Mine is at a 45° angle pointed at the fender wall. I do not have headers, although maybe sometime down the road.
I was unable to loosen the filter from above, I tried a bunch of different ways. I ended up grabbing it from underneath with the largest slip-joint pliers I have (very large).
At that point I was unable to remove the filter from the bottom and the top was almost impossible.
I was not kidding about being crippled up. I had a pump implanted in my abdomen that pumps Hydromorphone/Dilaudid (the strongest opiate available today) directly into my spinal cannel. If my doctor ever saw what I have been doing, all hell would break loose.
It is getting harder and harder to do the simple jobs every day.
Sooner, rather than later, I may not be able to do what I can do today. So if I can place the filter in a convenient place, it will help down the road
