Technical wix buyers beware . . .

Wix recently started being made in China. There is a good thread on bobistheoilguy about how to tell what ones are US and what ones are not. I am a few beverages in at the moment so I'm not going to link it, you can search.
NAPA gold is now my goto. You could not pay me enough to put a fucking Fram oil filter on any of my engines. When I go to look at a car for sale, if it has an orange "engine killer" hanging off it there are usally other signs of poor/cheap maintenance habits.
They were good up until the mid 90's just like Champion plugs. Too many "they were good enough for my dad" guys out there to stubborn to realize what is crap now.

 

A good class 8 fleet practice was to "Cut open filters", and inspect them. Sometimes there are surprises.

I wrote a simple paper (90s) on oil filters in College. I compared cost vs. quality. I remember the professor saying I thought the difference would have been minimal, but I am shocked. End caps, spring types, seals, even # of media pleats. Spiral roving is a feature used by some.

I've noticed filters I'm skeptical about always are free with oil purchase. Several Racing oil filters, although not cheap are heavy... worth a look, or at least a comparison.

 

Oh no what have I done ? I'll take my chances.

 

With that many, inspect, cut open suspicious filters.

 

My answer look for made in usa on the box https://whocandowhat.com/who-makes-napa-gold-oil-filters/

 

One time I used a Fram oil filter . I noticed a leak at filter , there was a pin hole at side of filter . I removed filter and cut it open , the inside of sheet metal was rusted badly and cause of pin hole . That was last time I bought a Fram !

 

Born … I grind off almost all manufacturers names on intakes and remove brand sticker/decals on everything. If it’s free they stay on. I’m not an advertiser for aftermarket parts.

 

Maybe it got rusty from poor storage after it left the factory.

 

When I go look at a car for sale and it has an orange oil filter on it, I relax because I can rest assured that this engine has at least had one oil change in its life