Wix 51358 Louvers Again

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: bbhero
Ohh and my cat was also doing quality control checks as well.

If the claws can't catch a louver, it's not open enough.

Originally Posted By: corndogzombie
Looks like your camera somehow magically worked better after the first pics. Hmmm.

I'm not so sure about that. The result of photographing closed louvers is pretty unremarkable; there's simply really nothing to see. The best I can tell you is to look at the first two pictures at the three or four louvers near the bottom right. You can see the slits, but nothing through them. I have no concern about the replacement Wix or the Baldwin. I just have to remember to be checking things more carefully again when I buy them.

Wix needs to revisit this filter and some pricing up here. Having no silicone ADBV but being 58% more money at my jobber price (from more than one supplier) than the regular retail price of a Baldwin (from Acklands-Grainger, of all places, no discount store by any stretch of the imagination) is not acceptable, QC aside. I can't find fault with the pricing on the 51515, but boy, they hammer on these other ones.

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

Like your cat.Looks like he/she has someone to take care of him. Right now one of my cats in sleeping on the bed behind me. Like me, entropy is catching up with her and soon we will be no more. She is the better off because she has no concept of mortality. "All forms that perish, Other forms supply, By turns we catch the vital breath, Then die."

 

[Sayjac]

Quote:
...Wix needs to revisit this filter and some pricing up here. Having no silicone ADBV but being 58% more money at my jobber price (from more than one supplier) than the regular retail price of a Baldwin

Not sure why that specific application uses nitrile rather than the vast majority silicone adbv Wix/NG. Perhaps because that filter is spec'd for many/majority OPE and cycle applications too. Of course if mine I'd be running the longer 57356 with silicone adbv anyway. Just me.

And as for pricing of it, it does appear the 51358 is high in even in the US. Again wonder if OPE applications are part or if because they do tend to be significantly higher than automotive applications filters. Regular Napa Gold and Wix shows it twice as much as the aforementioned 5/7356.

But, since Baldwin available for less there anyway, no problem.

 

[AZjeff]

Do a flow test and get back to us. Otherwise it's all bloviating.

 

[BigD1]

One thing for sure is the NAPA Gold for my Volvo does not have a silicone ADBV. Never have checked the Wix to see if it does or not. The filter mounts horizontal on my Volvo, so I am not buying anything for it that does not have a silicone ADBV.

Interesting that our filters were made two days apart, and mine still has the holes. Maybe they are going to switch all of it to louvers sooner or later.

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

I like your cat. He/She looks like someone takes care of him.

 

[Sayjac]

Quote:
One thing for sure is the NAPA Gold for my Volvo does not have a silicone ADBV. Never have checked the Wix to see if it does or not.....

Not surprisingly Wix look up shows it uses nitrile same as Napa Gold. Again though, another application that shows lots of, even majority OPE applications as opposed to automotive.

I don't concern myself with what might or might not happen with Wix/Napa Gold louvers. As with all filter purchases, best practice where practicable would be to inspect all of them prior to purchase anyway. More observing to see if the M&H ownership QC effect repeats itself now with Wix.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Originally Posted By: Garak

I went to my parts man and he agreed and let me grab a different one of the shelf and set the bad one aside for return, so I didn't buy a 57356 or exchange it for one. We looked at a few of the 51358s on the shelf. Mine had obvious issues; none of the ones on the shelf had any problems. I took pictures of the new one, and you can actually see the media through the louvers, rather than barely make out a slit in the louvers.


The first filter you bought obviously had bad louvers ... I wouldn't use it either. Just goes to show that forming louvers does seem to be rocket science.

Not Good ... louvers only opened up a hair.

 

[Sayjac]

Of course no one had the blow up view shown now, nor the comparison to a different one shown later. So not quite so obvious to those of us viewing only the original pics first and without benefit of blown up pics or the comparison shown subsequently. Just sayin.

 

[ZeeOSix]

WIX #1

.


WIX #2



WIX #1 ... BAD

WIX #2 ... GOOD

 

[corndogzombie]

Hmm I guess they made that one just for looks. Now we have a burr full fram for internal machining( give one of those to someone you hate for Christmas) and a wix for looks only not for actually filtering.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Baldwin/Hastings louvers are the best by far! I have no problem using those at all.

The bigger Wix 57356 still has the round holes as of April 2016.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Sayjac
But, since Baldwin available for less there anyway, no problem.

I'm not sure about the reason for nitrile there either. In any case, I do sometimes grab the originally specified 51365 or its upsize, the 51356. That upsize is a bit cheaper than the 51365, too. I haven't tried a 57356 yet, but I do intend to do so. Between the Baldwin and the replacement 51358, I'm okay for a little while. As for Napa, we don't get a lot of filter sales up here from them, as in zero.

With respect to OPE applications, suppliers have to be careful. If Acklands-Grainger can sell the filters that cheap, there's a problem. Acklands-Grainger last year was listing this filter that I got for $6.95 for north of $20. Since then, our dollar went down the toilet, yet Acklands can cut that much off their price? Other can do the same. Baldwin is big in the non-automotive world, and suppliers better not price themselves out of line.

As for the picture timing between two posts, I took the pictures of the one before I returned it, and the other as soon as I got home with the replacement.

ZeeOSix: Thanks for the blowup. I've never used the BITOG uploader before, and I see it resized things.

Here are links to the original sized Wix photos: Bad 1, Bad 2, Bad 3, Good 1, Good 2, Good 3.

Originally Posted By: AZJeff
Do a flow test and get back to us. Otherwise it's all bloviating.

I'll get right on that, as soon as you send me some appropriate equipment to do so, with repeatable results. Then again, don't bother. If I choose to be dissatisfied with a product merely for cosmetic reasons, that's my choice; I expect louvers to be open and media to be intact. The filter would have flowed fine. That's what a bypass is for. Whether it would have filtered well is another matter. When it gets to the point that I have to start bench testing filters before fitting them, I'm just going to get a better pair of walking shoes.

BigD1: Was mine made at the same place yours was, too? I have no idea on the codes on these. As for the nitrile/silicone debate, I do prefer silicone, but I've been dealing with filters long enough I remember when I was glad to have any ADBV.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
Baldwin/Hastings louvers are the best by far! I have no problem using those at all.

Yes, they look like they've mastered their production ages ago.

 

[Jetronic]

well, you all know how much oil passes through a tiny hole between a gasket and the engine block, and that's usually unpressurised oil.... looks like the almost closed louvers aren't much of an issue. how much mm² is the bung on the oil filter mount anyway?

 

[Garak]

From what I could see, there weren't many square millimetres of open space in the louvers. As for the bung on the oil filter mount, that's readily quantifiable. This filter is supposed to flow 8-10 gallons per minute, according to Wix. In any case, I provided them with the pictures, too, and my concerns.

 

[AZjeff]

The flaw is much more noticeable with the side by side pics. How many of these are out there and the owners will be none the wiser? An OCI with no filtering...

 

[funflyer]

I'm starting to think that some filter manufacturers sub contract these center tubes to outside vendors, Fram included.

 

[bullwinkle]

Originally Posted By: funflyer
I'm starting to think that some filter manufacturers sub contract these center tubes to outside vendors, Fram included.
Whoever makes those tubes, the manufacturers need to step up their QC game, I'm going to have to start closely inspecting every new filter I buy from now on.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: AZjeff
The flaw is much more noticeable with the side by side pics. How many of these are out there and the owners will be none the wiser? An OCI with no filtering...

That's why I let Wix know. How many would never check? Heck, how many shop employees would bother to stare down the centre tube of an oil filter, wondering whether it's louvers or holes, much less wondering whether they're open or not? See, paranoia is contagious.

As for QC, to me, it looks like the Hastings/Baldwin louvers are simply a better design from the outset, and don't have this really spotty reliability, for want of a better word. When louvers are made, they have to be checked. I'm not sure why this step is being omitted. It's simply not acceptable.

An $11 jobber priced Wix should not be outdone by a $6.95 full retail priced Baldwin. Then again, a $6.95 Baldwin shouldn't be outdoing an $8 Fram orange can, or a $9 QS, or a $10 Bosch Premium, either. Why is what is basically the most robust filter out there the cheapest?