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Who has installed a intake & Performance tune..lookin for serious feedback


cormy

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Already concidering adding the Ford Racing Intake and Performance tune on my 08. This would be the first and possibly the only performance upgrade to the currently bone stock car.

 

Fairly pricey (for me) at $700-900 for 30 +/- horsepower increase. :spend:

 

Is the increase noticable? In what ranges?

 

Do you really get better fuel economy?

 

Seems simple enough to install but what about any potential damage to the engine or just screwing it up somehow, has this happened to anybody?

 

I have had the GT500 for only about 2 months, but am ready for more! :spiteful:

 

What I'm really loking for is imput from those who have done this to there cars before I do

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Already concidering adding the Ford Racing Intake and Performance tune on my 08. This would be the first and possibly the only performance upgrade to the currently bone stock car.

 

Fairly pricey (for me) at $700-900 for 30 +/- horsepower increase. :spend:

 

Is the increase noticable? In what ranges?

 

Do you really get better fuel economy?

 

Seems simple enough to install but what about any potential damage to the engine or just screwing it up somehow, has this happened to anybody?

 

I have had the GT500 for only about 2 months, but am ready for more! :spiteful:

 

What I'm really loking for is imput from those who have done this to there cars before I do

I doubt you will see fuel economy. These are not economy cars. If you can

keep your right foot out of it you might, but then what's the point of having it. I did

a JLT CAI and tune. Felt more responsive, but hard to tell if you can really feel

the added HP. I am ready to do a pulley swap, and then I should notice it.

You will not hurt your engine if you go with a reputable tuner. The intake is

very easy to install and the tune is also. Go for it.

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Stage 2 kit = about 135 flywheel HP. See video of my race w/Stage 2 equipped car vs. Ford Racing kit you're considering:

 

 

 

I've had it for 4 years now, no issues. 34k miles. I got 24mpg on a 100 mile trip. Getting 17 avg w/spirited driving.

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I went with the VMP kit. All three components. Easy upgrade to do yourself, if you get the pully puller. Hardest part is waiting for it to get shipped to you. Justin does a really good job on his tunes and his parts.

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Ok, no contest there. :o .but I don't plan on doing 1/4 mile blasts down the strip. A bit more research leads me to a supercharger pulley + tune. Seems to be more of a bang for the buck ??

 

Welcome to the slippery slope club. .... pulley, tune, intake is your first step. The air intake will help a lot in conjunction with the first two because the engine needs to breath.
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Outstanding service from Justin @ VMP. Initially tried another highly recommended tuner, but had issues and no support. CAI + pulley + tune = great bang for your buck!

 

BTW, I track the car several times a year and it definitely get exercised!

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I went with "basically" this setup from Brenspeed: http://www.brenspeed.com/07-2012-gt-500-power-packs-stage-1.html

(The reason I said "basically" is because I already had an SCT tuner leftover from my 09 GT)

I had experience with Brenspeed with my GT, & know that they have an excellent reputation for service & results.

My car really woke up just from the CAI & tune. Only reason I haven't done the pulley upgrade is that I'm considering upgrading the blower itself.

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On my first car I bought the FRPP kit which claimed 30HP. Honestly I could not tell any difference in performance. I swapped back and forth between the FRPP kit and the stock setup perhaps 6 times. The only difference was that the open air filter allowed for increased supercharger whine.

 

I kept the FRPP open air element in place and installed a performance tune from JLT. I like to quickly row through the gears at half throttle. The JLT tune at half throttle would signal WOT. The power was noticeably increased but it didn't fit my driving style.

 

Next I bought a VMP tune with the FRPP open air filter. The VMP tune was much better for me. It did not signal an early WOT signal, so I could still row through the gears at half throttle.

 

With my second 2007, I installed the VMP open air filter, 2.59 pulley with tensioner and their custom tune. The difference with this kit and the factory setup is just amazing. The power comes on very strong yet the idle is smooth. It is the perfect tune for the way I like to drive. The one downside is you will have to buy better tires to control the increased HP and torque.

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Ok, no contest there. :o .but I don't plan on doing 1/4 mile blasts down the strip.

 

Famous last words.... ^_^

These cars, and modding them is an addiction - unless you plan on parking it in your living room. Go with the VMP 2.59 pulley, tensioner, tune and CAI - you won't be disappointed.

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I agree with the previous posts, you might as well go for the smaller pulley as well.

30hp on top of 500 is not much of an increase, but 130hp or so is a substantial gain.

The VMP package worked great for me, zero quirks in driveability either, runs like stock until you put your foot into it.

Instead of the 2.59" pulley, you can now go to their new smaller 2.5" pulley designed to fit stock and tvs blowers.

Just put one a few weeks ago on my tvs and can confirm that it fits and works well.

Their ultimate pulley remover works great too, so don't forget to get one of those too, unless you have someone who has one that can help out.

Keep in mind though that if your car still has the stock clutch, adding more power may speed up finishing it off.

I had my oem clutch replaced under the TSB a few years ago, and the one they put in (2010 version?) seems to be holding up so far.

Another nice inexpensive upgrade is to dump the oem trans fluid and replace it with Royal Purple Synchromax.

I can confirm that it makes a big difference over the oem fluid, in ease and smoothness of shifting.

Btw, don't dismiss the drag strip until you have at least tried it once, it is fun.

It is nice to be able to wind the car out without having to worry about breaking any laws, and be able to run under relatively safe conditions.

All you need is to make sure that everything works properly on your car, has no drips, and buy or borrow a snell rated helmet (SA2010).

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It is nice to be able to wind the car out without having to worry about breaking any laws, and be able to run under relatively safe conditions.

All you need is to make sure that everything works properly on your car, has no drips, and buy or borrow a snell rated helmet (SA2010).

 

I have a convertible and am fairly sure I'd either get one run and then be told to come back after I had

installed a roll bar/cage. I don't want to ruin the look of my car by adding a roll cage. Ok, I think about it occasionally, but

always talk myself out of it. :)

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I have a convertible and am fairly sure I'd either get one run and then be told to come back after I had

installed a roll bar/cage. I don't want to ruin the look of my car by adding a roll cage. Ok, I think about it occasionally, but

always talk myself out of it. :)

I had the same dilemma in my 2006 GT with 67mm turbo. They'll usually give you at least one warning to slow down if you're too fast with a vert. You can always run hard to first 1/8th and then lift halfway to drop your 1/4 mile ET and trap speed so you can stay on the track for a while. There are several calculators that you can use to convert 1/8 to 1/4 ET's. Drag racing is a blast!

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The convertibles do have a higher cutoff point for the roll bar, something like 13.00?

Some of the die hard strip guys will probably know for sure.

The cutoff for the hard tops at our track is 11.50.

Last year I got in a couple of 11.30s earlier in the season and a pair of 11.40s later on before getting shown the door.

Funny part too was that I wasn't trying for the 11.40s either, got right off the throttle at 1000 ft and still went under.

Was thinking about getting an RPM rollbar myself, but having a real hard time pulling the trigger on that for the same reason as yours.

Probably end up going back to the strip with street tires and see how far into the 11s I can get it.

Not as quick an et, but definitely a driving challenge to get off the line and pedaling through second without going up in smoke.

With that small pulley combo and street tires, Cormy should be ok with a mid to low 12s time.

Everyone should give it a try at least once, and try not to take it too serious.

There is always something quicker out there, especially at the track.

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Already concidering adding the Ford Racing Intake and Performance tune on my 08. This would be the first and possibly the only performance upgrade to the currently bone stock car.

 

Fairly pricey (for me) at $700-900 for 30 +/- horsepower increase. :spend:

 

Is the increase noticable? In what ranges?

 

Do you really get better fuel economy?

 

Seems simple enough to install but what about any potential damage to the engine or just screwing it up somehow, has this happened to anybody?

 

I have had the GT500 for only about 2 months, but am ready for more! :spiteful:

 

What I'm really loking for is imput from those who have done this to there cars before I do

 

 

How about WELL over 100 rwhp for $999? Trust me, you'll feel it. And the fact is that a correctly calibrated car will, in fact, get a little better mpg at mid velocities (read: 65mph and under) because the mixture is a little leaner for performance purposes. That said, people complain that they get worse mpg because they can't keep their foot out of it :)

 

We like that.

 

Here's a look at that kit. Scroll down to see the dyno sheets.

http://vmptuning.com...product&id=1221

 

There are many options that we can make happen for you at a variety of investment levels.

 

Check us out at www.vmptuning.com

 

If you have any questions or want to just tell me about your car, give me a call. 9a-5p eastern M-F. (321) 206-9369 x 112

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Already concidering adding the Ford Racing Intake and Performance tune on my 08. This would be the first and possibly the only performance upgrade to the currently bone stock car.

 

Fairly pricey (for me) at $700-900 for 30 +/- horsepower increase. :spend:

 

Is the increase noticable? In what ranges?

 

Do you really get better fuel economy?

 

Seems simple enough to install but what about any potential damage to the engine or just screwing it up somehow, has this happened to anybody?

 

I have had the GT500 for only about 2 months, but am ready for more! :spiteful:

 

What I'm really loking for is imput from those who have done this to there cars before I do

 

 

welcome to the addiction....

there are way better bangs for your buck than the FRRP kit..

learn to drive your car stock 1st before you get to wild.. it could save you some $$$$ down the road..

you might change your mnd as to how much HP really should go with...of course modding is the fun part...

i started out with a EVO stage 2 kit 540+- rwhp pulley, C&L, tune and plugs then i added a steeda h/e then dumped the steeda and went with a C&R twin fan h/e, then added J&M upper an lower control arms.. then a DSS shaft and 3.73 gears.. then added a Tru Forged bigger coolant tank... then i did a super charger up grade.. i did the 1st SNAKEBITE supercharger from Stiegy..IE ported polished and regeared stock eaton and ported and polished t/b made 600rwhp 600trq..with tune... which is up for sale now..(cheap) and then i added Tokico D-Spec shocks all around, i am in the process of doing a 2013 FRRP tvs upgrade with a 127JLT and a 2.4 pulley and FRRP oval scj t/b which should add another 70-80 rwhp on 91 to around 670-700rwhp...

and i thought the same thing when i bought it.. oh it will stay stock, then oh just a pulley... so you can see it never ends... :hysterical2::spend::spend::spend:

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welcome to the addiction....

there are way better bangs for your buck than the FRRP kit..

learn to drive your car stock 1st before you get to wild.. it could save you some $$$$ down the road..

you might change your mnd as to how much HP really should go with...of course modding is the fun part...

i started out with a EVO stage 2 kit 540+- rwhp pulley, C&L, tune and plugs then i added a steeda h/e then dumped the steeda and went with a C&R twin fan h/e, then added J&M upper an lower control arms.. then a DSS shaft and 3.73 gears.. then added a Tru Forged bigger coolant tank... then i did a super charger up grade.. i did the 1st SNAKEBITE supercharger from Stiegy..IE ported polished and regeared stock eaton and ported and polished t/b made 600rwhp 600trq..with tune... which is up for sale now..(cheap) and then i added Tokico D-Spec shocks all around, i am in the process of doing a 2013 FRRP tvs upgrade with a 127JLT and a 2.4 pulley and FRRP oval scj t/b which should add another 70-80 rwhp on 91 to around 670-700rwhp...

and i thought the same thing when i bought it.. oh it will stay stock, then oh just a pulley... so you can see it never ends... :hysterical2::spend::spend::spend:

 

 

Well stated.

It definitely is the FUN that never ends.

Before you know it, you will be on the track. ( I swore I would never track the car )

That didn't last long !!

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I think I'm in the similar situation as you. I purchased my '08 almost 2 years ago now. I can't believe it's been that long already. I knew I wanted the same cold air kit you're talking about and figured that would be good. In the first year I obtained a good used intake. For the next year I searched for a tuner. I was tempted to go with Justin at VMP, but that was out of my price range at the moment. A little over a week ago I finally obtained the pro-cal tool and installed the intake/tune last weekend. I'm mechanically inclined, but I think virtually anyone could install this. I took it out for a short drive. Any extra power is minute and it's something that would probably only show up on a timeslip at the track. What I did notice is a much improved throttle response and the supercharger whine is way more pronounced now. The better throttle response makes it seem like you can feel the hp, but your not seeing the gains on the bottom end but the top end which is why I say you'd be able to see the gain at the track. Seeing as how I've only driven it once for just a few miles I can't comment on better mileage. I'm sure I'll be able to comment in a few months of driving though. If you can afford it, go with an intake/tune/pulley and call it good. I think you'll be more than happy with that combo. I'm happy with mine. 540hp isn't anything to sneeze at either. :)

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Thanks guys..I really appreciate the feedback and suggestions. :salute: I think my biggest hurtle is getting used to the idea of changing the engines' original settings. I just have an issue plugging in an aftermarket tool and changing things on it. Maybe its because I haven't had it that long BUT I really think I am afraid that something will permanently damage the engine due to the new tune and then I'm screwed , BTW for now its my only vehicle, I plan to get a semi beater in Fall. :unsure:

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Cormy, I was absolutely the same way about doing my car. I DID NOT want to change original tune. Did about what seems like six months of research, and went ahead with it. I have heard of Justin's main competitor having a few tunes that threw codes, but for the most part, very reputable. I don't think I have ever read one post about Justin's tunes throwing codes on our cars. I could be wrong. But it has not happened on my car. Pully, tune, CAI. I am still shy about taking it to the dealer, as i'm paranoid they will flash the dang thing b/c their computer tells them to. But they make plugs to prevent that too. I just stand there and watch them change oil like a psycho. Even though I have the aftermarket tune and tuner!

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