Depends on the cellulose and the blend - not all media is the same, even if it's got some "cellulose" in it. The condensation water from combustion in the oil certainly can be a factor. Do some more research like I showed above. We have also seen some pretty straight Fram and other brands that will somethings show wavy pleats. Explain that ... it has to be use based factors.
new style Fram Ultra XG3614
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Those are global variables that could happen to any brand filter. Its application and use dependent.
It can't possibly explain why its far more common in Fram filters than other brands. If so, you would have to correlate the type of use that caused moisture to be most prevalent with Fram, but there is no such distribution.
Troubleshooting 101 - if this global use theory were to hold we would see these results at random across all filter brands. But we see it heavily in Fram and not so much in other brands, so it can't possibly be the explanation.
Go back and find some 10 year old threads and see the wavy pleats even back then. It's not something new with oil filters. And there have been some other brands that have shown some pretty wavy pleats.
BrendanC
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it did appear that the pleats were too long from the start.
Just like I mentioned above. Why would one xyz brand/model filter look wavy off of engine A, but the same zyz brand/model filter have pretty much straight pleats off of engine B?
You "think" it might be worse on Fram filters, but you have zero data base to prove it. It's just a subjective conclusion based on seeing some that look pretty bad. There have also been some non wire-back Ultra with pretty straight pleats. Then all of a sudden only Frams have wavy pleats, and the ones with barely wavy pleats don't qualify for the centerfold.
We do see it random across many brands of filters. You seem to think it's only a Fram thing. Lot of M+H/Purolator filters have also shown wavy pleats ... even Motorcrarfs. It's not. I said 12 years ago that wavy pleats are just a visual aspect and don't hurt anything.
Here's a PureOne PL14459 off an Altima V6 I cut open in 2010. Look familiar?
Here's a Motorcraft FL822 off that same Altima V6 I cut open in 2009. And both of those were 5000 mile runs Yes, it always can happen if the filter is not 100% fully synthetic media.
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I have looked at every C&P posted here in about the last 2 years. Fram filters by far and away had the most and the waviest pleats. Hence it can not be explained away by any global variable - such as moisture in the oil. That defies all logic. Its a global variable without a global result correlation.
I have no horse in the race. I still have 3 Fram filters in my stash I plan to use. I am just not buying any more.
I have already acknowledged that I have no proof this is detrimental. It is however outside of industry norms. That by itself is at least cause for discussion on a forum such as this, but it seems any brainstorming of possible causes that might actually originate at the manufacturer leads to immediate attempt to discredit even the idea?
I will bow out - I really don't care other than casual technical interest.
And here's a different PureOne PL14459 off that Altima that tore - and also has some wavy pleats. But it was a wide pleat that tore ... not a wavy pleat. Wavy pleats don't tear unless they are a widely spaced wavy pleat.
Not really out of "industry norms". Those filters I posted above from 14+ years ago look just as bad as some of the wavy pleats on oil filters today. You're looking at the wavy pleats thing through a narrow straw. If it was that bad 14 years ago, then it's a common phenomena caused by a number of factors.
I was basically disconcerting your claim that it seems to really only mainly be a Fram thing. It's not, as proven.
I agreed that the cause can be due to a number of things, including moisture from combustion in the oil which you don't seem to believe, and it's obviously mainly caused by use conditions with some brand/models. Otherwise you wouldn't have wavy pleats on one engine vs pretty straight pleats on a different engine for the same brand/model filter. And of course I agree that some media blends very well could be more sensitive to those use conditions. But the bottom line is that wavy pleats don't do any harm except to upset the C&P centerfold beauty pageant judges.
As mentioned, those are filters off my vehicles I cut open. Probably posted in some really old threads here. I wasn't crying about wavy pleats when I discovered them.
A PureOne PL14006 off my ZO6 in 2013 ... wavy pleats! 
I think every non wire-backed media filter I've ever cut open had some level of wavy pleats, and some were what people here today would consider non-centerfold worthy.
I think every non wire-backed media filter I've ever cut open had some level of wavy pleats, and some were what people here today would consider non-centerfold worthy. 
That one looks like it was getting ready to tear.
Clearly there's wave, and there's WAVE. No doubt, this one fits in the latter category. And imo, the size difference of the 3614 vs OEM irrelevant here. When I owned 3.4L Taco, never had one, any brand, that looked like this. And ran I an OG XG3614 2 ocis, to 14k miles in just shy of 3 years, and it looked great. C&P still in search archive. Spec 3614 has plenty of holding capacity
I would add though, looking at the topic filter at 5800mi, I wonder about the health of the engine and/or maintenance history.
I would add though, looking at the topic filter at 5800mi, I wonder about the health of the engine and/or maintenance history.
BrendanC
$100 site donor 2024
both this guy and the other tundra i serviced are very low income with no technical skills and families to support. that’s why i just grabbed their keys yesterday to service their stuff after confirming cost to be okay. used speedperks $20 coupons to get their OCI’s for the cheapest possible.
You are a wonderful man BrendanC. May God bless you for helping the less fortunate. Good to hear this sir
Whh he whata
Wow, dude will always post some bad Man+Himmel filters to try and deter a conversation from pointing out fram quality issues. Even if he needs to pull up 10 and 14 year old pics from his hate Man+Hummel files lol.Just like I mentioned above. Why would one xyz brand/model filter look wavy off of engine A, but the same zyz brand/model filter have pretty much straight pleats off of engine B?
You "think" it might be worse on Fram filters, but you have zero data base to prove it. It's just a subjective conclusion based on seeing some that look pretty bad. There have also been some non wire-back Ultra with pretty straight pleats. Then all of a sudden only Frams have wavy pleats, and the ones with barely wavy pleats don't qualify for the centerfold.
We do see it random across many brands of filters. You seem to think it's only a Fram thing. Lot of M+H/Purolator filters have also shown wavy pleats ... even Motorcrarfs. It's not. I said 12 years ago that wavy pleats are just a visual aspect and don't hurt anything.
Here's a PureOne PL14459 off an Altima V6 I cut open in 2010. Look familiar?
View attachment 211118
Here's a Motorcraft FL822 off that same Altima V6 I cut open in 2009. And both of those were 5000 mile runs Yes, it always can happen if the filter is not 100% fully synthetic media.
View attachment 211119
... as usual, you fail to keep up with the context of the conversation. I showed those for a reason ... I'll spell it out for you. I posted those to show that wavy pleats are not a new thing like some here seem to believe, and it's not just a thing with Fram filters. I'm sure if I said those were Fram filters that you'd be all over it. Many non-full synthetic media oil filter brands can have wavy pleats under some use conditions. This whole "wavy pleats" means it's "bad quality" by some here is pretty funny. If that was really the case, then probably 2/3 or more filters posted here should be categorized as junk, lol. Might want to do some more reading and research instead of trollng post. 
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