GT Premi

I keep reading posts all over the place that if you do this or that (pretty much anything) without a "tune," you lose power with the '05 Mustang. What's the deal with that? With the previous Mustangs, you could remove the MAF screen, change the air filter, etc. and GAIN modest power WITHOUT a tune. What's so different in this engine that you have to have a tune for the slightest thing you do to it or you lose power???

GT Premi

An hour with no responses? It must be an isolated incident that's simply being repeated with no firsthand experience.

am1scott

impatient much? It's called progress, Ford has decided to update the electronics to satisfy current and upcoming federal requirements for LEV and ULEV. They were kind enough to engineer these changes so that there was still a huge possibility of performance upgrades. Any car builder or crew chief worth their salt will tell you that this is nothing new. Any modifications to the engine will require some tuning or tweaking to optimize performance.

Casper98GT

HAHAHA.. ok.

Yup, the new 05 Stangs have ETC. Electric throttle control. It along with traction control, sences when too much throttle is given and shut off the throttle plate. There is a sensor on the pedal. It tells the throttle plate when to and when not to open. But you can get around it with a tuner, and shut off a good portion of the throttle, so you can guide youre pony!!

GT Premi

That's not news to me. But it doesn't explain why you lose power from doing something as simple as removing the hydrocarbon filter and/or changing the exhaust, or even installing a K&N filter. These are all things I've read on this and other Mustang boards. However, no one has come forth with anything to back that up, so it might very well be unsubstantiated rumor being repeated as fact without any first hand knowledge/experience. No one has produced a dyno chart proving that they lost power from doing these simple changes. Previous Mustangs produced gains from these mods even without a tune. This is the first I've heard of any car that, if you change the slightest thing, you lose power. If we were talking about adding aggressive headers or cams, I would completely understand that you would lose power if you don't reprogram the ECM to account for it, but I would expect the computer to be tolerant enough to work with simply increasing the intake airflow. The operative phrase in your post is "optimize performance." Sure, you would need a tune to get the most from the change, but I would still expect to gain something from increasing airflow even without a tune.

And, yes, I am patient. I just know how active any Mustang board is. An hour on a Mustang board is like an eternity. On a good day, there could be 100 or more posts within an hour.

mdvaldosta

you dont loose power with mods... period... now maybe you wont get their full potential without retuning the a/f but reguardless... save for the cat-back.... the exhaust on the '05GT (while quiet) is very good. Here's some required reading for '05 owners:
http://www.modulardepot.com/?show=articlesdet&aid=52

GT Premi

I think this portion from your link is the main culprit of these rumors and it doesn't even provide any real proof that you lose power from removing the hydrocarbon filter without a tune.

What makes that last statement apply more to the '05 than any other year Mustang (or car)? Seems more like a sales pitch. Why didn't they remove the filter and dyno it before doing the tune? There is no evidence that you will lose power other than them passing along/creating a rumor. Their testing was not very thorough. There's not even any proof that one would gain anything beyond the 5HP from the Xcalibrator tune. All the other gains might very well have been attained with or without that tune.

What would it have produced without the tune?

Another sales pitch:

And the grand finale pitch:

I'm not saying that I don't believe in a good tune. I do believe you need one to get the most out of your mods. I just question all this baloney about losing power from doing the same things that gain power on every other car. The same little mods that we've done to our previous generation Mustangs...

What's the real motive behind that article? Seems like it was more about plugging the Xcalibrator than anything else.

Monch

sales pitch or truth, you are in a unique position to find out. don't mod until you become very familiar with your car, as in after you get used to it. then do a mod and feel for yourself whether you gained or lost power.

757GT

Mine is noticeably slower since I put my exhaust on. My tuner should be here today so then I will remove the trap and tune it.

SVT99LEGEND

I believe those forums are talking about or relating to the article in 5.0 Mustang and Super Fords April issuse page 112 Title: Fast Impression. When Jim Bell of Kenne Bell test an 05' GT to see what the best quick mods where. I really think some of you should read it. The best overall mod ( and yes there is a DYNO chart to back up the data) was simply adding 91 Gas to your car. They removed the stock air filter, and ran it with none and lost about 3hp, removing the trap ran about the same as base line , no real increase. The best thing for 3-5HP gain was Just to run Premium Fuel. I gotta run, Get the mag or a copy and read it. The best advice I can offer is to DYNO, DYNO, and DYNO before u mod, and as u mod, so u can see what works best for you.