re: Fram Oil Filters

[Bruce Murray <bmurray@domain.elided>]

At 11:57 AM 06/21/1999 -0400, you wrote: 

>>>>

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<fontfamily><param>Arial</param><smaller> Bruce,</smaller></fontfamily> 

<fontfamily><param>Arial</param><smaller>When a filter "bursts" it is
usually at the seam between the can body and the heavy base or the gasket
blows out. It has happened to me using Fram PH8s and I switched to HP1s.
And I had been making the same mistake until I started to work at Fram.
But it's not that serious as mistakes go, just that I consider a poorly
designed and poorly made filter as a waste of money because it doesn't
offer the Insurance that I thought I had been paying for (Fram HP1's were
near $20, 20 years ago, and then I found out that they were identical
inside to a PH8, not higher flow or anything). I hate being cheated. BTW,
what makes you think that the PH7 is a "high capacity design"?

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Jean,


Obviously I cannot approach your experience of Fram filters and I don't
know anything about the HP1 and PH8. But I am a mechanical engineer paid
to design various types of machinery including hydraulic components on
occasion. I can't comment on the failures of these designs but it does
seem to me that if they had a chronic problem with bursting and gasket
failures, then there would have to have been some action taken by FRAM
because of market feedback over the years they have been produced.


My PH7's have regularly seen the 100psi cold oil pressure on the V6
engine with no ill effects.


My observation as to the large capacity of the PH7 is that it is
physically bigger than any other filter that fits my cars. Whether that
translates into better filtering I don't know - I haven't cut one up to
measure the internals- however AOTBE a larger casing will tend to
distribute the oil flow more evenly over the area of the filter element
which should be beneficial in terms of pressure drop at least.


Having read the website on filters, I am impressed with the MOBIL 1
design and may use these in future.


Cheers


Bruce

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