Why not just buy the Merc. Racing filter? They are not that expensive.

Curious, anyone know who makes the Merc filters? I highly doubt they are manufacturing them.

I use Mobil1 filters. Never had a problem with Fram, but have heard the horror stories so I choose to stay away.

NAPA Gold is a Wix rebranded
Wix are supposed to be good; they have a regular line and a HP line
Fram HPs are supposed to be different than the other Frams. I've used HP4 for race car with no issues. Still have one left over.
A buddy blew a motor last month. He had a Fram. The Inlet hose to the remote filter housing blew at the hose fitting. Factory Volvo hoses. He hasn't cut the filter open yet but I'm betting it was the filter that clogged.

How much you wanna bet the Mercs are made by Fram?
Or maybe Wix...

Given all the bad stories on Fram, why risk it?

I paid $12 something for the Mobil 1, and have no worries about it.

One of the biggest differences between a standard Fram and the HP series fram is the relief valve pressure and micron rating.
Most standard Frams (PH5, PH30 , etc) have a 20-25 micron rating and as stated in prevoius posts don't have the best glueing techniques and thus the cardboard joints can fail.
The HP series have a 18 micron rating and also has a filter relief valve in that if the filter media becomes plugged, then the relief valve opens and the oil still gets filtered through an steel screen.
You will pay about double for an HP4 over a PH5 but it is well worth the money. It is a different breed of filter than the standard Frams and not a really good compariosn. I have been using Fram HP series for 15 plus years and have yet to have an oil related failure in 50-60 BBC engines.

Just my .02

I use the Merc racing. Pay about $14/each. Small price to pay for a once a year oil change. I figure they know what they are doing since they build the motor. That being said, I bet they are built by a filter manufacturer not in-house.