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When I swap to the adapter eventually on my 987, I'll be running a Fram Endurance. They're rated for 99% efficiency at 20 microns, and testing(from bobistheoilguy forums) of their media has shown they match that claim. Better than almost all filters on the market. The 1042 equivalent is the FE3506.
Great info in this thread. I got the email yesterday as well and came here to see if anyone had posted about it. Napa didn't have the Gold filter a few months ago so I decided to try the Platinum. I'm swapping filters more right now to see if I'm getting more debris in them during A/X & track events vs. normal driving so I'd like to standardize on something good. I'm going to look into the larger 1258 or equivalent. I would like to know why they don't recommend the Platinum.
A more general question for anyone that has manufacturing experience: How does this subcontracting normally work? It would seem to me that the company gives the specs of what they want made and they contract with the factory (be it in the US, Mexico, China) to make them. The company should dictate the quality they want and make sure they get it. So, the whole "Chinese" thing doesn't make sense to me. Chinese companies making cheap knock offs on their own is a different story.
The 1348 and 1042 use different threads/ Not interchangeable. The 1258 made in USA can be used in place of the 1042. I just emptied my two locals NAPAs of 1258s so I am good for a year.
Interesting, can't say that I've heard of Baldwin. 'UFI' was the go to filter back in the day.
UFI is what the Ferrari dealers sold and were good quality, though there was a bad run of them with a bad seal (I think a design change that didn't work) that was corrected pretty quickly. I think Baldwin is considered better quality than UFI, but both are fine. Baldwin is better known for commercial applications, but their passenger car filters are built to the same commercial standards. I don't know about now (I did see the bobistheoilguy threads praising Fram filter flow that @jmanbball was talking about), but Fram filters back in the 2010ish era were crap -- it wasn't unusual for the internal filter element to collapse. These threads provide some insight on Baldwin vs Fram, with a bit of UFI thrown in:
Happened upon this comparison of Napa Gold and Baldwin -- these are different models than the 1042 being discussed so it isn't an exact reflection -- but it does provide some insight into possible differences in construction between the two brands. The main difference is that Baldwin uses thicker metal and has quite a bit more filtering media.
Again -- there is no way to be sure this is the case with the Napa 1042 and the Baldwin B31.
Ordered 1/2 dozen 1258 Napa Gold and they came in today...all made in China. Matte finish and looked like less filter inside same size can. I'm off the eBay from NOS.
I don't understand why everyone is freaking out and hording NAPA filters. ??
The issue is that NAPA used to buy filters from WIX, rebranding them as NAPA Gold, but now NAPA has switched to a Chinese manufacturer.
But, LN lists the alternatives, and that includes the original WIX51042 filter.
I can walk into any O'Reilly's right now and buy a made in the USA WIX 51042 filter. They have 9 on the shelf.
What's the problem here?
This is like people hording toilet paper before a storm, the only reason there may be scarcity is because of the hording, not because of the storm.
EDIT: And if you're looking at the larger made-in-usa NAPA1258, read the box carefully, it's also made by WIX. So you could also just buy a WIX51258, made-in-usa, in stock now.