Dave…
I’m NOT trying to be argumentative. I’m trying to make some valid points as to WHY I feel Fram filters are NOT bad…In fact I think they’re pretty good. OK and I have ARGUED more then once in this forum. And I’ll state it right now…we’ll argue again…But that doesn’t mean I don’t respect his opinion. He has far more experience and far more knowledgeable then I am when it comes to automotive repairs.
As for the anecdotal evidence about Fram…Well so far that’s the ONLY type of information presented so far. Everyone has their own experience. But a couple of facts that need to be addressed. Fram is the #1 selling filter in the US. Last I heard they outsold Purolator, Wix and Champion Labs COMBINED. There are over 200 million vehicles on the road in the US right now. If the average is 2 oil changes per car per year that would mean about 400 million filters are sold every year. Fram is selling over 100 million of them. If .01% of their filters fail that would mean THOUSANDS of filters are failing every year. If that many were failing it would be all over the news. There would be lawsuits left and right and Fram would be out of business in very short order. Design flaws usually show up in a fairly large percentage…far more then the .01%…Closer to 2-5% OR MORE. Failure rates from the information I’ve been able to gather is non existent. I haven’t been able to find any information anywhere on Fram filters failing. If you can…please show me. I’ll even take information from the 80’s and 90’s if you can find some.
As for the filter I currently use…I’ve been using OEM…ONLY because the Toyota dealer sells me a case of 12 for $48 ($4 each).