Fram Ultra Users - question

[Brons2]

If you run them more than 1 OCI, do you take off the filter and drain it, or do you just drain the sump and refill? I chose the latter path as I am getting no rattles of any sort at all when I start the car and didn't want to disturb the gasket. Of course it also simplifies the change not having to remove and reinstall the filter.

Yes, it leaves about a cup of the old oil in the engine, but I really don't think it's that big of a deal, with a 5.3 qt capacity (with the new longer dipstick anyway...) it's at least 95% new oil.

I'm pretty happy with this filter, it's the first one I've used that's quieter than the OEM filter on startups. And it keeps the oil visibly lighter for longer after a change - with the OEM filter the oil is jet black after 1000 miles or so.

[edit] this is on my Hyundai. The Mitsubishi is getting changes at the dealer - they threw in 36K of free maintenance.

 

[sprite1741]

I leave mine on. If I take a filter off a new one is going on. I won't reuse a filter. The Ultra is too good of a filter to not run for at least a year. The small amount of oil left in the filter is not an issue. I have one on my 2.2L that is side mount. It's going on a year and no problems with drain back rattles. When I ran Purolators they started rattling after 2 mos. That was a good thing because I quit using them.

 

[StevieC]

When I have used a filter for longer than 1 OCI I just leave it alone and drain the pain/refill. Spin-on or Cartridge type.
You may have leaks trying to take the filter off to drain and put it back on.

 

[ragtoplvr]

Because of the plastic grip on the end they do not fit the wrench. The gasket seems to get harder so they take more force to remove.
. I usually dent them removing them

 

[blupupher]

From what I have seen of the Ultra, that thing could be a "lifetime" filter in most applications that are not sludge monsters and have been taken care of.

If I were to do a drain and fill leaving the filter on, I would not touch it. There is a small change of the gasket getting damaged, and having a leak later on. As you said, the minimal amount of oil left in the filter is not a big deal.

 

[OldSparks]

Originally Posted by blupupher
From what I have seen of the Ultra, that thing could be a "lifetime" filter in most applications that are not sludge monsters and have been taken care of.


I ran an XG7317 on my Yamaha motorcycle for 2 summers/14,000 kms and when I cut it open this morning, it looked great. I definitely will run the next one longer...

 

[RyanY]

Originally Posted by ragtoplvr
Because of the plastic grip on the end they do not fit the wrench. The gasket seems to get harder so they take more force to remove.
. I usually dent them removing them

FYI the cheap hyper tough cap wrenches from wall mart will fit the ultra filters. I have not found any others that fit.

 

[bullwinkle]

I leave mine on, there have been studies that indicate that a small amount of used oil helps re-establish the ZDDP film after an oil change. Plus, I don't go crazy with extending an oil change, I have already made sure there's not a big sludge or dirt buildup-or I hold the OCI to 5000-7500 miles.

 

[jeff78]

I just do a drain and fill without disturbing the filter. There's always going to be old oil left in the engine even after draining the sump and filter, so it's just a matter of how much time and energy you want to spend on trying to minimize the amount of old oil left. Particularly if the oil filter's hard to get at.
On my motorcycle I run XG6607's for two (8k miles, and is the OEM recommendation), sometimes three (12k) oil changes. I don't lose any sleep over it.

 

[walterjay]

I go two oil changes on mine. I leave them on. They are also more quiet on my Hyundai than the stock filter. Early on there were some problems using these on Hyundai so Fram re-engineered them and they are now better than Hyundai filters.

 

[Zee09]

If it is in a remote area that defeats the whole concept.
I never mess with the filter. The only thing you could achieve is creating a problem.
Drain and refill only

 

[Bud]

I used the ultra one time for two oil changes. Left it on in between changes. Went back to OEM and changing every oil change.

 

[BikeWhisperer]

When I had my 3.5 Eco-Boost F150, I would run them two OCi's at 5-6k per oil change. This was still well below their rated 15-20k and I'm sure I could have run them a third OCI without issues. The filter location on these engines is a bit of a PITA to get to and the oil draining out would make a small mess as well so leaving it on for 2x was also for convenience. Never any start up rattles or any other issue. They always looked great after a two OCI run with the ADBV still very pliable.

 

[Hall]

Would never consider removing it and reinstalling it (at least not long-term) due to it being too easy to damage the gasket.

 

[Vern_in_IL]

Drain sump refill, the filter will increase in performance over time, and you will not risk getting particulates on the filtered oil side of filter.

Soon you would have a 10ppm at 99% filter if you ever could get it loaded enough, that medium is too good, even better, synthetic media!

 

[ZeeOSix]

Originally Posted by Vern_in_IL
Drain sump refill, the filter will increase in performance over time, and you will not risk getting particulates on the filtered oil side of filter.

Soon you would have a 10ppm at 99% filter if you ever could get it loaded enough, that medium is too good, even better, synthetic media!


Not always. This is another on-going misconception about oil filters, that they all get "more efficient" as the load up. Well, some oil filters can't hold trapped debris in the media as well as others, and as the delta-p starts going up from use, some of the trapped particles starts coming off and the over-all efficiency starts going down.

Also, if you know how the ISO 4548-12 over-all efficiency rating is calculated, you would see that the filter efficiency example below would come out the 75% @ 20 microns - which is the average of 90% and 60% at 20 microns. That is how the overall efficiency is calculated in ISO 4548-12.

So when you see oil filters with low ISO efficiency ratings it probably means they are doing some of what the graph shows below ... that's something that can lower the ISO efficiency rating. Oil filters with a high ISO efficiency rating can't be doing much debris sloughing off as the graph shows, because they could never achieve a high ISO rating (ie, 95% @20 microns or better) per the defined calculation formula if they did.

Just something to consider when running oil filters way longer than what they are rated for.

 

[JLTD]

Plenty of threads on just this topic. Consensus: if leaving on for multiple OCIs, don't remove in between.

 

[Linctex]

I USED TO take the filter off and set it on a special drain shelf in the garage,
then swap it with another one (that had been draining) on the same drain shelf for the last many weeks.

I quit doing the "swapping thing"..... now I just leave it on.

 

[Pinoak]

Originally Posted by Brons2
If you run them more than 1 OCI, do you take off the filter and drain it, or do you just drain the sump and refill? I chose the latter path as I am getting no rattles of any sort at all when I start the car and didn't want to disturb the gasket. Of course it also simplifies the change not having to remove and reinstall the filter.

Yes, it leaves about a cup of the old oil in the engine, but I really don't think it's that big of a deal, with a 5.3 qt capacity (with the new longer dipstick anyway...) it's at least 95% new oil.

I'm pretty happy with this filter, it's the first one I've used that's quieter than the OEM filter on startups. And it keeps the oil visibly lighter for longer after a change - with the OEM filter the oil is jet black after 1000 miles or so.

[edit] this is on my Hyundai. The Mitsubishi is getting changes at the dealer - they threw in 36K of free maintenance.

I have often left filters on. Have also taken filters off and reinstalled several times. Never an issue with gasket resealing. I do like I think most do and lube the gasket before installing.
There's a belief that it's good to leave a little old oil in because the additives are functioning best after some use. Besides it's a real pain trying to drain the filter of much do to the ADBV holding it in. Gotta try and push the valve in with something long and narrow and its just messy and unnecessary.
Really it's not a concern and used oil always remains anyway. You don't get it all out regardless.
If your using high capacity filters your probably paying a premium price for them and might as well get the full use out of it.
The way you did it is fine in my books.

 

[ChrisD46]

If you are doing no more than a 5K mile OCI in a well maintained engine using synthetic oil - then I see no reason why you can't use an Ultra for two OCI's leaving the oil filter alone between oil changes .