HELP! K&N FIPK - OR CAI INFO PLEASE

[zippy]

Installed K&N FIPK last night - awesome - excellent throttle response higher revving - just seems to run sooo much better. BIG Problem tho...When I got home tonite, I peeked at it under the hood and lo and behold, the filter had slipped off the pipe just a little so there was a gap between the rubber of the filter and the pipe (about 1/8" to 1/4" on the back side only). The splash pan underneath held it in place mostly - really can't move around in there but it did drop. I (white) greased the inside like they recommended and tightened down on the hose clamp as much as I thought I should without breaking it but it still came loose. Two questions:
1. how bad is it to drive around with that gap - I put on about 100 miles today.
2. what can I do to make sure it won't fall off again (remove the grease?) ANY suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!!

The Zip

[CamaroL32]

I didn't use any of that grease stuff on mine, maybe thats why yours slipped off? When I first put my on I thought I had a gap also, but I couldn't see it, and it turned out it was just my imagination and it felt like there was a gap there, you might want to be sure there is one.

[jhkcam]

i installed the fipk on my brother's car about a month ago. i had the same problem trying to get the filter to stay on. by leaving the filter off you are losing a lot of air, thus the part is not near as effective as it should be. on my installation i had to have my brother pushing down on the air tube from above with quite a bit of force in order to push the tip of the tube down enough to get the filter on. so have someone help you by pushing down from above. it might take quite a bit of manuevering to get the filter to go on, but once you get it on make sure to tighten it quite a bit; it's a big hassle to keep taking off the splash guard. so far my brother has had no problems. the part isn't a perfect fit is the problem. the correct installation is well worth it though...great part and performance.

hope that helped. current mods: K&N FIPK,, cat-back exhaust to come soon.

[C.Palmer]

correction dude... you are getting more air with the filter off ;) the only problem is you get other un-wanted things that can cycle through your throttle body like dust, water, etc.

seems to me grease would only make it more prone to slipping off. it's a little tricky at first but will eventually fit right into place w/o falling off. check it periodically for the next 1000 miles or so to make sure it's still on

[jhkcam]

Let me restate...you are losing air QUALITY Without the filter correctly in place, you are getting air in addition to all the unwanted dust, dirt,"pollution" that you don't want traveling into the engine, thus losing the quality performance you want. A proper install will prolong the engine life as well as performance.

Believe me,, i've seen the results of an air filter not properly installed, after a period of time its not pretty.. make sure you have the part properly installed...

hope that helps and clarifies my previous post.

[zippy]

Thanks for the posts, guys. I kinda took everybody's advice then added my own idea to it as well. First, I did get someone to help me by pushing down on the pipe (but you've got to be real careful cuz the way the K&N pipe bends it actually rests on the bleeder for the brake lines). Then, after we seated the filter as far up the pipe as it would go, we put a single sheet metal screw through the filter (at the lip) and into the pipe then tightened the sh!t out of the hose clamp - Locked and loaded. Sucka ain't gonna move till I want it to - 'bout 30k miles from now when I have to clean it. I did notice a boat load of throttle response and the car now runs right up to redline at WOT. I do have a problem though - it seems to bog a bit in second and third (auto) at WOT. Could it possibly be carbon buildup or a clogged converter? AND, I seem to be getting a little chatter (detonation?) when I initially stomp on it. Bear in mind that I never really RAN the car hard since I bought it at 18k. Just playing with the K&N and feeling the throttle response is awesome. BTW, if it helps some in the diagnosis - 96 RS with K&N FIPK and 80 series flowmaster (single to double) and 86,000 miles. Thanks again for all your help.