Wait... FRAM??

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Originally Posted By: jazztrumpet216
So, I’ve been gone for awhile. I’m seeing all kinds of posts with people using FRAM filters. When I was last here, they were considered to be so bad we had members performing exorcisms on them (okay, maybe not THAT bad, but close). Are they considered to be decent now?

Also... Purolator- no good? I just swapped a filter last night on my Santa Fe since I’m running an engine cleaner through it. It’s a couple of years old but looked good. Should I trash it?

Sincerely,
Confused old member
You probably missed the whole Tearolator saga. Even my Purolators tore, I never "win" anything, so if it tore for me, it's got to be common and not lottery-like luck to get one torn
whistle.gif
.

I have no hesitation about using a Fram, "cardboard" end caps mean nothing to me. The fiber end disc does its job as well or better than metal. I've had metal end caps pop off of the filter media (without any negative consequences) on multiple Purolators, I've never had a fiber end disc pop off of any Fram. I've even tried pulling on one after 7500 miles and it wouldn't budge.

I don't care about all of the ratings and specs either, not when it costs me 4.00 to go OEM (which is usually a Fram or Filtech). Every single one I've cut open since I've stopped using Purolator has been unremarkable, just the way it should be.
 
Originally Posted By: danez_yoda
Oil research is really just a hobby now. Pour anything in the car and change it at the manufactures interval and you should expect to get 200K miles with no oil related engine problems.


This ^^^^^^^^^^
 
Originally Posted By: jazztrumpet216
Originally Posted By: Sayjac
Originally Posted By: jazztrumpet216
…..Anything else I’ve missed?...

Don't know if you missed it but Auto-RX no longer the darling here. 'Generally speaking', now relegated to snake oil status.

Yeah, I gathered that, which is why I didn’t mention the name of the engine cleaner I was running. Any reason why, or is it one of those stories I’m just better off not knowing?

Long story, google search of site could reveal detail. My read long story short, as much about the shenanigans that went on promoting it as about the effectiveness (or lack of) of the product.

Imo and in my observation, a good lesson though regarding zealous/overzealous promotion or conversely disparagement of any product when reading here.
 
Originally Posted By: Sayjac
Originally Posted By: jazztrumpet216
Originally Posted By: Sayjac
Originally Posted By: jazztrumpet216
…..Anything else I’ve missed?...

Don't know if you missed it but Auto-RX no longer the darling here. 'Generally speaking', now relegated to snake oil status.

Yeah, I gathered that, which is why I didn’t mention the name of the engine cleaner I was running. Any reason why, or is it one of those stories I’m just better off not knowing?

Long story, google search of site could reveal detail. My read long story short, as much about the shenanigans that went on promoting it as about the effectiveness (or lack of) of the product.

Imo and in my observation, a good lesson though regarding zealous/overzealous promotion or conversely disparagement of any product when reading here.


Yeah, I did some searching after I posted my reply. I have used it a couple of times, and it worked in a couple of cars and didn’t do what it was supposed to in others. People here were positively fanboyish in their endorsement of the product, and it’s almost completely the opposite now.
 
I have used Fram filters all my life and have not had any problems. The stores I go to usually have plenty of them in stock and I pick up a few at a time. I am starting to switch to the Ultras after reading all the good comments about them on this forum.
 
I cut open an extra guard from my girlfriend’s Grand Am a few years back and the endcaps were very wavy and bowed and the media was quite wavy and had a lot of very large areas where the media had large spaces between pleats. It was used for approx. 5k miles. However, I have also cut open ones that looked fine with similar miles on them. A tough guard I cut open probably close to 10 years ago on my old Acura looked perfect after close to 5k.
 
Originally Posted By: mazdamonky
Originally Posted By: danez_yoda
OCOD is a fine filter. People freaked out about the cardboard end caps as a sacrifice in quality for cheapness. Fram seems to have proven everyone wrong in this category since I have not seen a single instance of the endcaps buckling, bowing or otherwise failing in the cut open filter posts.

You KNOW if there was one, the naysayers would hold it up as the poster child of FRAM cheaping out.

For 5K mile intervals and less than 1 year, I'd screw on a OCOD with no concerns.






I found one where the end caps failed... But the catch was, it was a basic Fram jobber filter from walmart intended for a less than 5k oil change that had at least 20k miles on it.

Yeah that's straight up neglect, the filter was probably in bypass mode the last 15k miles. I feel sorry for that engine! Was it all sludgy in the filter as well?
 
Originally Posted By: Matagonka
Fram are very good filters. Even the orange one holds up better than others.


Shhh don't create excessive demand.
 
I stocked up on a few years supply of Fram Ultras when they were on sale on Amazon a while back. As long as they make them, they'll be all I'll use until they give me a reason not to.

Used to be Purolator filters but since their fiasco, they're out. Fram hasn't given me a reason to look elsewhere.
 
Ran OCOD for years on the family vehicles. The bodies long rotted away before we could get a chance to see if the filters caused engine problems. Been running Fram extra guards and then Ultras on my Tb since 2006. I guess I should sell it before one detonates...
 
Originally Posted By: ThirdeYe
I cut open an extra guard from my girlfriend’s Grand Am a few years back and the endcaps were very wavy and bowed and the media was quite wavy and had a lot of very large areas where the media had large spaces between pleats. It was used for approx. 5k miles. However, I have also cut open ones that looked fine with similar miles on them. A tough guard I cut open probably close to 10 years ago on my old Acura looked perfect after close to 5k.


That media will hold up to any weight put on it, even without a center tube to hold it up. Just ask, Fram volunteers will tell all about it.
 
Originally Posted By: Colt45ws
sludged_fram.jpg
Heres the fram that changed my opinion on OCOD.


shocked.gif
Wow. I’m not sure whether to be disgusted by the appearance of the filter, or impressed that it actually held up to that level of abuse.
 
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