I am sure Fram would not be in business if their filters did not work.
Fram makes filters and most vehicles are okay with them.

I run Motorcraft filters for two reasons - It is "recommended " by Ford and two these filters are less expensive than Frams.
I just bought a Fram for my 88 Mazda B2200, but I will continue to use Motorcraft filters on my Ford trucks.
Will I buy Fram for my motorcycles, yes.

This issue is similar to the K&N filter, will I put in my trucks, NO.
Will I use them on my motorcycles, yes.

Run what you want, but I plan to use what Ford recommends, but that's just me.

 

I have never had a problem with fram. Though Wix, Napa filters are the way to go. Old Purolators are okay, not sure about now, could be a made in China deal.

 

Excellent! As for who makes them, you might be able to find out by searching the oil guy's filter forum. They go into extreme detail on filters there. But AFAIK most filters in chain stores do not have the threaded end bypass valve. The oversized Purolator does (L40017), which is the same as L30001 but longer, where the L30001 does not have the threaded end bypass.

 

Just wanted to add that I've always used Fram oil filters without any problems. They weren't the more expensive ones either. That being said I do oil and filter religously every 3K so I'm sure that has made a difference as it's not really being used as a long life filter.

Anyway I've heard enough logical complaints about fram to sway me to start using motorcraft oil filters going forward. They're made for our vehicles and the price is comparable.

One thing I don't understand about my V-10 is it calls for a stubby filter where a full size filter would fit with ease. I follow the book but wouldn't the bigger filter be more effective? Sorry to change the subject but I had to ask.

 

What Motorcraft oil filter is used on your V-10? If it's FL820s then it has metric threads and you can't use larger oil filters because they use SAE non-metric threads. An example of this would be the the larger common FL1A.

Whimsey

 

not that anyone cares about my Galant, but I'm venting....SuperTech no longer makes my filter (there are a few on the shelves) so i have to switch to another....

 

I have seen dragracers using fram filters and if they use em they cannot be all crag.

 

1. What kind of Fram filters do drag racers use, and how often do they change them?

2. How often do drag racers go through their engines and rebuild them?

There is sufficient information on the Internet which shows the internal parts of various oil filters (cardboard end caps on Fram elements, etc) and measures the square inches of filter element that I would be scared to death of running one now. Do a Google search on "oil filter test" and "Ed White" if you want to see some nice photos.

In the 1970's, Consumer Reports tested numerous oil filters and based on their results, I was a Fram believer and user for many years.

I will note also that in the 1970's, I drag raced a 12.5:1 compression race hemi (cross ram, etc) in a Hemi 'Cuda and used...Fram filters. And the orange looked good with the Chrysler orange engine paint.

However, we are into the next century now...I use Motorcraft filters on my Ford van, Mazda house brand (made in Europe, oddly) on my Mazda Protege5, and buy BMW filters (made by Euro company Mann) for the two old 4-cylinder BMW's in the family (because they are actually cheaper than the Frams--and being open element filters, I can tell you that I do NOT like the Frams for the BMW applications because I can see what I'm buying).

Of course if I had any brains I would have kept the Hemi 'Cuda and the Hemi Roadrunner, and the old Corvettes, etc. And I did use Frams on all of them, but the old Frams.

George

 

FRAM also makes a "HP" series filter that is intended for drag and car racing use. It is a totally different made filter than their standard automotive line.

The mental conditioning of these "FRAM lovers" is quite amusing IMHO. They can not accept the obvious fact that most FRAM's are cheaply made when compared to other brands who build a better filter for less.

Hootbro

 

I have cut a few open and found them to be working.Ive also cut a few open and found the glue holding the paper to let go and making it useless.

Now some Drag racers do use Fram filters but they typicly run the HP series.

We use reuseable canister filters in all the race motors we do and have.Including the SS/AH race hemis.

YOGEORGE you raced an "A" Car back in the day? who has your car now?

 

It was a street hemi car, with the engine built by Ramchargers here in Detroit to race hemi specs including the cross ram, Keith Black gear drive, 12 quart pan, etc.--we bought it cheep (like under 3 grand!) already built from a real rich kid and played with it for a summer, flipped it for a profit (I was a broke and married 22-year-old college kid myself) and I have no idea where the car is now...

I was going to Monteith College, a freeform "hippie college" at Wayne State, and wrote my college thesis on the "rise and fall of the muscle car"...so this was research. Wanted to be an automotive writer, but it was a recession and I got distracted by life... But one of my college "jobs" was buying and selling cars for fun and profit....had a couple 390 2-seat AMX's, stuff like old Austin Healey 3000's, Corvettes. I still have some drag racing trophies from brackets at Detroit and Motor City Dragways.

The Cude had the rear wheel wells clipped out for 12" slicks and a roll bar in it, full manual B&M Torqueflite, Halibrand mags (where's that Simichrome?) weighed way too much--and *that* sound--, but man, if I had it now, would be good for a stock resto job and a sale on Barrett Jackson (I do NOT believe Hemi Cuda prices).

Thread drift on a snowy Michigan morning, and memories of when Hemis were not pickup truck engines,
George

 

Many in the stock classes use the standard filters.

The "mental conditioning" is on the side of the "FRAM haters." They read info from bogus "studies", cut them open and think they can tell what the filter is capable of doing, but yet, cannot produce any reliable data that supports their idea that Fram filters are inadequate, and poorly made. No significant information on product failure, no factual information as to flow data and the ability of the media to filter.
You would think that with a product this bad, it would be difficult to sell in the numbers sold, and the many testimonials of us who use the product should get a bad one every once in a while. Doesn't happen.

As for pricing, I was at Chinamart, Fram PF8, MC FL1 $3.48 each.

 

I just did a quick google and yes I would need a FL820S for my V-10. One thing that surprised me was Fram makes 5 different grades of filters for my vehicle. They go all the way from the $4 PH2 I've been using to a $22 double-life filter. Some of these more expensive filters seem to address the complaints posted here. I realize you shouldn't have to pay $8 to $22 for a quality filter though.

 

As I said in a post above, I was a Fram filter user in the 70's and 80's, based on a Consumer Reports test which I recall found that Frams in that day did indeed filter the best. This was the best information I had, although I admit that in those days, I actually had a bias in favor of Fram because they (like Valvoline oil) supported auto racing.

We now have the Internet for information, and I always take that information with a grain of salt. But, if you have looked at the photos of internal filter construction on Ed White's site, or on other sites, even the simple difference of a silicone anti-drainback valve would make me spring for the Motorcraft filter in a minute at the same price of the Fram. And the relief valve on the lower end of the Motorcraft is yet another compelling reason--if the filter goes into relief mode, I would much rather have unfiltered oil circulating directly from the input side of the filter as opposed to running through the dirty side of the filter first, and then going into the engine. With all else being equal--are you able to tell me that the Fram is better than the Motorcraft? Do you have data that shows the Fram is superior in any way? Perhaps Consumer Reports should redo their oil filter tests--I would be pleased if they did.

I would suspect that a 100k mile engine, with, say 5k mile oil changes, could probably survive one or two change cycles with a bad oil filter (unless the engine is spewing big chunks of metal, in which case the filter ain't gonna make a big difference). But again, why would I want to take a chance and use a filter whose construction causes me any concern?

The "bogus studies" where filters are cut apart are in no way bogus. The internal parts of a filter are there for the seeing and thinking man or woman to see, and if the parts look cheaper, or if the filter media area is smaller, or if the pleats are uneven, why would I choose that filter over one which, at the same price, has superior construction? If you were getting, say, one of your heart valves replaced and had a choice of two brands, and one looked sturdier or better made than the other, which would you choose? Would you choose the orange one whose company advertised more?

Your logic is reminiscent of Krusty the Clown, who says--"It's not just good, it's good ENOUGH"...

On my cars, I prefer to choose something better than "good enough".

George

 

"I have dismantled Fram filters and if not cardboard, it is approximately cardboard. "

What is that statement? Is that like being "almost pregnant"?