rob

i don't want to bad-mouth but, i'll throw my 2cents in as well. first, i want to thank you and don for yesterday. i had started the day in a sh!*#y mood but, after reading you two going at it, all i could do is laugh. no need for tempers to raise but, it was still funny. no matter what anyone says, or supplies, to you rob, use what you want. it is your car but, it's also your pocket the expenses will come from.

anyway, the allied signal issue. i once (and only once) worked in the office of a large cold-drawn steel company with a plant in cartersville. one of my customers was allied signal. this plant was in south carolina and i'm not sure what they actually produced there. anyway, my first impression was that they were a great company for the exacting tolerances they DEMANDED. after speaking with some of the guys in the plant and finding out what allied would actually accept (large degrees of tolerance differences), i quickly changed my mind. besides, the guy i always spoke to at allied was a complete a$$. from that point on, i determined that anything made by allied signal would not go into any of my vehicles.

one thing that i struggled with and you may also, is the difference in microns. a size spec of that small dimention, was meaningless to me. it made no difference to me what-so-ever as long as it would fit or do the job. after my stint at the steel plant, that has changed. one of the plant workers had what i thought was a VERY thin piece of aluminum foil at his table. i asked him about it and he said it was a steel shim used for the cold-drawn steel. as he explained it to me, i was amazed that something so thin (i could see shadows from my fingers through it) could means so much in tolerances. from that, i drew my conclusions: if it is to work hard or for long durations, get the exact and best you can; if it is occasional or little effort, get what's strong and go from there.

what does anybody have to say about bosch filters (the kind you buyat autozone)???