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Fram oil filters - crap or not??



Try and find it.

The only way the oil could be rated 0W-30 is if its at LEAST a synthetic blend.

It seems 5W-30 oils are made better, offer more wear protection when the motor starts up etc.
 
Taz Magester said:
why do the 3.8 seires 3 recomend 5w20 and the series 2 says 10w30 if there the same thing?
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I honestly don't know. What I can tell you is this.

My 1987 grand prix with a chevy 305 said 5w30 on the cap and in the owners manual. My 1992 chevy pickup with a 350 said 10w30 on the cap and owners manual. Later 350's said 5w30 on the cap.

Why did a 1980s 305 smallblock call for 5w30 and an early 90s 350 smallblock call for 10w30? The 305 and 350 are essentially the same animal.

There may be a technical reason. Maybe people at GM assumed there was a reason and continued the tradition?

What I can also tell you is in EVERY forum people make a huge deal out of what oil to use and there is a lot of confusion and arguing and its probably over nothing.

I have my own opinion which I developed from reading other peoples opinions and asking companies such as Mobil and Valvoline questions.

I feel synthetic 0w30 is the best for my 3.8.
 
it seems the ideal oil would be just as thin, all the time.

But its not.

So you have to find something that is thin enough at startup to reduce wear.
 


There really isn't much difference between these in all actuality, but I also prefer the 0W-30. It is more 'all-inclusive' if that makes sense. Same operating protection, but better start-up protection. Bottom line though is that all of them will adequately protect the engine if they are quality oils that are changed as needed. Go with what the caps says, go with what the manual says, go with what your dog says, or go with whatever feels good (and I am not talking about the coconut love cream), just use a quality oil and keep up on your maintenance and you will be fine.
 
Pure2sin said:
A guy on the local forum posted this:

(Study done in January of this year)
GM Truck Central Oil Filter Study

Post actual results of testing don't just regurgitate old information and opinions that we all have known. Just because your grandpa said Fram sucks doesn't mean it's true. I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion but that doesn't make it a fact, far from it actually.
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Based on what this guy determined I decided to use a Puralator on my GP this time. I think the dude did a great job in determining what the filters are actually getting out or leaving in the oil. I know the Puralator is not the highest on the the list but its better than the Baldwin I used based on filtering ability. As well the price was only 3.99. I change my oil every 3k miles so I'm not about to spend 13 dollars on a filter. If I did longer change intervals I would consider so but I do not so its out of the question, espically for my wallet.
 
RotyP said:
Based on what this guy determined I decided to use a Puralator on my GP this time.
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You know, if you switched to Walmart Supertech synthetic (this is Mobil-1, right?) and a Fram XG, for a total of $25, you'd get 15,000 miles out of it...

ST syn + XG = $0.0016/mile @15,000 mile change (and 4 less oil changes)
Pennzoil Trad + $4 filter = $0.0073/mile @3,000 mile change
Put another way, would you rather pay $90 to go 15,000 miles, or just $25?
 
SlowNA06 said:
You know, if you switched to Walmart Supertech synthetic (this is Mobil-1, right?) and a Fram XG, for a total of $25, you'd get 15,000 miles out of it...

ST syn + XG = $0.0016/mile @15,000 mile change (and 4 less oil changes)
Pennzoil Trad + $4 filter = $0.0073/mile @3,000 mile change
Put another way, would you rather pay $90 to go 15,000 miles, or just $25?
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Good call, not to mention all the time you save from those 4 extra oil changes. I still don't let it go that long (15k miles) though...
 
40th GP said:
Good call, not to mention all the time you save from those 4 extra oil changes. I still don't let it go that long (15k miles) though...
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Thats me. It gets really hot and humid here and I drive at least hour every day with lots of stop and go sometimes so I prefer to change it more frequently. Definalty a good point though!
 


Yup, do smart things like send oil in at 5k and then like 10k (they'll make a recommendation depending on your oil's condition)... totally worth the money to save you cash in the long run.
 
starscream5000 said:
THIS.

Wix or Purolator, nothing else for me.
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As for the recently posted study on filtering materials from Jan 2011...

#1 Royal Purple ($14)
#2 Amsoil ($14)
#3 Fram XG ($8)
#4 Mobil-1 ($13)
#5 K&N ($14)
#13 NAPA Gold ($7)
#16 Wix ($6)
#20 Purolator Pure One ($6)
#22 Motorcraft ($8)
#23 Fram EG
#26 Carquest ($3)
#29 STP ($4)
#31 AC Delco ($4)
 
Going back to the Walmart thing, who makes their filters? They have their own filter line that appear to be a Delco knock-off. Delco's used to be good (back when they were made by Delco in the US), but now they even look and feel like crap. I prefer to be thrifty where I can, but when I was at Walmart comparing the Walmart, Delco, and Fram side by side, the Fram looked and felt like a much better filter. I actually use the Walmart filter on the wife's car, but it is a different filter entirely and didn't have the plastic basket inside. Just curious who makes them. Would have been interesting to see them in the study.
 


40th GP said:
Going back to the Walmart thing, who makes their filters? They have their own filter line that appear to be a Delco knock-off. Delco's used to be good (back when they were made by Delco in the US), but now they even look and feel like crap. I prefer to be thrifty where I can, but when I was at Walmart comparing the Walmart, Delco, and Fram side by side, the Fram looked and felt like a much better filter. I actually use the Walmart filter on the wife's car, but it is a different filter entirely and didn't have the plastic basket inside. Just curious who makes them. Would have been interesting to see them in the study.
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I have never seen any filters in Walmart besides AC Delco, Fram, and Motorcraft. Are they Walmart Supertech branded? Show us what you mean.
Edit: By golly, they exist. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r20429981-Tech-REVIEW-WalMart-Branded-Supertech-Oil-Filters
I've been looking around forums and whatnot... some people saying it's a Champion. At least they use the *exact* same diagram.
triumphoilchange005.jpg


img_oilfilters-2.gif


And now that I look at them... AC Delco's kind of look like STP's to me, not Champions.
 
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Yes, SuperTech. My Walmart also carries Mopar filters. Are the Motorcrap and Mopar for real, or are they Delco-style knock-offs now too? I actually never knew much about the Motorcrap or Mopar, so I don't know if they were decent filters to begin with or not. The Delco's were back in the day, but not so much now.
 
Motorcraft is apparently about as good at filtering as Fram EG. I'm not old enough to know what a "back-in-the-day Delco" is, so you're on your own there.
 
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