Installation Time
(approx) 30 Minutes
Difficulty Level:
Simple installation for anyone.
FREE 1 to 3-Day Delivery on Orders $119+ Details
$369.99
FREE Shipping Market Price $425.99 You Save 13% ($56.00) Up to 10% off for Military & First Responders! See DetailsAdd Local Shop Installation
Saved - View your saved items
We're sorry. We couldn't save this product at this time.
Hey, guys, Stephanie with americanmuscle.com, and this is my review of BBK's cold air intake for the 2015 and up S550 V6 in either this blacked out version or a chrome version. A cold air intake is oftentimes one of the first mods for many Mustang owners but there are a handful of different options out there, and then you always have to consider things like an open air box or a closed air box. This cold air intake option from BBK does not require a tune so this is going to be a good option for those S550 owners who are interested in and want the benefits of a cold air intake but maybe aren't quite ready for a tune yet. So like usual, let's look at the numbers first and then get some more into the intake itself. We already laid down a baseline run with our S550 V6, and then we installed the BBK and a 93 octane performance tune from Bama. We ran the intake with a tune because we wanted to see the full power potential of the intake. A cold air intake by itself will only net a few horsepower at the end of the day, and we're talking single digits here. So even if an aftermarket intake does not necessarily require a tune, we always recommend a tune if you're looking for any gains or improvements from your Mustang. Our baseline run with our 2015 V6 gave us numbers of 241 horsepower and 235 foot-pounds of torque at the rear wheels. With the BBK intake and the 93 octane Bama Performance tune the car made 255 horsepower and 247 foot-pounds of torque, making for a peak gain of 14 horsepower and 12 foot-pounds of torque. Keep in mind that we did pair the intake with a tune, so a lot of these gains can definitely be attributed to that tune. Peak gains are always nice to know, but the real thing I look for is differences throughout the curve or in your driving RPMs, which is what you're actually going to notice performance wise when you're driving. Throughout the curve we're seeing gains of 18 horsepower at 5800 RPM and 18 foot-pounds of torque right in the 4600 RPM range. The main benefit or desire of a cold air intake is increasing the air flow to the engine and providing improvements in power and acceleration over the restrictive stock air box. This usually means a large filter and a large air tube. What you tend to see though, especially in more budget friendly options like the BBK here, are intake tubes and filters that are not as large as some of the other options that are out there. You can't expect as much performance out of an intake like this one here. That is something that we definitely saw on the Dyno, especially with how well the factory air intake setup works on the S550s. All of our gains that we saw on the Dyno were from that Bama tune. One other thing I will mention about what I saw on the Dyno with this intake is the fact that the power curve is not as smooth as I would normally like to see it. This tells me that the air delivery with this intake isn't as smooth as other aftermarket options. What I see happening here is the tune working to smooth a lot of this out. While this particular intake is technically a no tune required intake, which means that you can just bolt this thing up and go without adding a custom tune, you will see the most results as far as power and acceleration improvements when you do pair it with a tune.By taking a look at the intake itself we're going to see something that we commonly see with all aftermarket cold air intakes and that's this included cotton element filter that's going to replace the factory paper filter. A filter like this is nice because it is a reusable filter that can be cleaned, re-oiled and reinstalled. Just throwing this out there, but this isn't the largest filter that I've seen on an aftermarket intake. If you're really looking for as much power gains as possible then you're probably going to want to look in the intakes that have bigger filters and bigger intake tubes. BBK offers this intake in two finishes, either this wrinkled black powder coated version that's a little more low key or a nice chrome option if you prefer a little flash under the hood. Both options are smooth on the inside of the intake tube. The intake is going to come with new couplers and clamps and install hardware and the weather stripping. It's also worth mentioning here that even though I know that technically this is a performance part, I do think the BBK looks nicer than the stock air box under the hood. The intakes come with a black heat shield no matter which color option you go with. If you're not a fan of the open element filter and prefer an enclosed air box or one that maintains the direct air feed from the grille of the car, there are some other options on the site that you can check out. As for price, this cold air intake option is going to be coming in at that $300 to $400 price range. The chrome option is going to cost a little bit more than the powder coated black version but only about $20 or so more. Cold air intakes with enclosed air boxes or ones that keep the tap into the factory cold air duct are going to be more expensive than the BBK is but there are also options that cost less than the BBK as well if this one's out of your price range.Install of the intake is fairly easy and straightforward. I'm going to call it a one out of three wrenches on the scale and you're looking at about a half hour to get it all done. All you really need is a 10 mil, a flat head for the plastic pins, and some pliers to remove the hose clamps. To start the install, disconnect the two breather hoses from the inlet tube. Remove the 10 millimeter bolt on the air box that holds it to the inner fender and detach the air box from the lower inlet tube on the side of the rad as you take the air box out. Loosen the clamps on the inlet tube at the throttle body and the air box and then remove the inlet tube. You can always remove the plastic rad cover by prying up the center of the plastic pins just to give yourself some more room. Once you have all of this off the car, before you start putting in the new intake, install the supplied small trim into the hole on the shield for the intake tube. Then you just remove the two 10 millimeter bolts on the driver side rad mount and pull that off too. Then you can install the air filter shield. It goes straight down onto the rad mount peg, and then the stock bolt installs through the air shield and is bolted back onto the small tab on the inner fender. Then reinstall the upper rad mount. The tapered BBK coupler goes onto the throttle body, and slide the two clamps over it. Install the BBK air filter through the hole in the air shield, and install the other BBK coupler and clamps. The coupler and clamps should be on the engine side of the air shield, just to clarify. Install the inlet tube into the coupler on the throttle body and then slide the air filter onto the inlet tube and connect the two vacuum hoses to the BBK inlet tube. Then it's just a matter of positioning the cold air in tube and tightening down all the clamps and reinstalling the rad cover.To wrap things up here, the BBK cold air intake has two color options, either a powder coated black or a flashier chrome option. I definitely think that either option will look much better than the factory intake under the hood. It also has a reusable filter, which is nice. This is a good choice for anyone who's not ready for a tune yet, but like I mentioned and showed on the Dyno, the best results will always come when using a tune. As always, check this out for yourself online, along with all of your other options, and for all things Mustang, keep it right here at americanmuscle.com.
Features, Description, Reviews, Q&A, Specs & Installation
Brand | BBK |
Cold Air Intake Type | Cold Air Intake |
Air Intake Tuning Requirements | No Tune Required, But Recommended |
Cold Air Intake Filter Type | Oiled |
Cold Air Intake Tube Material | Aluminum |
Technical Note. This BBK Performance Cold Air Intake is not legal for use in California or other states adopting California emission standards.
Fitment:
DetailsBBK 18465
CA Residents: WARNING: Cancer and Reproductive Harm - www.P65Warnings.ca.gov
Installation Info
Installation Time
(approx) 30 Minutes
Difficulty Level:
Simple installation for anyone.
What's in the Box
Tech Guides:
10 More Questions