Alright, 'Stang fans! Sure,...
Alright, 'Stang fans! Sure, there's been plenty of talk and speculation about today's 5.0s on Internet forums and such. Now it's time to end all the wonderment and find out how the new '11 Mustang GT's Coyote 5.0-liter engine and mega-sophisticated Copperhead PCM respond to familiar upgrades. We recently enjoyed an exclusive opportunity to follow Evolution Performance's lead technician Chuck Wrzesniewski as he installed the first aftermarket hop-up package for '11 GTs, and saw firsthand how easily and quickly the new Pony goes from great to totally awesome.
As changes to late-model Mustangs go, Ford made a big-time change for V-8-powered Ponies back in 1996, when their tried-and-true, 5.0-liter engines were discontinued. The engines were replaced with single-overhead-camshaft, 4.6-liter bullets that came to be known as modular engines for their shared tooling with other-displacement versions of the same family on the assembly line.
After a shaky first few years of existence-which included die-hard, 5.0-loving 'Stangbangers' reluctance to accept modular technology-the new engines eventually earned our respect with their performance. Advancements in engine blocks, cylinder heads, camshaft profiles, rotating assemblies, and such helped spawn widespread acceptance of Two-, Three-, and Four-Valve modulars. We also learned that improved performance is easily achieved using bolt-on pieces or power adders, just as it was with the 5.0s that powered '86-to-'95 EFI 'Stangs.
Change once again brings us a new, immediately exciting V-8 powerplant for 2011 and future Mustangs. The engine, code-named Coyote, mates 5.0-liter displacement with modern-day, double-overhead-camshaft technology. This improvement, along with many other modular-originated tricks, results in what already is being considered the best production engine that has ever occupied the space between a Pony's front fenders.
This new engine created an exciting air of mystery in the modern Mustang scene. With horsepower listed as 412 at the flywheel, a previously unimaginable 11.0:1 compression ratio, a 7,000-rpm redline, and Copperhead PCM logic that features Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing, the new mill opens an incredible can of worms in regard to how the engine will respond to upgrades. What, exactly, will be the best recipe for big steam?
After adding gears, an after-cat...
After adding gears, an after-cat exhaust, cold-air induction, and long-tube headers (and dyno testing after each mod), the Coyote 5.0 engine in Evolution Performance's Grabber Blue '11 Mustang GT was ready to take on the 1,320 at Atco Raceway.
Several popular Mustang shops are off to the races, pushing the '11 5.0 Mustang GT's performance envelope and each other, to determine just how bad the cars and engines really are. We're hooked up with the boys at Evolution Performance in Aston, Pennsylvania, who, thanks to virally spread Internet-video clips, now are '11 Mustang GT sensations. Shortly after taking delivery of a Kona Blue Metallic coupe, the boys at Evolution started chronicling its steady improvement on their Mustang Dyno chassis dynamometer and the quarter-mile proving ground at Atco Raceway (see "Street Feat," Sept. '10, pgs. 38-46).
By making only minimal hardware changes, such as relieving the car of its interior and any other non-essential components, and through stealth PCM tweaks that came at the mind and fingers of tuning guru Jon Lund the manual-six-speed Kona currently makes 465 at the feet and is oh-so-close to eclipsing the 9-second barrier.
While Evo's flagship 5.0 Pony is awesome by anyone's standards, we're more intrigued with finding out how good a new 'Stang can be when it doesn't take the path toward becoming a drag-specific race car. Evolution shares our interest in learning more about '11 'Stangs that are destined for the street. To conduct this research, the shop owns a second '11 (a Grabber Blue GT with a six-speed automatic transmission), with which Jon has been making serious inroads in manipulating the 5.0's Copperhead PCM to unleash what appears to be tons of additional performance from Ford's latest V-8.
The more things change, the more they are the same indeed. Evolution's entry-level performance theories for the new GT are no different from those of Mustangs from years past: Maximizing the efficiency of air (intake and exhaust), fuel and spark will improve a 'Stang's performance. To see how effective those methods are, your tech editor recently parlayed a trip from SoCal (coverage of the NMRA event in Milan, Michigan) and continued further east to participate in the massive bolt-on dyno-and-track test with Evolution's street 5.0.
Stout, girdle-style diff covers...
Stout, girdle-style diff covers like this lid from Ford Racing Performance Parts usually mean a ring-and-pinion swap has been made in a Mustang's 8.8 rear. Yes, the Evolution crew did make the change to 4.10 gears (from the OEM 3.15 cogs) in its Grabber Blue '11 'Stang, which brought rear-wheel power down by about 20 ponies.
Magnaflow is first with an...
Magnaflow is first with an after-cat exhaust system for '11 Mustang GTs. The 3-inch Competition after-cat setup features mandrel-bent tubes with stainless-steel mufflers.
The '11 GT's stock exhaust...
The '11 GT's stock exhaust system's inconsistent layout certainly is a hindrance when it comes to horsepower. Starting at the catalytic converters, tubing progressively reduces from 3 to 23/4 inches, and down to 21/4 inches just before the H-pipe. It then steps back up to 23/4 inches after the H. The stock resonators are listed as 21/2-inch. However, we believe their actual inside diameter may be as small as 2-inch (to suppress noise). The pipe size once again jumps to 23/4-inch after the resonators and into the mufflers.
Mufflers for the '11 are much...
Mufflers for the '11 are much heavier than those used in earlier S197s and SN-10s, so a provision for a third hanger has been added to the new 'Stangs to compensate for the additional weight. While the new Magnaflow mufflers are much lighter than the OEM cans, they also are outfitted with the extra hanger and fit perfectly in the stock location.
While a knee-jerk thought...
While a knee-jerk thought about the "crush" in the factory resonator is that it got there by improper jacking or a ground obstruction of some sort, we're told that it is "normal" (and the reason why we think the ID is actually 2 inches instead of 21/2 inches).
All of the stock and Magnaflow...
All of the stock and Magnaflow exhaust pieces were weighed upon removal and before installation. The new hardware, minus resonators, is considerably lighter.
Magnaflow's gear weighed in...
Magnaflow's gear weighed in at a total of 43.62 pounds, versus the 71.40-pound collective weight of the factory resonator tubes and mufflers (the H-pipe was weighed separately during the header installation).
Chuck made quick work of fitting...
Chuck made quick work of fitting the Magnaflow tubes and mufflers. The system is slip-fit at the H-pipe, as well as at the mufflers and each exhaust tube.
Here's the Magnaflow 3-inch...
Here's the Magnaflow 3-inch axle-back kit, fully installed beneath Evolution's Grabber Blue '11 Mustang GT. The round-style mufflers are exclusive to this Competition system.
Magnaflow also offers a street...
Magnaflow also offers a street kit, which features standard-shaped (oval) cans, with a mellower sound.
C&L Performance has developed...
C&L Performance has developed the a dual-mode cold-air-induction system for '11s; a 95mm setup that can be installed without requiring a custom tune or opened up and used with a tune. In this photo, Chuck slips the reducer insert into the mass air. This step-down tube is the same diameter as the stock mass-air tube.
There's nothing extra or out-of-the-norm...
There's nothing extra or out-of-the-norm about the C&L cold-air setup.