Hey everybody, Justin with AmericanMuscle.com, here with my review of the JLT Cold Air Intake
and VMP tune combo, available for your 2015 and up Mustang GT.
All right guys, let's start with the JLT first here.
Now, obviously one of the most recognizable names in the category or the after-market
when it comes to intakes, and again, it's gonna be a top-rated intake here on the site;
all the reviews are very favorable.
Now, this is a tune-required intake, meaning you can't just bolt this thing up and go without
the use of an after-market custom tune, and that's mainly due to the fact that this thing
utilizes a rather large 110-millimeter mass airflow housing, currently the largest available
on the site for your S-550 GT.
Now, this is gonna let your Coyote motor breathe a little bit easier, and traditionally should
make a little bit more power compared to those non-tune required intakes utilizing a smaller
mass airflow housing.
Now, one thing I do really like about the JLT is that it does incorporate that mass
housing into the actual intake tube itself here, making for a much cleaner appearance
overall.
Some other options on the after-market, or in the after-market, will utilize a metal
mass airflow housing in conjunction with a plastic intake tube, and there's nothing really
wrong with that from a performance standpoint, but it just doesn't look as clean in my opinion.
In addition to that intake tube and mass airflow housing, the rest is gonna be pretty much
standard here, guys, in the world of after-market intakes.
You're gonna be looking at a high-flow, reusable oil filter in addition to an ABS plastic,
molded, open-element style heat shield, which does feature this duct here that will tap
into your factory cold air ducting, which is a nice little touch in my opinion.
You can also expect all the hardware and couplers needed to get this thing installed.
One thing to point out, guys, when driving the car with the JLT installed, I definitely
notice some increased noise coming from under the hood, and that's gonna be pretty much
standard stuff whenever you ditch your sealed, factory air box in favor of an open-element
style filter like the JLT.
There's no negative to this; in fact, a lot of people actually enjoy the added noise,
but it is worth pointing out and honestly, depending on how loud your exhaust is, you
might not even hear it at all.
All right guys, that's gonna cover the basics of the JLT.
Now, let's hit on the VMP tune, which again, is going to be a premium, or top-shelf, option
when it comes to tunes here at AM.
Of course, you can expect the power increase, but you're also gonna expect the refinement
and drivability, and that's the big separating factor with VMP, so no surging issues, no
drivability issues, no stalling issues, things like that, in addition to the power gains
throughout the RPM range.
Now, they do offer three tunes along with their tuning package here - a low, medium,
and high octane tune - depending on what kind of fuel you have in your area, and they also
offer one data log revision if needed.
Those VMP tunes do come loaded on the SF4/X4 Power Flash Tuner, which does feature some
pretty nice bells and whistles on its own - one-touch data logging, capable of reading
and displaying up to eight different values at one time, boost air/fuel ratio, intake
and temperature, things like that.
It can hold up to 10 tunes at once, and it can still read and clear those check engine
lights.
All right guys, I said it before, but I'll say it again.
This is definitely going to be a premium package.
Now, both the JLT and VMP tunes by themselves are going to be at the top of the price range
in their own respective categories; put them together and you can expect to drop some nice
coin on this package when adding it to your car.
That being said, you are gonna be seeing some pretty solid gains as we'll show you here
in a minute with the Dynojet.
But first let's talk about the install; really not that bad here.
Basic hand tools, essentially meaning a socket set and a flathead and you should be able
to get the JLT installed.
We call it an hour on the site but honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if it took you 30
minutes or less to get everything banged out; the tune factor in another half hour, give
or take, and again, plug-and-play deal there, so overall, one out of three wrenches on my
overall difficulty meter, not a hard thing to install; anybody should be able to accomplish
this in their driveway or garage.
We already grabbed our baseline run using our manual 2015 GT.
We then re-ran the car with the JLT installed and the VMP tuneup loaded, and here's how
the numbers look.
Baseline, our GT's putting down 386 horsepower, 364 pound feet of torque at the rear wheels.
With the JLT/VMP combo, the car's now making 410 horsepower, 369 pound feet of torque;
that's good for a peak gain of 24 horsepower over the baseline numbers, and gains as much
as 28 horsepower, 32 pound feet of torque underneath the curve.
All right guys, so what do all these numbers mean?
Well, basically, those peak numbers are nice, they're sexy, of course, but you really need
to pay attention to the numbers underneath the curve, because that's the stuff you're
gonna be feeling day in and day out.
Essentially everything from 2,000 RPM all the way to about 5,000 RPM, your normal operating
range for the most part here, the car picked up a ton of torque down low, and that's what
you're gonna be feeling, red light to red light, pulling onto the highway, merging,
things like that; again, stuff you're gonna be feeling driving the car around town.
Now, did it stop there?
No, it picked up a ton of power up top as well, so when you're really starting to beat
on the car, you're drag-racing the car, obviously it gained up top as well.
So, to wrap this thing up guys, the JLT obviously a proven intake, and as you can see when you
pair it up with the VMP tune you're gonna be getting a lot of power but you're also
gonna see a nice increase to overall drivability, and again, a more refined product, so be sure
to learn more about the JLT/VMP combo for your GT, here at AmericanMuscle.com.