2006 Ford Mustang GT Project MILF - Ice Is Nice - Tech

Diamonds Are forever-at least that's what the advertisements tell you. Ask any woman to name her favorite gemstone and the answer will likely be: one that's large and shiny-meaning it glistens in the sun.

If our '06 Mustang GT, Project MILF, could talk, it might request some glistening parts for its outside, like fancy wheels or a body kit, but instead we graced the car's intake valley with an intercooler and accompanying parts from Ford Racing Performance Parts' Big-Boost kit.

Before we get to this month's marital expenditure, let's throw in the wedding DVD and look over this relationship from its infancy. We started things off a few months ago by installing FRPP's Handling Pack before boosting the Legend Lime Mustang's modular Three-Valve with the company's Super Pack. Now topped with a Whipple supercharger, we complemented the intake improvement with a set of long-tube headers and an exhaust system from Stainless Works. Project MILF then had work done on her gluteus maximus with a gear change from the factory cogs to a set of 4.10s. Add in a custom tune from JDM Engineering, and this Pony knocked down 385 rwhp and 12.20-second elapsed times at the track.

The thing is, we were so close to getting Project MILF into the 11-second zone, we could taste it. The summer was in full swing, however, and the hot weather destroyed our power. With our requirement of keeping the car driveable enough to go to and from the grocery store, we needed to make a move that would get it into the 11s, yet not kill its street manners. Enter FRPP's Big-Boost kit.

The Big-Boost kit comes straight from FRPP with a Whipple-supplied air-to-water intercooler, a heat exchanger, an intercooler pump and reservoir, a new blower pulley, and an accompanying fuel-system upgrade. With all of the hardware being shipped with the kit, FRPP advertises it as being able to pump the power level up to 500 hp.

It's common knowledge that running an intercooler lowers air-inlet temperatures and potentially makes more power. The cooler the air charge, the denser and more packed it is with power-producing oxygen. The denser air charge also allows you to run more fuel and more timing, which brings about even more power. "The benefits of intercooling are well known for any forced induction motor, and we obviously recognize that," says FRPP's Jesse Kershaw. "I think the bigger question is how to avoid an expensive intercooler if you really don't need it. At 400 hp, the twin-screw Whipple blower is efficient enough to not require one. It's simply added weight and cost at that power level in a Three-Valve Mustang with the thermal efficiency of a twin-screw blower. At 500 hp, though, the intercooler is really necessary to keep the charge temperatures down and maximize the torque curve of the engine."

Even so, we knew that if we installed an intercooler, we'd be able to step up the boost level and play with the tune to wring out a bunch more ponies. With that in mind, we had FRPP ship out one of its Big-Boost kits, and we took it and Project MILF back to JDM Engineering in Freehold, New Jersey, to see what kind of power we could pick up.

In addition to offering an intercooler, the kit also comes with an upgraded fuel system similar to the one available in the Shelby GT500. The fuel-system upgrade includes a harness, dual fuel pumps, and a drop-in housing and fuel driver module right from the GT500. "Making up to 450 hp could be done without an intercooler, but the factory fuel pump begins running out of steam above 400 hp or so," Kershaw explains as to why the upgraded fuel system is included with the Big-Boost kit. "That made it a logical step for us to package our 500hp kit with a dual fuel pump and an intercooler. By keeping the 400hp kit more basic (sans intercooler), we were able to save the customer money and make it a far easier installation."