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FRAM filters

3K views 28 replies 15 participants last post by  WindStang 
#1 ·
Hi,

A friend of mine recommended FRAM for engine air filters and fuel filters. Should I follow this rec or are FRAMs bad/are other brands much better?

Also, should I buy a DENSO cabin air filter or go with another brand?

Jake
 
#6 ·
Oil Filters

Motorcraft = over priced foreign made stuff.
You made me curious so I looked at a Motorcraft FL-1A filter. It says "Made in USA".

Material property


If you order the Motorcraft filter on-line for pickup at the auto parts store, you get 20% off the $4.99 price. That makes it approximately $4.00.

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#7 ·
Fram filters were great filters in the 60's and maybe into the 70's. Their air and fuel filters might be OK to use now but I wouldn't use their oil filters. Just use Motorcraft filters and don't worry about anything


I've read that Motorcraft filters are made for Ford by Purolator :)
 
#8 ·
If I recall correctly, there was a real good oil filter comparison test posted on here somewhere, that showed the high end Fram filters among the best filters you can buy. On the other hand I've seen a lot of posts from people saying their cheap filters are junk.

The OEM motorcraft filter is said to be a good choice. The higher end "Gold" Wix which is also sold under NAPA brand are some of the best. I bought a case of the FRPP filters and figure I can't go wrong with those, but they are fairly expensive (something like $12/each by the case) and they are over-kill for sure.
 
#10 ·
Fram oil filters have a cheap metal tab that connects the pleats where they begin/end. Problem is that this metal tab sometimes is open and thus one part of the filter allows unfiltered oil to bypass the filter media. Find on youtube...

Better oil filters include:
Mobil 1
Royal Purple
Bosch
AmsOil
STP Extended Life
WIX Extended Life
K&N
MotorCraft

For air filters, Fram is still excellent.
 
#11 ·
IMHO, here is part of the BSmarketing that has been occurring for several years now.....to start with...
1. No automotive oil filter canfilter at greater than 10 microns, anything more than that, oil flow issignificantly reduced and the engine is starved. Hydraulic systems use filtersrated at 5 microns, but they are never spec'd for automotive use.
2. OEM filters typically filter ataround 15+ microns
3. The oems spec that (in almostevery case) the minimum filtering will be at 20 microns.
4. The check-valves (anti-drain& relief) inside the filter must be capable of withstanding the demands butit is also well known/recognized/accepted that the greater filtration theshorter is the duration that the filter will function without the bypassopening....this begins occurring as soon as 90 day duration.

You can pay anything you want foran oil filter, as long as the drain back & relief valves are good qualityand the filtration is no greater than spec, it really doesn't matter if it cost$3 or $30...it’s all the same.

and yes, WIX, MC, NAPA Gold, AC Delco (these are the ones I use) areall very good quality filters.....but Fram, since the company were last purchased a few years ago, QA has been extremely questionable. Personally, I would avoid like the plague.


 
#14 ·
Back in the mid or late 80s Consumer Reports performed a comprehensive oil filter comparison test using all of the SAE methods and standards. The Fram Extraguard came out on top as their best buy both from a performance and price standpoint. As a result I used Fram filters for decades on numerous vehicles and never had any issues what so ever. I stayed loyal through that period where they were getting a lot of rough treament on the internet. Most of that was a result of a handful of yahoos cutting the thing open and making uneducated opinions on how well it was made or how well it filtered. No SAE performance data was ever presented so I've pretty much ignored those layman opinion pieces.

I think Frams are fine filters, as good as anything else in the competitive price range.
 
#16 ·
My 95 GT went over 300k miles with mostly frams'. I'm not sure when they started making a poor quality product but I still use them and I've never had a motor fail due to oil. So I guess they're working but I've never cut one open to look... I get the fram oil filter that has the grippy surface on the end.


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#15 ·
Products are only as good as the bean counters allow them to be. Not enough profit margin to pay the executive's big bonuses and the call to cut costs comes down to the production department to use cheaper components or out source to a place that will make them cheaper (China or Mexico). (but I'm a cynic LOL)
 
#21 ·
Yeah, the MX6 was basically a shortened 626 platform and yup, the Courier was built in Japan by Mazda for Ford. It was a good little truck.


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#26 ·
I'd bet that the reason there are so many Fram YouTube videos is because there are way more frams sold than motorcraft. After 10 years motorcraft is no longer required to make aftermarket parts. Then what's a guy supposed to do? I guess he has to roll the dice on BWD, Acdelco, and the bagillion other companies that are making the same part that motorcraft used to. A lot of motorcraft parts are made Mexico and else where now.
Any brand of filter will work if it's changed when it's supposed to. 300k+ miles with frams on dirt roads. That's how I did my testing.


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#27 ·
I think that although Fram is on the cheap side and other brands like Ford, Wix and Napa etc are on the better side, the key to engine longevity is to change the oil and filter more often than to try to extend oil/filter life intervals because you use better filters. As the oil starts to break down, the filter will pick up the crap that is generated and the sooner you clean that out by changing the O&F the better. I change mine every 5000 - easy to remember every time I look at the odometer rather than the 8K+ change intervals. I also use any name brand synthetic oil. Sort of like a furnace air filter. The more it filters out, the cleaner the house is, but the more often it needs to be changed because it plugs up. Yes there is a bypass in an auto filter, but if that opens because of filter plugging up, no filtering is being done and the damage begins. It is cheaper to change oil than to change engine parts.
 
#28 ·
I think that although Fram is on the cheap side and other brands like Ford, Wix and Napa etc are on the better side, . . . .
Fram has a wide range of prices -- from very cheap to fairly expensive. If I remember correctly, I saw a test that showed that their higher end filters were among the best available. I'd avoid the super cheap ones.
 
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