Ford was overprotective of its mass air sensors back in the day. They all featured this mesh screen, presumably to keep large debris out. Most people removed it, and Chad followed suit on his car. Another old-school trick before replacement mass air meters were available was to hog out the stock mass air housing to gain more flow. While the shock throttle body was 60 mm, the mass air was 55 mm and is one reason Ford down-rated the horsepower in 1993.
As tried and true a modification as there is, the first part we added was a K&N direct-replacement panel filter. The promise of better performance in a reusable package has long been a hot-rodder's siren song. Popping out the silencer, removing the mass air screen, and adding the K&N gave us 5.64 hp and 3.68 lb-ft of torque at the peaks.
As tried and true a modification as there is, the first part we added was a K&N direct-replacement panel filter. The promise of better performance in a reusable package has long been a hot-rodder's siren song. Popping out the silencer, removing the mass air screen, and adding the K&N gave us 5.64 hp and 3.68 lb-ft of torque at the peaks.After removing some obstructions and adding a high-flow air filter, it was time to maximize the combination. Chad found that 16 degrees of initial timing was the sweet spot before detonation and far more efficacious than the stock 10-degree setting.
The factory fuel pressure wasn't too far off. Chad found that a leaner 39 psi base pressure worked best. With the tweaked timing and fuel pressure, we picked up another 3.35 hp and 3.67 lb-ft of torque. It might not sound like much, but every little bit helps. By the way, Chad's car obviously had an adjustable fuel-pressure regulator on it, and that's not included in the Stage 1 kit. Consider it a mandatory option if your 5.0 doesn't already have one.
With the basics out of the way, it was time to move on to Stage 1. Hardly anything gets out of the AFM shop without one of its Power Pipe induction systems. The naturally aspirated Power Pipes require enlarging the existing hole in the fender, which was a holdover from the carbureted 5.0's induction system. The Power Pipe mounts the mass air meter in the inner fender where it can slurp up air unaffected by the hot engine. It's an aggressive variation on the popular "cold-air" induction theme.
Since the old days, Rick Anderson has been a believer in the larger surface area offered by conical air filters. Hence, Anderson Ford Motorsport offers its own Power Stack filters. He couldn't help having Chad try one to see if the engine liked it. Rick is not sure if it's due to more ample air or the way the air travels into the mass air, but it did improve peak performance by 2.2 hp and 2.45 lb-ft.
Rick developed a filter adapter that improved the airflow of the popular 90mm mass air meter sourced from the Lightning truck. It isn't just an off-the-shelf meter, as Anderson adds its Power Bell filter kit which Rick says improves airflow by 55 cfm over just a clamp-on filter adapter. In concert with his company's trick Load IO mass air modifier, which allows recalibrating the mass air for a variety of popular fuel-injector flow rates, Rick set up this meter for the factory 19s. With the Load 10 software, you can simply point and click your way to a new mass air calibration. Rick says he was impressed with the repeatability of the engine's air/fuel ratio, saying the Load IO-equipped 19-lb/hr Lightning meter's curve laid right on top of the factory mass air's air/fuel ratio. Such repeatability is a boon to tuners.