I'll be brief, figured I'd give some feedback to the interested parties .
I have a 2011 5.0 manual, stock axle ratios, so nothing special there. Only modifications now are the intake and the tune....came from an otherwise stock car.


Ordering and shipping:
I ordered through Gus on the forums. Amazing turn around time. I told him I wanted to order it Monday afternoon, the tune was in my inbox the same day, and the CAI was on my doorstep by Wednesday. Great experience, great customer service, great shipping.

CAI assembly:
Not coming from a mustang background...the amount of work involved with simply piecing together the CAI was more than I expected and used. I'm sure there's a reason for this, but fair warning to the interested parties. For a MSRP of $390 or so I think....I was expecting it to be a bit more 'assembled'

CAI install:
The 1 sheet guide is adequate, but a video would do wonders with this. Or at least a little more pictures. I'm very tempted to create a video myself, to simply help out other people. There's enough things that you 'question'..that you eventually figure out, but would be nice to be specifically called out.

CAI appearance and sound:
Freaking sweet looking...and the sound? AMAZING. I was thinking about an exhaust before, but I think the CAI satisfies the need I have. It does sound realllly nice.

Tune:
Reading some of the experiences here I was expecting something completely different. To be honest here, I was completely underwhelmed by the tune. To be blunt, the car almost feels slower now at lower RPMs. And hardly any faster at higher RPMs. With a minimum of a 25 *wheel* hp gain throughout the curve and a peak increase of 40 *wheel* by the dynos...to be honest this wasn't what I expecting. I came from a 135i...where when I tuned it, the power delivery was obvious and substantial (yes I realize the turbos come into play here more), and it wasn't much different of a power increase.
It IS a very smooth power delivery though, better than stock. But at best the tune is slighly noticeable, at worst it feels slower.


The final synopsis is, I like the CAI and will be keeping it, the tune....I'm not so sure yet. I may try to return to stock or scale it down (for engine longevity reasons)...or possibly find another tune entirely.
I'm also welcome to insight about the tune as well, in case perhaps I missed something along the way. The tune is definitely installed (via SCT), so it's nothing quite that stupid

 

which intake you have, most require a tune to be installed... I have a bama tune and its 10 fold better than stock, id imagine Steeda is right there with them...

 

Steeda tune, steeda intake. I've read the same things scattered in other threads, but for whatever reason, mine didn't have that... at all? There's definitely a change, but as I mentioned at best it's slightly faster, at worst it's actually slower (<2500 rpms or so)

 

hmm.. wierd, id talk to steeda and see if whats up.. i noticed a night and day differance with the bama tune...

 

hm thanks Shane, I'll send gus an email/PM and see what he says. If anyone else wants to chime in, I very much welcome it

 

What a waste bye bye to warranty and for what?

 

There must be something wrong. There is no way, no way it will feel slower in any aspect.

 

only way i could see that is if you are using a 87 octane economy tune..

 

I can't explain that phenomenon at all! The moment I had my tune installed, I noticed a significant difference THROUGHOUT the powerband, including torque, throttle response, etc.

And since Steeda came out with the new tune, the 5.0 went from an animal to a beast!

I'd see what Gus has to say... I'm very sure he'll take care of it. Maybe you got a wrong processor code tune by mistake? I know all tunes are specifically designed to work with certain processors... that's why you need to provide the code when ordering... pretty sure it's something simple.

Just my 2 cents...

 

I recently got the updated tune from steeda and immediately noticed the improved shift quality on my a6 car. Got the tune from Todd at steeda. I plan on going to the track on 3-12 and will try canned sct tunes compared to the steeda tunes and wil try to make some passes with/without steeda cold air. Ill post my results.

 

I agree....Did you use the pre-loaded "strategy tunes" in the SCT or the actual Steeda custom tune in the custom section? You may have to contact Steeda for that.

The tune makes a huge difference as most have noticed..

 

The feedback here is re-assuring then, I sent Gus a PM and we'll see what comes of this. It's definitely a custom tune, and it's definitely loaded in correctly. Right processor code, etc (it's actually part of the tune name that Gus sent as well)

I even went the route of changing some of the axle ratio options for good measure to make sure it wasn't related to that (as by default it's 'stock', not 3.31)....still nothing to the degree you guys are explaining things.

Shane, I'd like to think your 87 performance tune would be it...this would certainly explain it.....but the tune as a part of the name DOES say 93 Octane.

For pure reference sake, the processor code is GTU6. I know a few months ago there were problems with some processor codes and having real problems as a result of a tune. Oh and for final proof that the tune was installed correctly and nothing related to that....the rev limiter is above the stock.

 

I'm 100000% sure I did a custom tune load (did it twice for good measure after the initial disappointing results). However on the SCT it does say Strategy: then gives some like hex values. Should it say strategy:custom? It also shows the custom tune name I gave it as well

 

This sounds like you loaded the strategy tune not the custom tune. When you use the act device it will have two sections. Strategy tune and custom tune. You'll want to find custom tune from the main list items when the device first boots up.

 

I'll try again here today....100000% sure I chose custom (as I had no idea what would be on the strategy, and was more afraid than anything else.)
and I even had to select the tune name I gave 'Steeda CAI'.

But I'm willing to try anything

 

Best suggestion I have is you contact Steeda and have them package a new tune file for you. Load it and see if you notice a difference.

 

Yeah with a tune you should feel a big diference steeda or other tune. I have the steeda and the BBR tune. Both are good.

 

See what Gus says. I have nothing but good luck with the tune Steeda sent me. It feels nothing like stock did. I have a few friends that have 5.0's stock and they will or did buy the Steeda tune and CAI kit after driving my car. Good luck with your issue.

 

Got the PM you sent me, just replied back. Definitely want to make sure you got the right tuning.

Get back to me on the PM and we'll get you straight.

 

Freakazoid- as mentioned, people seem generally thrilled with Steeda's tune (and customer service) so I'm anxious to hear how you make out... and thanks for sharing your impressions regardless.

What you described is basically exactly how I would describe my experience with my 2009 GT and the JLT CAI + tune from American Muscle that I bought a bit over a year back (pre Bama days). Underwhelming.