Hey, what's up, everybody?
I'm Justin with americanmuscle.com and welcome to our Best Of video for the cold air intake
category, available for your 2011 through 2014 Mustang GT.
Now, the purpose of these Best Of videos is to help you guys narrow down your choices
a little bit based heavily off of customer popularity, but also factoring in my experience
here at AM, to narrow down your intake choices within the category.
As always, these are just three of dozens of options you will find here on the site.
So, if you're not exactly in love with any of my choices in this video, feel free to
check out the rest of the selection here on the site.
Now, cold air intakes are a right of passage for most Mustang owners out there, usually
one of the first modifications we install, and for a couple of reasons.
They're pretty affordable, super easy to install, and will no doubt improve the power, sound,
and underhood appearance of that Coyote-powered S197.
Now, my picks here today will include the most popular, no-tune required intake, which
is the K&N Black Hawk, the most popular tune-required intake, which is the JLT, and then, last but
not least, we'll cover the Airaid MXP, which does give owners the best of both worlds thanks
to the removable insert.
So, without further ado, let's get right into it.
First up we have the K&N Black Hawk, again, the most popular option in the no-tune required
category for your '11 to '14 Mustang GT.
I probably don't have to tell you guys this, but K&N is one of the most trusted and well-known
names within the aftermarket filtration category and it definitely shows with the popularity
of their systems.
But make no mistake about it, guys, the Black Hawk is certainly the crowd favorite here
on the site.
Now, me personally, I'm fond of the Black Hawk thanks to that all black construction.
I just think it looks really good under the hood, nice and stealthy.
However, if you're a fan of a little bit more flash, K&N does also offer their series 77.
Here on the site, it will be very similar to this intake but the intake tube will offer
a polished finish instead.
But getting back to the Black Hawk, you are looking at a powder-coated black aluminum
intake tube, all black signature K&N filter.
It is a dry filter.
It is still washable and reusable.
Finally, kicking up that black theme a little bit more, K&N even includes all black couplers
and hardware with this intake all for around the mid $300 price point.
Again, this is a no-tune required intake due to the size of the mass air flow housing right
here, meaning you can bolt this thing up and go, make a little bit more power, get a little
bit more sound out of the system but without the need for anything else.
Definitely, a great choice for the Coyote owners out there who would prefer to go with
a household name and really dig that all black construction.
But what if you've already pulled the trigger on a custom tune or plan on doing so in the
very near future and would like to take advantage of the larger tune-required intakes?
Well, for that, I really like the JLT Performance Cold Air.
Now, ever since I can remember, guys, the JLT has been one of the go-to intakes of choice
for the Coyote crowd and is consistently one of the most popular in the tune-required category.
Now, just like that K&N Black Hawk, the JLT also features a simple, all black understated
design, which I really enjoy.
However, the big difference here is, no doubt, the category-leading 107-millimeter mass air
flow housing.
And that is why the JLT does require the use of a custom tune.
The goal with these larger mass air flow housings is to allow more air flow through the intake
at one time, ultimately translating in a little bit more power overall.
And anytime you add a tune with an intake, I think you'll find you'll get more power
when compared to just adding an intake by itself without the use of a tune.
But moving on to the construction, with the JLT, you will find a textured black plastic
intake tube, massive S&B reusable oiled filter, and then, finally, the black plastic ABS heat
shield to help block out any hot engine bay air at low speeds.
Another thing I do enjoy about the JLT is that they include this foam insert here to
be used on the '13 and '14 cars to help prevent any water from dripping through those hood
vents onto your filter.
And I can tell you from personal experience, that guy really does do the trick.
All in all, if you're looking for a tune-required intake, the JLT will be the most popular here
on the site and by a pretty wide margin.
Last but not least, we have the best of both worlds, the Airaid MXP with the removable
insert here, allowing you to run this intake either with or without a custom tune.
Now, the MXP from Airaid is by far, in a way, the most popular, all around intake in the
category but it's also the most expensive as well, coming in just south of $400 bucks.
However, this is a clear-cut example of you get what you pay for and, in my humble opinion,
it's gonna deliver the nicest build quality, fitment, and airbox design out of all three
of my options in this video.
But aside from the nice build and quality of the Airaid, you are also receiving the
removable mass air flow insert, allowing you to install the intake without a custom tune,
run the insert and make a little bit more power and sound.
However, when you're looking to turn things up a little bit, simply yank out the insert
and make a little bit more power.
But again, the star of the Airaid, no doubt, is the construction rotomolded plastic intake
tube.
Again, one of the nicest airbox designs in the category, in addition to the Airaid signature
Synthaflow oiled filter, capturing particles down to 2-microns in size.
Aside from that, they do throw in extras like the removable insert, really, really nice,
thick couplers and this aluminum heat shield, again, helping to block any water coming through
the vents of those '13 and '14 cars.
The Airaid continues to be a popular choice on the site despite its premium price tag.
However, factoring in the quality, fitment, and the tune flexibility, it's money well
spent.
Before we get out of here, I do wanna point out that all of my intakes in this video are
going to install rather easily using nothing more than a few basic hand tools and about
an hour or less.
And that will typically be your experience with most intakes in the category.
Now, if you would like any more information, including dyno numbers on any of my intakes
in this video, feel free to check out the respective product pages at any time.
I'm Justin.
Thanks for watching.
And for all things Mustang, keep it right here at americanmuscle.com.