My 'performance' cold air intake was a hot air disaster

I finally swapped out my factory air box for a cheap cold air intake from eBay last month. Everyone online swears they give you 10-15 horsepower and a better sound. Well, on my 2006 Mustang GT, all I got was a check engine light and slower 0-60 times. Turns out the filter sits right behind the radiator, sucking in nothing but hot engine air. I wasted a Saturday installing it and another Sunday putting the stock box back on. My buddy thought I was crazy for going back to factory, but my intake air temps dropped 40 degrees on the scan tool. Has anyone else had a supposed 'upgrade' actually make things worse on a modular Ford?

2 comments

2 Comments

angela1911mo ago

Dude I had the EXACT same issue on my 05 GT. I tried a heat shield but it was basically just a piece of tin that did nothing. What FINALLY worked for me was cutting a hole in the inner fender and running a 4 inch tube from the factory air box with a K&N drop-in filter. Kept the whole stock housing sealed up tight and just fed it cold air from the fender well. My IATs dropped like crazy and the car actually felt snappier. No check engine light, no tuning needed, and it sounded meaner without that hot air trash.

rowan8491mo ago

Did you try any heat shielding or a different routing before ditching it, or was the eBay pipe just too short to get away from the radiator?