I'm in the process of cutting open filters that fit the Kawi V Twins ( as part of an oil cooler feasability study )... I have been using Frams in my quad for the last several years...

I currently have several regular Fram, several Fram Super Gaurd, & several Fram tough Gaurd filters cut open, along with 2 - 3 different stock Kawi filters, & a hand ful of others... I'm currently running a Bosch & Puralator PureOne filter, right now in a few machines, to cut open, & include in the study... one thing I do, before cutting them open, is run them in the machine, often in competition doing pulls, hare scrambles, Mud Bogs, drag racing etc...

Oil Filters are something lots of people are passionate about... I hear most often, "that Fram filters suck"...

... yes the Fram filters are just glued on the ends, but not one of the half dozen or so, that I've cut open has seperated on the glued ends, the Frams were run with both straight 30 wt oil, & full synthetics, with no problems noted at cut open time... they have better than most check valves & back flow valves, so the glued ends seems to be their main fault ( if you can call a zero percent filter failure rate a fault )... I do think that the Fram filter could fail, if left in the machine for several years of abuse, in very nasty conditions, until the filter media was completely plugged, or if water got introduced into the engine oil ( one of the stock filters was from a machine that submarined, & the oil calked out, causing the filter media on the stock filter plug up & fail ) I'm sure if this had happened to the Fram, it may have pulled the filter loose, but I personally wouldn't fault the Fram at that point...

... now I'm not pushing the Fram filters, but it's amazing just how passionately people can spread this stuff ( just like Penzoil being junk )... I would think twice about using the Frams for machines that runs MX, otherwise unless you really abuse the machine far beyond what I do with my competition machines, IMO, the Frams are not as bad as their rep... BTW... if you'd like to include your favorite brand of filter in my study, let me know... if it's something like the "outragously priced K&N Gold", you can just send me a used filter, & I'll cut it open & include it in my test... I am laying them all out, so everyone can see the condition of the filter media after use, the style & type of valves, "O"rings, & any other relevant points... look for pics later...

 

I change my oil and filter often enough, that neither one would ever have a chance to even get dirty, much less fail!

There was a study like this done with street bikes as I recall. Have you seen it????

 

Not sure if this is the same one, but it was very interesting.

filter info

 

Yeah, that's it.

On my trucks, I have gone with the rather expensive Mobil 1 filters, because they will filter down to 10 microns, vs the usual of only 40 microns.

 

one thing I'm doing differently than most others cutting open filters, is I'm cutting open used filters, which I think better shows any strengths or weaknesses in the filters, rather than new unused filters...

 

I have a yamaha, 2-k&n's, and one that walmart sells.....I really don't think much matters except the check valve feature that I know k&n has......The temp here in PA can be anywere from below 0 to above 90.....so a check valve will insure the oil remains in the topend during startup

 

I think that is a fair way to check them out as well, but to be honest I have cut open countless filters in the past (to check what is being caught in them, and not specifically to evaluate the filter) and when not looking closely you can still see there are differences between them.

Now thats not just atv or bike filters either, and I have done that on everything from water seperating fuel filters used on an outboard engine on a boat to a high performance big block chevy engine (427/454 etc) and it just seems different companies have different ideas on what is best for their filters.

One thing to remember no matter what anyone decides on using is that the popular brand names are sometimes just that "popular" and not always the better made product. These people have to create a profit to stay in business, and nothing increases profits more than utilizing a much less expensive and many times imported product. This isnt something exclusive to filters either.

And dont forget as has been said before here that if you change your oil as often as you ride there is much less chance of seeing anything go wrong with the filter (or even the oil for that matter) and you should consider your use and maint schedule when making any decisions on filters or oil.