Originally Posted by dave1251
Originally Posted by littlehulkster
Originally Posted by 007
I am getting ready to change the oil and filter on my 396 Chevelle. My last replacement filter is a Napa Gold 1069 filter which states its from the Affinia (Wix) company and made in the USA. I have heard the new Napa Gold products are now made in China as the Affinia company was bought out. Is this true?
They're made all over the world, probably just decided by what factory has the necessary capacity at the time.
Some of them aren't even made by Wix, but are bought from other manufacturers and rebranded.
That said, it's really not a problem. Oil filters are made by machines, and the machine performs identically regardless of if it's in Detroit, Shanghai or Berlin.
Something matters or the last one I purchased would have fit on the mount snug not loose and leaking oil. Put on a Champ made AC Delco and no issues. This whole squeezing the last half penny out of each filter is just plain wack like crack.
It's not the country of origin that matters, it's the investment the company is willing to make in QC and proper designs. Given as AC Delco is GM's OEM parts brand they would want to make sure the QC is nice and tight to avoid having to pay out warranty claims due to defective parts.
That said, everyone puts out a few lemons here and there. Especially for something that's as high volume and automated as oil filters. The Chinese are certainly capable of producing a good product. After all, this is a nation with an active space program and who probably built the computer you're posting this on. Compared to that an oil filter is simple, but sometimes corners get cut in pursuit of either more profits or making the margins work.