7 years ownership, 92K miles. I've done each and every oil change on mine. This is an old pic, but each one of mine have looked similiar upon removal. Some bent pleats, but not twisted.

 

Ding, ding, ding, I think we have a winner here. Mine have had slightly bent pleats when I have pulled the old ones out and I have done all my own oil changes and have always used the AC Delco filters. I think they may be designed this way as too tight migh bend the pleats a bit, no big deal, but too loose may let contaminate past?
Has anyone taken a brand new one and screwed it in, then removed it to see if the pleats are bent?
I may try this on my next oil change, but that might be a while...

 

I have tried this and the filter looks like new and is not twisted. The twisting has to happen while the engine is in operation over a period of time. Maybe a combination of the spring pressure, oil flow direction and element weakness.

 

I have as well, still looks fine. Even when I do my oil changes, the used oil filter still has straight pleats.

 

What is the worry? The paper is still intact, so still filtering.

Could be caused by that pesky small O ring on the bottom.

 

Yep, post #24 sure looks like the old one has been crushed down slightly compared to the new one. Maybe I just assumed that all along and never gave it a lot of thought?

Like esmarkey said, it might be by design to make sure there's total contact at the sealing surfaces to ensure total filtration.

I'm thinking the same thing. I lube the O ring on the cap and the small O ring on the bottom tip of the filter when I change my oil. With a plastic internal cage to prevent complete collapse, I agree that filtration probably isn't affected that much.

I've always used AC Delco filters, and they all come out looking bent like that. No rips or tears, just bent pleats. Since we do a lot of local driving with ours, I've always changed oil at 50% on the OLM, which works out to 6-8 months. Fairly low mileage between changes.

I just changed mine per routine yesterday. It was bent. I think I'll go dig it out and examine it more closely now that it's fresh in my mind.

 

Since this topic was resurrected AGAIN, I thought I would review the posts from the beginning.

While a believer in the installer error theory, I believe I found something worth mentioning.

Review the OP's pictures again. While the statement, "they appear to be the same" may have some validity, that may not be the case. Look very hard at the pictures of the 2 filters. Do you see the difference? The "pointed" end is slightly different. The point on one appears to be rounded and slightly larger and the other appear to be slightly smaller and thinner. The gasket also appears to be slightly wider than the other. Could the difference cause the problem, at least in the OP's situation?

But what donbrew says still is the definitive. Does it make a difference.