A Look Inside FRAM, OEM, K&N Oil Filters

DougE

Registered
After struggling with getting an oil filter to go on the bike and reading how bad FRAM is, I wanted to look inside what's in these three filters. I know oil filter have been cut into already but these are busa specific filters. I had a used (10mile use) FRAM, Suzuki OEM and a K&N filter. I am not an expert and this isn't a scientifically done experiment. I just wanted to share my findings and thoughts on them.

Price - FRAM: $8.50, OEM $13.07, K&N $17.50

Summary - K&N seemed to have the best quality in materials. I was kind of surprised the OEM did not have metal end caps but it was well constructed. FRAM and OEM had rubber anti drain valve, carboard endcaps and similar filter media. With that being said, the endcap, filter media and anti drain valve were thicker in construction and felt sturdier over the FRAM. I will continue to follow the service manual and stick with OEM filters.

1. Opening them - using a grinder, i cut the caps off and the K&N filter had a thicker wall can over the OEM and FRAM. FRAM had the thinnest wall and was the easiest to cut open.

2. Anti Drain Valve - Surprised to see that FRAM and OEM had the same rubber material for the valve. OEM was double the thickness of the FRAM.

3. End Caps - K&N was the only filter that had the metal endcaps and had the bypass valve built into the support tube. FRAM and OEM both had cardboard end caps. OEM's end cap was double the thickness. I took the fram out of the bike after 10 miles and when pulling on the endcap, it was easily ripped.

4. Filter Media - K&N filter media felt sturdier. OEM and FRAM had similar filter media but once again OEM had thicker filter media than the FRAM.

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Opened up the old FRAM that was installed when I had purchased the bike. It had around 3500 miles on it. I did not like what I saw upon opening it. The anti drain valve was torn, the support tube slid out easily from the filter. With my own finding on this, I definitely will be staying away from FRAM.

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Great comparison! Sounds like K&N might be a good choice for anyone not wanting to go with OEM but the real test would be unfolding the pleats after 2000 miles to inspect which one looks like it filtered the most stuff. Other than that, I'm sticking woth OEM just because I feel confident the threads will fit the mount perfectly.
Opened up the old FRAM that was installed when I had purchased the bike. It had around 3500 miles on it. I did not like what I saw upon opening it. The anti drain valve was torn, the support tube slid out easily from the filter. With my own finding on this, I definitely will be staying away from FRAM.

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Please do the same on your OEM fiter and see how it compares. A look at the pleats would be great too but I would try a razor knife to cut the canister open instead of a grinder.

Great stuff, DougE!
 
be careful with amazon knock off k&n filters. prices are nice but seems like the fake ones are flooding the market. just be mindful if you normally use a brand then get one off amazon and it doesn’t feel right, consider if its a fake and look elsewhere.
 
Great comparison! Sounds like K&N might be a good choice for anyone not wanting to go with OEM but the real test would be unfolding the pleats after 2000 miles to inspect which one looks like it filtered the most stuff. Other than that, I'm sticking woth OEM just because I feel confident the threads will fit the mount perfectly.

Please do the same on your OEM fiter and see how it compares. A look at the pleats would be great too but I would try a razor knife to cut the canister open instead of a grinder.

Great stuff, DougE!
I kind of let the miles slip away before I did the oil change again. Here’s a look at the inside of an OEM filter after 4000 miles. I was surprised to see the condition of the used filter. Even though It’s the cardboard filter media and similar orange rubber drain valve as fram, the OEM looked a lot better than the used FRAM filter I took off.

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