Hey everybody, I'm Justin with americanmuscle.com.
This is my detailed review of the cp-e Exhale Cold Side Intercooler piping with your choice
of either HKS or Tial Blow-Off Valve fitting your 2015 and up EcoBoost Mustang.
This kit from cp-e is going to be for the EcoBoost owners out there who are looking
to upgrade the cheap plastic factory cold side piping, add that aftermarket Blow-Off
Valve to get a little bit more sound, and put that Blow-Off Valve in the correct location
on the cold side piping as opposed to the hot side piping where the factory Blow-Off
Valve is located.
I just want to be perfectly clear here about this part, guys.
This is more about the upgraded materials, the addition of that aftermarket Blow-Off
Valve and sound, as opposed to adding a performance part as you're really not going to see much
of any gains with this kit.
With that said, let's break it down a little further.
The Exhale kit from cp-e is going to be a top shelf kit.
You are going to be paying a little bit more for it up front, but you are getting some
unique features so you do have to factor that into the price.
First, let's start with some of the basics here.
Again, you are upgrading that cheap plastic factory cold side piping with a nice piece
of two and three-quarter inch mandrel bent aluminum finished off in your choice of either
a satin black finish like I have on the table here, or you can also pick it up in a race
red finish from the site.
In addition to the upgraded intercooler piping you're also getting brand new four ply silicone
couplers along with a few very nice T-bolt claims, but that's pretty much the basic stuff.
As far as what makes this kit unique, well, here we go.
Let's first start with the centerpiece of the kit according to the guys at cp-e.
It's their MAP Tap system.
This is going to tap into your factory intake manifold, deliver a very accurate boost reading,
but more importantly, it's going to supply vacuum to either the HKS or Tial Blow-Off
Valve as they are vacuum operated as opposed to the factory Blow-Off Valve, which is electronically
controlled.
Another unique feature with the Exhale kit from cp-e and something that I think is actually
really cool is that they include two pre-welded eighth inch NPT bungs here on their cold side
piping.
You can use this in a number of different ways.
Probably the most popular way would be to use it for a water meth setup for instance.
You could also tap nitrous into these things or even use it for a mechanical style boost
gauge if that's what you're looking for.
Again, big thumbs up from me, and it's these small little things that cp-e typically throws
in that separates their products from some of the other options here on the site.
Earlier, I mentioned that cp-e does move the Blow-Off Valve location to the cold side piping
here.
Because of that, they do include a block off plate called their block plate, nice piece
of CNC billet aluminum.
Again, it's going to plug the hole left by your factory Blow-Off Valve located on the
hot side piping.
Why do that?
Why move the Blow-Off Valve in the first place?
Well, according to cp-e and most other popular opinions on the topic, you ideally want to
have the Blow-Off Valve as close to the throttle body as possible to prevent any air flow reversal
first but also to prevent a surge at the compressor to save your turbo and its bearings from excess
abuse.
Speaking of those Blow-Off Valves, I really do think that's going to be the biggest appeal
when making the switch to this kit because everybody loves that Blow-Off Valve sound
with the turbo car.
By making the switch to an aftermarket Blow-Off Valve, which does vent to atmosphere as opposed
to being recirculated like your factory Blow-Off Valve, you're really going to hear that noise
whenever you shift or you do a big rev.
You do have a couple of options with the cp-e kit here again when it comes to Blow-Off Valves.
You can either go with the HKS Super Sequential, probably one of the most commonly used Blow-Off
Valves in the turbo world, or you can go with my personal favorite the Tial Sport Q.
This thing is available in a few different colors here at AM.
By the way, should point out that if you are just interested in a Blow-Off Valve you can
grab either one of these separately on the site here for a little cheaper than this kit.
With that said, again, you are getting two totally different sounds from each Blow-Off
Valve.
To help you make your own decision when buying, we threw together a couple of sound clips
for you.
With the sound clips out of the way let's quickly touch on install.
Really not looking at anything too crazy here guys, so for that an easy one out of three
wrenches on my difficulty meter.
You can access everything you need to through the engine bay.
No need to jack the car up or anything like that.
As far as tools, well, basic hand tools here, socket set.
If you do go with the HKS option, make sure you have a pair of snap ring pliers on hand
before getting started.
Other than that, basic hand tools and about an hour from start to finish and you should
be good to go.
While you really aren't gaining a ton of performance from the Exhale kit from cp-e here, you are
getting the benefit of running one of two most popular Blow-Off Valve options giving
you that desirable sound.
You're getting a noticeable improvement in quality materials over the factory part.
Finally, you're getting those cp-e exclusives such as the MAP Tap system and the two-eighth
inch NPT bungs, making this a very well rounded part for the money.
Be sure to check out more from cp-e for your EcoBoost Mustang here at americanmuscle.com.