Super Tech ST3614 Oil Filter No More?

[k1rod]

I went over to China Mart today to re-stock my supply of Super Tech Oil filters for my 93 SL2. I was really surprised to see that not only were there no 3614's, there were very few Super Tech types at all. It seems they have all been swallowed up in the Ever Expanding Fram Orange Wall of Doom (EEFOWOD) . Is ST being phased out?

[OldNuc]

The Mobil-1 M1-209 will work nicely and is the over sized unit.

[AJT_Leo]

I was Walmarting yesterday and I saw 3 Fram Toughguard(rubber grip) 3614s on clearance. I was thinking about getting them, but they were boxless, so that was questionable. It was probably no problem, but you never know.

[techsista]

i hate when people talk crap about fram filters, that's all i've ever put on my saturn during my ownership, and other than an overtightened one that was hard to come off, it does me quite well. FWIW, Walmart has gone thru alot of changes lately as far as what they will stock, some good, some not so good. Just part of the ever-changing times

where is Chinamart located?

[westwind999]

How do you know your Fram's have been fine? Would you know if they were doing a bad job of filtering?

If you can't get the ST3614 maybe they have the ST3600, it's a little bigger and works well too. Better made than a Fram anyway. If Walmart stops stocking Super Tech, give the Motorcraft FL400s a try - it's made by Purolator.

[k1rod]

Originally Posted by techsista

where is Chinamart located?

Wow! A defender of Fram and Walmart all in one post. Out of curiosity, how do you feel about the Borg?

[bobfather99]

If no 3614s are available, use the 3600..

Same filter, just a little longer...
Its a little easier to remove/replace too, due to the longer shape.

[k1rod]

Thanks fo the 3600 recommendations. That was one of the few numbers they did still have. I bought the 4 they had left. (Wow, even the SuperTech's are going up in price.... $2.83 each.... Wasn't too long ago they were $1.67.

[PurdueGuy]

Once again, FRAM is nothing but relabeled stuff from other companies. Their cheapest filters are complete crap, their more expensive ones are probably fine.

I'd still buy the Super Tech filter over the fram, tho.

[therapist]

try proline from pep boys. however i was always a fan of supertech because of the price and most of the time bought st3614. st3600 can be a difficult filter to remove when using a cap wrench due to its lenght. there is one that is between the lenght of a 3614 and a 3600 which i always bought. 3664 i think. go to walmart and compare the filters.

[pottymouth]

Originally Posted by therapist

try proline from pep boys. however i was always a fan of supertech because of the price and most of the time bought st3614. st3600 can be a difficult filter to remove when using a cap wrench due to its lenght. there is one that is between the lenght of a 3614 and a 3600 which i always bought. 3664 i think. go to walmart and compare the filters.

The Prolines are good filters, but I have noticed that 2 filters I use have gotten significantly shorter than the Purolator equivalent. The PPL24651 (for Ford 4.6L DOHC) is about an inch shorter than the Purolator PL24651. Same for PPL20195 vs. PL20195. They used to be identical. Take a look at this:



They are the same diameter but the new style is much shorter than the old. I usually only get the Proline filters when they run an oil and filter bunded special. This time I bought the oil/filter special and exchanged the Proline for a Motorcraft FL-400S a couple days later. Once my inventory of Proline filters is used up, I won't be buying them again. If they cut down on the length, who knows what else has been lost in the interest of cost reduction?

[westwind999]

Actually I think Fram makes there own filters. SuperTech is made by Champ Labs. I think Fram makes filters for Pennzoil, Canadian Tire, and a few others. Unfortunately almost all filters in the common places in Canada come from Fram. The XG series from Fram are fairly well made but overpriced.

[deadmeat3344]

Motorcraft fl-400s or its Puralator pureone eq...w/e that is

[PurdueGuy]

Originally Posted by westwind999

Actually I think Fram makes there own filters. SuperTech is made by Champ Labs. I think Fram makes filters for Pennzoil, Canadian Tire, and a few others. Unfortunately almost all filters in the common places in Canada come from Fram. The XG series from Fram are fairly well made but overpriced.

IIRC, that bobtheoilguy website identified at least some of the fram filters as relabeled. Also IIRC, those were some of the better filters...

[techsista]

Originally Posted by k1rod

Wow! A defender of Fram and Walmart all in one post. Out of curiosity, how do you feel about the Borg?

can't speak of a Borg (wtf is that?). I worked at the wally for many years. i just hate when people speak of their chinese products, when other stores carry foreign made products too. i've had such anal customers tell me "go in the back for the american made product of this", like there was an "american made" shelf and a "china made" shelf it was hell there, but i had fun too.

as far as the fram, i've never had problems such as losing oil and such or anything to say "they are a problem". my 2-hour oil change was due to human factors of the filter being too tight and not lubing the seal.

[deadmeat3344]

http://www.knizefamily.net/minimopar...ers/index.html

[OldNuc]

+1^^^read it all and learn about oil filters. Remember, the reason to have one on the car is to remove contaminants from the oil and not restrict oil flow to the rest of the engine. Recent SAE papers indicate that particles as small as 5 micron cause unacceptable wear.

[vtsl2]

fram filters suck! plain and simple.had one on my first satty,planed on changing the oil in the afternoon,never made it.only had the car for a couple of weeks. when i pulled the engine, the fram oil filter was colapsed, and by the sticker on the windshield, it only had 2000 miles on it.i use only filters from NAPA,made by WIX. in my opinion that is the best filter on the market. i always fill my filter with oil first, and with these NAPA made by WIX filters you lose very little oil,even laying on its side. i swear by them

[westwind999]

The Orange can Fram's seem to be the biggest offenders. I'd use the XG series without concern if I couldn't get anything else.

The High Mileage is suspect with some questionable goo inside that is supposed to be good for your engine. I'd probably take a chance on an Orange can before the HM series.

[k1rod]

Originally Posted by techsista

can't speak of a Borg (wtf is that?).

If you really don't know, you can Google it. Or just watch TV.

Originally Posted by techsista

I worked at the wally for many years. i just hate when people speak of their chinese products, when other stores carry foreign made products too. i've had such anal customers tell me "go in the back for the american made product of this", like there was an "american made" shelf and a "china made" shelf it was hell there, but i had fun too.

Wally World gets slapped around for it's China products more than other retailers because in the past, they made such a marketing campaign out of preferentially selling "Made in the USA". Their TV commercials did everything but parade out the factory workers singing a chorus or two of "Look for the Union Label". They now have completely abandoned even a pretense at this and that is why they get "Crap".

Originally Posted by techsista

as far as the fram, i've never had problems such as losing oil and such or anything to say "they are a problem". my 2-hour oil change was due to human factors of the filter being too tight and not lubing the seal.

You may never have had a problem with them but they are still crap. If you open one up and compare it's construction to a filter from any other manufacturer, you will see that they every aspect of the fram construction was done in the cheapest way possible while still making a somewhat working filter.