| Genre | Automotive filters |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Danbury, Connecticut, United States |
| Parent | Honeywell International Inc. |
| Website | http://www.fram.com |
Fram is a brand of aftermarket automotive products known primarily for their oil filters. Other products sold under the Fram brandname include air filters, fuel filters, PCV valves, breather element filters, and similar products, almost all of which use the trademarked orange color. Fram is an aftermarket product, so most automobile manufacturers recommend their own brand. (Motorcraft, for example.)
The brand is noted for its trademarked bright orange color, and for its famous marketing slogan, "You can pay me now, or pay me later," which is usually presented as being uttered in its advertising by an auto mechanic, who is explaining to his customer that he can either pay a small sum now for the replacement of oil and filter or a far larger sum later for the replacement of the vehicle's engine.
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History
Incorporated in 1934, the Fram Corporation was formed by James Edward Bigwood with the help of Steve Wilson. Steve Wilson was the first president of the Fram Company, and James Bigwood was the treasurer. James Bigwood chose the colors black and orange to be Fram's colors. Fram is one of the major brands of aftermarket automotive oil filters in the United States.
The Fram Corporation was bought by the Bendix Corporation in 1967, and its products are now sold by Honeywell[1].
Products
Fram filters are sold in a variety of sizes to fit most vehicles currently being driven in the United States, and are marketed under many product lines for both oil and air filters.
Oil Filters
- High Mileage - for cars over 75,000 miles. It incorporates a time release additive gel that mixes with the oil
- Extra Guard
- Tough Guard - for heavy duty or tough driving conditions
- Extended Guard - 7000 mile filter for the longer oil change intervals
- Double Guard - PTFE impregnated
- Racing
- Synthetic - (Available in Canada only) 11,000 km oil filter for longer change intervals.
Air Filters
- Washable - reusable air filter, designed to be washed 20 times
- Fresh Breeze - cabin filter that uses Arm & Hammer baking soda for to absorb odors.
- Tough Guard - for tough driving conditions
- Extra Life
- AirHog High Performance
- Platinum Premium - (Available in Canada only)
Other products
Controversy
An engineer started a website called "Oil Filters Revealed" [2], for which he bought several brands of oil filter, dissected them to find out the quality of the internal components, and posted findings and photos on the website. Of the Fram oil filters, the following was said: "Years ago Fram was a quality filter manufacturer. Now their standard filter (the radioactive-orange cans) is one of the worst out there. It features cardboard end caps for the filter element that are glued in place. The rubber anti-drainback valve seals against the cardboard and frequently leaks, causing dirty oil to drain back into the pan. The bypass valves are plastic and are sometimes not molded correctly, which allows them to leak all the time. The stamped-metal threaded end is weakly constructed and it has smaller and fewer oil inlet holes, which may restrict flow. I had one of these filters fail in my previous car. The filter element collapsed and bits of filter and glue were circulating through my system. The oil passage to the head became blocked and the head got so hot from oil starvation that it actually melted the vacuum lines connected to it as well as the wires near it."
References
- ^ "Fram Company News". Fram. http://www.fram.com/company/news.php. Retrieved on 2009-05-12.
External links
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