i always use oem filters too. my moms mercedes goes about 10 thousand before an oil change. we do it about 7500-8000 miles. i do the bmws around 4-5000 and the truck around there usually a little earlier if ive been driving around in dirt. if you change the air and oil filter with each oil change the oil stays pretty clean and if you dont drive it too hard the oil won't break down as fast either. so i never do 3000 miles after the engine has been broken in. too much money and a waste of resources. and with the distance some of the cars are going i will be changing oil eavery month and a half or so.

 

Old school fram filters were very good. Somewhere along the way they changed. Maybe after a buy out, I don't know. When I first started hearing bad things about fram oil filters, I did some on line searching and found out they are pretty much crap now. At least the low cost ones are. The motorcraft filters seem to be pretty good, so that's all I'll use on my Fords now. As far as changing oil intervals, I still do mine at 3000. I think it's pretty cheap insurance to change it then, whether the oil really needs it or not. My engine is worth it, how about yours?

 

I can understand people suggesting use of OEM components. However, of those who state Fram sucks and stay away. Have you ever had actual problems that were caused by Fram oil filters or are you avoiding them because of what you've read?

I'm happy to admit that I've been using Fram oil filters since I started driving. That's nearing 30 years now. With NO problems due to their filters. And for the past 6 years or so, due to my daily commute, I've been changing my oil once a month. If these filters are as bad as you guys say, why is it, I've never found 1 bad one nor have I had issues due to the filter????

Not trying to get anything going, just pointing out that differences in designs are just that differences. They don't mean that part performance is better or worse, in some cases...

This probably means my next filter will do something unexpected, now doesn't it...

My 2 cents only

 

I also have used Frams most of my life without any problems. However, the last few years, I have been using Motorcraft as they don't cost much more at WalMart. I also buy Motorcraft synthetic blend there because it doesn't cost much more than dino oil.

I change oil and filter at 5,000 miles (it's easy to keep up with that way) and I've never had a problem of any kind. My friend does the same thing but only changes his filter every other change (as GM used to recommend) and he trades at 180,000 miles and he has never had an engine problem.

 

This is the reason I stopped using Fram, not just because of the research I've read.

 

Some years back Fram had a design problem where thw spring retaining clip would break causing their filters to come loose, but that problem was redesigned out of the filters. Seems they have never really rebounded from the bad rep that caused.

 

I have been driving and changing my own oil for the last 33 years. I have used mostly crude base oil, Pennziol, Valvoline whatever was on sale. I have mostly used Fram and changed the filter at every oil change. I have owned from new Honda, Isuzu, Toyota,Nissan, Ford, VW and Saab cars and trucks. All have been driven to high 100k+miles by me and family members. Never have I changed my oil and filted with less than 7500 to 10,000 miles between changes. All this with absolutely no oil related engine problems. My wifes current Saab Turbo has 240000 miles, good compression and original turbo. My last F150 had 180,000 before someone T-boned me and totaled it.
You guys tossing out oil at 3k I think is a total waste of $$ and even more of a waste of $$ for you guys running synthetic.
If you guys sleep better at night thinking you are doing your engine a favor, go for it.
The truth of the matter is that engine oils are now better engineered than they have ever been, engine manufacturers know it.
I know I will take flak from everyone on this subject, just my 2 cents.

 

Don't ask my ol lady about when to change the oil. She waits for the Idiot Light to come on!

 

how about the two-for-one filters sold at advanced auto parts? (For her Honda of course)

 

I totally agree and I've been doing it 10 years longer than you have. As I've said before, people who buy the propaganda of 3,000 mile oil changes and synthetic oil are probably the same people who drink bottled water and are actually paying $8-$10 per gallon for filtered tap water. My son-in-law is an engineer for a bottled water company and the only requirement in locating the plant was the amount of water available, not the quality. They "convert" the water the same as Castrol and most other oil manufacturers (with a few exceptions)"convert" dino oil to synthetic. There are named synthetics (Castrol and many others) and synthetic synthetics (Mobil 1, Amzoil and a very few others).

 

For my truck, my oil gets changed every 3 months. I only has about 15-1800 miles on it in three months. Motorcraft oil and filter, everytime. My car gets mobil 1 synthetic, and a motorcraft filter every 3k. I don't care if it's propaganda or not, oil changes are cheap insurance, so why not just do it? Anyone is welcome to come look inside the valve cover of my car with almost 130k on it. It's clean as if it had 10k. I'll never extend my intervals.

 

fwiw, things are apparently not so cut and dry anymore with mobil 1


and btw--is it propaganda when you disagree and anecdotal evidence otherwise?

 

Nah. Propaganda is when there is no evidence to back up the statements or recommendations. Propaganda may or may not be true but it is just not supported by evidence.

 

i was just joking with you

i've had good experience with regular oil and fram filters too, but i always tried to stick to 5,000 mile intervals at the most

i can't recall ever hearing anyone speak highly of 7500-10k intervals with regular oil though--do you really do that? ever get the oil analyzed in a lab after running that long?

 

I always change at 5,000 intervals because it's easy to remember. I've never had or heard of an oil related failure in my 44 years of driving regardless of the oil filter or oil if it was changed properly and kept topped off.