Fram Oil Filter Review

Many people are wary of using Fram oil filters on their cars because of the bad reviews. Are these reviewers honest in their reviews? In this Fram oil filter review, you will know – are Fram oil filters good?

Fram oil filters are not as bad as some reviewers say they are. These filters have undergone several tests and have proven that they can filter out foreign matters up to a certain degree. They are also torture tested to ensure that they can withstand the toughest conditions.

Your car will be fine if you equip it with a Fram oil filter. Just remember, there will always be bad reviews of any product, including the oil filters made by Fram. These filters are still in the market, so they must have provided the filtering needs of many car owners.

Read on to learn more about Fram oil filters and whether they are good or not for your vehicle.

Also, note that this review of Fram Oil Filters is this author’s opinion. Some authors have disagreed with this list, instead favoring other oil filters.

Able to Withstand the Harshest Road Conditions

Fram oil filters are just fine for your car. They are not as bad as some reviewers said they are. These filters are tested and proven to filter out foreign matters to a certain degree. They are also tested so that they’ll be able to withstand the harshest road conditions.

Despite harsh reviews about it, you still can see Fram oil filters being sold in the market. That means something. If consumers are still buying them, this means they can provide their vehicle’s oil filtering needs.

Ultra Synthetic Filter

The best oil filter from Fram is their Ultra Synthetic filter. It is designed to provide top performance and is best paired with synthetic motor oil. This filter can help maintain the good properties of the synthetic oil and thereby protect the engine for up to 20,000 miles. Fram’s Ultra Synthetic filter will also protect older vehicles.

Who Makes Fram Oil Filters?

The manufacturer of their filters is Allied Signal, Inc., although the Fram brand is currently a part of the First Brands Group. For sure, this company does not like the bad publicity they receive from these negative reviews.

Where Are Fram Oil Filters Made?

The majority of the filters carrying the Fram brand are made in the United States. Some Fram filters are made in China and other parts of the world.

Fram’s headquarters is located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. They claim to be the number one brand of oil filter in America. Aside from oil filters, they also manufacture and market fuel and air filters and other automotive accessories like crankcase filters, transmission modulators, and PCV valves.

Short History on Fram Oil Filters

Developed in 1934

Fram has been making oil filters for the past 80 years. T. Edward Aldam and Frederick Franklin, two inventive chemists, developed this filter back in 1934 in the United States. They will not last for eight decades of manufacturing oil filters if they produce poor filters.

The FRAM brand was coined from its founder’s names. Mechanics find it hard to install, clean, and replace oil filters. So, Frederick and T. Edward developed the first easy to install, replace, and clean oil filters.

Fram Oil Filters Have Glass Fibers and Synthetic Cellulose Materials

Fram oil filters are unrivaled in their efficiency in filtering out motor oil contaminants, made possible using glass fibers and synthetic cellulose materials. Additionally, FRAM manufactured its oil filter’s design and capacity by utilizing the latest technological advances in the automotive industry.

Are Fram Oil Filters Good?

Unfortunately, Fram oil filters have their share of bad reviews. This is why many people are asking: are Fram oil filters good? Some people say that they are junk. For instance, in one forum, a commenter said: many of them in the vehicle service industry “know that Fram filters are pure junk.”

Others say that in the years past, Fram produced quality filters. But now, these detractors claim that Fram’s standard filter, which is the radioactive-orange cans, is one of the worst filters in the market.

Manufacturer Subjects the Filters Through a Series of Tests

Admittedly, there are bad raps about Fram oil filters all over the internet. Supposedly, they are based in real life. But are they true and objective? It will surprise you to know that Fram oil filters are not just good. Still, the manufacturer subjects these filters through a series of torture tests to determine and set their durability and filtration capacities.

Negative reviews about Fram oil filters say they don’t have enough filter media, don’t have enough pleats, are not strong enough to withstand oil pressure and filtration, are poorly made, and many other bad things.

What Do the Independent Reviewers Say?

However, other independent reviewers found that these reviews did not present any hard and factual data upon close examination. The neutral reviewers found out that these negative reviewers are just giving their own opinions.

Are Fram Oil Filters Junk?

A more objective reviewer found out that the negative reviews are amiss in the following points that they brought out about Fram oil filters:

1. Fram Does Not Use Cardboard End-Caps

Bashers say that Fram oil filters use cardboard end-caps. This is not true. Fram never uses end-caps made of cheap cardboard. They use resin impregnated end-caps. These types of caps perform better than end caps made of metal. Paper filter media is harder to bond with metal caps.

2. Design of Can Is Not Crucial

The can’s design and the endplate’s construction are not crucial to the effectiveness of the oil filter. Bashers of Fram oil filters do not approve of Fram’s design and construction of its filter cans. Neutral reviewers say they are irrelevant to the function of the oil filter.

3. Number of Pleats Does Not Count

The number of pleats in the oil filter also has no bearing on how good the oil filter will be in filtering out the contaminants from the motor oil. The fewer pleat count of an oil filter does not indicate how good or how bad it will perform.

4. Silicone Bypass Valve Gets the Job Done

Fram oil filters use bypass valves made of silicone. It gets the job done and well. It can ensure that the motor oil can bypass the filter media if the oil filtration fails.

5. Fram Oil Filters Filter Out Contaminants

The most important thing about Fram oil filters is that they can filter out the contaminants that can degrade the capacity of the motor oil to cool and reduce friction between the internal metal parts of the internal combustion engine. That’s the most crucial job of an oil filter.

Again, are Fram Oil Filters good? Fram oil filters are not bad as some reviewers claim to be. These oil filters were subjected to several tests before the Fram made them available in the market. So, Fram oil filters will work fine with your engine.

Oil Filtering Capabilities of Fram Oil Filters

Passed the ISO 4548-12 Standard

Fram oil filters can filter out particulate matters that can contaminate the motor oil as it goes through the engine’s lubrication system. To test the capability of its filters, Fram uses an ISO 4548-12 standard. This is the industry standard for oil filters.

Fram’s Capacity to Filter Out contaminants Was Tested

Fram uses a test procedure that determines the capacity of their filters to filter out contaminants, their particulate removal characteristics, and their differential pressures. These filters are subjected to this test to see if they will achieve a filtering efficiency of not less than 99% for particulate matters with sizes of more than 10 microns.

What the Tests Revealed

In this regard, the test revealed the following regarding Fram oil filters’ Extra Guard:

Fram’s fiber and resin blend formed a proprietary filter media that can capture 95% of dirt particles that are the cause of destructive engine wear.
Fram Group testing of average filter efficiency of 4967, 3387A, and PH8A or their equivalent Fram XG or TG models under ISO 4548-12 for particles more than 20 microns.
Fram’s Tough Guard’s percentage rating is 99%.

Actual Testimonies from Fram Oil Filter Users

The actual experiences of Fram oil filter users are the best way of proving whether these filters are good or bad. Some users have written about how these filters could benefit their engines.

An individual who uses ‘SpongeBob meth’ as his name writes that his dad has been using Fram filters for decades and swears that they all work fine. Most of their vehicles have more than 300,000 miles on them when they sell them. But they’re still functional at that high mileage.

He added that most of the bashing Fram gets are “just ignorant pissing.” Most car owners around the world, he also said, are using filters that are similar in construction and design with Fram oil filters.

Another user says they have been using Fram oil filters in their 1999 Honda Civic, which already has 240,000 miles in it. This car has been with them since its zero miles. They change the oil every 3,000 miles and uses mainly Castrol Oil and Fram oil filters. Their civic is as strong as ever, they claim.

How Do Fram Oil Filters Compare with Competitors

You have to be astute to compare Fram oil filters with the other oil filters sold in the market today. For instance, an oil filter brand claims its filters are 99% efficient at removing 30 microns or bigger particulates. The majority of oil filters of other brands claim this efficiency as well.

This is misinformation because they don’t say how their filters perform at 20 microns or smaller. By extrapolation, you can safely assume that their efficiency percentage will be much lower and could be much worse than Fram’s oil filters.

Fram Extra Guard Oil Filters’ Efficiency

In the case of Fram oil filters, its Extra Guard model has rated effectiveness of 95% when filtering particulates of up to 20 microns. This is pretty good efficiency for an oil filter. What’s essential is that Fram has the honesty to tell the consumers what size of particulate it can filter out.

Ranked 2nd on the Top 5 Best Oil Filters in the Market Today

An article on the internet lists the top 5 best oil filters you can buy in the market today. One of them is the Fram Extra Guard oil filter. It is number 2 on the list. Can you call it junk if it’s ranked 2nd on the top 5 best oil filter list?

Its proven protection is up to 10,000 miles. It comes with a silicone anti-drain back valve that helps ensure you will always have a safe engine start-up.

Best Fram Oil Filter

If you want to know the best model of Fram oil filter you can use for your car, it is the Fram Ultra Synthetic oil filter.

This is the best of Fram’s because it can protect up to 20,000 miles. Fram boasts that this filter has 99% dirt removal efficiency at particulates greater than 20 microns.

Conclusion: Fram Oil Filter Review

In fairness, Fram oil filters are not as bad as other reviewers have made them be. These filters were subjected to rigorous tests before they were sold. The tests showed that they could filter out foreign matters up to a certain degree.

Fram oil filters are also torture tested to ensure that they can withstand tough road conditions. Your car’s engine will be just fine if you install a Fram oil filter. If you are using synthetic motor oil, the best to use is Fram’s Ultra Synthetic filter. It will maintain the viability of the motor oil and protect the engine for up to 20,000 miles.