2015-17 Mustang GT Ford Performance Power Packs

[samd1351]

Lion, I've read most of your reviews/write-ups. And I must say, what thourough job. Granted, a lot of the details are beyond my scope, but still, a hell of a write up and I do enjoy reading them. I do have a question though. The TriboTEX is this a one shot treatment, or with every oil change? It seems like a smart move for those that track their cars extensively, but pretty pricey for the DD or weekend toy. I'm also running the Power Pack 2, in a '17 Performance pack car. The best mileage I get is 21 or 22 mpg. That was on mostly highway trip from KC to Eureka Sorings, AR. Most of the trip was a straight shot on a reasonably flat to slightly hilly highway at 75mph. Anything slower than that and I feel like I need to drop down a gear, and that shoots the rpm back up, which drives the mpg back down.

Also, as you seem to be not only highly informed, but fairly non-biased as well, is there any significant difference between PUP and regular PP? I will be giving both autocross and road coarse a shot in the next month or so, and need to do an oil change before I go. Is it really worth it to use PUP vs. reg PP?

I don't have the catch can you, but it's on the list. Although, the more I'm on this forum, the longer the list gets!

Thanks again for all of the info

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[TheLion70x77]

TriboTEX lasts up to 40,000 miles in a typical passenger car. However if your track it frequently, your average RPM is going to be a lot higher than a car that's mostly daily driven, so the coating will wear out faster. I'm only guessing, but a performance street car like mine that sees frequent sustained high RPM and occasional track will probably need re-application at 30~35k miles. For a dedicated track car or heavily used dual purpose car, probably ever 10k to 20k depending on how much actual track time it sees. Like all things, it has a useful life span before the coating wears back off. One of the benefits is that the majority of wear is occurring on the film and not the actual metal surface. There is still some wear, especially in very extreme pressures, but the wear is far less on the actual metal surfaces.

DLC coatings like TriboTEX are only applied one time at a fresh oil change until their useful service life has been exceeded, then you simply re-apply it. Unlike DLC coatings applied by manufacturers (vapor deposited) at the point of manufacture, they don't crack / flake off under extreme loads (both pressure and thermal) and they don't require disassembly / rebuild to re-apply. In Situ is by far the better type because it can be used in all existing engines and re-applied without any disassembly. It needs a minimum of about 40 motor hours to fully form the tribofilm on the wear surfaces.

It will NEVER replace Zinc compounds as an anti-wear and it's not an oil addive per say. It does not alter the oils formula or additive package, but only uses the oil as a carrier to the locations of high pressure and heat which cause the film to form. It will NOT form on say the walls of the oil pan for example, as there's not any mechanical pressure there no enough heat. But it will form on piston rings, cylinder walls, cam lobes, rod bearings (when the drop in and out of hydrodynamic on startup / shut off of the engine), gerotor gear teeth etc. ZDDP and Organic Zinc compounds (replacing ZDDP in newer oils) are still the primary anti-wear additive and they form tribo films extremely rapidly by chemical attachment to the wear surfaces.

However they also decay much more rapidly than DLC films and have a much higher coefficient of friction. Their temperature limits are also typically around 250C and their pressure bearing capability is not as great as DLC coatings. So you will always need a fast acting anti-wear additive in the oil for the time before the DLC coating forms and when it's wearing out, weather it's Synthetic Magnesium Silicate Hydroxide (aka MSH which is TriboTEX) or Hexagonal Boron Nitride (hBN which is CeraTek and Archoil) that is used as the DLC coating, or others yet like Tungsten Di-sulfide. I'm not sure how well hBN type DLC coatings (CeraTek and Archoil) work will MoDTC that is now being used in many higher quality synthetics, but I do know it is optimal to use MoDTC with TriboTEX along with ZDDP or Organic Zinc compounds. I'm not suggesting adding these into the oil, they are already in there in appropriate proportions. I'm only explaining their interaction at a very high level so you understand there aren't negative side effects and are compatible. Engine wear, friction and additives are a very complex subject.

There is some competition between the zinc anti-wear additive in all motor oils and TriboTEX (or CeraTek / Archoil), but ultimately what happens is TriboTEX forms a porous film that eventually gets diamond capped as the film forms. It acts like slick sheets sliding against one another and will self regulate anywhere from a few microns up to several hundred microns. It can compensate for minor surface wear by a "polishing" like action where it fills in surface voids, but has limits for major wear (deep scarring). Because of it's porous structure, zinc will form a chemical bond to the metal surface in between the MSH structures gaps and work symbiotically with the MSH film. Both zinc and MoDTC work by chemical attachment, where TriboTEX works by mechanical attachment. It's a three part solution more or less.

Regarding PUP vs. PP, both use the same GTL base stock, so that part is unchanged. But I believe PUP has additional detergents and possibly a higher concentration of anti-wear additives and MoDTC than regular PP. However regular PP will serve extremely well and I doubt one could tell much of a difference if any except over maybe hundreds of thousands of miles of use. So go PP if that's what's available or if your FI.

 

[TheLion70x77]

Here are some proofs of the fuel mileage. The two six minute intervals are mostly over about a 15 mile portion of highway (some hills up and down). The rest is back roads having fun or 55 zones etc. where I'm not in 6th or not flat ground.

Both of those were before I went back to PUP (was on M1 5W-20), but I did have TriboTEX in since 20k. Recently with PUP 5W-30 I've gotten similar or slightly better results under similar conditions in that section of highway. Seems PUP's additive package and base oil are just working a little better than M1's additive package. That an the GTL base oil is much better than regular M1's Group III.

 

[BillyJRacing]

I know a lot of people have been commenting about enclosing the GT350 CAI due to high temps in traffic.

That's probably the best thing anyone can do to a GT350 airbox. There's a reason the GT500 has a closed airbox.

As promised, the thrust charts comparing a bone stock 2015 PP GT to my suggested Power Pack 2 Setup and also to my suggested Power Pack 3 setup. Each one is optamized for track speeds to make the most effective use of gearing and the power band of the 5.0 depending on the particular power pack. Torque values for all the 5.0 thrust curves are taken directly from LMR's dyno results on their 2015 PP GT. The stock dyno wasn't technically stock because they did have an exhaust, so it was netting around 7 hp more than a bone stock GT due to the X-pipe on their Ford Performance exhaust.

Nice work. PP3 is clearly the best on a road course. You can see my thrust charts on my PP1-3 test here:

https://motoiq.com/tested-ford-mustang-gt-power-packs-1-3/9/

 

[sonicc]

I know a lot of people have been commenting about enclosing the GT350 CAI due to high temps in traffic. I have a power pack 3 that I installed since I'm on the road courses here in SoCal quite a bit. Until recently, I didn't have a need for enclosing the CAI because it works just fine on the track once you get rolling. However, since I'm going to be installing some TrackSpec louvers to aid in cooling and help with evacuating air for a little more downforce on the front, the louvers will create a rather large opening directly over the intake. I don't want to worry about water, but more importantly, I was concerned that air exiting through the vent directly over the CAI when traveling at high speed would create a vacuum effect that may affect power. As a result, I decided to fab up my own enclosure.

I used 1/8" Lexan (polycarbonate). Unlike acrylic, Lexan is easier to cut and it's not brittle. Acrylic is more scratch resistant and slightly more clear, but it's not worth the hassle for the ease of working with Lexan. I have a link below where I purchased the Lexan. You can actually get two covers out of one sheet if you want to team up with a buddy to do this.

Hardware was 10-32 x 3/4 stainless button socket cap screws. I used corresponding nylon lock nuts with a larger diameter fender washer for the Lexan and a smaller diameter washer for the lock nuts since clearance is tight in a couple of spots.

I removed the top half of the CAI and cut the rubber seal down to the base with an X-Acto knife. I then trimmed off the rubber nubs on the back side. This allows you to see where the holes are that you need to drill through the rubber. I used a 13/64" bit. What I did was place the CAI cover on the Lexan to trace out the shape. If I was to do this again, I would make a cardboard template instead. The reason is that when I cut out the shape it was slightly larger and required additional trimming and sanding. A jigsaw with a basic cutting blade worked great.

I used a coarse file and 60 grit sandpaper on a block to shape. Once I got the shape I wanted, I sanded the edges with 100, 220, and then 300 grit sandpaper. Make sure the the top part of the CAI is affixed to the bottom when checking fitment. If you don't do this, the upper half flexes since it is shaped like the letter C and you will not get it correct. I then clamped the Lexan to the upper half of the CAI, removed it, and then drilled the holes for the Lexan through the back side of the CAI. After that, I cleaned everything up and bolted it on.

I measured and trimmed the EVA foam molding of the heat shield so that it forms a nice seal. If you look closely, you can see where one side was of the foam was bent to fit on the outside of the shield. I used a spare push pin to help hold the shape of foam. It's working fine for now, but I may use something else with a little more height.

The setup seems to work fairly well, but I haven't been to the track yet with it. With the Velossa Tech intake I'm sure it will work well.

Lexan link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CAWRVJO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That's awesome man. I had the same idea to do this but with Plexiglass once I install the trackspec vents. Lexan is definitely a better idea. In addition to covering it, I was also planning on adding Velossa Tech piece and cut a hole on the bottom of the box then run a pick up tube to get cold air from the lower grille.

 

[TheLion70x77]

Agreed, this has been something I've been wanting to do for quite some time. I'll see if I can get some pics of my foil tape / roof flashing mod on the VelossaTek to close off that gap in the ducting to the GT350 intake. I think the reason Ford Performance chose an open type was to balance emissions with performance. Remember the GT350 still has to be a road legal car and meet certain emissions requirements, getting very hard to do for NA V8's in a world of small displacement FI engines.

Hotter intake air is counter productive to making good power, but it's beneficial for fuel economy. Honda is going so far as to actually heat the intake air on their newer cars now! That's right, they have heater elements on the intake system just for that purpose. But back to the hood, the GT350 hood uses a center vent. It doesn't use the two "nostrils" like the regular GT hoods. It's a retrofit of an intake designed for a different hood all together, hence why even the intake tube has a 1.5" gap going to the radiator air ducting. And unfortunately the retrofit of the GT350 open air box is right where the nostril is on the 2015-2017 hoods but not the newer 2018's (I suspect they moved them more towards the middle just for that reason, so they could re-use the GT350 CAI's again when they do Power Packs for the 2018's but can avoid that issue).

Anway, at low speeds, the leakyness of the GT350 CAI acts like aspiration ports and allows it to suck in hot stagnant air from under the hood and also radiator backwash. At higher speeds obviously air flow is enough to keep things relatively cool so it's not as big of an issue. But for making good power, the best is ram air. You already have a high pressure zone in front of the car. Why not use that to pressurize (mildly) the intake and reduce your pumping losses? You can even build small positive pressure inside the air box.

I think the above "GT350 cover mod", my foil tape / flashing mod combined with the VelossaTek ram air duct will do very well for performance purposes. I suspect we can build positive pressure in the GT350 CAI, maybe not quite as much as the stock air box, but the intake tube, throttle body and large conical filter flow much better than the stock setup, so overall it should be very beneficial for performance purposes. What a car this would be running the Power Pack 3 and a 3.91 rear end with a DLC coating...we'd be making over 500 hp crank on 93 pump gas with an OE quality tune :-)

The other benefit is as the OP of the mod said, track spec hood vents. That should aid in radiator flow without having high exposure to water. Sure some rain will get in, but it's indirect and will mostly just run down the fenders etc. Still street capable in all weather even with track spec hood vents.

 

[TheLion70x77]

Also I found one more optimization we can use in conjunction with the Power Packs. They are the foundation, but we can do a bunch of different modifications to make best use of the capabilities as often as we can. Ignition. Iridium spark plugs have a high durability, but electrical conductivity isn't the best. Also the sharp edges of the electrode, which is great for electron migration (in electrical design, we try to AVOID sharp corners in traces because of radiated electrical noise and in high voltage nodes, it can be an arch over point) tend to erode leaving a more rounded tip which has more erratic charge migration, it also requires higher coil voltages to get the arch to occur.

NGK has developed Ruthenium tip plugs. Really they are copper core plugs with Ruthenium plating on a fine wire .4 electrode. https://ngksparkplugs.com/en/products/ignition-parts/spark-plugs/ruthenium-spark-plugs

Here's the thing, we want to run right at the edge of knock or just in knock (mild which isn't harmful). That allows the maximum ignition timing, without getting into knock that's severe enough to cause the ECU to retard timing to prevent a severe occurrence that causes damage to the pistons (usually the lands). That means to run at the edge of knock or in mild knock we need consistency of ignition and also cylinder pressures.

If there's a wide variation in cylinder pressures, some ignition events will produce knock severe enough to cause the ECU to retard timing for safety of the engine even if the average events are safe. So that lowers the average power because the few ignition cycles which excessively high pressures require less timing, which must also be run for the rest of the ignition cycles.

Example: suppose the ECU is running 10 degrees of timing with a wide variation cycle to cycle. The most extreme cycles are producing knock that is harmful, so the ECU retards timing by 2 degrees. Now the average is lower because of those extreme events.

Suppose the same ECU is running 10 degrees again. But this time there are no excessively high pressure cycles because ignition is very tightly controlled and fuel burn is as complete as possible. Now our average power output is higher because there are no extreme events requiring timing retard even if the extreme cycles produced higher power output on that particular cycle, the average suffered as a result.

So things we can do to help the engine see conditions that maximize Ford's performance tunes capabilities are the following:

1. Oil catch can. This is the biggest one. Even the stock 5.0 is very prone to oil ingestion, high revving DOCH V8 = lots of heat = lots of oil vaporization. Keep it out of the intake. While it doesn't damage the engine due to the ECU tuning, it does prevent the ECU from running more aggressive timing maps. Even a bone stock 2015 PP GT experienced power fade during Car and Drivers lightning lap testing. It was the only car they tested that day that had noticeable power fading as things got hot. Power packs will only exacerbate that issue.

2. Use paper filters unless your tracking the car. For any daily use, paper just filters better than oiled cotton. And the reusable synthetic filters have substantially reduced dust capacity and don't flow any better than their paper equivalents. So they clog up faster and provide little to no gains. Stay paper for street and throw in the oiled cotton for a track session if you want those few extra hp, but be careful as oil contamination of the MAF will reduce power!

3. Use DLC coatings. These don't just help reduce friction losses (which increases fuel economy and more importantly for us, power to the wheels), they also reduce waste heat AND increase piston ring seal which reduces both blow by and oil vaporization / consumption. It's a win win win.

4. Use a good quality high VI (not one that's artificially high due to polymer viscosity improvers, but one with natural inherent high viscosity index like PAO's, mPAO's or GTL base oils). This also minimizes oil vaporization that results in fuel dilution.

5. Use the proper viscosity for the average temperature range. I have no issues with 5W-20 in performance cars under the condition the oil temps don't get too hot. But 5W-30's are better for a street car that sees frequent WOT, especially for more than 30 seconds at a time.

5W-20 if your average oils temps are in the 210F to 230F range, it's the OE oil viscosity
5W-30 if your average oil temps are in the 240F to 260F range. It's the "track viscosity" recommendation for 2018's and up and the Aussie 2015-2017 GT's (likely due to their very hot climate). I run PUP 5W-30 year around because it provides better high temp viscosity than 20 weights but actually flows BETTER when cold than the OE MC Semi-syn 5W-20...this is also what Hennesy uses in their 774 HP Supercharged world record 2015 GT that set the speed record at 207 MPH. I spoke to them and they spoke very highly of PUP 5W-30 and 0W-40.
0W-40 for track days. PUP 0W-40 is extremely robust, both the base oil and the additive package. It's so robust it's actually used in several dedicated track cars. A 12,000 RPM Twin Turbo V6 F1 car and the lemans Viper ACR race car. Off-the-shelf PUP 0W-40 is that good!

6. Ignition. The more consistent the ignition is cycle to cycle, the more often the ECU is going to be running the most aggressive timing tables = highest average power to the wheels.

7. Air ducting. Cool, slightly pressurized air will provides the highest air density which allows the ECU to inject more fuel while still allowing complete burn. That's more power to the wheels. Also reduces pumping losses (read vacuum losses). Why not take advantage of a high pressure zone that's already there...?

I haven't tried these plugs, but out of every vendor I've had the best experience with NGK's plugs because of there extremely good quality and solid designs. If anyone is due for a plug change, they make them for the 5.0's heat range / thread size. Compared to standard Iridium plugs, they provide considerably more consistent cylinder pressures due to the Ruthenium plating maintaining sharp electrode edges better than Iridium over their service life, that means more consistent charge migration which results in consistent arching over, which of course provides less variation in cylinder pressures, more consistent ignition points etc. all of which reduces the chances of excessive knock events at the most aggressive timing maps.

If we can avoid a knock event, the ECU won't retard timing and will continue to run the more aggressive maps more often. So my entire focus has been on efficiency and supporting the Power Pack's ability to make good power. There's more to making power than peak numbers, making a broad power band and making it under adverse conditions and over the car's life span is a much trickier task.

 

[TheLion70x77]

That's awesome man. I had the same idea to do this but with Plexiglass once I install the trackspec vents. Lexan is definitely a better idea. In addition to covering it, I was also planning on adding Velossa Tech piece and cut a hole on the bottom of the box then run a pick up tube to get cold air from the lower grille.

If your running the velossatek and sealing off the gap between the VT ram air duct and the GT350 CAI airbox intake tube as well as sealing the top of the air box like above, running a pickup line may create a pressure leak and result in lower air box pressure. Unless your pickup tube at the bottom has high pressure air going into it, the ram air duct is going to generate enough flow to start forcing air out of the box and through that tube. It is capable in a fully sealed air box of generating small amounts of positive pressure. It also has built in aspiration ports for low speed breathing on FI cars that need more air until they get moving.

 

[TheLion70x77]

Something to note, even though the GT350 air box won't hold positive pressure like a baloon would, if there's more air coming in than can leak out, your building positive pressure as long as the air is flowing. So the idea is to alleviate as many leaks as possible to keep the high pressure zone right around the filter, allowing the 5.0 to breathe as easily as possible.

 

[sonicc]

If your running the velossatek and sealing off the gap between the VT ram air duct and the GT350 CAI airbox intake tube as well as sealing the top of the air box like above, running a pickup line may create a pressure leak and result in lower air box pressure. Unless your pickup tube at the bottom has high pressure air going into it, the ram air duct is going to generate enough flow to start forcing air out of the box and through that tube. It is capable in a fully sealed air box of generating small amounts of positive pressure. It also has built in aspiration ports for low speed breathing on FI cars that need more air until they get moving.

Something to note, even though the GT350 air box won't hold positive pressure like a baloon would, if there's more air coming in than can leak out, your building positive pressure as long as the air is flowing. So the idea is to alleviate as many leaks as possible to keep the high pressure zone right around the filter, allowing the 5.0 to breathe as easily as possible.

Hm, interesting. I would assume the air at the lower grille would be high pressure, but I'm a total newb when it comes to airflow so I'm probably wrong. In that case I'll stick with just sealing everything off and making sure air is only getting in through VT.

 

[TheLion70x77]

There is some stagnation there, but it's hot backwash air from the radiator cooling fins. Not really a good place to pull air in for the intake. Also, and tubing you can run isn't going to have an appropriately design inlet to maximize flow. If you had some sort of intake ducting to that second pickup tube maybe you could generate similar pressure, but like electricity and water, air flows through the path of least resistance.

The velossatek is going to generate high flow of incoming air and moves the stagnation zone into the intake instead of in front of the intake like the OE design (which is intended for fuel economy purposes), I think it's unlikely you can generate similar flow through the pickup tube, which means it will then act as a leak instead of an intake because the pressure / flow through it is less than what the VT is generating. Now if your sticking with the OE intake ducting and not running the VT ram air duct / modifying the grill, then that might work out well.

If your going to rely on vacuum, then using pickup tubes to various other stagnation zones may be slightly helpful. But with ram air, your funneling air in at high velocity, possibly as high or even higher than the flow of the engine itself, if that's the case, then you want to avoid any leaks or alternate paths where pressure is lower and air will leak back out, thus reducing the benefits of the ram air effect.

Think of it like breathing through multiple straws (vacuum method of intake, just trying to reduce restriction as much as possible) vs. breathing through a funnel with a fan in front of it where air is actually slightly pressurized. If your doing intense physical activity, the pressurized air makes it easier to breathe as your diaphragm has to do less work to fill your lungs vs. breathing through multiple straws. Hopefully that analogy makes sense.

 

[TexasRebel]

Something to note, even though the GT350 air box won't hold positive pressure like a baloon would, if there's more air coming in than can leak out, your building positive pressure as long as the air is flowing. So the idea is to alleviate as many leaks as possible to keep the high pressure zone right around the filter, allowing the 5.0 to breathe as easily as possible.

The optimal setup would be restricted air flowing through the air box. Which that "nostril" vent (as you call it) allows to happen. Even at lower speeds the sudden change at the vent (where the blinkers are on the '16s) creates a slight low-pressure area outside of the vent pulling air through the box. At higher speeds, this low pressure area is exaggerated while air is forced into the box from the front (a much larger opening) creating a slight pressure increase inside the box, but not allowing air to become stagnant (hot). This setup keeps a slightly pressurized cool supply of air available to the filter. ...A filter which is specified for an engine that uses 200mL more air per revolution and can turn faster.

 

[NvrFinished]

Yeah, I'm currently running the NASCAR solution (duct tape) to fill the air gap from the the VelossaTech to the GT350 air box. It's nice and smooth right now, but I need to fabricate something a bit more permanent.

 

[pacomicro]

Me too currently running the NASCAR solution (duct tape) to fill the air gap from the the VelossaTech to the GT350 air box.

So, what are you saying?,I have no idea about air flows, Is it good to seal the air box at the top or not?

In my case, and that of all European cars, the hood has no opening.

 

[sonicc]

So, what are you saying?,I have no idea about air flows, Is it good to seal the air box at the top or not?

In my case, and that of all European cars, the hood has no opening.

What I took away from @TexasRebel 's post is that you want restricted air (coming in through VelossaTech for example or in your case sealed passage) and then some amount of it escaping through the hood vent. Reason being is that if you just have air that's coming in and not being used by engine just sitting there it will get hot.

At least that's my understanding.

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