine?
Wasn't there a problem with some cummins diesel that this happened to with a Fram and they put out a filter revision (A)?
Wasn't there a problem with some cummins diesel that this happened to with a Fram and they put out a filter revision (A)?
It would seem that judging filter performance by comparing surface areas without knowledge of the media could lead to incorrect conclusions. It’s apparent that differences do exist in filter media between, as well as within, brands.
On the box, Mobil 1 claims synthetic fiber content.
On the box, Supertech claims their media is synthetic fiber enhanced.
On their website, Fram also claims some synthetic glass content.
So all three claim some level of synthetic content, but none of the the three claim “100% synthetic” content.
- Status
