How To Install K&N Air Filter in 1.8 Sedan

[TheFallenAngel12]

Hi Everyone, I recently bought the new K&N Air Filter for my 2012 Chevrolet Sonic 1.8L Sedan and thought i would write up a How To Article on how to change out the Stock Air Filter With the New K&N Air Filter on a 1.8 Sedan Sonic. I would Assume the Hatchback 1.8 would be the same way. I Dont know about the 1.4 Intake Box if it would be the same or not?

Lets Start Off By Opening up the Hood and Exposing the Engine...


Step 1 - 1st Picture - Now that the Hood is Open and You can see the engine. Locate the Air Intake Box which can be found to your Far Left on the 1.8 Engine with the Intake hose going towards the rear of the engine bay.

> You wont need to touch the MAF Sesor, just showed it for reference. Also Pictured is the One Tool you will need to complete this task. You may now move onto the next step and start the Removal of the Air Box Cover...


Step 2 - 2nd Picture - On The Air Intake box there are 2 Torx Screws you need to loosen in order to open the Air Box Cover. These are T25 Torx Screws that can be removed using the T25 ScrewDriver Shown in the previous picture. If you dont have one, ask a friend or family member that has alot of tools. Im Sure someone you know has one.

> Slowly Unscrew the T25 Screws on the top and left side of the air box as indicated in the picture and hold onto the screws as you loosen them so not to drop them into the engine bay. Once you have the screws loosened and removed, set them aside in a safe place and move on to the next step...


Step 3 - 3rd Picture - To remove the Air Box Cover, Simply Ease up on the left side of the loosened cover and slide it to your left gently removing the Air box cover tabs out of thier grooves as shown in the picture.

> Once you have the cover loosened from the bottom peice gently position it to your right so that it exposes the Stock Air Filter and allows you room to remove it. You May Move onto the Next Step...


Step 4 - 4th Picture - Remove the Stock Air Filter and check the Air Box for any dirt or debre and clean accordingly to make sure you have a clean box ready for the new filter.

> Once you have a nice clean box, Proceed with unwrapping your new K&N Air Filter and Place it into the Stock Air Box with the Filter base facing down and it should look as it does in the Picture. Once you have the new Air Filter in the Stock Box, You can Move onto the Next Step...


Step 5 - 5th Picture - Once The Filter has been put into place. You can Re-install the Air Box Cover by simply reversing what you did to remove it. Simply position the Tabs into the Grooves at a slight angle pushing in gently as you push the Cover down. This may take a few trys as the new air fitler rubber gets slightly in the way of the grooves.

> Once you have the Cover back on as it was before. Place the 2 T25 Screws back into thier respective holes and hand tighten to hold them into place. Then Grab your T25 Screw Driver and Tighten each Screw being careful to not over tighten them.

> Once you have the screws back in place and tightened accordingly... Congradulations :banana: You have just Installed Your New K&N (or whichever Brand) Air Filter!!!

> If you would like to, you may install the Given Sticker provided with your K&N Air Filter onto the Stock Air Box Cover so that the Dealership wont remove the Filter and know you have a new Better Air Filter Installed.

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I noticed after installing the K&N Air Filter that my car responded alot better. The gears shifted alot smoother. I accelerated alot smoother and slighty better. And it makes the engine sound really cool. Gas mileage wise i cant say yet as i havent driven the car enough yet to say. Hope this helps you all out and Enjoy Your New Air Filter!!

 

[Leverus]

Thanks! This is one of the things I plan on doing as soon as I get the money since it's a mod that even a guy as inept at cars as I am can do successfully.

 

[TheFallenAngel12]

Thanks! This is one of the things I plan on doing as soon as I get the money since it's a mod that even a guy as inept at cars as I am can do successfully.

Your Welcome!

I figured that if im going to do this myself, might as well share the wealth of How to Do it for others to see so that if they too want to do this task they would know just how to go about it. It is very Easy to do. Its alot more text to read than it is to just simply do it lol. I enjoy to work on my own car if i can do the task myself. I find alot of enjoyment out of it. Plus, changing an air filter is like one of the easiest things to do. but sometimes even the easiest of jobs can turn into a complicated mess without the right direction given.

 

[Leverus]

How exactly does an air filter make the engine sound better? I never thought of it affecting the overall tone. Any sound clips? Apparently the store right down the street has these in stock and payday is just about here :banana:

 

[djinn]

Nice writeup. I smell a sticky on this one, eh mods?

I'm going to do a custom CAI, but this is one of the best mods you can do for a reasonable price. Good work!

 

[TheFallenAngel12]

How exactly does an air filter make the engine sound better? I never thought of it affecting the overall tone. Any sound clips? Apparently the store right down the street has these in stock and payday is just about here :banana:

yep, im uploading the video i took showcasing the new filter and how the car took it right now on my Youtube Page. check back within the hour or so and i should have a link posted to the video in the Pictures & Videos Section of the Forum. Gonna label it "2012 Sonic with K&N Air Filter Installed". Thanks!

** Ok, that went quicker than i thought, i have a link to the video in the Pictures and Videos section now **

 

[Leverus]

I've got mine coming in this Friday. Amazon is/was selling them for thirty-some dollars which is a little cheaper than other sources. Or course I looked through my toolset and my Torx bits go right from T20 to T27. Gonna have to go out and spend more money it seems. :sadbanana:

 

[sgx]

I installed it for my 1.6 euro spec sonic and the change in acceleration is quite significant.

 

[Leverus]

My package failed to arrive today despite being marked as "out for delivery". USPS is killing me, as usual.

 

[Eric Smit]

USPS sucks. I'm having troubles myself.


-Eric Smit

 

[Leverus]

And now they updated my tracking info claiming it was delivered (before the mail truck rolled past of course). This is going to be them losing last year's hundreds of dollars of Xmas gifts for a week all over again. They're also keeping me from my nice new bowl of shave soap and I'm starting to go a little Grizzly Adams over here. I wish Amazon would stop sending my crap through USPS.

Back on topic though...

I installed it for my 1.6 euro spec sonic and the change in acceleration is quite significant.

That's good to hear. If I can get a just little more throttle response on takeoff I'll be happy with the money spent. It's not too bad like it is, but more is always better. For a $30 mod even I can pull off it sounds like a no brainer.

 

[Leverus]

Alright, I finally got my box of goodies. Apparently the house down the street was as good as any for the mailman to leave it at. The neighbors went ahead and delivered it to me. Now I just need to get off my lazy ass and buy a T25 screwdriver one of these days and I'll report in with my verdict.

 

[Leverus]

Alright, I got around to doing this tonight. Here was my experience:

TheFallenAngel12's instructions are great. I'd just like to add that the screw on the left side of the box is a bit of a pain. It's in a tight spot slightly under the lip of the engine bay and I had to get it at a bit of an angle. It's not hard, just had to take it carefully as not to risk losing my grip on it and dropping it into the engine. That was my only fear doing this.

As for the end result, well...

I wasn't expecting too much from a simple mod like this but damn does it make a difference! Just tapping the gas pedal in neutral felt much more responsive. It revved slightly higher with much less pressure than with the stock filter.

Right away backing down the driveway I noticed that the clutch engagement felt much smoother. After all this time I'm somehow still terrible at driving stick, but with the gas responding quicker it was effortless. Before, if I released the clutch just a tiny bit more than I should have the engine would immediately struggle and the car would buck slightly. Now I have to really miss the friction point to do that.

When I turned out of the subdivision I had a clear stretch of road and gunned it from a stop to see how it did. It's quite a bit quicker off the line for sure. I wasn't entirely prepared and almost oversteered off the road at first. All around it drives so much better.

As for the sound, at low RPM it's really the same. I noticed that as it revs high, say 4500+, it sounds stronger and less like it's gasping for air (for obvious reasons).

This mod is the real deal. It's definitely not a tune or an exhaust mod but it does drive better and sound better with this filter. For 30-some dollars and less than 5 minutes of work everyone should stick one of these in.

 

[Luv2xlr8]

I have had mine installed about 2-3 weeks now and it does feel a bit better than before and with the A/C on it doesn't do that hesitation it use to. The OEM filter that came with these cars are really restricting a lot of air flow to these engines. Noise wise it sounds the same to me except at higher rpm's but even at that you can barely here a difference.

Overall, this is a must for anyone thinking of doing this. A+++++

 

[TheFallenAngel12]

Glad to hear you all are enjoy this write up and Modification to your cars. I love this filter i put in mine. its Really helped out my car. Gets up and goes very well for me for a 1.8L. Love it. Im sure with a Tune this simple mod would do wonders for this car! Just sucks i dont have a laptop or know anyone close to use one and have it done. Plus the closest Trifecta Shop that is official for them is 3-4 hours away. im not driving that far just for a tune, esp if I ever need to have it redone or whatever.

 

[Leverus]

Yesterday I got to take it for a real test drive - 30-40 minutes each way to school and back, about 75% city 25% highway with some nice stop and go action on the return trip. I can't say much more than I did last time, just that the car feels so much more responsive and is a blast to drive.

I wasn't expecting nearly this much of a boost from just the filter. The OEM filter is so restrictive they must have misinterpreted what an air filter is supposed to filter out.

 

[oldertech]

I did this mod also. Very much blown away with the improvement. Never thought an OEM filter could be so restrictive. Not sure what GM was thinking, other then having a conservative approach to engine wear based on making sure no dust at all ever gets in. The OEM filter also seems to filter out some of the fun!

The clutch point for the 1.4, as others have described, is a better experience. It's as if it has a tiny bit more low-end torque, in addition to a bit more when the turbo is turboing.

 

[TheFallenAngel12]

After having mine in for a good while now i can say i still love this filter. Once DDMworks Releases there Intake System i will buy it to replace this setup. but i have to say for just a filter replacement this does wonders for these motors!

 

[chrisennis7]

Just installed my K&N as well. So far the engine sounds a little bit throatier and there is definitely improved throttle response. My only gripe is getting out that darn screw that's tucked in near the edge of the hood, what a pain that was. Other than that it was a quick easy install and well worth it. Thanks for the write up

 

[scott5626]

Mine should be delivered tomorrow.