Just seeing how I could clean out my intake that I got from ALta Mini Performance, or if it is even nesecary. Do I have to buy something special to clean it out or can i just spray it with water or soemthing and then let it dry out. I have had it on for a good 4000 miles? So I am thinking it could use some cleaning.

 

Once the original foam filter gets dirty, it's best to throw it out and go buy a cotton gauze filter like a K&N. The K&N can be cleaned and comes with a "million mile warranty" so it'll last.

 

Can you tell it is dirty just by the look of it? Or do you have to take it off and check.

 

isnt the original foam filter like $200? well, that and the heatshield, and then it's an extr $70 for the silicone tube?

or.. can you take off the foam element?

outmotoring (and others) sell a cleaner, and you can probably just buy a foam filter cleaner from ye old walmart or something.

http://mossmini.com/Shop/ViewProduct...eIndexID=36604

is it just me, or is that a really good price for a panel foam filter? the alta foam filter (which looks VERY similar) is 40 at outmotoring...

also, the K&N requires cleaning/recharging too.

 

Alta has a cleaning kit for their filter. When the filter begins to look dirty( i.e., changes color from red to dusty red) it is time to clean. The process is easy to do

 

I have the older style Alta intake with the "cage" around the foam element. Cleaned it with a 2 part K&N recharging kit which is available on most auto parts stores for $9.99.

An added benefit to cleaning is that the gas mileage instantly increased about 2 mpg. The red filter was noticeably darker, about 8,000 miles I think since the initial install. I will watch it closer now.

 

Sounds good, I have the same one you do CFMINI the one with the back cage, I will take a look at it and take it from there.

 

I need to clean my Madness intake! It's been AT LEAST 15k miles if not more. I just can't find half a day (or even a third) that I don't use my MINI!

 

Go to most any motorcycle shop and buy a cleaning/oiling kit for the foam style filter. Many motorcycles use this same type air filter.

BTW: Tests have shown that the foam alta filter flows better than the cotton K&N type filter. Words right from Randy Webb's mouth .

 

ARGH!! really? this is just great. now i'm gonna have to take off the KN powered HAI, and try and find a decent foam cone filter (and try to keep it cheaper than $50... kn cost $35 shipped). Anyone know about a company that makes a good quality filter in all sorts of shapes and sizes? i can just cross match the kn dimensions... i know uni filter makes the panel filter, but do they also make cone type?

can you use a cleaner/recharger "designed" for kn for a foam filter? i figured you'd have to use diff oils or cleaner or something...

 

I don't know about using the K&N cleaner/charger kit on the Atla Uni-Filter. My guess is best not use it. I'd get the Uni-Filter cleaner/oiler kit for the Alta foam filter. Doesn't cost that much and why risk trashing the Alta filter.

 

This is absolutely NOT the way to go. Foam filters empirically flow more air than other filter types, and are fully cleanable/reusable just like the big marketing push K&N does.

UNIfilter suggests cleaning and re-oiling every 10k miles. Naturally, this will adjust according to the filth in the air in your area (like if you like in Jersey, lol, j/k)

 

** sorry for bringing an old topic back to life** lol

I bought the UNI filter cleaner and cleaned my Alta air filter last week-end.

My filter was very dirty. I was almost black and I had to use the cleaner twice to get rid of the dirt. The first time, it was scary how much dirt came out of the filter... so I did a second cleaning.

The whole process takes less than 1 hour, and this includes the time to let the filter dry. I used an air compressor to dry it faster, but I had to let it stand 20 minutes or so, to let it dry. Then I used the oil can to re-oil it. As the UNI instuctions state, I oil it twice to make sure the whole filter was covered with oil.

One advice : Buy some latex gloves, lots of them, because it's a dirty job! I used at least 20 of them!

Now, my Alta filter is like new, all red, and looks great! I didn't try it yet since I left for Miami for 2 weeks... So the test drive will have to wait until next week.

But Alta owners, don't be scared, and buy this great kit (UNI filter cleaner) to clean your Alta filter once in a while! It's very easy to do, and somehow fun too! lol

 

PS:
Remember to flush from the inside of the filter so you don't push dirt deeper into the filter.
Same thing if you blow dry it.

 

Yes exactly what I did!

thanks for making it clear!