First Place

When you get your new Mustang, JLT Performance has its S550 cold-air intake ready

By Steve Turner

Photos by Stacy Stangz and courtesy of JLT Performance

My how our expectations have changed. Back in the Fox era, we had to wait for years before products were developed for our cars. These days, prospective Mustang owners are already planning their mods before they order their cars. That’s how important the aftermarket is to new Mustang sales. We want cars we can mod.

With the excitement building about the 2015 Mustang for the last year or so enthusiasts have been long been fantasizing about how to mod the S550 when it finally prowls the streets. That time is almost upon us, so it’s really time to start bringing that fantasy to life.

These days we love to order our aftermarket parts and have them on hand when our new ’Stangs arrive. That’s a bit easier to do with a familiar platform, however. Despite its familiar V-8 engine, the all-new S550 platform will present a challenge for the aftermarket to overcome. Fortunately for us, there are already companies like JLT Performance that are on the case.

In fact, JLT’s main man, Jay Tucker, already has a functional cold air kit for a 5.0-powered 2015 Mustang in his hands. So, when the cars arrive, there will be at least one mod that’s ready for you to bolt on. You can order either a base kit (PN CAI-FMG15) or one painted to match your ride bare (PN CAI-FMG15-P).

Somehow JLT was able to design a complete kit without yet taking delivery of its own ’15 project car. So the kit has yet to be tested on a car, but based on our experience with prior JLT kits, we’d expect the kits to perform well. Jay is conservatively hopeful.

“I have no idea (how it will perform), but we did make it larger so it would fit aftermarket throttle bodies,” Jay said. “I would expect the same or similar results as the ’11-’14 5.0 or better as the new airbox/filter is smaller due to the front-end change. We will see as we have a car on order.”

If you are taking the non-traditional path with the Ecoboost Mustang, don’t worry. JLT is working on a cold-air intake for those cars as well. With the aftermarket upside of the turbocharged 2.3-liter, the JLT system will be ready for you to push the car from bolt-ons and beyond.

“Oh yes! We are developing a kit that you can grow into,” Jay added. “Knowing this will be a hot engine and there will be bigger turbos from the aftermarket, we are making this kit so it works with the stock turbo up to inlets of 4 inches or more. This will be hot!”

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