Virgin Champion COS16 C&P (Rockauto closeout)

[92saturnsl2]

I went along for the ride and ordered 10 COS3593A filters and 6 COS16 per the thread that mentioned these being on closeout at RA.

The COS3593A filter fits my Odyssey and Maxima, the COS16 fits my Pacifica. There is another thread on here with a new COS3593A C&P, I'm quite impressed with the quality of that particular filter. thread here.

The COS16 is a whole different animal though. I noticed right away that it has a thread end bypass unlike the COS3593A. I cut both open and unfortunately the COS16 has nowhere near the quality of the 3593A. Media is different, can is substantially thinner, leaf spring vs coil spring, terrible job with gluing. The glue used on the 16 has the consistency of spray foam-- it's very brittle and flakes off easily. The glue on the COS3593A is more like an epoxy resin, very smooth with no chance of breaking apart.

I'm baffled how these filters can be so dissimilar. For the price I'll probably go ahead and use them, but the poor glue job has me speechless. The pictures don't do it justice, it looks even worse in person! What do you guys think?

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Did they use GreatStuff for the sealant??? I'd return the unused ones in a heartbeat, even if RA charges a restock. This is a perfect example of why I spend the extra $1-2 and buy Napa Golds during the Farm 'n Fleet sales. $3.51 for the 3593A equivalent, and no worries of filtration, media, or construction. Same for whatever size crosses to the Pacifica....

Always goes back to my favorite saying about buying products, especially manufactuing: "Quality, Price, Delivery. Pick two." Because one of those three will ALWAYS suffer at the expense of the other two. I personally will pay extra if I always get the quality I expect, and can have it anytime I want it. To me, price is the least important of my expectations compared to the other two. What good is a crappy quality anything, especially if you can never get it, even though it's 95% cheaper than the name brand? No thanks.

 

[FordBroncoVWJeta]

 

[Snagglefoot]

FAKE?

 

[Pinoak]

Pretty sure the glue won't hurt anything. They sure didn't put their heart into their work that day lol. I'd use it though if I had already paid for it

 

[HangFire]

I wouldn't use it, but if I did, I would pull the first one early and take a close look at it, and ramp up mileage from there on the next few until trust is established (or broken).