SVTPerformance Painted Love : JLT Painted Plastic Intake Install

SID297

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http://www.svtperformance.com/forum...-love-jlt-painted-plastic-intake-install.html





Form or function? That has been the choice we have pondered for centuries. You could have an ax that was really good for vanquishing your enemies, or you could have one that looks like something that little troll from Lord of the Rings would use to slay Orcs. However, we are lucky to live in an age where we can have both. We live in a time where we have a company like JLT, that makes a cold air intake system that not only makes great power but also adds considerable aesthetic value. And it just so happens that they have a new painted plastic intake available for the 2011-and-up Mustang GTs.

So we’re back at it again. What can I say, we just can’t leave well enough alone. When we tried out the JLT Oil Separator on the SVTP 2012 GT, to resounding success, we were hooked. So it should be no surprise that we went back to JLT for the part that made their company famous, the painted cold air intake (“CAI”). However, the intake we’re testing this time is a bit different than what you may be used to from JLT. This is their new Painted Plastic CAI.

Over the last several months JLT has been transitioning from their traditional PVC based kits to their new one-piece roto-molded plastic tubes. These new intake tubes have several advantages over their predecessors. Due to the fact that they are molded, they can be formed into much more complex shapes than PVC pipe. This is JLT’s first intake kit with the MAF housing incorporated into the tube. This makes for a smooth interior and a smooth look to the tube itself. They also weigh less and are able to do away with the bulky rubber connectors used with the previous models. The crew at JLT intends to replace all of their PVC based kits over the next few years with the molded plastic units.

One thing that definitely hasn’t changed with the switch to plastic is the classic JLT painted-to-match finish. It’s quality and color match is still as awesome as ever. Jay and the crew go to great lengths to ensure that each piece has a professional quality finish that matches your Mustangs exterior color. The fact that they were able to exactly match the Yellow Blaze (complex three-stage) paint on the SVTP 2012 GT has to be commended. It’s very easy to fubar a multi-stage metallic such as that, and JLT managed to navigate those treacherous waters to the perfect paint-job safe harbor with exacting precision.

But having a beautifully painted intake pipe, that inspires the inappropriate use of nautical metaphors, is only part of the equation. The rest of the system is also well thought-out and executed in a way that conveys an idea of simple elegance. The couplers are high quality silicone and the band clamps are good quality as well. JLT also provides a formed plastic heat shield that uses the factory intake air duct from the grille and includes a weather strip that seals it to the hood. Further, the new JLT intake takes the interior sound tube into consideration. If you like it, the provision is there to run it. If not, JLT includes a cap so you can remove the sound tube and cap the fitting on the JLT intake tube.

The installation of the JLT CAI is exceedingly simple. You just remove the stock intake system and bolt on the new painted JLT piece. A few simple hand tools are all that is required. It’s truly a novice level install. If you can change your own oil you can install a JLT CAI.

However, unlike the Airaid kit we tested a few months back, the JLT system does require the installation of a custom tune. However, for roughly 89.327% of SVTP Mustang owners this won’t be an issue because they’re either going to want the performance advantages provided by a custom tune or are going to perform other modifications that require such a tune. For our tuning we once again turned to Lethal Performance and Jon Lund to provide the necessary binary goodness.

With our new JLT intake and trusty SCT X-Cal III we headed to Dyno Tuned Performance (“DTP”) in Virginia Beach, VA. Brent, of DTP, often works with Jay during the R&D phases on the JLT kits, so his dyno seems to be an appropriate place for us to carry out our intake test. The day’s first order of business was to strap the SVTP GT to the rollers and give them a spin with the car in nearly stock trim. The only mod on the car was a Lethal Performance Off-Road H-pipe and a Jon Lund tune, which is required to run the Lethal pipe. With this exhaust setup our 2012 Mustang rang up 369.2 HP at 6800 RPM and 340.5 Ft/Lbs at 4550 RPM, and the air-fuel ratio hovered between 12.0-12.3:1. These results are significantly lower than our results from earlier testing with the SAME SETUP. During those runs we made 380.1 HP and 368.2 Ft/Lbs. A difference of 10.9 HP and 27.7 Ft/Lbs. The full article concerning that run can be found HERE.

We attribute these lower numbers to two things. First, it was much hotter at DTP during these runs there than it was at Arrington Performance during the earlier dyno sessions. And second, these are simply two different dynos. DTP uses a Dyno-Dynamics machine, while Arrington employs a Superflow chassis dyno. Variations like this demonstrate the importance of viewing a dyno as a tool to measure gains or losses with various setups and to place less importance on the final power numbers.

In any case, it was time to install our JLT painted plastic intake. As mentioned above, the installation is very straightforward. Luckily for us we had Mr. Jay Tucker himself on hand to tackle the install. In short order, while wielding a ¼ inch-drive ratchet with the skill of a surgeon, Jay had the ho-hum looking stock intake replaced with his beautifully painted and clear-coated intake kit. It fit perfectly as advertised and looked great attached to the 5.0 Liter powerplant.

It was then a simple procedure to plug in our SCT X-Cal III and upload the new Lund tune file. SCT does a great job of making the tuning process a simple one. All you have to do is; follow along, read the prompts, and push the appropriate buttons when required. If you can use an ATM you can install a custom tune in your Mustang, thanks to SCT it’s just that easy.
After installing the CAI and uploading the tune it was time to spin the rollers again. This time the GT dispensed 381.5 HP at 6875 and 345.5 Ft/Lbs at 4575 RPM. That represents a gain of 12.3 HP and 5.0 Ft/Lbs of torque. However, we felt there was a little more left in her. Since Jay completed the intake installation in record time we felt the car was still a bit heat soaked from the previous runs and could benefit from a little cool down time. So after letting her cool off for about half an hour we gave her one final run. This time the SVTP 2012 GT belted out 384.5 HP at 6875 and 351.0 Ft/Lbs at 4800 RPM, for a gain of 15.3 HP and 10.5 Ft/Lbs of torque over the stock intake. The air-fuel ratio held around 11.9-12.5:1.

384.5 HP at 6875 and 351.0 Ft/Lbs at 4800 RPM, for a gain of 15.3 HP and 10.5 Ft/Lbs of torque over the stock intake

JLT%20Intake%20001%20edit.jpg

So for about $350 (assuming you already have a custom tuning devise and tune) for the JLT painted plastic intake you can have about 15 more HP and about 10 Ft/Lbs of torque, along with vastly improved styling. However, you get a lot more for your money than just looks and power. One of my absolute favorite side benefits of the JLT kit is the intoxicating auditory stimuli it produces. It really lets loose the 5.0’s low-RPM growl and high-RPM roar. If you pay close attention to our dyno video you can hear a very distinct difference between the stock intake and the JLT. I’d pay the price of admission for the JLT kit just to get the more aggressive engine noises it releases. In short, JLT knocks another one out of the park with its new painted plastic intakes. And as always, you can’t go wrong with JLT.

Check out the JLT's site below:

JLT PERFORMANCE, Home of the JLT TRUE COLD AIR KIT

It you're looking for a direct link to JLT's Painted Plastic Intakes for the 2011+ Mustang GTs look no further:

JLT's Painted Plastic Intake



Sadly, the car is nearly stock in this photo.

JLT%20Intake%20002%20edit.jpg


All wired up, with Jay monitoring the situation.

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Partially transparent aluminum wheels, as observed during our first run.

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With the intake out of the way you can get a good view of the throttle body.

JLT%20Intake%20007%20edit.jpg


Nice to have that stock black plastic intake out of the way.

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I really like this pic for no particular reason.

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Now it's time to put something else in its place.

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And Jay goes right to work installing his JLT heat shield.

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A few short minutes later Jay had his Yellow Blaze painted intake installed.

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The paint match is uncanny.

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And it looks great from every angle.

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A little light really makes the flake in the paint pop.

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Just need to put the manifold trim cover on...

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And step back to get another angle....

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And finally bolt the strut tower brace back in place.

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This thing looks great all buttoned up.

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Just a little shot of how much metallic is really in this paint.

JLT%20Intake%20023%20edit.jpg


The pic may be a little overexposed, but you can really see how the heat shield helps to keep the filter from ingesting hot air.

JLT%20Intake%20024%20edit.jpg


Ready to spin the rollers again.

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Brent making the final dyno run.

JLT%20Intake%20003%20edit.jpg



Be sure to check out the dyno run video:

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/fb65yhk5Yw4?hd=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>​


-SID297:beer:
 

mastwolf

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Are those numbers with the Hood up or hood down?

Interested to see how the air flow is with the hood down.


Chris
 

DMassey

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Props on doing the test with a cai/tune vs. a car already with a tune. I hate it when people throw a cai & tune on a stock-tuned car and attribute all of the power gain to the cai.
 

SID297

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Are those numbers with the Hood up or hood down?

Interested to see how the air flow is with the hood down.


Chris

Hood up. We've done it both ways, there's not much of a difference. Letting the engine cool down between runs makes a bigger difference than hood position.

Props on doing the test with a cai/tune vs. a car already with a tune. I hate it when people throw a cai & tune on a stock-tuned car and attribute all of the power gain to the cai.

:beer:
 

8URC6

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My Blaze yellow is not ""Blaze Yellow'' under the hood like yours, looks really clean. You haven't applied any type of clear coat have you ? Or is that factory ?
 

Tucker

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Are those numbers with the Hood up or hood down?

Interested to see how the air flow is with the hood down.


Chris
Unless you have a controlled dyno cell like NASCAR shops use you have to dyno with the hood up. No other shop can simulate driving speed with normal fans.

Props on doing the test with a cai/tune vs. a car already with a tune. I hate it when people throw a cai & tune on a stock-tuned car and attribute all of the power gain to the cai.
What's good here and has been shown many times before, it's not all the tune and it's not all the intake. It's usually about 50/50. We usually see 24-30 with the tune/CAI combo, which it right on par. 10-15 from each:rockon:
Looks great! Looks like ill be painting mine come summer
:beer:
Impressive! JLT is the way to go.

Thanks Stacy

Travis, great write up and photos! It was a good time getting this done and I'm glad you liked it.

Thanks
Jay
 

Bwlee

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The boys from Dynotuned performance and Jay Tucker, I knew I recognized that garage.

VERY COOL!
 

black03

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Awesome article Travis! JLT is definitely top shelf. Great products and great people to deal with.
 

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