Of course, the chassis dyno is always the final proving ground for the performance evaluations we bring you. Philip Zotti's spankin'-new '12 GT (5.0/six-speed manual) is our lab subject this month, and the bone-stock Pony actually did well in its initial run on the rollers. (The 'Stang's 382 rwhp is among the highest rear-wheel baseline marks we've seen in similar Coyote-based tests performed on GTR High Performance's Dynojet.)
As we expected, we saw modest gains with each individual piece. However, as a whole--and with a custom 91-octane PCM calibration from Chris Jones of Blow-By Racing--our selected components really shine on Phil's stock Pony, surging it into the all-hallowed 400hp zone without a whiff of artificial air.
| Baseline | CAI | Throttle Body |
| RPM | HP | TQ | A/F | HP | TQ | A/F | HP | TQ | A/F |
| 2,300 | 131.57 | 300.42 | 12.71 | 133.32 | 304.42 | 12.21 | 132.74 | 303.11 | 12.10 |
| 2,500 | 144.88 | 304.39 | 12.60 | 145.64 | 305.97 | 11.72 | 145.40 | 305.45 | 11.91 |
| 3,000 | 185.52 | 324.77 | 12.57 | 183.37 | 321.01 | 11.85 | 183.22 | 320.74 | 12.04 |
| 3,500 | 231.73 | 347.73 | 12.56 | 232.20 | 348.44 | 12.02 | 230.21 | 345.44 | 12.11 |
| 4,000 | 274.37 | 360.25 | 12.51 | 277.19 | 363.96 | 12.01 | 277.18 | 363.95 | 12.30 |
| 4,500 | 318.18 | 371.37 | 12.58 | 320.99 | 374.64 | 12.36 | 323.30 | 377.33 | 12.42 |
| 5,000 | 349.67 | 367.30 | 12.63 | 349.66 | 367.30 | 12.53 | 351.55 | 369.28 | 12.64 |
| 5,500 | 370.69 | 353.99 | 12.55 | 376.03 | 359.09 | 12.59 | 380.26 | 363.13 | 12.65 |
| 6,000 | 378.13 | 331.00 | 12.48 | 383.05 | 335.30 | 12.56 | 385.62 | 337.55 | 12.55 |
| 6,500 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 6,700 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Exhaust | BBR/SCT Tune | Difference |
| RPM | HP | TQ | A/F | HP | TQ | A/F | HP | TQ |
| 2,300 | 143.00 | 312.96 | 12.44 | 136.45 | 311.60 | 12.59 | 4.88 | 11.18 |
| 2,500 | 153.49 | 310.04 | 12.01 | 149.07 | 313.18 | 11.84 | 4.19 | 8.79 |
| 3,000 | 196.51 | 332.93 | 11.97 | 187.89 | 328.93 | 11.70 | 2.37 | 4.16 |
| 3,500 | 245.74 | 358.50 | 11.94 | 237.99 | 357.12 | 11.92 | 6.26 | 9.39 |
| 4,000 | 294.91 | 377.78 | 12.39 | 284.40 | 373.41 | 12.07 | 10.03 | 13.16 |
| 4,500 | 330.37 | 377.20 | 12.48 | 328.03 | 382.87 | 11.93 | 9.85 | 11.50 |
| 5,000 | 368.16 | 379.14 | 12.50 | 358.94 | 377.04 | 12.23 | 9.27 | 9.74 |
| 5,500 | 385.80 | 361.84 | 12.62 | 384.24 | 366.92 | 12.46 | 13.55 | 12.93 |
| 6,000 | 386.28 | 332.60 | 12.23 | 391.78 | 342.95 | 12.59 | 13.65 | 11.95 |
| 6,500 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 404.91 | 327.18 | 12.74 | 404.91 | 327.18 |
| 6,700 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 400.42 | 313.89 | n/a | 400.42 | 313.89 |
Flowmaster's mandrel-bent...
Flowmaster's mandrel-bent system is a completely bolt-on deal. Ricardo installs the after-cat tubing using basic tools, as there's no cutting or welding required.
American Thunder Series mufflers...
American Thunder Series mufflers round out the exhaust side of our package. While bolting the cans on a new GT is easily handled on the solo, Ricardo and GTR's Eddie Zapata work as a team to ensure the position and alignment of each muffler is spot on.
Tuning isn't anything new,...
Tuning isn't anything new, but we have to say we've enjoyed being a part of the remote Internet connection between GTR High Performance and Blow-By Racing. Via email, Blow-By's Chris Jones sends custom PCM calibrations (built around Chris' deep library of pump-gas and race-fuel tunes for various engine/power adder packages) to Ricardo, which are then transferred into our project 'Stang via an SCT XCal 3 programmer. For similarly equipped GTs like Phil's, Chris basically makes small changes in base fuel and timing tables, as well as doing away with the factory's conservative rev limit (6,300 rpm).
Tuning isn't anything new,...
Tuning isn't anything new, but we have to say we've enjoyed being a part of the remote Internet connection between GTR High Performance and Blow-By Racing. Via email, Blow-By's Chris Jones sends custom PCM calibrations (built around Chris' deep library of pump-gas and race-fuel tunes for various engine/power adder packages) to Ricardo, which are then transferred into our project 'Stang via an SCT XCal 3 programmer.
For similarly equipped GTs...
For similarly equipped GTs like Phil's, Chris basically makes small changes in base fuel and timing tables, as well as doing away with the factory's conservative rev limit (6,300 rpm).