thedude

Hey Guys, I worked for a very reputable racing engine company for many years as a machinist, engine builder and dyno tuner. We had a few issues with the Fram racing oil filter. The most notable which almost put a customers $95,000 top dragster on it's roof was the rubber o-ring gasket seal failed which seals the filter to the filter housing on the cylinder block. This originated from Fram beginning to use a taller rubber o-ring gasket on their racing filters and not changing the groove depth at the top of the filter. This created an unstable sealing surface because as the filter was spun-on and sealed against the block it buckled the o-ring from unsufficient support on top of the filter. The o-ring was too tall and the top groove in the filter that the o-ring sat in was too shallow, this created a weak sealing area under constant pressure & volume. Needless to say, in this particular instance mentioned the o-ring gasket puckered and sprung a leak at the 1000ft mark, wetting down the left rear tire with Mobil 1 10W30 synthetic, and I don't need to tell you what happens at 190MPH when you've got oil on your tires. That was the beginning of the end for us and Fram. I have not heared or seen if Fram has fixed this problem concerning the o-ring gasket groove, but immediately after this incedent we tested that same part number again and again on the dyno and it happened several other times in a controlled environment. I have also seen the inner filter collapse on the Fram filters too. I personally always used Wix racing filters in my own racing program and after that incedent we immediately switched to Wix exclusively at the engine shop.