The mobil one filter is likewise made by champion.
Im not sure who makes the yamaha filter, but i do know its not yamaha. Its possible fram makes it. An oil filter is an oil filter, and if your friend didnt sue fram for rebuilding the motor...and won, its speculation as to what happened. To my knowledge, and ive done some checking, no one, has ever sued and won , a judgement from fram due to the filter coming apart. If you have any facts, id like to see them. If its just a friends story, ...ive got plenty of them to tell. If it were true that fram made an inferior product, it would say in the owners manual to not use it. They dont, and it meets the minimum standards for manufacturers, just like the rest of them.
I use the fram and bosche, what ever happens to be on sale at the time i buy., and i wouldnt hesitate to use the supertech filter, if I was shopping at wallys world.

 

What aout the emgo filters at the dealers I used one of them on the griz. seems ok I think $8.00or so.

 

Hondabuster, go on believing what you like, but you can keep your cheap fram filters [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Lightman, Its nothing personal. Im just getting too old to still believe in testimonials and anecdotal evidence. I try to work off of real evidence, and facts.
Ive seen it so many times....a guy says he beats the crap out of his quad all day long, shifts at redline every shift, takes it into mud so deep that even a polaris cant get thru...you know, on and on. Then all of a sudden the motor makes some strange noise, and he goes to the dealer, and claims its always been babied, and never been abused. I guess Ive been scammed and lied to enough, that makes me that way.
Its your wallet ...buy what you want, and if you hate fram thats your choice, but I dont want others to buy into the 'fram sucks' argument, and not have some evidence to go on.
Like I said, if you can show some facts, of where fram filters have trashed motors, Im willing to look at it.

 

I've always heard that there are just a few manufacturers that actually make most of the filters that many of these companies market in the first place. I've also heard a lot of BS stories on each and every brand over the years. I'm not too worried about using a Fram filter in anything I own either. A lot of this stuff you hear is garbage, and many times not the whole story.

I could say that I put a can of engine restore in a 1986 Chevy S-10 only to have the engine blow a week later. And all because of that Engine Restore!!!!! But on the other hand, I could also fail to mention that the truck burned 2 quarts of oil a week for a year before that and was a bonified piece of shyt that was destined to blow any day.

I used STP filters in my Arctic Cat because they were cheaper than the dealership and fit. Now that I've seen this thread, I'll be finding one of these other cross reference filters and not giving my $11 to Yamaha. Its a pretty simple device, not to easy to screw that up.

 

Hondabuster - my friend Rob's engine was destroyed by a disintegrating fram filter. If you call what I'm telling you anectodal evidence (basically calling me a liar), that's your perrogative....however it's a fact that I personally witnessed, not heresay from a friend's friend's friend. Like I said - save your few bucks on Fram's and I do hope you have good luck with them. I dont mind paying $7 for an Amsoil filter that is going to be way better.

 

I used to use fram oil filters for 15years on my auto's and never had a problem, but I have to agree with lightman on not using auto filters on motorcycles or atv's. I switched to Amsoil a couple of years ago on all my auto's and four wheelers and I only use Amsoil auto filters on my auto's and amsoils motorcycle filter for my atv's which is a SMF103. Amsoil doesn't recommend using their auto filters on atv's or motorcycles. If you do research on their filters, I believe in my opinion that they are the best on the market. Amsoil actually recommends that if you use their oil that you use a amsoil filter because of the additives and detergents in the oil. Amsoil says that the oil could possibly break down other filters.

 

I like to change my oil at least every six months if not more frequent. Fram TG series filters have a single pass efficiency rating of 98 % which is higher than every other filter rating that I have compared it to. I personally cut every used oil filter open to inspect for grindings and possible filament damage. I also send out the oil to be analyzed by a qualified service. This may seem odd, but I receive the oil analysis kits from work and have the proper tools to cut the filters as well. Never have I seen damage to Fram filters that have been in use. I change a minimum of 300 gallons of oil with at least 40 to 50 oil filters yearly. It is not like I am a rookie in the field. I would like to see some evidence that the Fram filter disintegrated due to design flaw or misapplication of product rather than take for gospel what your friend was told by the dealer. You bring up some valid points about the value of such an important component of the lubrication system and it is good for discussion. I don’t think anyone here has called you a liar, I believe more information on the exact circumstances leading up to the blow out would more helpful in your case for using a Yamaha or Amsoil filter.

 

Vakero - I'm sorry but I don't need to prove anything to anyone...if you don't believe what I've posted, that's just fine...I'm just trying to post helpful information, not get in a peeing match about filters. Take it or leave it.

 

nothing wrong with Fram filters. I've been using them for years, never had one problem. My dad uses them in every vehicle we've owned. I can't say that if I personally witnessed an engine being destroyed by one, that I would quit using them.. but who knows. I've seen tires explode causing wrecks, didn't make me change brands. It was just a fluke. When manufacturers make millions of one type of product, there's going to be a margin of error. I'm sure if Mobil 1 or whatever the high end filter maker, was to sell the same amount of filters that Fram did, we would eventually see the same problems arise.

I only use the Yamaha filters on my Grizz. I only change the oil two times a year, maybe 3. I have seen the motorcycle filters at Wally world and thought about buying one to try on my next change, but sometimes the local store doesn't have them.