I really didn't mean to scare you away from it. It looks good and the sound of the air rushing into the intake is awesome. Because I swapped out computers and am using a 93 style MAF (not flange style), I can't even use mine anymore anyway. When my car was still stock, it did feel like it made a slight difference.
One of the problems I had with it is getting the filter all the way on the tube and getting it tight without stripping the worm clamp. You would think they would come up with a way to weld a little bead around the opening so the filter wouldn't just fall off. My first one fell off because I didn't double check the fender opening to make sure I got the filter flange all the way on the tube. It is a B#&@h to reach up in the inner fender to put the filter on. I trimmed the fender opening for clearance and tried another filter. Thet one lasted one week. I can only assume I stripped the worm clamp as the filter went bouncing into the floodway never to be seen again.
The third filter lasted about a month. I think. Just for grins, I stuck my hand under the fender and felt the filter loose in the inner fender. I can't even guess how long it was like that. The rubber on the K&N had deteriorated and the filter tore away from the flange which was still held on the tube with the worm clamp. That was the end of that experiment.
The other thing I don't like about the kit is the tube from the TB to the MAF doesn't have a lot of flexibility built into it. Engine torque was enough to pull the sillycone tube off the TB and after it was torn, sealing was just impossible. Before anybody asks, the engine mounts are new and not broken, it didn't take a lot of engine movement to pull the air tube off.
If I were to use it again, I would probably disgard the steel tube from the TB to the MAF and use a straight piece of sillycone hose. I'm not sure how I would modify the filter mount to make it less likely the filter would just slip off. I thought about welding a 1/16th rod along the OD of the tube so the flange of the filter would "lock on" and need more force to remove.
That is just the experience I had with the MAC kit. When I got the MAC kit, I had given up on the BBK kit but they basically look the same. The MAC filter might be a better match in terms of reliability (K&Ns might have been heavier), but I could get K&N filters next day whereas the MACs would take 3-4 days and I couldn't be without a car that long.
The filter is almost identical to a K&N and I imagine it is a good filter. It kinda goes to crap when you run over it doing 80 on the freeway though.
All the cleaning in the world isn't going to help it.
As long as you take your time and make sure you have enough clearance in the hole in the fender, and check the filter every 3-4 days, I think you'll be happy with it.