2012GrabbGT

Thank you for clarifying that for everyone LEwis26.

jaybertx

Fair enough. "says to use" vs recommended is where you lost me. No worries. Thanks for the clarification!

2012GrabbGT

Don't worry about it. I'm not. We're all here because we love our cars.

SD6

Thanks everybody for your comments. Hopefully you enjoyed my review and the questions I had leading up to my decision, and hopefully my experience helped those who haven't yet done a CAI+tune.
CAI+tune certainly isn't a super expensive mod (like a s/c), but it isn't a super cheap one either.
What I like about it is that it seems to be one of the biggest "bang for the buck" mods.

I agree with you and disagree with you at the same time.
For sure I agree that the best gains will be from the 93 tune.
And 91 tune would be the next best gains.
But I disagree the 87 tune is worthless.
Like FCMalie said:

If I recall correctly, Ford rates the horsepower on the GT as 412hp with 91 octane and 402 with 87 octane.
Only 10hp difference.
The CAI+tune, at least IMHO, more than make up the 10hp.
The car definitely seems faster, and with more pull, to me with CAI+87 tune over the Ford stock tune+91 gas.

I feel the same way. When I look at the stock intake, it already is a Cold Air Intake (in that it's sealed from the heat of the engine and draws the air from outside of the car).
I too believe that the tune definitely brought the bigger gains.

SD6

I am definitely planning to go back to 91 octane soon, and looking forward to being impressed with the bump in power. I'll update in the next week or so when I go to 91 tune.

After reading on this (and other forums) about the adaptive octane system, and the fact Ford says that the car runs perfectly fine with 87 octane, I decided to run 87 octane during the winter/early spring months.
A lot of people way more knowledgeable than myself wrote posts showing there is no issues with detonation or knocking; you just lose some peak power. And I'm ok with 402hp during the winter and keep some $$ in my pocket

My rationale was to run 87 during that time to reduce the fuel bill, and now that spring/summer is just around the corner I will move back to 91.
The money I saved during the last ~7 months will be put back in my tank as I expect to use a lot more 91 gas during the fun summer months


That makes sense thanks! Will definitely do that 91 swap soon.

I'm in the exact same boat. Daily driver, and I do around 35K km (21K miles) a year, so I wanted to start with 87 as a baseline to see if I'd be happy with the result.
Now that I know I love it, I am happy knowing I can use 87 if gas prices climb too high and know/feel it's still faster then when I was running 91 with stock tune.

RedCandy5.0

Also Bama tunes the Airaid without the MVT. Airaid says to leave it in for cars that are not heavily modified. Taking it out can introduce a lot of noise into the MAF and screw up the signal.
This is from Airaid rep David on the subject.

The MVT is there so the kit has the proper calibration and proper air fuel ratios. Removing the MVT will not result in a performance benefit as it is not a restriction in the system, but there for calibration.

The only time you would need to remove the MVT is if you were going very radical with modifications ie Heads, Camshaft, Forced induction, basically modifications that would constitute a complete custom tune.

If you are just going with basic bolt-ons, such as long tube headers, cat-back, or a hand held tuner I would advise leaving it in as that will result in the best performance and drive ability.

Thanks,
David

MustangGTPilot

This is good to know and interesting read. When I got mine I called AM / BAMA and asked this question and was told "yep leave it out". Same from Airaid, (although I know I didn't speak to David). I guess when I get back home I will install the MVT and see what the difference is. Thanks again for this heads up.

SD6

Hmmmm that is a good point. I took out the insert, but now you have me second guessing. I just emailed Bama to ask if the tune was created WITH or WITHOUT the insert. Will see what they reply.

2012GrabbGT

Keep it coming.... You are passing on some helpful info that people can use. Thanks.

TheReaper

The 87 tune might be good for you and FCMalie but not for me. The best gains are made from 93.

smith1553

I have a steeda CAI that requires a tune which I do have from BAMA. Just out of curiosity what would happen if you tuned it back to stock and drove with the Steeda CAI still on? Steeda manual says it could damage the engine but could you drive it down the road and back at around 60 MPH with no damage?

Also FYI, I have compared gas mileage between street and performance...I get 3-4 MPG more on performance on the expressway and the sound from my GT500 mufflers is much more aggressive sounding on performance!

TheReaper

If you go back to stock then put the stock intake back on or you will lean out the engine if it runs at all.

smith1553

Ok, I was just curious because I am having gears installed and Ford told me that it will need to be tuned back to stock so that they can properly recalibrate the speedometer...just worried what exactly is going to happen because I did not want to install the stock intake back on...I'm not even sure if they need to start the engine to even do it...

2012GrabbGT

What gear are you putting in? Just curious.

SD6

I emailed Bama last night and asked if their custom tune was done WITH or WITHOUT the insert, to ensure that I have the intake setup the same way the tune is intended for. They sent me a reply already, so again I'm very pleased with their service!

Shawn,

The tunes that we write are set up for the insert to be removed from the cold air intake. This will result in the best power gains for your Mustang. If you have any other questions, please email back or call us at 8882269764. Thank you and have a great day!

RedCandy5.0

Yes the Bama tunes are set with the insert removed. But why would the forum spokesman say it is best to run the car with it installed. Here is a IM David from Airaid sent me

Hello,

The MVT is not a restriction in the system. The MVT is not designed to be removed when you are only running basic bolt-on's.

The MVT is designed to be removed when you do major modifications such as Cylinder head upgrades, camshaft, rear end gears, or forced induction. Basically modifications that would require complete custom tuning.

I do not put a ton of weight into Dyno's because there are way to many variables and it's not a real world condition.

I have seen countless 4.6L and 5.0L Mustang consistently running faster in the 1/4mile with the insert installed, vs. with it removed. When you are constantly getting higher trap speeds with the insert installed that shows the car's is producing more power in a real world environment.

As a consumer you are welcome to do as you wish, I am just letting you know how it was designed.

Any other questions, please let me know.

Thanks,
David

SD6

Interesting. I figured having the insert didn't require a custom tune, removing it would.

Since Bama created the tune without the insert, I think it would make sense for me to do the same and not use the insert so it matches the tune What do you guys think?

RedCandy5.0 = I notice you have the Airaid with a Lund tune. Did he do the tune with or without the insert? Are you running your CAI with or without the insert?

RedCandy5.0

I have both and have tried both. I can not really tell a difference. The Lund tune alone is probably the most aggressive, violent tune out there so it hard to tell. Put your foot into the throttle and your head snaps back and stomach is in your throat no matter what one i use.

WildPony619

When I first purchased the Airaid CAI, I was really confused with the MVT removal thing too. My insert is removed currently and I ran both a 93 Bama and Torq tune that was tuned without it. When I had to update the software on my SCT a few weeks ago, I tried starting the car while running the stock tune and it started to sputter but stayed on. So if it did not have any effect on performance, why is my car running lean without it? I'm confused all over again. ::

smith1553

After reading a ton of posts on the matter I have decided to go with 3.55 gears. Also the instructions on my Steeda CAI do not say to remove the insert, so I did not remove it.