All I can add to all of this is, I used to sing from the highest mountains my praises of the Ultra, but with the new media... after tearing apart the last one I took off one of my Mazdas, I have purchased my last Ultra. The media was easy, and I mean ridiculously easy, to tear. Like I was tearing nothing more than a thick paper towel. None of the pleats were torn, but they were pretty wavy, and just gently pushing on any of them produced a tear at the ends. No thanks, they had a great product before, now its just a meh product riding high on its previous reputation.
I know the efficiency isnt as good as some, but I'll probably be moving on to either Purolator Boss or a Microguard once the next oil change is due on that car. Ultras were so good before, I absolutely hate when companies screw up such good products.