The folks from Modular Mustang Racing offered a study within itself.Besides giving us a look at what MMR has to offer the '05 Mustangcold-air shopper, we also got a chance to compare the gains from aninlet pipe from the throttle body to the mass air. This is possiblebecause MMR offers two systems--a base kit that consists of a new massair housing and washable air filter, and the High-Flow kit that's thesame plus a 4-inch inlet tube from the mass air to the throttle body.That inlet tube is available in red, black, or silver.
MMR claims 8-15 rwhp with the base kit and up to 35 rwhp with intaketube. The base kit crushes those numbers, and the High-Flow kit comessurprisingly close. Some interesting observations came out with the MMRparts. First, the base kit, which lacks a shield, had inlet temperaturesthat spiked dramatically during the dyno pull (up to 113 degrees on someruns). This told us what we had expected: Air-filter shielding iscrucial for good performance. Of course, this is on a dyno, so we can'tcomment on a moving car; but we're sure the other companies' shields arethere for a reason. The full-length kit offered a 3.1-rwhp and 2.9-rwtqgain, and Ken recorded some large increases in airflow over the massair. That may not justify the price difference, but remember--this is ona bone-stock car at rest. Add an exhaust, a nitrous kit, and a 110-mphtop-end charge, and the full-length version may start to pay dividends.
Our judges found the MMR base kit easy to install with a great Value.The full-length MMR cold-air suffered from a slight throttle-bodyobstruction that got our engineer judge worked up, but the others didn'tseem to mind because the piece delivered good power. The judges alsocommented that the MMR open-ended filter was a big plus. This is anothersolid '05 Mustang cold-air that makes good power.
By the Numbers
MMR Annihilator Intake
Price: $199 (Annihilator intake kit;PN 900800)
Peak Horsepower: 282.2 (21.8hp gain)
Peak Torque: 299.3 lb-ft (17.3-lb-ft gain)
Subjective Evaluation
Ease of Installation: 45
Value: 37
Appearance: 33
Overall Quality: 36
Expected Durability: 40
Total: 191
MMR Annihilator Intake w/ High-Flow Inlet Tube
Price: $349.99 (Annihilator intake kitwith high-flow intake tube;PN 900801)
Peak Horsepower: 285.9 (24.9hp gain)
Peak Torque: 302.2 (20.2 lb-ft gain)
Subjective Evaluation
Ease of Installation: 39
Value: 34
Appearance: 34
Overall Quality: 36
Expected Durability: 35
Total: 178
Mustang Racing Technologies
Anchored by Scott Hoag, former lead engineer for Team Mustang at FordMotor Company, Mustang Racing Technologies is a talented collection ofengineers and designers who are more than a little familiar with theMustang platform. According to MRT, its cold-air does not need areprogram of the stock computer once installed, which is a significantsavings in the final purchase price.
The MRT cold-air posted significant power and torque gains, but it rangthe air/fuel meter at a rather lean 13.0:1, something we'd be concernedabout if an owner were to add an exhaust or throttle body--anything thatmay push the tune into the too-lean range. Still, when corrected forair/fuel with an SCT tune, the power stayed pretty much the same,indicating the things weren't unsafe. As Scott explained, MRT'scold-air is part of an integral system for sensible street Mustangenthusiasts, and as such this system shines. As you continue to add MRTcomponents, a computer flash is certainly on the menu.
Of those tested, the MRT system was also one of the best looking withits carbon-fiber filter housing and bright-chrome inlet tube. It lookedwonderful under the hood of our silver GT test car, and our judges ravedover the muscular good looks. On our test sample, we found one bad clipthat held the lid on the K&N conical filter. This clip broke duringinstallation, which could have been from the hurried pace of ourinstallers. Other than that, our test notes read flawlessly for thiscold-air.
By the Numbers
MRT Cold-Air
Price: $348.95 (PN ssd-8000-f)
Peak Horsepower: 278 (17hp gain)/ (281 with SCT tune)
Peak Torque: 298 lb-ft (17-lb-ft gain)/(298 lb-ft with SCT tune)
Subjective Evaluation
Ease of Installation: 35
Value: 29
Appearance: 47
Overall Quality: 39
Expected Durability: 33
Total: 183
Mike Bowen and the PowerHouse name may be new to you, but you'd betterget used to hearing it used with "fast '05 Mustang." The company'sPowerHouse Pipeline Air Inlet System has been carefully assembled from ashop that specializes in '05 Mustangs--not just a cold-air factory thatpumps out kits for the hot car of the week. Because of this, weimmediately noticed small things that added up to a big difference withthe PowerHouse cold-air, even though we had been supplied a roughprototype for our evaluation. Our judges were impressed with the extrabrackets to support the weight of the filter, which should result in ahuge decrease in filter flop in daily driving.
Our prototype came in steel--the production piece, we were promised,will come in aluminum. Without a shield (something PowerHouse plans tooffer as an option), the inlet temperatures went noticeably higher withthis piece, ultimately leading to heat soak and a longer testing time.That concerned our judges, but they were lenient because "prototype" waswritten on top of the score sheets.
This system was designed to work with both the V-8 and V-6 versions ofthe '05 Mustang. Odd, you might think, but the PowerHouse crew alreadyhas a bolt-on V-6 '05 that runs in the 12s, and they are looking to upthe nitrous for a shot at the 11-second zone. Is the V-6 market going tobe a strong source for performance aftermarket '05 sales? You betterbelieve it.
This piece attained the most consistent subjective scores of thecold-air kits we tested. With an aluminum intake pipe, a shield of sometype, and the better fitment of the production cold-air, this is anotherpromising system.
By the Numbers
Pipeline Air Inlet System
Price: $249
Peak Horsepower: 286.4 (25.4hp gain)
Peak Torque: 301.6 (19.6-lb-ft gain)
Subjective Evaluation
Ease of Installation: 38
Value: 38
Appearance: 38
Overall Quality: 40
Expected Durability: 40
Total: 194
John DeMolet's kit did exceptionally well in our '03 Cobra cold-airshootout, so we had to have this talented designer back for the '05comparison. As such, John rushed to get a prototype together for ourevaluation. It featured a CNC-machined-plastic, 95mm mass air with atight fit to the throttle-body tube, a big Green Filter, carbon-fiberaccents, and good hardware throughout. He also stressed his systemsutilize ABS plastic, which, according to John, is far superior to PVCpiping in terms of durability and shape maintenance. This is the type ofsolid piece John is known for.
The Tunable Induction cold-air had good power numbers, and our judgedscored it high for Durability and Ease of Installation. Our prototypecame without the production shield and with a closed-end filter--twopoints of concern for our judges. The filter in the production piecewill feature an open end pointed at the factory inlet hole, and it comesin a number of colors. After all the kits had been tested, our test carowner had the pick of the lot, and he chose the Tunable Inductioncold-air for his car!
By the Numbers
Tunable Induction Cold-Air
Price: $185 (carbon-fiber or factorycolor tubing and shield)/ $465 with DiabloSport-tuned Predator and shield (not tested)
Peak Horsepower: 285.4 (24.4hp gain)
Peak Torque: 301.9 lb-ft (19.9-lb-ft gain)
Subjective Evaluation
Ease of Installation: 41
Value: 43
Appearance: 35
Overall Quality: 37
Expected Durability: 39
Total: 195
Talk about thinking outside the box--the designers at WesternMotorsports certainly offered us the most unique cold-air in thisevaluation. One has to wonder, if the '05 Mustang engine looks so muchlike a GM LT1/LS1, why aren't more manufacturers emulating the strengthsof that engine layout? Namely--a throttle body pointed straight ahead ofthe car offering a straight shot for anyone willing to design a ram-airsystem to take advantage of it. That's what the Western Motorsportssystem offers its customers.
"We needed to take advantage of the front-mounted throttle body," theWMS folks told us, and it seems only logical to those of us who havelooked under the hood of a Corvette over the last two decades.
Again, we were sent the first prototype of the WMS cold-air system--but,man, what a wild piece it is. It came with a super-trick billet-aluminummass air adapter that had our judges fighting to handle it. There isalso a massive oval air filter, a large radiator shield, and thenecessary wiring to lengthen the mass air wiring harness. In all, it's acomprehensive kit that provides the buyer everything necessary for theinstallation--trust us, our judges were all over this thing.
Installation is much more complicated than the other cold-airs in thisevaluation: attach the billet mass air to the throttle body; stockelectronics bolt into the meter; stock PCV air tube snaps into thebillet adapter on the coupler; and relocate the coolant overflow tank tothe driver side.
We asked Shannon Wall of Western Motorsports to tell us a bit more aboutthe company's testing of this unit since we had a limited amount of timewith it. Shannon said, "Without the ram-air box, I think you'll find theair gets hot quickly on the dyno, probably only good for one run withoutany cool-down. On the street, a considerable amount of air finds it wayto the filter even without the airbox--if you watch the air temp, itgets hot when you stop, then cools down quickly once moving. The ram-airbox keeps temps colder all the time and will have a ram effect at higherspeeds, although we have not been able to determine a power differenceyet."
We saw inlet temperatures skyrocket past 130 degrees without the shieldinstalled. Once the shield was in place, things got back to normal.
Our judges blasted the WMS cold-air for its long installation time, butin all fairness, it was quite a bit different from the other cold-airsin this test. It required some serious wiring, but the results areunique. Our judges agreed this was a well-built kit that should havegood Durability with outstanding Quality.
You have to hand it to the designers at Western Motorsports--they didn'tjust make a larger copy of the stock intake system, and a lot of thoughtclearly went into this thing. We'd like to see a custom hood with aram-air box enclosing the big oval filter. Sure, it would add more tothe cost, but it might be the ultimate cold-air for the '05 Mustang.
By the Numbers
Western Motorsports Cold Air
Price: $369 U.S./ $469 Canada
Peak Horsepower: 284.4 (23.4hp gain)
Peak Torque: 302.4 (20.4-lb-ft gain)
Subjective Evaluation
Ease of Installation: 14
Value: 30
Appearance: 38
Overall Quality: 37
Expected Durability: 38
Total: 157
Well, there you have it. The most thorough cold-air intake evaluationwe've ever seen published. The good news is, if you're in the market foran '05 Mustang cold-air, you have a lot of innovative products to choosefrom. The bad news is, you have a lot of comparison shopping to do. Asyou examine each kit and hone in on your needs, keep a few things inmind. Above all, make sure you spend the money for a quality kit.Several in our test offer OEM fit and finish with good hardware andtuning that should last the lifetime of your Mustang. Before you buy,ask yourself, "How will this thing look after 10,000 miles?"
Once you're past that initial step, hone in on the finer points of the'05 CAI. We saw several different tubing materials in this comparison.Racers may lean toward the plastic housing to cut down on the heattransfer to the inlet charge. Street-only Stangers may enjoy thealuminum-tubing kits for strength and longevity. As for the size of theinlet pipe, the 4-inch tubing is clearly for the racer who will bemaking more power in the future. We don't see anything wrong with alarger kit on a street-only car, but we don't see any real gain.
We found that shielding is practically mandatory on these cars. Unlessyou drive in 30-degree weather all year, there is at least some (andlikely a lot) of benefit from shielding the intake charge from fanturbulence and underhood heat. The '05 Mustang is a hot-running littlebeast that can use all the fresh air you can get into it. You don't wantthis byproduct of combustion to get back into the engine and run therisk of throwing off the tune or adding to detonation. Again, werecommend only those cold-air kits that offer shielding--it's thatimportant.
Some kits do not come with the tamperproof Torx bit for removing themass-air from the stock housing. A small point, but enough to separateone cold-air from the another. It's also proves how much thought thedesigners put into their systems. Now that all of our readers willprobably ask for it, we hope all the cold-air manufacturers startincluding this little part to make the install easier.
We can't comment on how the cold-airs affect the driveability of thecar. This would have been especially interesting on the kits thatspecify "no tune" because of the finicky reputation the '05 computer hasgarnered. That test will have to wait, or you can check the Internetmessage boards for feedback on your cold-air of interest. Also keep inmind, we're reporting wheel horsepower, not quarter-mile times as in thegood old days of 1995 [Editor Turner probably remembers this...]. Checkwith regular '05 Mustang racers to see what they believe are the bestkits for maximum acceleration.
And, remember--with most of these kits, additional tuning to yourMustang will be necessary before you can enjoy the added benefits of alarger volume of fresh air. At first, this may seem like an additionalunnecessary cost. But, we think the '05 Mustang should have a tune tosmooth out that annoying drive-by-wire throttle control. Mix that withan additional 25 rwhp from your new cold-air, and you'll really start toappreciate your new Mustang.