Originally Posted By: skaughtz
I love Ultras. I don't think there is a better filter for the money on the market. But 25k, 30k... that seems like pushing it. If they were meant to go that long, wouldn't Fram have "Guaranteed 25,000 Mile Protection!" printed on the side of the packaging instead of 15,000?
Moreso, how can you tell if the filter is still doing its job efficiently at that point? I would think a UOA would be about the only indicator you could get.
You're right. No way to tell how clogged the Ultra element is by just looking at it. For all we know it could have been popping the bypass valve the last few thousand miles. A UOA wouldn't tell you anything about how clogged the thing got. Sure the filter is the best (likely) one to have. It didn't fall apart inside at least.
Fram says don't use past 15k miles, admittedly a guess, but the best guess we have, and a tad conservative, varies with conditions.
Now if you could hook the oil filter up to lab setup and measure psi-differential across the media and compare to new & your bypass pressure threshold, then you could make a real judgement. Non-emotional facts rule here.
I love Ultras. I don't think there is a better filter for the money on the market. But 25k, 30k... that seems like pushing it. If they were meant to go that long, wouldn't Fram have "Guaranteed 25,000 Mile Protection!" printed on the side of the packaging instead of 15,000?
Moreso, how can you tell if the filter is still doing its job efficiently at that point? I would think a UOA would be about the only indicator you could get.
You're right. No way to tell how clogged the Ultra element is by just looking at it. For all we know it could have been popping the bypass valve the last few thousand miles. A UOA wouldn't tell you anything about how clogged the thing got. Sure the filter is the best (likely) one to have. It didn't fall apart inside at least.
Fram says don't use past 15k miles, admittedly a guess, but the best guess we have, and a tad conservative, varies with conditions.
Now if you could hook the oil filter up to lab setup and measure psi-differential across the media and compare to new & your bypass pressure threshold, then you could make a real judgement. Non-emotional facts rule here.
