Fram Ultra XG3506, C&P, Different Center Tube Holes

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Dec 15, 2010
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San Antonio,TX
9300 miles, C5 Corvette low mileage LS1, M1 0w-40 Euro, Looks great.
Notice there are round holes in the center tube, and not very many of them on the 10 mth old XG3506 that I took off, compared to the plentiful louvers in the center tube of the new XG3506 I put back on?
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9300 miles, C5 Corvette low mileage LS1, M1 0w-40 Euro, Looks great.
Notice there are round holes in the center tube, and not very many of them on the 10 mth old XG3506 that I took off, compared to the plentiful louvers in the center tube of the new XG3506 I put back on?
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the holes are what fram has been using for decades, louvers were only supposed to be for a limited time due to 'manufacturing shortages' but we have seen some of the XG filters with champ baseplates and E-cores. now that first brands has fram and champ under their umbrella who knows what we'll see moving forward. important to note that even the center core with holes will still flow plenty of oil such that there wont be a dp increase across the filter compared to louvers.
 
I’ve been at 150 miles per hour (for approx 1 mile) with a Fram Ultra on a 5.0 Mustang with the center tube photo # 1. Yes it looks kind of restrictive but still flows well.

If center tube was restrictive the engine would have blown up at 7500 RPMs.
 
I’ve been at 150 miles per hour (for approx 1 mile) with a Fram Ultra on a 5.0 Mustang with the center tube photo # 1. Yes it looks kind of restrictive but still flows well.

If center tube was restrictive the engine would have blown up at 7500 RPMs.
Here's some dP analysis I did on a Fram center tube with the same style "small" looking holes as shown in post 1. Used a good dP tool to model the flow through a center tube like that - I took measurements off an actual Fram PH7317 center tube. The open area was 10.7% of the total area. The dP is very slight across the center tube. Absolutely nothing to be concerned about. The way things "look" and the way they actually behave are not always the same. The base plate has more dP than the center tube, and the dP across the base plate isn't anything to worry about either.

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Here's some dP analysis I did on a Fram center tube with the same style "small" looking holes as shown in post 1. Used a good dP tool to model the flow through a center tube like that - I took measurements off an actual Fram PH7317 center tube. The open area was 10.7% of the total area. The dP is very slight across the center tube. Absolutely nothing to be concerned about. The way things "look" and the way they actually behave are not always the same. The base plate has more dP than the center tube, and the dP across the base plate isn't anything to worry about either.

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would you be willing to share that matlab code?
 
Notice there are round holes in the center tube, and not very many of them on the 10 mth old XG3506 that I took off, compared to the plentiful louvers in the center tube of the new XG3506 I put back on?
Those louvers look better than most I've seen on Frams, and other brands lately. When they are nice and opened there's nothing to be concerned about. But I've seen some filters with louvers almost choked down to hairline slits. Avoid using any filter with louvers that closed off.
 
would you be willing to share that matlab code?


You need to pick the right configuration in the tool, and plug in the right parameters. I made the measurements on the filter, and used the appropriate oil viscosity and density as shown below. The "clear area" is the total flow area of the holes compared to the total surface area of the center tube. You need to do a bunch of data points in order to generate the dP vs flow rate curve. Takes some work.

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It looks real good for almost 10k. Great run here on this filter. You're not going to need as many holes as louvers since one hole is much bigger than one louver.
 
9300 miles, C5 Corvette low mileage LS1, M1 0w-40 Euro, Looks great.
Notice there are round holes in the center tube, and not very many of them on the 10 mth old XG3506 that I took off, compared to the plentiful louvers in the center tube of the new XG3506 I put back on?
View attachment 210497View attachment 210498
View attachment 210504
View attachment 210505
Good Morning Jetman,
Thank you for the C&P. The last picture of the media opened up and drained shows almost 0 particles and after 9,500 miles it is only slightly discolored. Aesthetically, it looks like the Fram Ultra media, oil and LS1 engine are working great together.

Is the 0W-40 is what is specified for your Vette? Thank you.
 
Good Morning Jetman,
Thank you for the C&P. The last picture of the media opened up and drained shows almost 0 particles and after 9,500 miles it is only slightly discolored. Aesthetically, it looks like the Fram Ultra media, oil and LS1 engine are working great together.

Is the 0W-40 is what is specified for your Vette? Thank you.
original spec for his bette would be mobil 1 5w-30.
 
Good Morning Jetman,
Thank you for the C&P. The last picture of the media opened up and drained shows almost 0 particles and after 9,500 miles it is only slightly discolored. Aesthetically, it looks like the Fram Ultra media, oil and LS1 engine are working great together.

Is the 0W-40 is what is specified for your Vette? Thank you.
No, calls for M1 5w-30
 
No, calls for M1 5w-30
Hi Jetman,
Forgive me but I need to bother you with a few more questions.
What type of driving did this filter see?
  • Hwy vs city mileage
  • Hard vs easy acceleration driving
That filter looks great and want to learn what you're doing!

Again, my thanks.
 
Hi Jetman,
Forgive me but I need to bother you with a few more questions.
What type of driving did this filter see?
  • Hwy vs city mileage
  • Hard vs easy acceleration driving
That filter looks great and want to learn what you're doing!

Again, my thanks.
70% long distance hwy driving at the speed limit (27 mpg), 30% rural local (23 mpg).
Oil and filter were in use for 10 mths & 9,300 miles.
Normal acceleration, I rarely go above 3000 rpm. I drive conservatively.
2002 stock C5 vette w/auto trans w/70k miles since new. They are pretty lightweight, good power to weight ratio, low coefficent of drag. It does most everything effortlessly :)
 
70% long distance hwy driving at the speed limit (27 mpg), 30% rural local (23 mpg).
Oil and filter were in use for 10 mths & 9,300 miles.
Normal acceleration, I rarely go above 3000 rpm. I drive conservatively.
2002 stock C5 vette w/auto trans w/70k miles since new. They are pretty lightweight, good power to weight ratio, low coefficent of drag. It does most everything effortlessly :)
Awesome, thank you Jetman. I can see why your filter looked great, your driving habits are superb. I'm sure your Vette looks as good as it runs.
 
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