I know that generally Fram oil filters are not to be trusted, but I think I recall one of their flavors that
people think is decent. Was it Extra Guard?
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I cannot agree with this statement. I’ve used Fram filters for decades without incident. I believe this myth was started by those for whom cost equals quality, for whom only expensive filters are good enough.
Yup, I’ve seen the videos of people tearing various filters apart and comparing their innards, but because their innards are different does not mean the filters aren’t perfectly capable. I know from experience that others here, some that refuse to accept any opinion different from theirs, will attack these statements with a knowing air of superiority, but I disagree with them. Fram filters are fine.
However, if you prefer another brand, I believe you should use it. I also don’t believe Fram filters are better than other name brands, only just as good for the purpose. The only filters I would recommend avoiding are those from fleamarkets, especially if they have no brand on them at all. There’s a lot of junk out there, and IMHO any reputable filter manufacturer will be in the supply chains of major retailers.
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Then don’t use a Fram filter of any kind and you will not need to lose sleep. Problem solved.
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What makes you say that? I have been using Fram for years and years and never had a problem. It’s not so much the brand of filter but the frequency of changing oil and filter.
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Yep, the best selling filter is actually destroying thousands of engines every week. You never hear about it because of “big filter”…
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There’s nothing wrong with any Fram filter. With the advent of the internet, backyard picnic tables, and pseudo filter scientists all kinds of old wives tales will surface.
Ask yourself this.
How many Fram filters are sold every year in the U.S.?
How many actual verifiable cases of engine damage are caused by Fram filters?
Same goes for the one that says tightening wheel lugs with an air wrench will warp the brake rotors. Not.
As Volvo_V70 states; if you’re concerned about Fram then use any one of dozens of other filters offered. They’re all good unless they’re of the non-branded types that the_same_mountainbike correctly mentions.
I had a personal experience with unbranded filters on my BMW motorycycle. The BM dealer started selling the filters because they were about 1/4 the cost of the BM OEM filter. I strolled into his shop a few weeks later and he told me to get that filter out of the bike NOW because the paper elements were dissolving.
Sure enough; after less than a 1000 miles the element was resembling wet toilet paper. It took me 2 hours to dig that filter out of the engine case cavity. Luckily I didn’t lose an engine because of it.
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LOL! Not if you use the impact wrench correctly and tighten (not over-tighten) in a star pattern.
There is always some ham-fisted twit that turns the setting to 11 and nearly welds the nuts to the stud to start these stupid rumors.
I’ve occasionally used Fram filters over the years, with NO ill effects
I think those guys on the internet . . . the guys who cut open the filters and analyze the construction . . . have too much time on their hands. They are not the last word, so to speak
A colleague caused damage to his engine by using a cheapo filter, but it was NOT a Fram filter.
My 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass with the 260 cubic inch V8 engine used an AC 45 filter. There was no way to use a conventional filter wrench and work the handle to remove the filter. I had to use a filter wrench that went over the end of the filter and attach the filter wrench to the handle of my socket set. One time when I was ready to change the oil, I couldn’t find the correct AC filter, so bought the equivalent Fram filter. When it was time to change oil again, the end of the Fram filter was different than the AC and the special filter wrench I had purchased wouldn’t work. As I was wondering what to do, I remembered that I was wearing s universal filter wrench–my belt. I wrapped my belt around the end of the filter and pulled. That loosened the filter and it spun right off. From then on, I used Fram, AC and Purolator filters interchangeably depending on the brand that was on sale.
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From then on, I used Fram, AC and Purolator filters interchangeably depending on whether I was wearing a belt or suspenders that day.
There, I fixed it for you.
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umm … db … that doesn’t match the rest of your post. Perhaps you mean “no ill effects” ?
nice catch . . . !
Yeah, I meant with NO ill effects
I just corrected it, thanks!
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@asemaster I always wore a belt when changing oil. If I was replacing the shock absorbers I wore suspenders since shock absorbers are part of the suspension.
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I’m afraid to ask what you would wear when working on the rear end.
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Are you sure we want to know?
I had a Fram orange can filter leak at the seam, but that was 35 years ago.
Fram Ultra is their top-o-the-line.
Just have to ask, would you try the hillbilly filter wrench? You know the one where you pound a screwydrver through it and go from there.
Isn’t this what you are supposed to do to drain the oil filter before you remove it? 
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I have used all kinds of Fram filters over the years, from the plain orange can all the way to the “Ultra”. They have all worked fine without any failures and I have never had an engine die on me or start to burn oil as a result. Fram is a victim of fake news.
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The old air coolled VWs often ran 100k+ miles without failing with no oil filter and they ran significantly hotter so if we just gutted a filter can and permanently screwed it to the block most engines would be expected to last well past the 100k mark without a problem.