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Performance Upgrades vs. Factory Warranty


fjcolucci

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I just brought home a 2012 Shelby GT500 and there are a couple of small upgrades that I wanted to do without voiding the warranty (which is why I got the Shelby instead of upgrading the GT), but I can't seem to get a straight answer. I've heard great things about the K&N aircharger (adevertising 30+ RWHP) which should be ok if installed at a Ford dealer. But I haven't been able to find out about changing out the coolant resevoir's and adding a Shelby extreme heat exchanger. I live in Florida so heat and airflow are a big concern. Any thoughts or other suggestions?? Thanks!

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You'll be promised the moon - until you've paid for the parts, then all bets are off.

 

Unless you modify the tune, an intake swap shouldn't have any effect whatsoever. For a maker to deny a warranty claim due to aftermarket parts, it has to demonstrate the aftermarket part was a contributory cause.

 

It will really boil down to the dealer - who applies its own value proposition to whether or not it even wants to do the work, and denying your claim out of hand and blaming it on Ford is one of the simplest ways to do it.

 

That's why it may behoove you to have the dealer install anything truly invasive - and establish up-front in writing what the mutual expectations will be. Bear in mind, certain Ford Racing parts have limited warranties that are separate from the vehicle warranty - when installed by a Ford/Ford Racing vendor.

 

At the end of the day, if you don't go doing anything really silly and reset your engine tune to stock, you SHOULD be okay - unless an army of weasels happens to conspire against you all at once.

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I bought a 2012 and live in West Texas. The only upgrade I've made under the hood is to improve the engine's cooling capabilities. I installed the larger radiator and dual fan heat exchanger. I asked Van at Revan Racing before I purchased the 2 items if they would affect my FORD warranty and was told they shouldn't. The only things that wouldn't be warrantied by FORD would be the replaced Rad/HE. This is the same upgrade you can find on the SA website. Throughout the nearly 90 days of 100+ temps we had over summer I noticed the temp gauge ran right at or slightly below the middle between C & H. I wish FORD would give us gauges marked with degrees!

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Awesome, thank you!! I hadn't even considered adding the SA extreme radiator until you mentioned it so I added that to the list. I just placed my order so it will probably be another couple months before the parts are delivered and installed. I think I am still going to have the Ford Dealer put the parts on, just to be on the safe side. According to the folks at K&N, the aircharger is designed so that no tune is required, which eases my biggest concern with that add on. From what I can tell, it is by far the cheapest and easiest way to get more ponies on the pavement.

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Awesome, thank you!! I hadn't even considered adding the SA extreme radiator until you mentioned it so I added that to the list. I just placed my order so it will probably be another couple months before the parts are delivered and installed. I think I am still going to have the Ford Dealer put the parts on, just to be on the safe side. According to the folks at K&N, the aircharger is designed so that no tune is required, which eases my biggest concern with that add on. From what I can tell, it is by far the cheapest and easiest way to get more ponies on the pavement.

 

 

K&N likes to say that, but remember if you change the MAF size YOU NEED A TUNE! I'm not sure what the MAF size is on the K&N but I'd check it vs stock just to make sure. I'm not so sure you'll gain anything at all over your stock '12 intake with the K&N. I can't believe it's 30hp more efficient than your stock set-up. They love to inflate their claims.

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K&N likes to say that, but remember if you change the MAF size YOU NEED A TUNE! I'm not sure what the MAF size is on the K&N but I'd check it vs stock just to make sure. I'm not so sure you'll gain anything at all over your stock '12 intake with the K&N. I can't believe it's 30hp more efficient than your stock set-up. They love to inflate their claims.

 

 

I agree with you, 30+ RWP is a lot but i've spoken to techs at k&n and other GT500 owners who swear by it. I guess I will have to dyno the car before and after to put the their claim to bed.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I agree with you, 30+ RWP is a lot but i've spoken to techs at k&n and other GT500 owners who swear by it. I guess I will have to dyno the car before and after to put the their claim to bed.

 

 

If you have a 2012 you already have a good cold air intake, there is no need to waste money on another intake. I have a 2012 and I just changed the filter Replacement Filter, and got the GT500 SVT Resonator Eliminator Kit

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  • 1 month later...

My 2010 had the blower pulley and tune and my second gear went out so off to the dealer. I removed the tune before hand and they had no clue and no warranty issue. I also would not waste my money on a CAI.

 

I am operating under this assumption. I installed a VMP TVS, tune, resonator delete, and airaid(Sp?) filter. Very easy to do and install any of these things. If i have a problem, I will remove them, go back to stock, and take it in for warranty work. The shelby has a ton of power, but give it a few weeks and you will want more and more and more..... I am already wanting a whipple supercharger and i've only had the tvs for a few months. The tvs totally changed the car, amazing.

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