Ford Performance High Performance Intake Manifold (05-10 GT)

Video Review & Installation

Hey, guys. Stephanie with AmericanMuscle.com here with the Ford Racing High Performance Intake Manifold for 2005 to 2010 GT Mustangs. The Ford Racing High Performance Intake Manifold is going to be a great option for the three-valve S197 owners out there that are looking for a transition mod to help build a powerful, naturally aspirated setup or even wanted a little boost. These intake manifolds give the best performance when they're paired with other mods like cams on a throttle body, so it's more of a complimentary upgrade that will set you on the path to squeezing the most performance out of the three-valve. So I'm going to go ahead and say that this intake manifold does not make a very good first modification unless you're just shopping for looks. If you aren't as concerned with the performance gains, then this is an awesome mod. It definitely looks great under the hood, it's flashy, and it grabs attention. But if your car is completely stock and you throw this manifold on there, then you're performance gains are going to be minimal and impressive looks is about all you're going to gain from this manifold. Where this manifold really thrives and performs is when it's paired with other mods. On any cars it works best with a set of cams and aftermarket throttle body, which is why we pair with the Ford Racing Hod Rod Cams and the Ford Racing 62-millimeter throttle body on the product page to help you see the most gains possible with this manifold. It also works great with boost despite some early misconceptions, which I'll come back to earlier. But the increase flow capabilities of the manifold means that it's a good pairing for boosted cars as well. Now if you do currently have a stock or relatively stock three-valve, then this manifold will open up some flow, but in all reality it does really need the help of other mods to transfer the gains. Those that have not already deleted the charge motion plates will notice a little bit more difference and have some more gains as opposed to those that have already taken this step since the mani does delete those. But like I said, this is really more of a modification for a car that already has some work done. Let's talk about the actual construction of this manifold some. It's made from a lightweight composite material, so there are some weight savings here and also better heat desiccation with this type of material as opposed to other types of materials. An aluminum manifold is heavier and easily heat soaked when under hood temps get hot, but the composite material does not react the same way. This means that horsepower torque levels will be more consistent, giving you more consistent performance. And despite some misconceptions, this composite material also functions well under boost. It can stand up the pressure. Ford Racing did pressure test this manifold to make sure that it was strong enough for force induction, and it does have some specifically reinforced areas to make sure there's no failure under boost, so you don't have to avoid this manifold if you're looking at a force induction build. This manifold does have an open plenum design and high-flow runners. So this means more plenum volume and it also has shorter intake runners. The stock intake runners are about 14 inches, but this manifold has runners that are about nine and a half inches. I mentioned this earlier, but this manifold does have the IMRC delete or charge motion control delete built into it, which is going to help supply you with some performance gains. Some more general info, this manifold will still fit under a stock hood, but you won't be able to squeeze it under a Ford Racing strut tower brace. Just so you guys are aware. It's going to include intake gaskets, a crossover fuel line, perch fitting assembly, PCV fitting assembly, and hardware as well. It almost goes without saying, and I'm assuming all of you already know this, but I'm going to say it anyway, you will need a tune for this manifold. So overall this manifold really thrives in the upper RPMs and that's where you'll most likely see the most benefits and improvements. That usually leaves people to become worried about losing some low-end power with this manifold, but you have to keep in mind what you're building for and how you plan on building it. This manifold is really designed to help get the maximum NA gains from this motor with supporting mods, cams, long tubes, throttle body, or with a centrifugal blower or turbo setup. That being said, if you have a build along those lines then you don't have to worry about losing that low-end power. Your build will make your power band. Where you're going to lose a little bit of the low-end power is if you slap this on a stock car, like we talked about earlier. As far as price, this is a pretty serious mod and so it's going to have a pretty serious price tag that comes along with it. Power isn't usually cheap, at least good, sustainable power anyway, and so you're looking at spending a little over $600 for this manifold. Keep in mind though that this is a Ford Racing product, so you've got the comfort of Ford Racing quality, fitment, and know how backing the design of this manifold behind that price tag. The install here really isn't difficult. The manifold is obviously easy to access and I wouldn't say that it takes a ton of know-how to do, but you should have a little experience before you try to tackle this yourself. You'll need a few different sockets, a fuel line disconnect tool, a drill, and a torque wrench as well. It will take about two hours of your time and I'm going to call it a two out of three on the difficulty meter just because this is a little bit of an involved install. Giving a general overview of the install you're looking at having to depressurize the fuel system so you can remove the fuel rails and disconnecting all of the backing connections and the electrical connections to the manifold as well. This means the TPS, MAF, ETC, injectors, and intake. The fuel rails will need to be removed so you can pull the manifold, and following the proper sequence will be a good idea here when you're unbolting the manifold. The alternator bracket will need to be removed so you can modify it, which is why you need a drill bit, but the instructions are clear here and they'll help you out. After that, it's just a matter of installing the new manifold. Follow the bolt sequence here and torque these bad boys down to spec so you don't have any issues, and reinstall all of the other items, including the fuel line crossovers and all of your electrical and vacuum connections. Wrapping things up here, the Ford Racing High Performance Intake Manifold has a high-flow design with an open plenum and high-flow shorter runners to make it a performance upgrade that pairs well with other modifications. It's made from a lightweight composite material that's been pressure tested and reinforced with forced induction applications and, of course, it looks great under the hood. As always I suggest you check this thing out more online for yourself, and for all thing Mustang keep it right here at AmericanMuscle.com.