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Anyone have any idea on the "goodness" of the new-$7.95-Fram Extended Guard filters?

The one for the Suburban was "made in the USA"-It is Extended Guard-7000 mile interval
The Prius one-Xtended Guard-is made in Canada-10,000 mile syn oil interval.
I prefer items made in NA-Canada,USA,Mexico to any "made in China".

Fram was accused of making crummy filters in the past-is that behind them?

Anyone have any idea on how these stack up against Mobil I filters?

Thanks
Charlie

FWIW: A guy at work used to work at Fram, and wasn't real impressed. I'll probably do Mobil 1, at least until I find the time to look for good comparisons. With synthetic oil, you can go so long on a change you may as well get the best filter you can get your hands on. (note: best is not necessarily the most expensive, but it's not likely to be the cheapest either)

There's loads of info online comparing construction features, efficiency, restriction, and how much gunk a filter can hold before restriction increases.

Willing to do homework? Do it. May the best filter win.

Not willing to do homework? I might try something from Wix, Baldwin, Napa Gold, Mobil 1, Purolator, etc. but probably not Fram.

I've seen the internals of it and for several dollars LESS you can buy a Walmart brand filter with equal to or probably better quality.

Hmmm, so I should have just paid $2 more and got a Mobil I filter.

When I finish with them-6 months or so-I'll cut them apart and take a look.

Charlie

The local Advance Auto parts store has a sale for 5 quarts of Mobil 1, with a Mobil ! filter for $28. That's a pretty good deal.

Pass on the Fram and get anything else. Cardboard doesn't have a place in your engine.

99LeCouch,

The Xtend one for the Prius claims-specially formulated 2 ply synthetic media backed by wire.Claims good for 10,000 miles-$7.95.

The EXtend one for the Suburba claims media a synthetic blend( paper and dacron?) backed by wire-good for 7000 miles -. $7.95. I couldn't find a 10,000 Xtend one for the Suburban-maybe they were switching over to all Xtend and were getting rid of the ones that were part cardboard. It did claim 70%more volume-blah, blah.

$28 for Mobil 1+ filter-bargain.

Thanks
Charlie

According to someone at Bob is the Oil Guy, the walmart Supertech filters are made on the same assembly line as the Mobil 1 filters. At only 2-3 dollars, that works for me.

Hmmm,

Palemelanesian- I'll have to check that out.Maybe I'll start cutting filters open after use.It is a nasty job, but..

Thanks
Charlie

Anyone have any idea on the "goodness" of the new-$7.95-Fram Extended Guard filters?

The one for the Suburban was "made in the USA"-It is Extended Guard-7000 mile interval
The Prius one-Xtended Guard-is made in Canada-10,000 mile syn oil interval.
I prefer items made in NA-Canada,USA,Mexico to any "made in China".

Fram was accused of making crummy filters in the past-is that behind them?

Anyone have any idea on how these stack up against Mobil I filters?

Thanks
Charlie

Hello Charlie,
I am the technical training manager for FRAM. I would love to tell you all about the extended guard filter from FRAM with facts and engineering knowledge. We just did some testing that clearly shows we have more dirt holding capacity than Mobil 1 extended life filter. We also have a higher efficiency rating and are the only filter to garentee 10k oil change intervals when used with synthetic oil. There is already a bunch of mis-information in this string about who makes what. In addition, I will only answer questions based on accepted engineering testing, not 15 yr old internet studies of cut open oil filters. Our filters are only made in Canada (Stratford), and USA (Greenville, OH and Clearfield, UT). The xtended guard filter is a two ply full synthetic media that is wrapped around a stainless steel screen backing. This is held in place by metal end caps. It also has a silicone antidrainback valve to remain pliable with extended drain intervals. I welcome your questions about filtration as well as any questions from this forums members.:D

Motorking,

Glad to see your reply as I've been a lifetime fan of your product. For some reason there is alot of negative publicity surrounding your company on the internet. What is your company doing to dispel these myths?

Motorking,

Thanks for replying. Many years ago-15-20 or so- I vague remember some negative "stuff" making the rounds about Fram.However, when Fram had to good sense to put that "gripper stuff" on the filters(maybe 10+ years ago),I went back to using them.

The Made In the USA and Made in Canada was a big plus for me.I actually read labels,and will pay a little more for made in USA-made in Canada is good and made in Mexico is good too-my Suburban is made in Mexico.

One question-the Suburban filter-XG5- is Extended vs the Xtended Prius filter.Does Fram make a Xtended-10,000 mile interval-filter for the Suburban? WalMart didn't have it.
The Extended also claims the silicone antidrainback valve, and " backed by metal screen"

The Xtended is "better" than the Extended, right?? The Extended does seem bigger-volumewise- that the Delco it has on now.

The Suregrip was easily the smartest thing any oil filter company ever came up with.Anyone who does their own changes knows what a pain a greasy filter is-and new filters frequently get a bit oily when you put some oil on the O-Ring-you miss and spill it on the side-oily filter!!

Thanks
Charlie
PS- I will go out of my way to buy from a USA company that MAKES its stuff in the USA-Canada and Mexico are ok also. I was surprised to read Made In the USA since WalMart abandoned its Made in the USA" program 10+ years ago.They-WAlMart- used to brag about made in the USA. Maybe the bad publicity they are getting is changing that.

Motorking:
Welcome to CleanMPG! Thanks for joining and offering info. I will dig in my archive drives and try to find pics that I have questions about. So now you offer Extra, Tough, Extended Guard and High Mileage models. Is Extra Guard your bottom end model?

I've seen the internals of it and for several dollars LESS you can buy a Walmart brand filter with equal to or probably better quality.

This is really an untrue statement. The extended guard filter is a full synthetic blend media wrapped around a stainless steel screen with silicone rubber valves. It has nothing in common with a wal mart super tech filter at all

Motorking,

Thanks for replying. Many years ago-15-20 or so- I vague remember some negative "stuff" making the rounds about Fram.However, when Fram had to good sense to put that "gripper stuff" on the filters(maybe 10+ years ago),I went back to using them.

The Made In the USA and Made in Canada was a big plus for me.I actually read labels,and will pay a little more for made in USA-made in Canada is good and made in Mexico is good too-my Suburban is made in Mexico.

One question-the Suburban filter-XG5- is Extended vs the Xtended Prius filter.Does Fram make a Xtended-10,000 mile interval-filter for the Suburban? WalMart didn't have it.
The Extended also claims the silicone antidrainback valve, and " backed by metal screen"

The Xtended is "better" than the Extended, right?? The Extended does seem bigger-volumewise- that the Delco it has on now.

The Suregrip was easily the smartest thing any oil filter company ever came up with.Anyone who does their own changes knows what a pain a greasy filter is-and new filters frequently get a bit oily when you put some oil on the O-Ring-you miss and spill it on the side-oily filter!!

Thanks
Charlie
PS- I will go out of my way to buy from a USA company that MAKES its stuff in the USA-Canada and Mexico are ok also. I was surprised to read Made In the USA since WalMart abandoned its Made in the USA" program 10+ years ago.They-WAlMart- used to brag about made in the USA. Maybe the bad publicity they are getting is changing that.

Good Morning Charlie,
XG or Extended Guard is the same filter technology. In Canada it is called the "synthetic oil filter", there is some confusion because we have different boxes in the usa and canada.
Either way, the XG or Extended guard is the very best filter we make. It is a full two ply synthetic media that is wrapped around a stainless steel screen for added strength. It has over 97% filtering efficiency, meaning it traps and holds 97% of all dirt particles in the 20 micron range the first time your oil passes through it. It also features the ability to trap and hold dirt for up to 10k oil changes when used with the appropriate synthetic oil. This is areally a big money saver in the long run. It has silicone antidrainback valves to remain plaible for the extended oil drain interval. We are in the process of updating our box graphics right now so you may see two different boxes in stores, same filter.
We do seem to have some negative internet "tribal knowledge" out there. I am trying my best to get on fourms and answer filter questions honestly and factually to try and dispel some of this. I can assure you that we sell over 100 million filters per year, stand behind our products 100% and believe our technology is very good.

Motorking:
Welcome to CleanMPG! Thanks for joining and offering info. I will dig in my archive drives and try to find pics that I have questions about. So now you offer Extra, Tough, Extended Guard and High Mileage models. Is Extra Guard your bottom end model?

[B]Extra Guard- This is our entry level, least expensive filter. It is designed for those using regular or synthetic oil and changing oil every 3-4k miles. It has a 95-96% efficiency rating. This filter is very good, yet takes a beating on the internet for having fiber end caps. The end caps are not part of the filter structure, they are there to seal the ends of the filter media (which is also a fiber on all filters).The guys who comment on the net that this is some kind of weakness really do not understand filter construction at all. We build millions of these filters per year and have zero issues with them.
[B]Tough Guard- The next step up. This filter is similar to the extra guard except is has a synthetic blend media that is 99% efficient. It also is recommended for the 5-7k oil change interval. It has a stainless screen over the bypass valve for added protection and a silicone antidrainback valve for longer life.
[B]High Mileage- This is very cool filter. It is designed for high mile engines. It is similar to extra guard in construction except it has a "timed release" basket containig a oil conditioning chemical. This chemical replenishes the additive package in the oil that a high mile engine can consume pretty quickly. This technology is being developed farther along in the hopes that someday you could change only your filter and not the oil.
[B]HP Racing Filter- Not likely muc interest in this among this board but- This is a very high flowing and mechanically robust filter for those running higher than normal oil temps and pressures in racing engines. not really designed for street use.
[B]Extended Guard- The flagship of the FRAM line and our best filter. Two ply full synthetic mediae wrapped around a stainless stell screen. This filter is totally designed for the 10k oil change. It has great 97% filtering efficiency and excellent dirt trapping ability up to 26 grams on the larger filters! It also has a silicone antidrainback valve for long life. We say right on the box it is recommended for up to 10k change intervals when used with quality synthetic oil.
Thanks for listening and I am always at your service to answer ay filtration, spark plug or coolant/cooling system issues you may have.:D

Pass on the Fram and get anything else. Cardboard doesn't have a place in your engine.

there is no "cardboard" in any FRAM filter. The end caps in the lower level models are an engineered media, just like the filter media itself.;)

Hmmm,

Palemelanesian- I'll have to check that out.Maybe I'll start cutting filters open after use.It is a nasty job, but..

Thanks
Charlie

You can buy a really nice tool from www.summitracing.com for about 20 bucks to cut open filters safely. Better than cutting open filters is spending 25 bucks once in a while to have you oil analyized at www.polarislabs.com or any of the other labs that do oil analysis.
This is the only way to judge what your filter is doing for you.:p

According to someone at Bob is the Oil Guy, the walmart Supertech filters are made on the same assembly line as the Mobil 1 filters. At only 2-3 dollars, that works for me.

That information is over ten years old and no longer true. The only true part about it is that Mobil does not manufactur filters.

Motorking

Thanks for the info.
Despite all the high tech manufacturing- and the made in USA-the suregrip coating (not sure who had it first, but Fram was very early with it) sells more filters than you can imagine. My hands and gloves are always oily during oil changes.

The High Mileage isn't releasing some sort of teflon?? I didn't read the box , but somehow got the idea it was a teflon like molecule? My 98 Suburban has 211,000 miles, but uses less then 1 qt per 3000 miles,and some of that was leaking past the timing chain cover. Not sure how much it "uses" since I changed the cover just 500 miles ago
I recently switched to 10W30 Mobil I-from 5w30-because of the mileage and my idling pressure was just 21 psi once warm-45psi at hy speeds-1600 RPMs. It is maybe 4 psi higher at idle-warm-now.Not sure why warm 10w30 is higher pressure than 5w30 since they are supposed to be"about" the same viscosity once warm-200 degrees.

Thanks for the info,
Charlie

Motorking,

Glad to see your reply as I've been a lifetime fan of your product. For some reason there is alot of negative publicity surrounding your company on the internet. What is your company doing to dispel these myths?

Well, we have really just ignored it for a long time. That has had the unfortuante effect of making some believe what they hear is true. So what are they doing about it? They are having myslef and the other technical trainers in my group answer filter, spark plug and coolant questions on various internet forums with engineering facts, no marketing bs, just facts. I hope you buy my compnaies products but I am only here to educate, not sell.:D

Motorking

Thanks for the info.
Despite all the high tech manufacturing- and the made in USA-the suregrip coating (not sure who had it first, but Fram was very early with it) sells more filters than you can imagine. My hands and gloves are always oily during oil changes.

The High Mileage isn't releasing some sort of teflon?? I didn't read the box , but somehow got the idea it was a teflon like molecule? My 98 Suburban has 211,000 miles, but uses less then 1 qt per 3000 miles,and some of that was leaking past the timing chain cover. Not sure how much it "uses" since I changed the cover just 500 miles ago
I recently switched to 10W30 Mobil I-from 5w30-because of the mileage and my idling pressure was just 21 psi once warm-45psi at hy speeds-1600 RPMs. It is maybe 4 psi higher at idle-warm-now.Not sure why warm 10w30 is higher pressure than 5w30 since they are supposed to be"about" the same viscosity once warm-200 degrees.

Thanks for the info,
Charlie

Sounds like you engine is pretty sound mechanically. There is no telfon in any of our filters. There was a time when PTFE was in vouge with oil and engines (Slick 50). It later proved to be of no real benefit so most poeple making PTFE containing products have discontinued them. Your oil pressure is fine, you should have above 14psi idling in gear and then around 10 more psi for each 1000 rpm. For example, at least 40 psi @4000rpm.

Motorking

Thanks for the info. I remember the Slick 50 era-heck I used it.It was pre-internet.

Yes, it is a good idea to have Fram folks countering those rumors. Whenever Fram comes up-all forums- there is plenty of negative info attached to it. I still use a primitive type of fram filter in my old1 SR500- a single cylinder Yamaha 500.

Yes, my 5.7 must have been well taken care of.I got it at 194,000 miles-211,000 now.It gets an honest 21 mpg on long 3000 mile(New Orleans-Flagstaff) highway trips with the CC set at 68 mph(actual average driving speed is probably more like 63 mph-road work). This is actually measured mpg, not NAV mpg. I have no idea how GM manages that with a vehicle like that. Guess they had lots of time to perfect the SBC. It isn't really geared very tall-1725 rpms AT 60 MPH-maybe 43 psi in the tires.No other hypermiling tricks other than driving at a reasonable speed, and gliding up hills, overpasses.

Thanks
Charlie

motorking,

Great to have you aboard! I agree that it would be better to talk facts and data rather than "I thought I heard once that...". I know there's gobs of ways to talk about what makes one filter better than another. I've seen you mention a few numbers, but know that there's a lot more information you haven't given us yet. Are these available? Will they be? Specifically, I know filters can be evaluated by:

efficiency vs. partcicle size plot over a wide range of particle sizes
restriction at a given flow
restriction change with temperature
how restriction changes over the life of the filter (as it fills up)
pressure to collapse or burst the filter
Bypass pressure
Durability validation
process/quality control
How all of the above compare to competitive filters

I think the trouble for us consumers is that the only folks with enough resources to do a really scientific comparision of competitive filters are those that want to sell us one of them! If they let the test results be seen, we've gotta wonder "hmmm.. I wonder if they're just showing us the results of the tests that made their product look good."

motorking,

Great to have you aboard! I agree that it would be better to talk facts and data rather than "I thought I heard once that...". I know there's gobs of ways to talk about what makes one filter better than another. I've seen you mention a few numbers, but know that there's a lot more information you haven't given us yet. Are these available? Will they be? Specifically, I know filters can be evaluated by:

efficiency vs. partcicle size plot over a wide range of particle sizes
restriction at a given flow
restriction change with temperature
how restriction changes over the life of the filter (as it fills up)
pressure to collapse or burst the filter
Bypass pressure
Durability validation
process/quality control
How all of the above compare to competitive filters

I think the trouble for us consumers is that the only folks with enough resources to do a really scientific comparision of competitive filters are those that want to sell us one of them! If they let the test results be seen, we've gotta wonder "hmmm.. I wonder if they're just showing us the results of the tests that made their product look good."

you are right about that. Independent testing costs a fortune and even then, any manufacturer could pick out the pieces that are favorable to themselves. We are in discussion here trying to figure out how we could present this info in a unbiased manner.
BTW- even though I am a big high Performance guy, i have squeezed a combined city/hwy 25mpg out of my 400hp Cadillac CTS-V using hypermiling driving techniques. to me that is really a feat of engineering, a car that does 13 sec qtr miles and can 180mph delivering that kind of economy. SWEET!