I have my K&N CAI on my car for a few years now, but it drives me nuts everytime I take it off, due to, I have to take the filter apart from the other part, because the filter is so big it will not just pull out from the top. Everytime I have to take it off or put it back on, I have to take off a million little screws under the driverside where it goes. Has anyone cut out that metal piece from what holds it from being able to pull it out from the top, or how does everyone do it? Also does anyone have PICS of theres, I would love to see how yours looks.

Dave

 

I have never seen anyone cut out the metal from the top. I believe the K&N comes with a brace to the metal if im not mistaken.
Going from underneath is a lil tedious, but one should not have to do it that often to make it annoying.
I would assume even driving a lot year round but in normal conditions, even every 6 months should be fine for cleaning. Unless someone else chimes in, I think that everyone does it this way...but hey ya never, (Im on your side : ) )
Daniel

 

If you feel its too much work to remove the plastic cover panel, cut a "hatch" in the pastic panel and put a hinged cover plate in it.

K&N recommends infrequent cleaning of the filters... as much as 30K-50K miles in "normal" street use. They do wear out from cleaning, and K&N estimates the life of the filter as "25 cleanings".

 

I just installed a SLP CAI on mine, the only thing thats a pain in the A$$ was installing the air filters from underneath.. In the owners manual, it said to clean the filters once a year.

 

I once had a CAI from a company called MTI way back in 1996, it used the plastic tube just like the K&N and I always had a problem with keeping the filter secured. The plastic tube is not rigid, therefore it is very hard to keep the filter 100% securely fastened. It got to the point that the plastic began to crack from installing the filter. Also the filter installed from the bottom which sucks. I hated this CAI so it was sold.

I currently have the Arizona Speed & Marine CAI now. This CAI uses a solid metal tube so securing the filter is much better. There is no possibility of the filter working its way off the metal tube like what happens on the non-rigid plastic tube. Another plus is the filter installs from the top throught the hole in the chassis so filter servicing is a cake walk. The AS&M is the most expensive CAI out there but when you factor in reliability and ease of servicing it is well worth it. I can remove the filter in less than two minutes with out having get on my back. These benefits can also be applied to the Moroso CAI as well. The Moroso is less expensive but it has the metal coupler that secures the filter tightly just like the AS&M plus the filter goes in the top too. I believe that these two CAI's for the LT1 are the best all things considered and provide the most piece of mind and ease of servicing.

I have read that many people who have the K&N have problems with the filter staying on, I think the plastic tube is not as reliable as the metal. I personally would not go hacking up the chassis to ease in the filter servicing. I would consider selling your K&N and going with the Moroso CAI or if you want to spend the extra dollars go with the AS&M. My AS&M is much louder in terms of the sucking sound than my Moroso was, im not sure if this is indicative of anything. This may mean it is flowing more air but thats another discussion. Also hacking up the chassis will not cure the issue with the filter falling off.

I think there is a reason you see so many K&N CAI’s for sale in the used section.