Hey everyone, i'm looking for a little guidance!

I have my 2012 5.0 and i'm looking to add my next mod.
so far the car has flowmaster cat back from the previous owner and i put a c&l cold air intake on it (the no-tune version). i love my car but the only complaint i had was a sluggish bottom end driving through the city. i was initially planning on getting the 302 manifold on it but after searching through the forums it seems it may not be what i'm looking for. To fix my bottom end problem should i go with a tune, or start completing the exhaust. i'm a college student so i don't have the funding to do all at once. income taxes are sponsoring this next mod thankfully

 

I have a v6 with the C&L no tune required cai. I got a tune and couldn't believe all the extra power......Get a tune........

 

David is right, bottom end torque is what you're looking for, and the tune is the best way to get it.

 

You will feel a big difference once you get a tune and if you have an A6 the shifts will be nice and firm.

 

A tune is definitely your answer. The factory tune on my old '12 BBP was a torqueless mess. The Ford Procal tune cleaned that up nice but, I was more interested in preserving the warranty at that time, as the car was new.

On my new 14, the factory tune was much better but, I still tuned it with VMP and an X4 and that was totally worth it. Not quite as strong off the bottom as the Procal was but, still plenty and better mid and up.

The Procal took my fully loaded 12 into the 11s at the track on just the tune so, I'd say a tune is definitely worth it for what you seem to want. .

 

I would never consider a 5.0 sluggish, but then again my previous car was a Miata.

 

so your procal tune was better than vmp? what bout using it with a CAI. mine has a removable sleeve thats supposed to increase power but requires a tune. can the procal tool be used like the other tuners out there to compensate these issues?

 

Lightweight driveshaft. I had to say something different. Won't effect your warranty either if worried about that.

 

Tune for sure.

 

I'm gonna repeat myself so we are clear: Get a tune, get a tune, get a tune....

 

Agreed.

Best bang for a limited budget. If your CAI has the "no tune" insert that you can remove you are even better off.

I'll leave the which tune to your reading of all the other flamefest threads, but if you plan on future mods that will require a tune (other than tire size or gearing), pass on the procal since it gets the canned Ford tune. If you won't be touching anything, its an excellent option backed by Ford's expertise of conservative limits.