David Stauder and Josh Klugger are men on a mission - the mission is to build one of the fastest naturally aspirated 3-Valve Mustangs - one that would easily break into the 11 second and even tap into the elusive 10 second range down the quarter mile.
Obviously, whenever you are building a serious go-fast drag car, every little speed trick matters. When time is measured in hundredths of a second and speed is measured in hundredths of a mile per hour, everything must be dialed in perfectly or your speed dreams can be shattered. In a naturally aspirated engine it is especially true that the airflow in and out of the engine needs to be the very best it can be, or you will just not achieve maximum engine performance. Any restriction, turbulence, or even a strange nuance can adversely affect your engine's peak performance and have a negative effect on your vehicle's performance down the quarter.
David and Hurricane Performance, did an outstanding job building this go-fast pony. They hand selected components and took absolutely no shortcuts in their quest for maximum performance. When it came time for the induction system, they evaluated almost every Cold Air Intake available in the market today. Running back-to-back dyno tests it became obvious that there was one Cold Air Intake that simply outperformed all others. That Cold Air Intake was none other than the Steeda High Velocity Cold Air Intake.
Their choice does not surprise us because each and every cold air intake application we offer (1996 - current model years) is the result of exhaustive testing and engineering done under strict ISO 9001-2008 guidelines to ensure the highest level of performance, quality, drivability, and durability. Most people do not realize is that while fundamentality most Cold Air Intakes may all look somewhat alike, in practicality there are HUGE DIFFERENCES in their actual on-car performance capabilities at different engine speeds. Rest assured that all Steeda Cold Air Intakes are extensively engineered with the latest computer simulation systems, and then exhaustively tested in real world high performance conditions on the dyno, street, racetrack, and dragstrip to be the best you can buy for your Ford performance vehicle.
David now has his sights on a brand new 2011 Mustang with the new 5.0L engine (having sold his current car recently to Josh at Hurricane Performance). It is a very safe bet that his new car will also have a Steeda Cold Air Intake!
Recently Josh Klugger while piloting this naturally aspirated 2006 GT, won the Pro Sixteen Class at the Steeda sponsored Pony Wars held at South Georgia Motorsports Park.
A while back we released a detailed story of what goes into every Steeda Cold Air Intake. In the interest of keeping everyone informed, following is a summary of the release entitled: "The Steeda Difference - Facts you should know before you buy a Cold Air intake":
Airflow
An increase in total airflow is a must for performance gains. After all, your engine is in simplest terms - an air pump fueled by gasoline. Key to performance is the fact that you need a low restrictive air filter that allows for the free flow of air but at the same time it must protect your engine from harmful contaminates. At Steeda, our proprietary air filter element walks the fine line between performance and protection to consistently deliver the increased volume of air your performance engine needs under all power conditions - from idle to full power, and yet maintains full protection, ensuring that only a clean air charge enters your engine. The Steeda Lifetime Filter can easily be cleaned and re-oiled, making maintenance a snap even for the novice.
Turbulence
This is perhaps one of the MAJOR differences in Cold Air Intakes as it is most often overlooked by other manufacturers - it is what separates Steeda from all other systems you can buy. With an increased airflow thru the inlet tube, any bend, restriction, rough surface, or change in the inlet tube diameter will create a change in air flow turbulence. No matter where this turbulence change occurs, it will affect the flow of incoming air that crosses your mass air meter and will send incorrect sensor signals to your engines engine control module - resulting in an incorrect air/fuel mixture being delivered into your engine. Oftentimes, an inept engineer or a shortcut in design will be made that will not take this into account by only focusing on airflow. At Steeda, using proprietary measuring and flow testing techniques, we evaluate the impact on turbulence throughout the entire inlet tube to ensure that the airflow into your engine is as smooth as possible thereby avoiding any potential wrongful mass air readings and undue flow restrictions.
Airbox Turbulence
Many manufactures concentrate on placing the inlet tube/air filter into the fender area of the car in an effort to avoid the heated air in the engine compartment thinking that is the principal issue at hand. While their intentions may be good, it is a practice that is shortsighted at best. At Steeda, we extensively evaluated ALL potential alternatives when we design our cold air intakes and their placement in a vehicle. Using the latest digital thermo sensors combined with our digital airflow and turbulence monitors, we have determined that placing the inlet in the fender area does not result in an overall improvement in engine performance - instead it actually robs you of your engines full horsepower potential. Placement of the inlet in the fender most often always causes additional bends and restrictions - extremely harmful to effective airflow. So harmful in fact that the purported benefit for placing the inlet tube inside the fender is wiped out by increased restrictions and turbulence. We design our intake and stainless steel heat shield to capture the coolest intake charge possible without compromises or penalties so that you get the maximum amount of power. Additionally, we employ our unique Cool Tube Technology to minimize potentially absorbed heat gain from the engine.
Air Filter
At Steeda we use only the best air filter media element available today. We have tested all brands and makes and have engineered a media element that is simply without equal. Sure, ours may cost slightly more, but when you cut through all of the hype - there is no better media element available - PERIOD.
The Steeda air filter element is a special state-of-the-art synthetic nano-fiber material specially constructed so that it that traps the smallest contamination particles that ordinary air filters simply cannot capture. Our filters are so good, that they capture particles that are smaller than 0.5 microns - far better than other competitive filters. There is a reason why Ford Motor Company chose Steeda air filters over all other filters for their Shelby GT program. Our filters are constructed using the finest materials available in the market today and with maximum airflow and maximum protection, you are guaranteed that the Steeda air-element is the best you can buy - PERIOD. All Steeda air filters are are 100% washable and reusable and come with a standard lifetime warranty - your guarantee of quality.
Steeda Cold Air Intakes - The BEST available anywhere!