QUOTE (BadBrad @ Nov 7 2009, 10:27 AM)

As a lifetime do-it-yourselfer I've moved on from using Fram. Most of the informed folks in the classic car communities to which I belong believe Fram is generally garbage; these are the people who open filters after use to see what's going in there since they worry about longevity in their beloved vehicle. That being said I found OEM filters from Toyota are inexpensive and readily available. They have an anit-backflow valve, which makes their removal relatively clean in that they don't puke their entire contents upon removal. The only way I found to get them to rapidly drain is by placing them on my oil collector and punching a hole in the a$$ end with a nail and hammer. I do the same now with my F150; Motorcraft filters and oil is available at many retailers. I've really not seen much cost advantage to aftermarket stuff.
Since the RX uses a canister filter (basically, just a pleated element), I don't believe the "anti-drainback" valve applies here, unless I missed something on the 3 previous oil changes I've done on my wife's 09 RX350. I used Napa GOLD filters the first two and FRAM the last. I really don't see any difference.. I've also used FRAM filters for the last 30+ years and NEVER had an issue with them.