SuperTech ST3600 Cut Open

[Virtuoso]

Was in use for about 2,200 miles and four months. Some light coolant contamination in the oil.

No real media failure; but there was an area where the media had "folded".. however it looks like some of that was from the factory. Right along the media's seam. They could have spaced the media a weee bit better to reduce that gap.

Other than that, this filter "seemed to" have a good amount of media.. and those "endcaps" are *not* easy to remove. Still not sure how I feel about that combo ADBV/BPV *shrugs*

Shot of the even side of things:

Outside view of the gap:

Inside view:

I know the pictures are not the greatest, I did what I could

 

[labman]

Even if the end caps were easy to pull apart, the oil pressure pushes the end cap towards the media. It is easy to pull an ADBV away from the base plate, but when the oil pushes against it, it seals. So those claiming the end cap pulls away easily prove nothing except their bias.

 

[panthermike]

Looks fine, I used an E-core ST on my brother's Equinox, no issues. Actually, I have no complaints about ANY Supertech oil filter that I've used.

 

[Herz]

Originally Posted By: panthermike
Looks fine, I used an E-core ST on my brother's Equinox, no issues. Actually, I have no complaints about ANY Supertech oil filter that I've used.


me either.

 

[daman]

Originally Posted By: Virtuoso
Was in use for about 2,200 miles and four months. Some light coolant contamination in the oil.

No real media failure; but there was an area where the media had "folded".. however it looks like some of that was from the factory. Right along the media's seam. They could have spaced the media a weee bit better to reduce that gap.

Other than that, this filter "seemed to" have a good amount of media.. and those "endcaps" are *not* easy to remove. Still not sure how I feel about that combo ADBV/BPV *shrugs*

Shot of the even side of things:

Outside view of the gap:

Inside view:

I know the pictures are not the greatest, I did what I could

Pics are great they show a failure in progress,in time that filter would have failed like this one...

why people take the chance and run these scrap filters is beyond me,spend the extra buck or two and get a NPS or CQ red.

 

[willix]

That looks like a Fram. is it?

 

[webfors]

Originally Posted By: willix
That looks like a Fram. is it?


It's an AC Delco ecore based oil filter off a 2001 Saturn with 3k miles on it.

Frams have a metal center tube with small inlet holes.

 

[labman]

Originally Posted By: daman
Originally Posted By: Virtuoso
Was in use for about 2,200 miles and four months. Some light coolant contamination in the oil.

No real media failure; but there was an area where the media had "folded".. however it looks like some of that was from the factory. Right along the media's seam. They could have spaced the media a weee bit better to reduce that gap.

Other than that, this filter "seemed to" have a good amount of media.. and those "endcaps" are *not* easy to remove. Still not sure how I feel about that combo ADBV/BPV *shrugs*

Shot of the even side of things:

Outside view of the gap:

Inside view:

I know the pictures are not the greatest, I did what I could

Pics are great they show a failure in progress,in time that filter would have failed like this one...

why people take the chance and run these scrap filters is beyond me,spend the extra buck or two and get a NPS or CQ red.


Is that one of the ones that laid out in the weather for who knows how long after use? If so, its condition is meaningless and posting that picture adds nothing to the discussion.

 

[Newtonville]

The cage large holes do seem to encourage a break in the media. Champ should be emailed, if not already. To be a fair test though, the conditions have to be known. On the broke through filter, the media looks loaded, and if the bypass wasn't working then it is a good thing the media tore open. It is possible to mistakenly install a non bypass filter on a car requiring bypass, and of course that could mean over pressure on the element. Better a torn element in that case. More failure examples are needed IMO.

 

[daman]

Originally Posted By: Newtonville
On the broke through filter, the media looks loaded

How is the unsuspecting public suppose to know when the filter is "loaded"?, 99% will run this filter 3 to 30,000 miles and not have a second thought about it,the problem is and always will be until they fix the large holes in the cage this media fold problem will always have the potential of happening, will it happen every time? probably not but the risk will always be there.

 

[sbergman27]

The thing that bothers me is this. Running without a filter is not catastrophic to the engine. But a filter failure where a loose piece of the filter happens to block oil flow can be. You're better off with an "empty can" filter than with a poorly made one.

 

[Silver02ex]

Originally Posted By: daman



why people take the chance and run these scrap filters is beyond me,spend the extra buck or two and get a NPS or CQ red.


Not everyone has a choice or care. My dad has been taking his GMC truck to the dealer for the last 10 years and I'm sure the filters in the Delco are E-core now. Before it changed my in-law's filter, they use to take it to Jiffy Lube where they use a Fram clone.

 

[daman]

Originally Posted By: Silver02ex
Originally Posted By: daman



why people take the chance and run these scrap filters is beyond me,spend the extra buck or two and get a NPS or CQ red.


Not everyone has a choice or care.

There's plenty of filters out on the market today one could easily cross one over,and one should care but i guess if they take it to a dealer or a iffy lube they probably don't care IMO.

 

[robd]

Looks like it held up well. As time goes on filter manufactures will use less steel in their filters due to waste creation. There is a shift going on towards no metal at all, as in the new cartridge filters showing up today.

 

[Newtonville]

Originally Posted By: daman
Originally Posted By: Newtonville
On the broke through filter, the media looks loaded

How is the unsuspecting public suppose to know when the filter is "loaded"?, 99% will run this filter 3 to 30,000 miles and not have a second thought about it,the problem is and always will be until they fix the large holes in the cage this media fold problem will always have the potential of happening, will it happen every time? probably not but the risk will always be there.


That's true, there has to be more potential of break through with larger holes given the same media type. One would hope Champ would know how much pressure the media, even loaded, can withstand, and it should be safely more than a bypass pressure. I would think this would be a very simple notion for them. The loaded(with dirt) pleats can happen to the unsuspecting public, but in that case their bypass valves are supposed to kick in and the filter media should not break. More tests are needed IMO to see if these filters are breaking while in bypass, or because the engine or filter bypass was faulty. If the media is loaded full by the unsuspecting motorist, and their valves aren't working, they are better off with a hole than no oil circulation.

 

[labman]

Yes, we have plenty of reports of filters with steel cores and splits in the media.

 

[Virtuoso]

It's hard to tell from the picture.. but I believe the media left the factory (at least partially) flattned like that, because there is not enough media in one of the "folded" sides to make a full pleat. I'll take a closer look at it later.

 

[daman]

Originally Posted By: labman
Yes, we have plenty of reports of filters with steel cores and splits in the media.

Yea but there's no chance of media material being sent into the engine with a steel core filter.