Mustang Open vs Closed Cold Air Intakes - Steeda Dissects the Differences

[tj@steeda]

Check out our latest article here - https://www.steeda.com/mustang-open-vs-closed-lid-intakes

"Think of your engine as a massive set of lungs. When you can breathe in more oxygen, you always tend to feel better because it is distributed more efficiently to all parts of your body. This same philosophy is applied to Mustang engines. Remember, more air, fuel, and spark equals more horsepower. The more oxygen your engine can get, the better it will transmit power throughout each cylinder, which will create more power and torque. However, you can't get all that horsepower without having all that air go somewhere. To enhance airflow, Mustang enthusiasts will add a set of shorty or long-tube headers to ensure maximum airflow."

We hope you find the article informative & beneficial!

Enjoy!!

TJ

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[MadDog]

Interestingly, regarding your Steeda S550 Mustang GT Proflow Closed Cold Air Intake 5.0L (2015-2020), Lund Tunes is recommending either you utilize the no-tune plastic air restrictor "insert" included in the kit or replace with the factory CAI.

"With the design of that intake the MAF signal is too erratic without the insert - now that the intake has been on the market for awhile we have been able to tune a bunch and the only way they will tune well is with the insert in. Per our testing the stock airbox on the gen 3 cars is actually quite good - per our testing we have not seen any significant gains in real world conditions with aftermarket intakes."

 

[tj@steeda]

It was an awesome weekend finally getting the Silver Bullet back out to the track. It shattered the All Motor sixty-foo record for a 10R80 (2018+ Mustang) with a 1.383 ... on a Steeda suspension!! Made 5 record passes off the footbrake to a 1.40 or better.

All while sporting the Steed closed-box intake & Lund tune - check out the full build here: https://www.steeda.com/2018-mustang-silver-bullet-drag-car

 

[Htk084]

Can lund tune the Steeda intake with a flex e85 tune yet?

 

[stangman638]

True more air more power, but only true when you have a blower and not a manifold on the engine no??

 

[AZ18yote]

Can lund tune the Steeda intake with a flex e85 tune yet?

Straight e85 still no flex. The design just isn't conducive for the variables needed for efficient content detection.

 

[MadDog]

FYI, I recently tracked my car at Buttonwillow with the Steeda Mustang GT ProFlow Closed Cold Air Intake and the car started having hesitation and stuttering under heavy throttle. 30 seconds later, the car would go into limp mode. We tried a bunch of things to no avail. Driving home, limp mode two more times under light throttle. Pulled out the MAF sensor and saw it was covered in oil. We cleaned the MAF sensor --- problem solved. I will no longer use a high flow oiled air filter. And once I get a new tune for the factory CAI, I will replace the Steeda CAI with the factory CAI using a paper air filter.

 

[MadDog]

I forgot to mention that one of the things we tried at the track was to clean the high flow oiled air filter. I banged the filter against a metal trash can. It left a decent amount of oil on the trash can. But much worse, a large amount of rusty fine grit particles fell out of the oiled filter.

 

[Zissou]

So tl;dr

Steeda Open intake gained 30 hp and 23 lb ft
Steeda Closed box intake gained 30 hp and 25 lb ft

Apples to apples they're virtually the same once tunes are applied. I'm assuming filter quality is the same from Steeda closed vs open.

This is great research, love seeing these compared against each other for science! It actually shows me Steeda gives a damn about what they're offering.

 

[Htk084]

Is that under the curve or peak gain?

So tl;dr

Steeda Open intake gained 30 hp and 23 lb ft
Steeda Closed box intake gained 30 hp and 25 lb ft

Apples to apples they're virtually the same once tunes are applied. I'm assuming filter quality is the same from Steeda closed vs open.

This is great research, love seeing these compared against each other for science! It actually shows me Steeda gives a damn about what they're offering.

 

[RacinJason]

I can say the closed kit looks nice. It ran like shit on my car. I sent datalog after datalog and never received a revision from all that data. I had to do something though, cause the car was not safe to drive on the street. It would stall when coming to a stop when the clutch was in, and it did go into limp mode once on a datalog. Gas milage was terrible too. Anyway, I went a completely different direction with tuning, and I'm happy now for a time. I wanted a refund, but they just didn't respond to any of my requests. I love Steeda, but that closed CAI was a pain in my ass. Still have it off the car if anyone is interested. You listening, Steeda?

 

[AZ18yote]

I can say the closed kit looks nice. It ran like shit on my car. I sent datalog after datalog and never received a revision from all that data. I had to do something though, cause the car was not safe to drive on the street. It would stall when coming to a stop when the clutch was in, and it did go into limp mode once on a datalog. Gas milage was terrible too. Anyway, I went a completely different direction with tuning, and I'm happy now for a time. I wanted a refund, but they just didn't respond to any of my requests. I love Steeda, but that closed CAI was a pain in my ass. Still have it off the car if anyone is interested. You listening, Steeda?

When I tested it originally when it first came out and determined couldn't effectively run a flex tune I reverted to stock and sold it to another member here who was running straight 93. As far as I know it worked out ok for them.

 

[schmeky]

I tried an open CAI, my IAT's shot up incredibly quickly in slow speeds and especially at idle. I reinstalled my stock 2018 air box and the difference in IAT's was amazing; the stock box worked much better.

I can't really tell any seat of the pants difference, so I am keeping the stocker.

 

[tj@steeda]

I can say the closed kit looks nice. It ran like shit on my car. I sent datalog after datalog and never received a revision from all that data. I had to do something though, cause the car was not safe to drive on the street. It would stall when coming to a stop when the clutch was in, and it did go into limp mode once on a datalog. Gas milage was terrible too. Anyway, I went a completely different direction with tuning, and I'm happy now for a time. I wanted a refund, but they just didn't respond to any of my requests. I love Steeda, but that closed CAI was a pain in my ass. Still have it off the car if anyone is interested. You listening, Steeda?

Hi Jason,

I apologize for the inconvenience you had experienced - can you send me your emails & who you corresponded with? Our Silver Bullet has not had the issues you have mentioned & to date, our Closed Box Cold Air Intake is one of our more popular intakes - we are on Facebook & the forums and we haven't had too many complaints or issues.

Please send to [email protected]

Best Regards,

TJ

 

[tj@steeda]

FYI, I recently tracked my car at Buttonwillow with the Steeda Mustang GT ProFlow Closed Cold Air Intake and the car started having hesitation and stuttering under heavy throttle. 30 seconds later, the car would go into limp mode. We tried a bunch of things to no avail. Driving home, limp mode two more times under light throttle. Pulled out the MAF sensor and saw it was covered in oil. We cleaned the MAF sensor --- problem solved. I will no longer use a high flow oiled air filter. And once I get a new tune for the factory CAI, I will replace the Steeda CAI with the factory CAI using a paper air filter.

As mentioned, did you correspond with anyone at Steeda regarding your issues? If you could - please send me your contact info & I will put you in touch with one of our specialists to assess your issue & understand what may have taken place.

Please send to [email protected]

Best Regards,

TJ

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