Michael Johnson
Technical Editor
November 1, 2002

Adding a larger-diameter mass air meter to your Mustang is one of those age-old tricks aimed at increasing horsepower. Most of the time, this simple addition doesn't disappoint. In our case, with C&L Performance's new package for '99-up Mustang GTs, we were once again rewarded with increased horsepower. The C&L package features an 85mm mass air housing, a K&N conical filter, and a plastic shield.

The mass air housing reuses the stock electronics for a cost-effective solution, while the larger-diameter housing allows more airflow, resulting in increased horsepower. Obviously, everyone should know by now that a K&N filter makes power by itself, even more so when combined with a larger mass air meter. Meanwhile, C&L's plastic shield keeps the filter from ingesting hot air coming from the engine, and it eliminates the chance of driveability quirks from sudden bursts of cooling-fan air.

Helping us conduct this test was Need For Speed in Clearwater, Florida. Need For Speed markets C&L Performance products and wanted to know how this new meter package stacked up.

On the Dyno
  Stock Mass Air
C&L 85mm Mass Air
RPM POWER TORQUE AIR/FUEL POWER TORQUE AIR/FUEL
2,500 117.8 247.6 14.7 120.5 253.2 14.9
2,{{{600}}} 122.6 247.7 14.5 126.1 254.7 14.8
2,700 127.0 247.0 14.3 131.8 256.4 14.5
2,800 132.2 248.1 14.1 137.1 257.1 14.2
2,{{{900}}} 137.2 248.5 13.9 141.5 256.2 13.9
3,000 142.2 248.9 13.6 147.0 257.3 13.8
3,{{{100}}} 147.4 249.7 13.5 153.3 259.7 13.7
3,{{{200}}} 155.2 254.7 13.5 162.2 266.3 13.7
3,{{{300}}} 161.7 257.4 13.5 169.2 269.3 13.7
3,400 167.7 259.1 13.5 175.1 270.5 13.6
3,500 172.6 259.1 13.3 179.9 270.0 13.3
3,600 178.6 260.6 13.0 185.7 271.0 13.2
3,700 185.5 263.3 12.8 191.8 272.2 13.0
3,800 191.2 264.3 12.7 196.9 272.1 12.9
3,900 197.2 265.6 12.5 203.3 273.7 12.7
4,000 202.7 266.2 12.5 209.2 274.7 12.7
4,100 209.4 268.3 12.4 214.8 275.1 12.7
4,200 212.7 266.0 12.4 218.2 272.9 12.7
4,300 217.2 265.3 12.5 221.9 271.0 12.7
4,400 218.6 261.0 12.5 224.1 267.5 12.7
4,500 221.4 258.4 12.5 225.8 263.5 12.7
4,600 222.4 253.9 12.4 227.2 259.4 12.6
4,700 225.0 251.5 12.4 228.7 255.6 12.4
4,800 225.8 247.1 12.5 229.5 251.1 12.4
4,900 226.1 242.4 12.4 229.2 245.7 12.4
5,000 222.9 234.2 12.4 227.3 238.7 12.3
5,100 222.3 228.9 12.4 225.7 232.5 12.3
5,200 220.4 222.6 12.4 224.1 226.4 12.2
5,300 219.3 217.3 12.3 222.8 220.8 12.3
5,400 218.0 212.0 12.3 221.1 215.0 12.3
5,500 215.9 206.1 12.2 219.1 209.3 12.3
5,600 213.9 200.6 12.2 217.6 204.1 12.4
5,700 210.7 194.2 12.2 214.4 197.5 12.3
5,800 209.4 189.6 12.1 213.3 193.1 13.4