Hi John:
vis using the original equipment manufacturers of upmarket models as a
guide. It's not a bad idea, but it's not a guarantee of success.
It is very common for manufacturers to commission special runs of their
products for OE applications. Usually the products have little to do with
their standard practices and quality levels and more with a volume order
done as a special consignment.
Now, no sniggering, I know it's not a Rolls or AM, but when I bought a new
Buick Regal coupe in 1991 I had it loaded with the special suspension and
mags and tires amongst all the other trim and electrical stuff. It came
along with Goodyear sport tires. Now Goodyear does make good tires, just not
the units I got. They always drove poorly, slipping and planing. Noisy too.
When after a couple of years the front end started screeching on every
corner at any speed (despite careful alignement checks) I decided that the
front tires were worn out and called up Goodyear to order 2 to match the
rear OE tires. The guy laughed over the phone and said "Oh no we don't sell
those, they are OE sport units made by us for GM and way below the quality
of our worst tires. Please come in and we'll show you something good". So I
ended up buying a set of Goodyear Aquatreds IIs. Best switch I ever made on
a tire. Unbelievable change in ride and on tires made by the same
manufacturer. (I still use Aquatred IIIs, amazing to hit 3-4" of puddle at
70 mph and not even slow down or swerve)
The point of the story is that what you see installed as OE equipment on a
car may be above, below or way out in space compared to the equipment sold
by the same manufacturer in their retail stores. Be especially leery if the
model of the equipment has a special name or is not on their regular
catalog.
It's quite possible that the oil filter testers out their have been
examining parts that came with the car using the same model number etc. but
having little resemblence to the off-the-shelf items sold in the store. This
is definitely common practice. I have a friend with an automotive
manufacturing plant building tracked vehicles and I have definitely seen the
difference between what filters etc. come on his very expensive diesel
engines from the manufacturer and what he buys to replace then with before
sending them out into the field. Same model numbers and paint, different
insides.
For me equipment selection for the TR is a question of asking the list. I
have learned invaluable information from this list and it has never guided
me wrong. Sometimes proved me wrong, but then that's what its for in part.
(homily mode off)
Cheers,
Mark Hooper
72 TR6
-----Original Message-----
From: John Macartney
To: RayAntoky@aol.com; triumphs@autox.team.net
Sent: 02/08/02 4:18 AM
Subject: Re: Old chestnut revisited
Ray Antoky wrote:
Check out the comparative study of most otc oil filtwers in this
article
for your edification.
Thanks, Ray - an interesting dissertation, though I didn't study the
whole
website. It would be more meaningful (to me) if the site did a
comparable
test for the same filter across several manufacturer versions. Apart
from the
data provided, flow rates and micron separation data would have been
useful.
Maybe the site has actually done this but I didn't pick up on it?
However, if
$3 is what most people in the States are prepared to pay for a filter,
then
I'm not surprised Fram has a lousy reputation. I certainly wouldn't buy
one
that cheap. An equivalent of US$6.50 minimum is usually my investment
level -
but maybe I'm being ripped off, just like everyone else on this side o't
pond?
I've just taken a brand new one (Fram # RR1243 costing GBP 5.43/US$7.60)
apart
and can see nothing in its construction that compares with Kinze's
findings on
the unit he evaluated. Visually, it's entirely comparable to a
Cooper/Purolator/Unipart spec. Conclusions
1 Does Fram have variable manufacturing standards around the world?
2. Is the whole range being condemned because a few trials filters
don't
compare to Purolator and Wix?
2. If Fram is such a low grade product worlwide, then the products
I've
used from Fram/Cooper/Purolator/Unipart must be as well? They all look
much
the same internally and have very similar constructions but not the same
as
described by Kinze
3. Perhaps it's time to determine who is the OE filter supplier for
Aston
Martin and Rolls Royce and go with that/those makes? If its good enough
for
them for OE fit, it's good enough for my two old Triumphs <smile> I've
always
done that over the years with the tyres
Thanks for your suggestions
Jonmac
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