With the new cold-air system in place, Bouyea loaded the ECM calibration with an SCT handheld tuner and brought the 2010 GT back up to operating temperature for our after test. Not using a tune with a cold-air kit is said to cause a lean condition, but we didn't test this theory. After a few pulls, the 2010 spun the rollers to 287 rwhp and 304 lb-ft of torque, for a gain of 13 rwhp and 5 lb-ft of torque. Although these are good peak gains for a cold-air system, the gains are biggest (about 25 rwhp) between 4,500 rpm and redline. All too often we just look at peak numbers when assessing how well a part does, but since you don't drive constantly at the peak rpm, it's important to look at the overall or average gains (or losses), before deciding whether a part tests out to be a winner.
Steeda has not only designed a kit that makes more power, but it looks great too.
With the airbox out of the...
With the airbox out of the way, Bouyea reroutes the harness for the MAF sensor. Although there are many different ways to route the wiring, Steeda suggests running the wires along the framerail, pushing the clips into a few holes already there.
The wires then run behind...
The wires then run behind the left headlamp and out from in front of the ABS motor. This puts the harness in the perfect spot to plug into the new MAF sensor.
Before installing the new...
Before installing the new airbox, Bouyea removes the grommets from the stock airbox...
...and places them in the...
...and places them in the two holes in the inner fender.
Bouyea then lowers the new...
Bouyea then lowers the new airbox into place and connects the inlet on the underside.
The new MAF sensor has an...
The new MAF sensor has an inside diameter of 94 mm. The stock MAF is a smaller 85mm unit.
The silicone tubing, noise...
The silicone tubing, noise tube, and intake elbow are reinstalled next.
After tightening all of the...
After tightening all of the hose clamps, the installation is complete.
Bouyea uses an SCT handheld...
Bouyea uses an SCT handheld programmer to load the custom tune into the ECM.
When we started, Steeda's...
When we started, Steeda's '10 GT laid down 274 rwhp and 299 lb-ft of torque. For a real-world test, we ran the car at full operating temperature and dyno'd it with the hood closed. After our installation, output picked up to 287 rwhp and 304 lb-ft of torque for a peak gain of 13 rwhp and 5 lb-ft of torque. Although the peak gains are solid, the gains across the entire graph were substantial. The torque curve smoothed out across the whole graph, with gains as big as 20 lb-ft in some spots. Horsepower was increased tremendously between 4,500 rpm and redline, with a gain of almost 25 rwhp at one point.