Voting Rights

[Horsefly]

When me and my twin brother turned 18, we didn’t have a choice about going to the Draft Board and registering. No excuse like not having transportation mattered. The draft was color blind too. I only wish Republicans had the nads to beat Demos at their hatred game and offer free rides that are handicap wheel chair accessible to anyone that needs a ride to vote or even help get an ID before elections. 1 day every 4 years and once every 2 years for midterm ain’t so much to ask. Bet 95 percent that say they have no transportation figure out how to get their arse to WalMart couple times a week, and then have enough ID to get a 12pk. of Budlight. As I sit here pissed off about voter fraud, it just hit me that I’m not thinking about no border, Covid liars (Fauci),Hunter Biden, General Milley, crime in big cities,Terrorist at Syngogue, China and Russia invasions, and inflation with shortages at all kinds of stores. Had to drive all over North Fort Worth for 8 qts. Of motor oil and never found my preferred oil filter. Bought oil in 3 different stores. 

[Racepres]

greed

Gettin ridiculous

[AzRednek]

Just curious Fly, what is your preferred brand of oil filter??
 

I’m thinking way back when I was working in auto parts. On the retail end many had preferences to air and oil filter brands and spark plugs especially. Most mechanics didn’t seen to care but we did have to stock Delco brand batteries, ignition parts, solenoids and shock absorbers that had to have them for GM cars. That loyalty wasn’t the same for Fords except some demanded Autolite spark plugs for Fords. 
 

Filter loyalty on the retail end seemed to vary with what company was doing the most advertising. After Fram started advertising on sporting events their sales boomed. All brands of oil filter sales increased after Fram did the 60 second ad pushing the fact that having an oil change without a new filter is leaving a quart of dirty oil in your engine. The mechanics that demanded Delco usually insisted on AC filters as well as their spark plugs. Purolator did well when they did full page ads in magazines with a gorgeous model with greasy hands and face. STP with their so called double oil filters sold like crazy until the advertising ended. During STP’s ad campaign they hired four average looking guys to go into auto parts stores in the Phoenix area asking for the STP double oil filter then walk out after asking do you know where I can get one. Wix filters had loyal buyers that used them in big rigs and machinery then wanted them for their personal vehicles. Wix also made filters for oddball brands or private label biggies like NAPA, Sears, Wards and Western Auto. I might add being somewhat involved a defective oil filter destroying an engine. Fram stood behind their guarantee. Paid to rebuild the engine, a motel bill and rental car. 

 

Hastings filters using cotton instead of paper kept engine oil from turning dark as soon as the other brands but were pretty useless in keeping out micro sized particles as well as paper. Hastings added a paper insert surrounded by cotton and it was the manufacture of the STP double oil filter. I don’t know if Hastings is still around. They also made piston rings but their bread and butter was Motor Honey. Motor Honey being the same as STP and likely manufactured it for STP. Despite STP oil treatment being more expensive we hardly sold Motor Honey after STP’s massive advertising campaign.
 

Before I wonder way off subject again with my keyboard rambling. STP shelled out major bucks to the feds for their false deceptive advertising. I think it was their spokesman racing legend Andy Granatelli that was forced to testify in a Congressional hearing. Basically all STP oil treatment does is increase the thickness of oil. Like changing 30 weight to close to 40 in a five qt oil pan. Less nowadays at it isn’t as thick as it was in the 70’s. STP reps back when gas stations were service stations with mechanics. They encouraged mechanics usually by giving them a case of oil treatment. The mechanics after selling the STP they would speed up the idle speed slightly and on GM V-8’s open up the window in the distributor cap and reset the gap on worn points. Giving cars a boost in acceleration and if the ignition points were really worn needing replacement the new and correct point gap setting made the engine run smoother. The customer believing it was the $2.00 can of STP. Myself and others loved rubbing elbows with the STP reps. They’d buy steak dinners and get us drunk on their dime. 

[Dr.Hess]

I use only Toyota OEM oil filters in everything I can.  Even my Harley's (same filter as a 22R Toyota motor) and my Lotus.  Of course, some of the Lotus have Toyota motors, others have had Lotus motors, but I'd still find a Toyota filter that fit/spec'ed out. My Land Rover is about the only thing that I can't find a Toyota filter for.  It's the cartridge style, not spin-on.  I will use a WIX or NAPA Gold (private label made by WIX) when I can't use a Toyota one.

 

I used to buy into the Fram advertising BS.  Then it came out that their standard oil filter was only a filter in name, and the only thing they "tested" was to make sure the case didn't rupture, as their lawyers said that was the only way that a filter could be proven to have destroyed a motor.  They do make some OK filters now, like their premium line, but I resent them lying to me for so many years and I refuse to use any Fram product because of it.

This:

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/forums/engine-oil-filters.6/

is a whole rabbit hole of information on filters.

[AzRednek]

I very seriously doubt Toyota actually manufactures their line of filters. Guess you could save a few bucks if you could figure out who actually makes them. I assume there is likely a manufacture in Japan that likely also make them for other brand names. It was a joke in the auto parts business about competition of the boxes and labels. Same parts made in a factory but labeled or boxed for different competitive companies. When we used to confront factory reps about their parts being made by the same company as their chief competitor. Their response was always something about their specs being aren’t as tough as ours. 
 

With so much of the parts manufacturing going overseas and some real garbage coming from China and India. Something as important as an oil filter I can only trust brand names. Brake parts especially anything with rubber. I can only trust USA brand names or parts from the car dealerships. A few years ago I did buy a Chinese disc brake rotor from Autozone as it was about $25 cheaper than NAPA and I got an Idunno on the phone when I asked where it was made. The cost of a new rotor from Ford was more than double about $120. 
 

i can recall complaints about Fram oil filter metal cans being thinner. Mechanics griped that the cans often bent or collapsed when trying to remove an over tight filter with a band type oil filter wrench. Fram’s HP and HD (hi performance or heavy duty) line was simply a stronger no flex metal can with the same guts. I wasn’t involved but there was an incident in Arizona of a Fram filter can coming apart on an AC Cobra with a 427 engine. A Wix factory rep showed me photos. 
 

I was somewhat involved with lab tests sponsored by Wix and the then new synthetic oil made by a company named Olomo. I was simply the gopher. A fleet account I called on weekly was chosen by Wix for the tests. I’d pick up the oil samples then UPS them to a California lab. The fleet trying to save downtime doing oil changes was attempting to double the mileage between changes with the synthetic oil. Wix was involved as their goal was to still change the filter at the recommended mileage without new oil. They were also testing straight 30 against 10W30. The lab results at first was a real cluster screw. The fleet’s secretary had trouble keeping the samples in order. When another employee took it over the results at first we’re promising with the extended life with the synthetic oil and to Wix’s dismay particle tests showed the filter was still doing its job not being changed and used twice the previous milage with conventional oil. Wix did get bragging rights of the filter doing it’s job beyond the normal change milage but it meant they were losing sales. Best I recall the then new synthetic viscosity tests were still efficient at double the milage of conventional oil. I left that job long before the tests were complete. I have been using synthetic oil since, gives me an excuse to stretch the time between oil changes. I wasn’t around when they began tearing down engines checking for wear on synthetic vs conventional oil. 

[Dr.Hess]

I'm sure Toyota subcontracts out the filters, put it's probably NippoDenso.  If I recall, the current batch I have were all made in Thailand, as have the past several batches.  I buy them by the case.  I have in the past bought Toyota filters from a Toyota dealer that were made in USA.  They all come with grease already on the O ring and a plastic seal over the top.  The O ring is also an actual O ring and bonded to the filter.  From the examples I've seen, they are unique.  That is, Harley Davidson oil filters are made by Champion, I think, same company that makes private label Walmart (Supertech) filters.  I will use a Supertech filter as a second choice.  It is quality.  But I go with WIX for my high end stuff if I can't use a Toyota filter in general. That said, the one oil filter I had to return to the store was a WIX.  The threads had a bugger on them and I couldn't get it to screw on. 

 

20 years ago, Fram took a big hit on the internet from actual testing of their oil filters.  Real testing, cutting them open and measuring the size of the filter material, etc.  Results were very ugly, and I suspect their sales were dropping a lot because of it.  They re-did their game and actually invited the internet people (today we would say "influencers" or bloggers or whatever) to the testing facilities to see what their stuff did now.  They still sort of avoided the basic line, but the premium line was much, much better.  About as good as an average filter from anyone else.

[Racepres]

K&N or WIX (NAPA Gold) thanks

Course... I drive a Ford!!!!

[AzRednek]

Some of you might recall the toilet paper oil filters. We sold a bunch of the kits then sales took a hit. Fram and Wix and possibly others did tests and determined the filters were very ineffective. The oil would open a channel in the toilet paper roll and flow through unfiltered. 
 

Fram was and likely still the lowest cost. Considered as whores by the competition because they sold factory direct to anybody that had the bucks for a large opening order. When I was on the road peddling parts including Fram. Fram cut me out and sold direct to a Shell franchisee that had three truck stops. I lost commission on a bit better than $1,000 per month in filters. About the time I left the parts business Fram started taking hits and dumped by independently owned parts stores. Fram filters started showing up in discount stores and large corporate parts stores chains. They were selling the popular and fast selling filters for the same or less than auto parts stores were paying for in case lots. 
 

I did however love being wined and dined by the Fram reps. They also had promotions for salesman like me. In 1971 I got what was new and expensive then. An electronic Lucien Picard watch. I was short for the gold version and later missed out on a Winchester shotgun. Before my time in the mid 60’s Fram had a promo for a Star 38/9MM pistol.