Good Morning,
I am the technical manager for FRAM filters. The "study" you refer to is nothing more than a old mopar fan cutting open filters and offering his opinion. Their is no science involved in this "study" at all. It is ten year old opinions. If it was a filter study about quality and filtration, it would include-
Efficiency ratings using ISO4548-12 filter tests. these numbers are usually available from the filter makers, this study just decided not to include them as they would not support his opinions.
Capacity ratings using ISO 4548-12 tests. this is the filters ability to trap and hold dirt during the life of the oil change
Burst strength- This is a test where you run oil at continuously higher pressure to see when it would fail. It tells you the ability of the filter to absorb pressure spikes.
The "study" makes fun of our fiber end caps and says they are poor quality, this is not true. We have used this manufacturing method for over 25 years with great success. In fact, Honda, Subaru now use this design as OE. AC Delco and Champion labs are now using it as well. I also just cut open a 48$ oil filter from a 240K Bentley Arnage, it too had fiber end caps. Toyota OE filters use no end caps at all, just glue to seal the ends of the media.
End caps are not a structural element of the filter at all. They exist to seal the ends of the media and nothing bonds to the media better than fiber caps.
One of our competitors has made an entire industry of cutting open their filter and ours and pointing out that we use fiber end caps and they use steel. They do this because they do not want to talk about what is important in filtration-Protecting your engine and filtering dirt from your oil.
I would be happy to answer any filtration questions you may have at
[email protected]