I was at my local Wal-Mart again yesterday and took some photos of the FRAM Ultra XG2 (date code A30681) and the new FRAM "Endurance" FE2 (date code 23019Y) for sake of the collective hive mind. A few differences of note:
1) Canister Dimensions — The FE2 weighed slightly more than the XG2 despite measuring about 1/4" shorter overall.
2) Grip Overmolding — The FE2 has a grip overmolding covering the entire surface of the filter, rather than simply the bottom third as is typical. That said, the overmolding texture has also changed, and not for the better. The FE2 I was looking at nearly dropped out of my hand due just to the weight of the filter while I was examining it. The grip of the old overmolding was far better, so this is a clear step back in my book and a major reason why I would actually stick with the XG2 unless the FE2 is proven radically better in other areas.
3) Base Plate Design — The FE2 has six slightly larger holes in the base plate, compared to the XG2's eight slightly smaller holes. Gasket appeared the same on both filters.
4) Center Tube / Filter Media — The XG2 filter with a manufacture date of 03/09/23 still had the pink/purple microglass wire-backed media. The FE2's center tube is a perforated design advertised as a high-flow style, but it conveniently eliminates the ability to see the filter media, although in the reflection of the camera flash I do believe I saw wire mesh through some of the slits. Some of the perforations were crimped nearly or fully shut in the filter I examined, which looks like a possibility for manufacturing defects to impact performance.
5) Pricing — The FRAM Ultra XG2 was priced at $8.97 vs. the FRAM Synthetic Endurance FE2, which was $12.97.
Final Thoughts
Given the FE2's far less desirable grip overmolding and higher price point, I plan on sticking with the Fram Ultra XG2 as long as they are still being produced with the original synthetic media with wire mesh backing, as it appears they currently are.
For sake of reference, I did open a Fram Ultra XG3614 while in-store, and that filter's media was completely different from the XG2 — brown/yellow paper media with no wire mesh backing. I am still unclear why the XG2 hasn't been "converted" to the new dual-blend media without any wire mesh backing as was first mentioned a year or two ago.