Fram PH9688 ~6500 miles/6 months

[Xrs2zz]

This Fram is off a 2007 KIA Spectra, my brothers car. He brought the car over in February of this year for an OC and it was full of sludge. I had never seen so much sludge in person in my life. He has always got his oil changed at those quick oil places so I have no idea what oil was in it. I showed him what looked like chocolate cake inside the filler cap and the huge hole in his filter. To this day he can't tell me how long it was between OC's.

Anyway, I put in PP 5w20 and a Fram Ultra and changed it 1000 miles later in early March, then filled it back up with PP 5w20, but he brought me this filter to use instead of an Ultra. I wanted to change the filter because of the sludge issue(I should have taken photos from the Ultra I pulled off

). I told him to come back to get an OC no later than 3k miles or 3 months. Well after a couple months of hounding him he finally brought the car over Sunday 8/30. The PP did a very good job at cleaning out the sludge and I'm happy the PH9688 did a good job and didn't fall apart. Only saw a little sludge as you'll see in the last two photos. I dug out the sludge and wiped in on the top of the endcap.
Ignore the metal shavings(used a hack saw)

The ADBV was getting stiff, but not cracking.

 

[SirTanon]

That filter held up well.. did its job. Well up to the task it was used for.

 

[CarbonSteel]

EGs sometimes appear quite ugly and (IMHO) they need more media, but in all of the ones posted they seem to survive the conditions. Hopefully, your brother has learned his lesson about quick lube places.

Thanks for the C&P!

 

[ZeeOSix]

Even though the EG doesn't seem to have a lot of pleats, they do seem to to hold up and don't tear. So the media is obviously strong enough to take the stress they get due to oil flow. Unlike some other filters out there.

 

[beast3300]

Nice pictures!!! Thank you! In the last picture, is that sludge in the pleats?

 

[aquariuscsm]

Good looking filter! Held up perfectly. The pleats are straight and perfect.

 

[Bud_One]

Thank you for the cut and post.
Looks like it did a good job considering the mileage and sludge issue.

 

[dishdude]

This OCOD looks good, the next one will look terrible. No consistency.

 

[Xrs2zz]

Originally Posted By: beast3300
Nice pictures!!! Thank you! In the last picture, is that sludge in the pleats?


Yes. I also dug some out and wiped on the top of the endcap.

This filter was no where near what the Ultra looked like after the 1000 mile OC. Sadly, no pictures of that.

 

[KCJeep]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
This OCOD looks good, the next one will look terrible. No consistency.


Actually there is a lot of consistency between certain part numbers for whatever reason. The 9688 is on my short list of the best looking orange cans although they all seem to work fine. The PH3980's, PH3600's and PH8316's are other examples.

The PH8A and PH16's on the other hand are perennial favorites of Fram bashers as those are typically the "worst looking" orange cans you'll find, although they may have finally added a few more pleats to those two. A PH16 was posted here recently with a Feb 2015 build date that had far better spacing than I've ever seen on one, with about 4 extra pleats than what they have used for years. Fluke or change? I don't know yet.

OP looks good thanks for posting and good job helping out on that filthy engine!

 

[dlundblad]

I have been wanting to see one of these cut and posted. Looks great.

 

[ExMachina]

Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
Even though the EG doesn't seem to have a lot of pleats, they do seem to to hold up and don't tear. So the media is obviously strong enough to take the stress they get due to oil flow. Unlike some other filters out there.


I guess they don't get holes very often. Still, Extra Guards have too much cost-cutting for my taste. How hard could it be to just use 10% more filter media? And no silicon ADBV valves. Go with Wix for the money you'd pay for one of those, even the Wix-made cheap MicroGards at O'Reilly autoparts are likely better in build quality.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Has anyone measured the media area on this filter to compare to other filters for the same vehicle? Adding 10% more area really isn't going to do much anyway. WIX filters with the base end bypass valve typically have less media area than filters for the same vehicle that have dome end bypass valves.

Filters specified for 400+ HP V8s will typically only have about 100~105 square inches of media.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: KCJeep
Originally Posted By: dishdude
This OCOD looks good, the next one will look terrible. No consistency.


Actually there is a lot of consistency between certain part numbers for whatever reason. The 9688 is on my short list of the best looking orange cans although they all seem to work fine. The PH3980's, PH3600's and PH8316's are other examples.

The PH8A and PH16's on the other hand are perennial favorites of Fram bashers as those are typically the "worst looking" orange cans you'll find, although they may have finally added a few more pleats to those two. A PH16 was posted here recently with a Feb 2015 build date that had far better spacing than I've ever seen on one, with about 4 extra pleats than what they have used for years. Fluke or change? I don't know yet.

OP looks good thanks for posting and good job helping out on that filthy engine!


What about the Fram Extra Guard PH3682? That's the number for my car. Any experience with those? Would that fall within the 3600 series you mentioned?

 

[KCJeep]

I don't have any knowledge or experience with the PH3682. what does that fit?

The "short" version of the PH3600 is the PH3614 and those are kinda "meh" in my opinion.

Maybe a google search can find you a PH3682 opened up.

 

[jk_636]

Thanks for the cut and post. I always appreciate the time that members dedicate to post their filters for all to see. Even if it is an OCOD!

 

[ExMachina]

Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
Has anyone measured the media area on this filter to compare to other filters for the same vehicle? Adding 10% more area really isn't going to do much anyway. WIX filters with the base end bypass valve typically have less media area than filters for the same vehicle that have dome end bypass valves.

Filters specified for 400+ HP V8s will typically only have about 100~105 square inches of media.


The more media area, the better. More media, more dirt holding capacity, less pressure drop, less stress concentrations, etc. Purolator tears are blamed on not enough media near the metal seam where they usually rip. Some extra media in all these cheapo oil filters would provide a little extra safety margin before someone puts it into their beloved ride's engine.

Wix may have some problems too. Really anything an oil filter can do to stay out of bypass mode on a cold winter start and not clog up over time.

 

[ZeeOSix]

^^^ Agreed, but it also depends on the characteristics of the media. Media A may have the a lower delta-p and holding capacity with less area than Media B. Media B may be much more prone to tearing than Media A, and so on. We never see media tears in any of these other filters with wide spaced pleats, so their media must not be so tear prone.

Maybe the OP can measure out the media surface area in this PH9688. Would be interesting to know what it is.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: KCJeep
I don't have any knowledge or experience with the PH3682. what does that fit?

The "short" version of the PH3600 is the PH3614 and those are kinda "meh" in my opinion.

Maybe a google search can find you a PH3682 opened up.


Excellent idea KC,I found one! It's the Fram Extra Guard that fits my car. Looks like a great filter!

 

[Xrs2zz]

Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
^^^ Agreed, but it also depends on the characteristics of the media. Media A may have the a lower delta-p and holding capacity with less area than Media B. Media B may be much more prone to tearing than Media A, and so on. We never see media tears in any of these other filters with wide spaced pleats, so their media must not be so tear prone.

Maybe the OP can measure out the media surface area in this PH9688. Would be interesting to know what it is.


I just measured it. 45"x2" with 1/2" pleats. Hope that helps you out.