Cold air intake recommendations for 5.0 GT

[MAT1955]

@ZXMustang and @AZ_Ryan ..... ZM - hit the pause button and read - of course most of the aftermarket air boxes are counterproductive. Of course the type that completely alter the 2024 - 2026 Ford OEM twin induction with grille cold air intake snorkles by installing all manner of alternate air boxes with clear tops or rubber gaskets that seal against the hood are WORSE of course they cause ridiculous heating issues (and others) that are stupid. Was I talking about those? NO - if you actually read my comments (which I doubt) and/or aren't dyslexic you would have noted that I was stating you ONLY get "looks" aka "appearance" when using the Roush or Corsa clear top air boxes WHICH if you had taken a second to read USE all parts of the Ford air intake delivery system. That would be the grille intake snorkles, the bottom half of tha OEM air box and in the case of the Roush the Ford OEM correugated intakes. The Corsa are smoother than the Ford OEM even with the internal carbon traps removed. I said NOTHING about performance gains and have REPEATEDLY said there are NO measurable performance gains.......this is for looks. Using just the CLEAR TOPS of the Roush (for LOOKS ) or the Corsa CLEAR TOPS (for looks) and/or smooth intake runners will neither help not harm performance and will NEVER result in an increase of any measurable temperature. YOUR ENTIRE RESPONSE is blathering idiocy based on having NOT read my response. The math I do is based on a Master's Degree, the performance comments are made based on my family's past history of building more high performance engines than you can count. I suggest you read before you start your unhinged criticisms. God help your clients if your response is any indication of your ability as evidenced by your response. I really loathe having to respond to half-a$$ed, dumb-a$$ed replies but we want accuracy on this forum not unhinged, uneducated, uninformed ranting. Right?

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[ZXMustang]

@ZXMustang and @AZ_Ryan ..... ZM - hit the pause button and read - of course most of the aftermarket air boxes are counterproductive. Of course the type that completely alter the 2024 - 2026 Ford OEM twin induction with grille cold air intake snorkles by installing all manner of alternate air boxes with clear tops or rubber gaskets that seal against the hood are WORSE of course they cause ridiculous heating issues (and others) that are stupid. Was I talking about those? NO - if you actually read my comments (which I doubt) and/or aren't dyslexic you would have noted that I was stating you ONLY get "looks" aka "appearance" when using the Roush or Corsa clear top air boxes WHICH if you had taken a second to read USE all parts of the Ford air intake delivery system. That would be the grille intake snorkles, the bottom half of tha OEM air box and in the case of the Roush the Ford OEM correugated intakes. The Corsa are smoother than the Ford OEM even with the internal carbon traps removed. I said NOTHING about performance gains and have REPEATEDLY said there are NO measurable performance gains.......this is for looks. Using just the CLEAR TOPS of the Roush (for LOOKS ) or the Corsa CLEAR TOPS (for looks) and/or smooth intake runners will neither help not harm performance and will NEVER result in an increase of any measurable temperature. YOUR ENTIRE RESPONSE is blathering idiocy based on having NOT read my response. The math I do is based on a Master's Degree, the performance comments are made based on my family's past history of building more high performance engines than you can count. I suggest you read before you start your unhinged criticisms. God help your clients if your response is any indication of your ability as evidenced by your response. I really loathe having to respond to half-a$$ed, dumb-a$$ed replies but we want accuracy on this forum not unhinged ranting. Right?

You’ve disappeared up your own rear end my friend. I’m proud of you though for getting that masters degree that I assume you have framed hanging on your wall. Let me know when you get that job at ford motor company in their technical R&D department. Maybe you can teach them a thing or two they haven’t learned over 100 years of engineering and building cars. And on that note, I’m exiting this thread. This is exactly why tuners don’t post in fb groups and forums like this.

 

[AZ_Ryan]

@ZXMustang and @AZ_Ryan ..... ZM - hit the pause button and read - of course most of the aftermarket air boxes are counterproductive. Of course the type that completely alter the 2024 - 2026 Ford OEM twin induction with grille cold air intake snorkles by installing all manner of alternate air boxes with clear tops or rubber gaskets that seal against the hood are WORSE of course they cause ridiculous heating issues (and others) that are stupid. Was I talking about those? NO - if you actually read my comments (which I doubt) and/or aren't dyslexic you would have noted that I was stating you ONLY get "looks" aka "appearance" when using the Roush or Corsa clear top air boxes WHICH if you had taken a second to read USE all parts of the Ford air intake delivery system. That would be the grille intake snorkles, the bottom half of tha OEM air box and in the case of the Roush the Ford OEM correugated intakes. The Corsa are smoother than the Ford OEM even with the internal carbon traps removed. I said NOTHING about performance gains and have REPEATEDLY said there are NO measurable performance gains.......this is for looks. Using just the CLEAR TOPS of the Roush (for LOOKS ) or the Corsa CLEAR TOPS (for looks) and/or smooth intake runners will neither help not harm performance and will NEVER result in an increase of any measurable temperature. YOUR ENTIRE RESPONSE is blathering idiocy based on having NOT read my response. The math I do is based on a Master's Degree, the performance comments are made based on my family's past history of building more high performance engines than you can count. I suggest you read before you start your unhinged criticisms. God help your clients if your response is any indication of your ability as evidenced by your response. I really loathe having to respond to half-a$$ed, dumb-a$$ed replies but we want accuracy on this forum not unhinged, uneducated, uninformed ranting. Right?

@MAT1955 I dont know why you included me in that response. Please stop with the condecending remarks and dont drag me into this argument.

As for the rest, its ok to disagree and not get upset. Although to be honest, im not even sure what the disagreement is about. There seems to be a consensus agreement on the overarching subject. Anyway, we all like Mustangs guys. Take a breath.

 

[MAT1955]

@AZ_Ryan ....I included you as you added a "like" to ZX's comment and as you, from your general posts, appear to like accuracy I included you in my reply to ZX. As for a condescending remark - when someone refers to my ability as "napkin Mathemetics I take offense. Yes, there appears to be and has to be consensus as merely adding a clear top to Fords's OEM air intake system or even smooth induction intake runners changes nothing - which should be so obvious.

 

[LouG]

C'mon people, we don't need tech discussions turning into a shitfight so often.
A bit of proof reading and rephrasing goes a long way. So does,"What would my mother say if she read this".
Just remember, "I may disagree with your opinions, but I will defend to the death your right to be a complete w er".

 

[tj@steeda]

Welp ... if you have any questions/feedback on the Steeda CAI - happy to help at [email protected].

The Steeda CAI has been proven on our drag cars & track cars - we are very happy with the performance gains & with a tune ... you get even more:

 

[MAT1955]

@Byote4 ...... for your peace of mind and my interest I went to my friends son's shop tonight. He is head of HVAC at a local hospital. We rigged sensors to the underside and top cover of OEM Ford air box covers for a 2026 Mustang GT as well as the Roush clear plastic covers I had on my 2024 Mustamg GT. We set a heat gun to 80 degrees F. There was absolutely no difference in heat gain between the two. In about a week when my Corsa clear top air box covers arrive I will perform the same test but expect no difference so do not worry about any performance loss or any measurable heat gain from using Roush or Corsa clear air box covers. ZERO heat gain. As for filters I chose the AFE non-oiled as we found through testing that oiled filters (unless very carefully maintained) lost power and let dirt by pass them. The AFEs are easily cleaned many, many times by rinsing in a mild solution of Simple Green then rinsed with warm water and let to dry. When we were building racing engines (auto and marine) we found dry material air filters superior to most OEM filters and all oiled filters we tested. It is my belief (not flow tested) that the AFE filters I have installed sound like the engine is breathing easier at least the engine sounds better IMO. Does that translate into a measurable HP gain - I would say no. Easier breathing I would say yes but not measurable HP gains. It is more for looks. Thruth be known there is a 5% difference in HP from engines leaving most engine ssembly lines that are mass produced as compared to hand built. I have attached a picture of the Roush clear top air boxes on my 2024 GT and will post a picture of the Corsa clear tops on my 2026 GT as soon as I have them installed. I love the look and get many compliments at coffee and cars. Someone suggested I light the engine bay with leds. I like that. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Byote4]

@Byote4 ...... for your peace of mind and my interest I went to my friends son's shop tonight. He is head of HVAC at a local hospital. We rigged sensors to the underside and top cover of OEM Ford air box covers for a 2026 Mustang GT as well as the Roush clear plastic covers I had on my 2024 Mustamg GT. We set a heat gun to 80 degrees F. There was absolutely no difference in heat gain between the two. In about a week when my Corsa clear top air box covers arrive I will perform the same test but expect no difference so do not worry about any performance loss or any measurable heat gain from using Roush or Corsa clear air box covers. ZERO heat gain. As for filters I chose the AFE non-oiled as we found through testing that oiled filters (unless very carefully maintained) lost power and let dirt by pass them. The AFEs are easily cleaned many, many times by rinsing in a mild solution of Simple Green then rinsed with warm water and let to dry. When we were building racing engines (auto and marine) we found dry material air filters superior to most OEM filters and all oiled filters we tested. It is my belief (not flow tested) that the AFE filters I have installed sound like the engine is breathing easier at least the engine sounds better IMO. Does that translate into a measurable HP gain - I would say no. Easier breathing I would say yes but not measurable HP gains. It is more for looks. Thruth be known there is a 5% difference in HP from engines leaving most engine ssembly lines that are mass produced as compared to hand built. I have attached a picture of the Roush clear top air boxes on my 2024 GT and will post a picture of the Corsa clear tops on my 2026 GT as soon as I have them installed. I love the look and get many compliments at coffee and cars. Someone suggested I light the engine bay with leds. I like that. Good luck with your decision.

You didn’t have to do any of this brother thanks for the help 🫡

 

[LouG]

One thing I noticed with a foam filter on my GT86 was better throttle response over stock. But how can you quantify that?

 

[MAT1955]

@LouG....when my family had our heavy equipment business with shop dyno etc. you could flow test an air filter in place by using a computerized electronic anemometer. This gave a very accurate rating of the draw through the complex filters of heavy equipment. The family guys who built high performance engines as a sub section of the business used this process to try out different air filters. Before the family sold the business specialty synthetic filters were making their debut and they out performed oem "paper" filters. What we found was if you changed oem filters (at one time Ford used Wix which are quite decent) earlier than recommended you didn't lose any measurable air flow/performance. However as new air and oil filters emerged with varied types of cloth and other synthetic filter media the airflow (and oil flow and quality) DID change in a measurable manner and could change the performance of an engine, particularly if it had a freer exhaust - as we all know - if you have the Ford Active Valve Exhaust (AVE) - it stands to reason that increasing air flow (at induction) to match the (exhaust at the outlet) will enhance the performance. Thus I expect my AFE filters coupled wth the AVE of my new 2026 GT will result in better performance. Will that be measureable - likely not enough to change acceleration numbers but might result in a better feeling during acceleration and maybe somewhat better fuel econony. Your question has me intrigued. I no longer have access to the equipment but I do have access to equipment (friend's son) to accurately measure air flow in hospital HVAC systems and air sealed rooms. Maybe this can be modified to test some vehicle air filters. I have Ford OEM, AFE, and soon Corsa air filters. Hmmmmm. Got me thinking!

 

[LouG]

It'll be interesting to see what you find. But I definitely feel a difference. It may have been more noticeable in the Toyota because they have excellent throttle response to start with. Just no real power.

 

[MAT1955]

@Byote4 and @LouG ..... My Corsa clear air box covers and what I believe are AFE filters just arrived from CJPony in Nevada this morning. We are going to test potential heat transfer which I predict will be zero. Then I will install them. When the boss (aka my wife) takes note of a car part that's a good sign. She saw me unpacking them and commented that they looked awesome. They appear to be top quality construction and do IMO look awesome. Once installed I'll post some pics.

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