Champion Labs is History- Swallowed by FRAM...

[Gavin Allan]

I see that Fram has bought out Champoin Laboratories. Can only be a good thing for Fram, unless they are going to cheapen the filters that Champion Labs makes...



I got the title of this thread backwards. It should have been "Champion Labs is History- Swallowed by FRAM..."

 

[EddieS'04]

I thought champion labs was the maker of fram?

Anyway I hope they develop a high quality filter...

 

[Scott Tanner]

I don't think they know how to make a quality product.....:soap:

 

[swshawaii]

I think Fram got a bad rap because of their inferior OIL filters. Fram's other filters are really not bad, although given a choice I'd choose WIX in a heartbeat.

 

[Richard L]

Fram got a bad reputation because of the counterfeit filters that were being made in China about 10-15 years ago. Not that Fram made great filters, but they were much better than the knock-offs.



...Rich

 

[Scott Tanner]

counterfitting aside, they can't even spec the proper filter for my tractor. a lot of people make low priced filters, they also have their goos ones, for a price. Fram doesn't offer that.

I'll stick to wix and motorcraft

 

[EddieS'04]

Frams oil filter issue is the end cap on the pleats. Is a glued on cardboard. IMO, a fail waiting to happen.

 

[H D]

For the price difference of a premium filter, I always wonder why people even bother to buy Fram or other discount filters. There is at most a $10 difference between a cheap filter and a premium. You can even get OE Motorcraft for under $5. I just don't get it.:soap:

 

[Richard L]

Eddie,

Yes Fram makes a crappy oil filter, but they were sufficient and worked fine with the typical 3K to 5K oil changes, and were probably one of the best selling filters on the market back in their day. For about $3.00 you got a filter that was good for 3K-5K miles



As many people started to switch to synthetic oils with longer oil change intervals it demanded better filters to last through those longer oil change intervals....Fram never did come out with a premium filter to meet the demands of the longer oil change intervals...Bad Move by Fram!



That happened about the same time that the Chinese started flooding the market with counterfeit Fram filters because of their popularity as a well known US brand. The counterfeits were not even as good as the worst Fram filter and caused numerous engine failures.



The problem was that the consumer and even auto shops and part stores could not tell if they were getting a real Fram or a counterfeit until the filter was cut open...I'm not sure that Fram even could tell until they opened up the filter. That left Fram to tell the consumers that they had bought and used a counterfeit filter that was not made by Fram and they would not honor any warranty or pay for engine damage caused by the counterfeit Fram filters.



Once the word got out about Fram not standing behind their filters (the counterfeits), it was a big public relations nightmare. That marked the beginning of the end for Fram. The fact that they survived this long is amazing.



...Rich

 

[EddieS'04]

Rich,

Your right about fram back in the day of dino oil @ 4Kto 5K changes. Also many years ago frams did have a metal end plate for the media. I opened a few when I had my '78 dodge van, with the 360 cui.

Fram has the 6X tough gaurd filters. I have never seen it talked about, or cut open.

I didnt' hear about the conterfiets. When was that.?



I will still use their air and fuel filters. For fuel I will go for motorcraft fuel and pcv first.

 

[Richard L]

Eddie,

I don't recall when the big Fram counterfeit filters happened but my guess is that I first heard of it about 12-15 years ago. I have seen articles that claim it happened back in the late 1980's but I don't think it became a big news item until the late 1990's or early 2000's and even then it was buried within all the other stories of mass counterfeit products that where being imported into the US. I have even seen some people complaining that they have been getting counterfeit Fram filters as late as 2009??



I have even seen articles that claimed that some of the counterfeit Fram filters contained parts made from old Tuna cans...:bwahaha: Probably not that funny to someone who just blew an enigne because of a counterfeit filter. At least I hope they were counterfeit Fram filters..:grin:



...Rich

 

[Johnny O]

I would look for them to cheapen out everything that Champion Labs makes. Unfortunately that includes Mobil 1 and K&N oil filters.

 

[Gavin Allan]

I would look for them to cheapen out everything that Champion Labs makes. Unfortunately that includes Mobil 1 and K&N oil filters.

That is my thinking too. Fram (big company) has the money to keep going. They will rape the Champion Labs process of anything they can do the cut costs to help pay the shareholders back for the aquisition. Quality will decline, and Fram will count on their name and market share to sell the junk filters.



Too bad it wasn't the other way around: Champion Labs buying huge Fram at a bottom dollar so they can infuse the Champion quality to ramp up production and really grow.



My guess is the Champion Labs CEO and upper eschelons are enjopying their luxury retirement and huge pot of money, and they are not losing sleep for selling out Granddad's once very high quality company.

 

[Johnny O]

I posted this on www.BobIsTheOilGuy.com and we'll watch the fur fly. :fire:

 

[Johnny O]

I checked in at BobIsTheOilGuy.com where I have been a longtime member and less frequent poster. It seems that the same company that bought Fram bought Champion Labs later. I'll stick with Motorcraft filters for now.