Was at a marine race engine builders shop the other day. Guy builds thousand plus HP engines for race boats. We were discussing oil cooling issues when he showe me two Fram filters that had failed on high dollar engines while running sustained high rpms. One lost a crank and block the other he caught the oil pressure drop and shut it down. Both elements rattled around in the can. He uses only wix racing filters.
2 costly Fram failures
- Thread starter 454MAG
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I remember as a kid hearing the fram commercials on TV, "pay a little now or a lot later".
They appeared to be standard orange fram filters about ph8a size. BTW several years ago I ran a fram filter on a sbc that saw 5100 rpm sustained for hours on end with m1 15-50 and never had a problem. Just lucky I guess. I wish some of the GM bashers on this board got to see what that motor lived through.
I would guess that the oil filter bypass in the block was plugged!!! A lot of hot rodders do that I don't know why.
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If it's a Chebbie, that would be my guess. My engine builder buddy does the same thing. All his motorhead clients/friends all use Fram HP's. One cuts open the filters every change. I told him the lame construction of the Fram. He actually looked like some of it sunk in. The only thing that I think save most is that they don't have ultra high volume pumps ..and the filter isn't in service for more than a few miles.
I must have been smokin' the same stuff, becuse I remember that slogan from Fram as well. It very well may have been a Purolator commmercial also, but I remember the Fram ones, and they did go "you can pay a little now, or pay alot later."
In the case of Fram it should be "pay me a little now and a lot more later"!
I love it when people build these 1000+hp motors and then just use the stock oil filter PN for the engine type
You build this big hairy engine, with a big high pressure high volume oil pump, then toss in a stock sized filter
So, who is really at fault? the builder or Fram!
You build this big hairy engine, with a big high pressure high volume oil pump, then toss in a stock sized filter
So, who is really at fault? the builder or Fram!
I'm afraid you weren't paying close attention - that was a Purolator commercial.
I remember there were FRAM commercials that showed a "mechanic" saying: "You can pay me now, or you can pay me later."
...or maybe I smoked too much weed back then...
Give me a Fram any day, No problems.....
Would you like the orange can Fram off my small block Chev?
Rattled around like there was a coconut inside it - at just over 3000 KMs and 6 months use - Mobil 1 5W30 - winter months and driven like a person who builds his own engines.
BLAME THE APPLICATION !?! Dyno warming a stout motor full of old school 20W50 at 1200 rpm isn't worst than a -10C start and fast choke idle with 10W30 - and how many drivers force their autos to short-shift until 150F of water temp?
Junk is junk - not many beer companies would think it was ok to fill the occasional bottle with urine - yet the occasional Fram problem - thats ok - statistically insignificant.
MAT
Rattled around like there was a coconut inside it - at just over 3000 KMs and 6 months use - Mobil 1 5W30 - winter months and driven like a person who builds his own engines.
BLAME THE APPLICATION !?! Dyno warming a stout motor full of old school 20W50 at 1200 rpm isn't worst than a -10C start and fast choke idle with 10W30 - and how many drivers force their autos to short-shift until 150F of water temp?
Junk is junk - not many beer companies would think it was ok to fill the occasional bottle with urine - yet the occasional Fram problem - thats ok - statistically insignificant.
MAT
They do it so all of the oil in the engine goes thru the filter. No bypass to send unfiltered oil thru a expensive engine. Simple.
So, you blame regular Fram for failing in 1000+ hp racing engine. Waow, you are really a reasonable person..and you say wix racing filter is better than regular fram..Also I think Goodyear tires are better than NGK sparkplugs
Except when the oil is cold and the operater of the vehicle revs the snot out of it and then unfiltered media is sent through the expensive engine.Simple
So instead they risk oil starvation or the possibility of oil filter internals exploding into their engines.
I realize that racers would probably change their filter long before it has a chance to plug up.
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