FRAM vs ProGrade an honest oil-filter comparison

Every ProGrade part number mirrors a FRAM one — the PG6607 is the FRAM PH6607, the PG4967 is the PH4967, and so on. Same thread, same gasket, same fitment. Enter the FRAM number you run now and we’ll show you the exact ProGrade equivalent. Dimensionally, it’s the same filter — so the real question is everything else. Look up your FRAM number.

Let’s be fair about it. FRAM is America’s most recognized oil filter, on the shelf at every Walmart, AutoZone, and O’Reilly — if you need one tonight, FRAM’s there and we’re not. It’s been around since 1934, it publishes a broad lineup from the budget Extra Guard up to the Ultra Synthetic, and that Ultra tier has a genuinely good reputation with the people who cut filters open. Brand recognition and instant availability are real advantages, and they’re FRAM’s.

FRAM also states its numbers plainly, which we respect: it rates the Extra Guard at 95%, the Tough Guard at 99%, and the Ultra Synthetic at 99%+ dirt-trapping efficiency — all measured at particles larger than 20 microns on the ISO 4548-12 test. Those are FRAM’s published figures, quoted as FRAM states them.

Here’s our whole reason to exist. Instead of a tier name and a number on a box, we publish the actual internals on every product page, and we let people cut us open. An independent teardown channel — the Whip City Wrencher, ~26k subscribers — bought a ProGrade on his own, unprompted and unpaid, cut it open on camera, and gave it a green light. Our verified spec sheet fills in as we confirm each number, and we won’t print one we can’t stand behind. That’s the trade: FRAM asks you to trust the brand; we ask you to look inside.

FRAM carries a known-brand price: on the shelf, Extra Guard runs about $9–16 and Ultra Synthetic about $12–18 depending on the store. ProGrade is value-priced and sold by the 6-pack — because we import direct and skip the retail markup, a ProGrade 6-pack costs about what three to four FRAMs cost at the counter. (Retail prices move around; treat those as ballpark.)

FRAM’s “SureGrip” is a textured band around the closed end of the can — the part you naturally grab — and it genuinely helps. We just do it end to end: every ProGrade can is textured over the whole canister, so you grip it anywhere, not one section. That matters when the part you can reach in a tight engine bay is the smooth stretch. More on the right way to hand-tighten a filter in our no-wrench oil-change guide.

Straight answer: ProGrade filters are made overseas — we say so, and we price fair because of it. FRAM is a First Brands Group brand with US manufacturing in Ohio, Kentucky, and Michigan, and its country of origin varies by the specific filter (it’s printed on the box); FRAM has said over 90% of its Ultra Synthetic line is made in the USA. So it isn’t a clean “US vs. import” story either way — which is exactly why we compete on published build and price, not on a flag.

No games. If you need a filter today, or you already trust a specific FRAM synthetic tier, buy the FRAM — it’s everywhere and it’s a known quantity. If you want the same fitment at a fair price, sold by the 6-pack, from a brand that publishes its internals and already got independently cut open, that’s ProGrade. Same filter on your engine; different deal in your hand.

Enter the FRAM number you run now and we’ll show you the ProGrade equivalent. Find your filter