hey guys, ive now installed the airaid CAI and the borla s-types... and I want to share my experience.

first with the airaid. its relatively easy to install, definitely a tight fit. my biggest problem was getting the aluminum fitting and 5/8 rubber grommet into the intake tube. sooo annoying.. I went through about 3 grommets until I finally gave up. I let American Muscle and Airaid know about it.. both were incredibly good with me customer service wise, and airaid took very good care of me. I recommend them bigtime.. at a minimum if anything goes wrong, their customer service is top notch. after finally getting it all to work, its very very nice..

next was the borla s-type. its all pretty simple to install, but getting the stock mufflers off is sooo frustrating.. especially for total noob like me. once they were off, getting the new ones on is easy. and it is definitely much easier to install if you remove the rubber/metal black hanger holdings for the mufflers. I found it impossible to remove the mufflers just by themselves. once installed, these things are great!!! you may have seen my thread earlier, I was trying to decide between the touring or s-type.. figured I'd go with the s-type. my goal was a nice deep rumble, and good loudness when you give it power, but I didn't want obnoxious or loud all the time or loud when you barely touch the throttle. these things are perfect. at normal driving they produce a nice deep rumble. when you give it power, they produce a very satisfying roar I was relived and glad I did not go with the touring, because I imagine if touring is any quieter than these, then it might indeed be indiscernible from the stock sound.

the combination of the airaid CAI and the Borlas does make the exhaust a little bit louder, just a little bit. the tone is better too though!

keep in mind I do drive an automatic, so guessing with manually changing gears your car will probably be louder depending at how high rpms you go before changing.. also keep in mind im very new at all this, yet I was able to do it! all you need is to prepare yourself well, research and if possible see others or at least pictures/videos of installations to give you an idea or have someone you can text for guidance(thankfully I did, matts95stang helped me outa little bit). and more importantly make sure you have the right tools!! BEFORE you get started lol. I thought I did, but the stupid instructions on the borla's says you need a 15mm socket... lies.. you need a 13mm. also, if you can try get someone to help.. at least with handing you stuff.. its does make it a little harder doing it entirely alone lol. but I had little choice(couldn't wait anymore to put them on lol)

if you take anything from this, let it be to go with AM and Airaid.. from what I can tell the quality is amazing, but what impressed me most is the customer service. best ive experienced don't know about borla because I didn't have any issues there so never had to contact them, guess that speaks well of the quality and fit of their products for sure.

next mods: wheels and stripes

 

Thank you for the Awesome feedback, this is a great write up! We really appreciate the kind words about our business.

I'm sorry about the slight issue you had with your Airaid intake at first. However, I'm glad to hear that together we were able to get you squared away!

Enjoy all of your new parts, I bet your Mustang sounds and drives awesome now! Please let me know if you have any questions regarding your future build list, I'm only a PM away.

-Dan

 

Are you referring to the driver's perspective of sound inside the car? You wanted it louder outside so you can hear it better inside?

 

Thank YOU guys! It's not often I get to deal with good customer service, much less honest businesses. You guys in my experience have both, so it's definitely worth telling others.

Basically I wanted to hear it when I was driving. But not annoyingly, and not obnoxiously, or every second I'm in the car. Most of the time while I'm driving, you kinda don't notice it much, especially with music. I try not to drive all crazy because my commute is all streets, and I try to get as much mpg as possible lol. So if I drive calmly, its very very nice.. because it is slightly louder than the stock, and deeper, and you know its there, and can hear it enough to know its there but not so much that it blocks out your music.. even if you have your music on low. not sure how to explain this.. you kinda have to hear for yourself.

anyway, on about every time you start up your engine or start going after a red light, you can hear the nice and deep tone.. and when you want to really hear it, definitely makes its presence known

one thing I still don't know though is how it sounds from the outside... I have no idea how loud it is on the outside lol but I will be on the inside, so that's my concern. my family says its extremely loud when I go WOT, which is expected, but when I drive normally, they say they don't hear it(all this with them being inside the house and me driving down the street or around the block)

basically its perfect in my book. I imagine the ATAK's would be more noticeable, but also louder and I didn't want too loud. the opposite with the touring... I imagine I wouldn't hear it at all or even know its there when I drive calmly. maybe barely hear something at start up, and probably only really notice its there at WOT. Of course there is a bit of a difference with an automatic.. since it will shift at about 2k rpm. so probably the touring is more noticeable with a manual, but personally i'd still recommend people go with the s-type. in any case I think its better to go with the s-type, and if in case its too loud, you can very easily sell them and switch to the touring.

unless you live in a neighborhood where any little sound will **** everyone off and birds get shot for chirping in the morning... then maybe the stock would be best lol

EDIT: by the way, as far as I can tell, I rarely hear any crackle. which is good for me cause I didn't like the crackle much on the videos I saw. though then again I think it being an auto has something to do with it.. cause when I switch to sport mode or select shift mode, and let it go to higher rpms, then you do start to hear a bit of crackle. but still no where near as much as in the borla videos.

 

I did something similar but with FlowMaster Force II. I did the exhaust first and was a little disappointed with the level of sound and tone but, after I installed the Airraid OMG! I went with the FlowMasters because the Roush seemed too low and the Borlas were out over my budget. Cruising she is nice and quite (no drone) but wakes up and nicely in 2-3 and 3-4 shifts. It is the combination that make the difference. I love the sound in tunnels!

 

You should post pics of the flow tips on your car.
I have the same exhaust.. Saving for the tuner and air raid.

 

You are going to love the improved sound with the Airraid CAI! I am avoiding doing the tune because I have the 100,000 Warranty/Service Plan from Ford. Just don't want to take the risk just yet! Only 50,000 more miles

 

That my friend, is a beautiful car.
I always wondered what the tips would look like with the stock valance. I swapped mine to the GT rear the first time my car was hit. The tips seat perfectly in the cutouts and look great on your car. Well done.

I can't wait for the air raid and unlock even more sound!

P.s. I watched videos of the force 2 and in them, the exhaust popped and crackled. I have never experienced this. My exhaust just "hums" and growls... Just curious what caused the gurgle and pop I saw on the videos. I hope the air raid doesn't promote that.

 

Thanks! I was checking your car out too and the rear valance and front grill look awesome! If I get tagged, I may just do the same with the rear valance but have it and my side skirts painted Sterling Grey. Is that the RTR hood stripe in matte. Kind of running out of mods at this point but loving the car!

 

Love that color so much.. I like my blue but i still think sterling gray metallic is the best color ever!


Funny a thread about borla and airaid turned into flowmaster and airaid lol

But anyway, i dont think the airaid makes the pop and crackle. Not sure if being automatic or manual makes a big difference, but i have the airaid and borla and it doesnt make a pop or crackle often. Really ive only noticed it at WOT. My guess is since the automatic shifts early, you dont hear the P&C.. Seems like you only hear it at higher rpms(which might be why i hear it at WOT).

I dont think you have much to worry about with pop and crackle unless your flooring it all the time lol