I didn't know that. When did this happen? I still see Wix and Fram oil filters at AutoZone.
I haven't used a Fram oil or air filter in the last millennium.
“Best” oil for my car threads.
- Thread starter Mr Boochie
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I haven't used a Fram oil or air filter in the last millennium.
I've researched a few reasons why I should be changing the oil every year. Some of the equipment is low use, short tripped, seasonal, etc.
It seems that the worst offender is moisture that settles in the crank case. They need to occasionally maintain full operating temp. long enough to clear the case. There was concerns about acidity, bearing etching, package fallout, etc. from there. It was some light reading and admittedly, I've not went completely down this rabbit hole.
All of the critical engines have it changed annually regardless or hours or miles.
Hence periodic testing. Both oil and manufacturing have made great strides in the past couple decades. Materials process and assembly have all improved.
Unless you uncover copper, brass, aluminum, silicon indicating issues that need attention now. Of course that's if you repair instead of replace.
Almost a year ago now
looks like maybe they aren't gone entirely but their parent company has failed and it wouldn't surprise me if Fram goes away too, assuming someone doesn't buy them.
My son as an Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti Sport Q4 that he tracks, and it has an "oil quality" parameter that actively monitors usage of the car from the last oil change (cold starts, driving style, # heat cycles, etc). It reportedly tries to infer how much unburnt fuel and moisture is in the oil as a result of short drives where the engine never came fully up to operating temp. It's a hidden parameter, but with modifications (special OBDII dongle), he is able to see it real-time on the dashboard.
This is very much getting at what you are talking about. I think many modern cars have this dynamic monitoring, but I think manufacturers still stick with the fixed mileage intervals for service. It would be better for the engine if they used the dynamic oil quality figure to determine when an oil change is needed, but it would probably be too confusing to owners (e.g. why do I need to change my oil at 4237 miles?????).
We don't pay much attention to that oil quality metric, because the fluids get changed often with track use. We are just now in the process of changing the: 1) engine oil & filter; 2) rear LSD differential oil; 3) transmission fluid; 4) Transfer case oil; 5) Front differential oil; 6) Intercooler loop coolant flush and fill; 7) Engine loop coolant flush and fill; 8) BMC air filter clean and oil. Most of these (differentals, transfer case transmission, coolant) are "lifetime oils/fluids", but that doesn't apply in track use.
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Agree strongly -- Fram used to be THE brand a million years ago, but have been crap for decades. Agree with Wix being high quality, and I'd say that the far lesser known Baldwin filters are generally even better quality than Wix.
Proper fluid maintenance is the main reason that a vehicle survives to, and well past, 200k miles. Manufacturers stating that a fluid is "lifetime" borders on criminal negligence. Expecially regarding transmissions. The only way they can claim it is lifetime is because this brings on the mechanical totaling of the vehicle thus ending its life. No fluid in a motor vehicle should be considered lifetime.
That's true, Fram make some that are higher quality, but when you have to sift through the chaff to find a grain of wheat, it's not a quality brand.
The lower quality ones have cardboard end caps. The problem is that most people don't know that they need to find the high quality model, so they'll likely unknowingly end up with a low-quality Fram model. There's probably still a low chance of actual failure in daily driving use even with the low quality versions, but Fram still seems like the last brand to pick unless you know what you're doing.
At one time, they were the US OEM oil filter maker for Ferrari. Those days are long gone.
1962 Ferrari Tipo 128 V-12 engine.
At one time, they were the US OEM oil filter maker for Ferrari. Those days are long gone.
1962 Ferrari Tipo 128 V-12 engine.
Yup, Baldwin or UFI's are the filters to use with Ferrari. Baldwin having the aesthetic advantage for a Ferrari of being red. Chinetti co-branded Baldwin filters back in the day (pic below) for their dealership and NART racing team.
The other thing, largely unique to Ferrari (all models up until the 430), is the need for an internal standpipe built into the oil filter because the filters are mounted upside down. Without the standpipe, the oil drains out of the filter every time you shut off the engine -- so the engine starves briefly for oil, at the time oil flow is most critical, each restart the engine until the oil filter refills with oil. Since the vast, vast majority of cars don't need a standpipe, there are oil filter brands and models that are listed as "fitting" a Ferrari, which they do physically, but that don't have a standpipe and actually will significantly accelerate engine wear over time (delay in oil flow each restart).
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A couple of months ago, my local auto supply cleared all of the Fram products out of their store and replaced them with Wix. This was around the time I heard about the parent company going tits up. No love lost here for the Fram filters.
The Honda S2000 takes a high-pressure filter (I guess due to the high RPMs). It requires a specific torque value on the block. The dealer no longer stocks the Japanese-made ones, so I buy them from Japan (Amayama). The transaction has been very good.
I use Pennsoil Ultimate 5-30 in my '17 WRX. For awhile I used Mobil1 0W40 but it thickened up at 4K miles or so. Didn't lose TBN but Subaru FA20 DIT have a propensity to spin bearings if starved even briefly like start up. I prefer OEM oil filters in everything I own. Especially the FA20 in the WRX it's mounted upside down and I don't trust the aftermarket to get the anti-drainback valve right.
Bourbon
Drinkin' and dreamin'
I'd suggest watching the Project Farm videos on YT. At first, I thought these videos were useless, until I watched them with my dad - a retired mechanic. He said that these tests were pretty informative, and thought that the tests performed were a decent measure of the oils. There are a number of videos in which he tests the oils directly against each other in a "playoff" fashion. They're definitely interesting. You can take a look at the video below and search his channel for the rest and make up your own mind.
I wouldn't be surprised if Mobil-Exxon makes the oil for Amazon. Spec'ed to whatever Amazon requests.
usedto
Lunatic Member
If I had a dollar for every "oil comparison test" that was ever done..........................
All main brands of engine oil for sale is fine for a 5k maintenance cycle for the vast majority of use cases. There is no need to stress over the brand being used. Stress over meeting the 5k change interval.If I had a dollar for every "oil comparison test" that was ever done..........................
The fluids are good for the lifetime of the warranty only.
I am most familiar with Ford's claims. They state that transmission fluid is "lifetime" and then goes on to recommend replacing it at 150k miles. This is well outside their 60k drive train warranty. They don't tie the definition of lifetime to a warranty period. Millions of Ford transmissions have died a premature death because of their lifetime fluid claim for them and putting service of their transmissions out past 150k miles. Most people read lifetime and assume transmission fluid in Ford vehicles never has to be changed.