Quote: I have used Fram myself without any issues in numerous cars. That being said, I have heard bad things about them so I have since stopped using their standard line and have gone to other brands or their ToughGaurd.
Intersetingly enough, I have a friend who had his 2007 Honda Accord leave him stranded on the side of the road one day...turns out his FRAM oil filter had disintegrated and fallen apart and gummed up the works! So I guess I definitely won't be using their standard series anymore!
Last time I cut one open, it was one of the better ones, it still had the cardboard ends glued on it. The one I mentioned from a month ago was the Xtreme Guard....the filter was okay, but, the anti drainback valve was not stopping the drain back.
One of my Buick friends called me about his new engine that would not hold a prime. He fired it up, was running well, so he drove it down to the gas station to fill the tank. When He fired it up, it started rattling and he looked at the gauge to see no oil pressure.
Called for a tow, got it home, poured some oil down the oil cooler line back into the pump (external pump up on the front cover that will hardly ever prime by turning the pump) and it had great pressure. Turned it off, let it sit for a few minutes and it had no pressure.
Called me to ask what he should check when he tore it apart and I told him to go get a Napa or Wix filter, or anything but Fram or AC, and he informed me that he always used Fram and that was what was on it. Anyway, the Napa filter fixed it.
I suspect we will see an increasing amount of problems will a lot of brands that are made overseas. It is just that Fram has been a prime candidate for failure for a long time due to the construction techniques employed.
Put a high volume pump and some heavy oil in one and increase the load on the element and I think it is more likely to collapse.
The more expensive filters with the smaller particle filtration may be even more prone as the internal load is greater due to the resistance to flow. That is an opinion-not a fact, however.
That is what is intriguing in the nano filter technique by Amsoil. It claims high flow rates. We will probably never see an independent flow test between brands...that would be bad for advertising.
