The Ecoboost Mustang brings new age style with old age ideas. The 4 Cylinder Turbo isn’t a new addition to the Mustang, where as Ford produced one back in the mid 80’s with the SVO model. The new 2.3L Turbo does pack quite the punch compared to the old motor of the SVO though, making around 310hp and 320ft-lbs of torque. To get that kind of power out of a 4 cylinder is quite impressive, especially when just 10 years ago the GT Mustang produced less horsepower with 4 more cylinders.
We picked up a 2016 Ecoboost Mustang Premium with the available Performance Package earlier this year and we were pretty surprised on how much Ford has stepped their quality up over the past few years. The entire design of the Mustang was revamped for the S550 model, exterior and interior. The car is comfortable on long road trips, and it drives really well within the city and is a real fun car to drive. The optional Performance Package is worth it in our opinion. These upgrades from factory give the car more of a sporty feel and definitely help out performance wise. The Performance Pack includes the following upgrades:
- Upsized rear sway bar
- Unique chassis tuning
- 13.9″ front brake rotors with four-piston calipers
- Unique 19” x 9″ Ebony Black-painted aluminum wheels
- 255/40R19 summer-only tires*
- Interior gauge pack (oil pressure and boost)
- 3.55 limited-slip rear axle
- Larger radiator
- Heavy-duty front springs
One downfall we did find in the Ecoboost setup is how restricted the car actually is. With any stock turbo car, the car is limited due to emissions and regulations. We decided to start modding our Ecoboost as a step by step editorial build for our audience. What better way to start off our build than with a Performance Air Intake system from Corsa Performance.
Upon receiving the Air Intake from Corsa Performance, we were very pleased with the sleek design and product quality. The enclosed air-box mimics the stock design, but with a much cleaner look and better performance. The intake fits perfectly where the the stock intake was mounted, making install a breeze. It took us just under a half an hour to remove the stock intake and install the new one. Every piece fits exactly how it should with no modification needed.
Once the install was complete, we took the car out for a few test pulls and a drive around town. Immediately we noticed a difference in throttle response and the car doesn’t seem to fall on its face as bad as it did before. Even on the stock tune, the car feels much more responsive and did notice a small power increase. Since the car is still on the stock tune, we have not reached the full potential of the intake yet but we expect it to be an even more noticeable increase in power once tuned. The car will remain on the stock tune until we get the Corsa Performance Turbo-Back Exhaust installed. Once the car is tuned, we will return with part 2 of the build and final horsepower/torque numbers. Special thanks to Corsa Performance for being a premier sponsor on our Ecoboost Build!
Follow the link below for pricing and more information on this product:
http://corsaperformance.com/viewpart.aspx?year=2016&make=Ford&model=Mustang&submodel=EcoBoost&partnum=419323&cfg=1932
