Ford Adds Mustang Performance Packages
CARS.COM — Ford’s performance accessory division, Ford Performance, is taking a good thing and making it better. New performance packages boost the power and torque of the 2015-17 Ford Mustang with the EcoBoost turbocharged four-cylinder and the GT with 5.0-liter V-8 engine. Each package is backed by a Ford Performance warranty when fitted by an authorized installer, plus the performance computer reprogramming is 50-state emissions-compliant.
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The Mustang EcoBoost gets perhaps the most notable increase for the money with its EcoBoost Performance Calibration Kit. For $699, the package includes a cold air intake with conical air filter and handheld programmer to increase horsepower from 310 horsepower to 335 hp, and torque from 320 pounds-feet to 390 pounds-feet. Ford notes bigger gains below its peak number of up to 100 hp at 6,000 rpm.
On the V-8 side, three available packages range from a performance calibration and drop-in air filter to borrowed components from the track-ready Shelby GT350 for increasing power. Beyond bigger numbers, manual-transmission GT Mustangs are calibrated to include a no-lift shift feature that allows drivers to keep the accelerator floored during shifting to maximize acceleration. The automatic transmission also receives updated performance calibration.
The GT’s Performance Calibration Power Pack 1 ($599) includes the performance-tuned calibration and a drop-in K&N performance air filter for gains of 13 hp and 16 pounds-feet of torque with 40 more pounds-feet at 1,500 rpm. The GT Cold Air Intake & Calibration Power Pack 2 is $949 and replaces the drop-in filter with a conical cold-air intake from the GT350, plus a larger 87-mm throttle body. With the included calibration, power is up 21 hp and 24 pounds-feet of torque.
The most-extreme GT package is Performance Intake & Calibration Power Pack 3. For $2,395, the third package adds a GT350 intake manifold to the second power package’s contents and boosts peak power 37 hp and 5 pounds-feet of torque to 472 hp and 405 pounds-feet of torque. Ford Performance says a mighty 60 hp is gained at the now-7,500-rpm redline, up from 7,000 rpm.
Premium fuel of 91 octane or above is required on all four-cylinder or V-8 packages. Installing go-fast parts adds an inherent risk to the rest of the vehicle, but that’s less of a concern with the Ford Performance warranty, which covers potential breakage caused by the installed parts for 36 months or 36,000 miles from the original warranty start date. Beyond that, the original powertrain warranty of five years/60,000 miles covers parts not broken because of Ford Performance parts, but anything related to the installed parts isn’t covered. Click here for more details on Ford Performance’s warranty.
