Rob,

Fram's are bad filters, plain and simple. They've got a cardboard seperator in them, they drain back (Got valve noise when you start up? That's why.), and they're manufactured to lousy tolerances, which is why the minimopar guy (whose site must have moved somewhere else, the old link doesn't work) posted a letter from a former Fram engineer to that effect. Which I actually have saved somewhere, but can't find. This guy, Russell Knize, bought every major brand of filter and cut them apart and tested them, then posted the results with pictures. One manufacturer tried to shut him down (probably Champion Labs, because they make everything from Bosch to Pennzoil), but he persisted. He even had a page for German-made filters, and gave the Mann a thumbs-up, btw.

The ONLY filters he didn't like at all were Fram. Some other ones were marginal, but only Fram spurred him to issue a _warning_. At the time I read this, I was using Fram in my Camry, which always clattered when it started up, and always took an extra second to shut off the oil light. I went out and bought a Toyota filter, and it started quietly (the oil light barely flickered), with me knashing my teeth at $@#@ing Fram. Many of the BB'ers went and looked at his results.

It's hard to take because they were once a good company, but Allied Signal apparently "knows" how to cut costs more than they "know" how to make a good product.

As far as Consumer Reports goes, they're imbeciles, plain and simple. I used to like them (and I still like the idea of them), but the current management has made them a laughingstock. Where else can you find someone who rates Craftsman tools above Snap-On because they're cheaper?!? And they did an oil test and said that oil doesn't break down until it has 7000 miles on it. And all CD players sound alike, according to CR, as do amplifiers. And you should buy speakers according to how the graph looks. These are folks who--to quote H.L. Mencken__"...know the price of everything and the value of nothing". They almost never recommend Volvo, btw. The repair record is too spotty.

So Don's absolutely right and you're not. But there is a fellow on Swedishbricks who also lives in California and also uses Fram. Maybe you two can start a cult. &^)