In a response to an oil filter question on another forum a poster who identified himself as the Technical Manager at Fram posted this
I will not post the link unless I get the OK from the moderators here. I don't want to break any rules on BITOG)
"Hi,
I am the technical manager for Fram. I would like to point out that many OE's now are using oil filters with fiber end caps including Honda, GM, Subaru and even Bentley on the 345,000 dollar Arnage sedan. Toyota OE filters are now using only glue to seal the ends of the media. Why? because the "end cap" is not a structural element of the filter, its only purpose is to seal the ends of the media and nothing more. We have found that nothing bonds better to fiber than fiber. Have you ever glued a smooth piece of metal to anything? It usually just falls off. I would challenge you to cut open a Fram filter and a WIX filter, try to tear off the end caps. you will find the WIX cap comes right off clean leaving the glue on the media, the Fram will tear apart the media because the bond strength is that strong. If you think engineered fiber media is not strong enough for a filter, then why doesnt any filter maker use steel for filter media?
You are using Mobil1 oil, what I consider the best oil in the market, why not use a filter designed for it? We make a filter called extended guard, it is the only filter in the market garenteed to have the dirt trapping capacity for 10k oil changes.
I am aware that amsoil says 25k oil changes, but then in small print says follow the vehicle makers recommendations for oil change intervals. that is their way out if you do have a engine failure related to oil/filters
That filter is 8-9 bucks but you simply get what you pay for. The filter media is not cellulose, it is a two ply full synthetic glass media wrapped around a stainless steel screen with metal end caps (to capture the stainless screen). It has 98% plus efficiency, the highest capacity in the business, a silicone antidrainback valve with full flow bypass. Please dont buy into the internet tribal knowledge that passes for auto maintenance information. Some guy cutting open filters in the internet with no testing on filtration efficiency and capacity is simply not a "filter test"."
and
"What do mean whatever? What I presented is strictly factual and nothing more. I am not asking you to buy our companies filters, buy whatever you like. WIX has made an industry of showing they have metal end caps and we have fiber end caps, why? Becuase they simply do not want to talk about filtration, you know..how much dirt they remove from the oil and hold in the filter untill the next change. They simply do not compare to ours. Science, not internet tribal knowledge. Most all cars are now going to cartridge filters, many of those have no end caps at all. WIX is in the process of dumbing down the build of their filters and making them off shore. the new combo antidrainback/bypass valve they use is featured in a GM service bulletin showing how it came apart and blew up an engine. GM use the Champ labs E-core filter, it has felt end caps and works very well. If you want to talk about science and filtration, i am happy to engage, if you want to blather tribal knowledge, see ya"
The first flaw in his logic I see is if the fiber (paper) end cap is so superior, why does Fram use the supposedly inferior metal end cap on their premium filters?
This was in a thread about Mopar filters. I noticed a similar thread posted here, possibly by the same OP on the other forum.
I will not post the link unless I get the OK from the moderators here. I don't want to break any rules on BITOG)"Hi,
I am the technical manager for Fram. I would like to point out that many OE's now are using oil filters with fiber end caps including Honda, GM, Subaru and even Bentley on the 345,000 dollar Arnage sedan. Toyota OE filters are now using only glue to seal the ends of the media. Why? because the "end cap" is not a structural element of the filter, its only purpose is to seal the ends of the media and nothing more. We have found that nothing bonds better to fiber than fiber. Have you ever glued a smooth piece of metal to anything? It usually just falls off. I would challenge you to cut open a Fram filter and a WIX filter, try to tear off the end caps. you will find the WIX cap comes right off clean leaving the glue on the media, the Fram will tear apart the media because the bond strength is that strong. If you think engineered fiber media is not strong enough for a filter, then why doesnt any filter maker use steel for filter media?
You are using Mobil1 oil, what I consider the best oil in the market, why not use a filter designed for it? We make a filter called extended guard, it is the only filter in the market garenteed to have the dirt trapping capacity for 10k oil changes.
I am aware that amsoil says 25k oil changes, but then in small print says follow the vehicle makers recommendations for oil change intervals. that is their way out if you do have a engine failure related to oil/filters
That filter is 8-9 bucks but you simply get what you pay for. The filter media is not cellulose, it is a two ply full synthetic glass media wrapped around a stainless steel screen with metal end caps (to capture the stainless screen). It has 98% plus efficiency, the highest capacity in the business, a silicone antidrainback valve with full flow bypass. Please dont buy into the internet tribal knowledge that passes for auto maintenance information. Some guy cutting open filters in the internet with no testing on filtration efficiency and capacity is simply not a "filter test"."
and
"What do mean whatever? What I presented is strictly factual and nothing more. I am not asking you to buy our companies filters, buy whatever you like. WIX has made an industry of showing they have metal end caps and we have fiber end caps, why? Becuase they simply do not want to talk about filtration, you know..how much dirt they remove from the oil and hold in the filter untill the next change. They simply do not compare to ours. Science, not internet tribal knowledge. Most all cars are now going to cartridge filters, many of those have no end caps at all. WIX is in the process of dumbing down the build of their filters and making them off shore. the new combo antidrainback/bypass valve they use is featured in a GM service bulletin showing how it came apart and blew up an engine. GM use the Champ labs E-core filter, it has felt end caps and works very well. If you want to talk about science and filtration, i am happy to engage, if you want to blather tribal knowledge, see ya"
The first flaw in his logic I see is if the fiber (paper) end cap is so superior, why does Fram use the supposedly inferior metal end cap on their premium filters?
This was in a thread about Mopar filters. I noticed a similar thread posted here, possibly by the same OP on the other forum.
