I go to the Walmart service center and tell them what oil to use. I have no used oil to transport. 
Fram filters get little respect on automotive forums. There is much ado about their use of cardboard end caps where others use steel. Humm, the paper element has cardboard end caps? I quit using Fram years ago when I discovered it only had half as much filter media as other brands. There is no arguing the cardboard end caps and less filter area. Now proof that it makes any difference? You mean you want hard data and real evidence? It just doesn’t exist.
My last oil change I walked out of Wal*Mart with 5 quarts of Mobil 1 0W-30 and a Super Tech filter.
As in the link above, there are questions about the construction of the newer champion filters. I feel much of the discussion of oil filters on the net is influenced by Purolator’s ‘‘internet marketing campaign’’. Paid posters rather than advertising to help support our news and entertainment.
Sure they’re made more cheaply, but does it really matter? That’s the question that none of the filter-cut-up pages answer.
By that, I mean that literally millions of people have driven their cars millions of miles on Fram filters or variants thereof, without a single hint of a problem.
I’ve never been exactly sure what harm a cardboard end cap would cause; it’s not like cardboard loses strength in oil like it does in water, so as long as it’s able to hold enough pressure to keep the oil going through the filter media, it probably doesn’t matter, and steel end-caps are overkill.
Less filter area is another one where unless there’s proof that Frams have inadequate filtration area for the normal oil change, extra filtration media is also overkill.
My original point was that the Motorcraft filters are good filters for less than the Fram ones, and that they’re potentially better filters in the bargain.
it’s not only that, but this as well:
That’s still not evidence that Fram filters are systematically incapable of filtering oil. You would think that if this were really the case, some large fleet operator would have noticed a problem in their oil analysis.
I just get filters from the dealer. Maybe they cost an extra $1 or $2, but they also have the carmaker’s name stamped on it and the oil filter is a part people can actually see. You can get oil from Walmart, all oil looks the same once you pour it in.
“Look prospective car buyer, the oil filter says <Carmaker> right on it . Got it straight from the dealer. See how I spare no expense in maintaining this cream puff of a car? No sir, only the best for me.”
I’ve compared a few hundred used oil analyses over the years.
No difference ever showed up between different brands of oil filters, as much as I hate Fram.
The only filters, period, where a performance difference showed up was with K&N air filters; those let slightly more dirt through than a non-K&N filter.
no, but it is evidence that the manufacturer has shit quality control and may be evidence that the design is marginal enough to look “OK” when dissecting a new filter but who knows what happens when it’s put into service? If the price is the same or more than a competing product, why should I give them my money given this knowledge? I mean, it’s really simple here. There is objective evidence that they have an inferior product e.g. cheap materials, inconsistent assembly, design flaws.
attitudes like yours is why everything’s made in China now.
that assumes there are significant numbers of fleet operators using Fram filters. Show me the ones who do.
When I see some evidence that the use of Fram filters has some kind of meaningful impact on the performance or longevity of an everyday driven car engine, we can talk about it.
I struggle trying to remember what filters I used in the past. Back in 1977, I was paying $5 for AC PF9’s on my Chevy truck after the gasket blew off on an after market filter. Later I braved Frams and then PF9’s became available reasonable I went back to them. Eventually they disappeared and I used Frams, Purolators, others, and risked an ST. I really wondered how they compared. Eventually I took a hacksaw and tape measure to them. I found the AC had half again as much media and Fram half as much as most of the others. As long as I could find ST 3950’s. I used them. Now they are gone, I have used Purolator, STP, Pronto, and am now running a NAPA Gold. Usually I try to find not only an American made one, but by an American company.
If I drove a Ford, I might buy a made by a German company Motorcraft. The German own the company that makes the PF457’s my Cavalier takes.
Yes Frams are the worst looking filters anybody ever cut open. Documentation it makes the least difference? None. Oh many car buyers would be impressed by the Fram on your car.
The last filter I bought was an ST9018 for $2 84, as far as I can tell, made in America by an American company. With it hidden in its canister, nobody know I am running a cheap filter.
One of the things I’ve often pointed out in interminable car forum oil filter debates is that the car makers buy oil filters in the exact same way I do: they buy whatever’s cheap this week. The car makers don’t build their own oil filters, so the OEM filter that comes on your car and you pay out the butt for at the dealer is actually made by a variety of different manufacturers and is usually identical internally to some brand you buy off the shelf. One example of this is that a lot of Honda’s OEM blue can filters are made by Honeywell and are identical to the cheapo orange-can Frams. There’s lots of Honda snobs out there who will buy nothing but OEM filters and who routinely run their cars up past 200,000 miles and beyond with no problems. Subaru filters are also mostly Honeywells.
Realistically, the oil filter just isn’t that important. So long as it doesn’t blow off the car, it’s doing it’s job.
In the last year or so I’ve had to deal with independent testing of large lube oil and fuel oil filters through my job. Some manufacturers are happy to give you efficiency details, some don’t appear to have a clue, and others will simply refuse to give detailed information. I understand that efficiency ratings aren’t an exact science, but they’re considered vital information in my line of work (large diesel engines)…if we can’t verify the efficiency rating, we won’t use the filters.
they do nothing of the sort. production parts are sourced for the life of the program. Supplier management is enough of a pain in the ass that they aren’t going to re-source parts every week.
Obviously “this week” was hyperbole. The point is that the car makers buy oil filters from (generally) the same manufacturers as we in the general public do and choose them using much the same criteria: basically they want the cheapest filter they can get that does the job. Since many well-thought of car makers use Honeywell filters that are identical to Frams, I think it’s quite a stretch to claim that they are somehow not up to that job.
Well arguing aside, the Motorcraft filters are cheaper than Frams for most filter models, so it’s kind of moot.
(I buy Motorcraft FL-400S filters for my Dodge!)
I think Ford is still holding the line on base end bypasses. Nearly everything else except the Champ Ecores http://www.champlabs.com/content/oil-filters is going to the dome end I find less desirable.
With the lack of evidence that oil filters are important, why not run Super Tech? Cheap and made in America by an American company.
I don’t even tell car guys this, because they refuse to believe it. But I worked at an auto supplier that did testing on auto parts. One engineer I worked with ran a testing lab on air filters. I asked him, when was the optimal time to change . He said “never”. They are 95 percent efficient with particles when new. They get better. They block more as they get used . When it falls apart, change it.
They allow 5 percent of particles in when new. Less after getting used. That is good.
Yes, most filters become more efficient as they are used. Perhaps that is Frams secret, less media, loads up faster becoming more efficient.
However, the greater efficiency comes at the expense of flow.
Yep- that’s the tradeoff. Same thing applies for your air conditioner/furnace filter as well- the more clogged up they get, the better they filter, but the more they restrict air flow.
In the case of an air handler, they put undue wear on the electric motors and bearings, while in a car, they rob it of horsepower by reducing the amount of air that’s entering the engine per unit time.
When it comes to cars - remember that fluids are cheap, parts (and the labor to install them) are expensive. Don’t skimp on the fluids to save a buck, it could cost you hundreds (if not thousands) later on down the road.
Doesn’t exactly answer the OP’s question (other people have already addressed that) - but more important than the weight of the oil, make sure you are getting a quality product.