In an earlier post, I mentioned the use of the thin cardboard endcaps as alignment for the media and ADBV. I've added some pics below to illustrate the points.
Here is a pic of the inside of a baseplate used on a Fram Extra Guard filter. The Tough Guard is the same. The baseplate has no features to align the ADBV relative to the inlet holes. In this Fram design, the alignment of the ADBV is controlled solely by the media's position within the can.
Here is a pic of the media inside the can, in this case a Tough Guard. The only features locating the media (and therefore the ADBV) are the tips of the thin cardboard endcaps. These endcaps are thin, weak, and very easily bent.
Here is a pic of the ADBV on top of the base. The Tough Guard is the same shape made from silicone. Since the ADBV is not held securely by the base plate, I moved it slightly off center to highlight the importance of ADBV positioning. You can see light through one of the inlet holes (red arrow).
If the condition pictured below occurs inside the filter, two undesirable things occur. The ADBV leaks , and a portion of the oil bypasses the filter media.
Here's a pic better illustrating the amount of misalignment of the ADBV in the previous picture. This amount of misalignment is probably less than 0.1”. I'm not certain if the Fram design will permit this much misalignment.
Here's a picture of the type of ADBV alignment used in other filters. The steel ring in the center of the baseplate serves to locate both the ADBV and media within the can.
In my view, the particulars illustrated above are part of why Frams get a “bad rap”. I've used Fram filters like those pictured above over the years. In some applications I had noticably more start-up noise. That suggests to me that the ADBV was less than optimum since other filters did not exhibit the same behavior.
Your results may vary.
I have had nothing but good performance from the Ultra Guard and (now) Ultra Synthetic, which feature somewhat different construction.