Putting Together an Intake and Top End for the 5.0

Your engine uses air and fuel to make power, so the more air you can get into the engine, the more power you can make. However, using the biggest parts you can find for your top end (throttle body, manifold and cylinder heads) may hurt overall drivability. Here's what you need to consider when putting together an intake for your 5.0.

Velocity and Power

Simply put, the faster air moves, the better your engine will run. The most effective intake from the throttle body to the cylinder head combustion chamber is one that maintains air velocity at the engine speeds you use most. Giant, high flow race parts will kill low RPM performance, making your car unsuitable for street driving. Of course, if you add forced induction, your engine has a lot more air to work with, making large intakes usable across the RPM range.

Filter and Intake

Cold air intakes like our Power Pipes® draw air from outside of the engine bay. This air is cooler and denser, increasing air flow. Using one of these intakes also allows the use of larger filters to maintain airflow on high power applications. 

Mass Air Flow (MAF) Sensor and Throttle Body

These two components are the next bottlenecks on the intake. The MAF is a small tube with a sensor that tells the ECU how much air is coming in so the right amount of fuel can be added by the injectors. Using a larger MAF increases the amount of air that can enter the intake. We have harness extensions that allow the MAF to be relocated without having to extend the sensor wires, giving you more flexibility with your intake setup.

The throttle body is another piece of tubing a butterfly valve inside that controls the amount of air that comes into the engine. Like the MAF, a larger diameter throttle will increase the maximum amount of air flow.

Intake Manifold

The weight of hydraulic rollers in the 5.0 limits engine speed, with stock and modified engines reaching their limits at around 6,000 RPM. This limits total air demand, making an intake manifold with long runners a better fit for street and performance builds. Using this type of manifold maintains air velocity across the RPM range. If you're using a lighter valvetrain that allows a higher red line, an intake with short runners like the Edelbrock Super Victor will help you make more top end power.

If you're looking at a carburetor or throttle body injection setup, the main choice is between a dual plane and single plane intake. A dual plane intake splits airflow into a left and right side with two of the four carburetor barrels feeding one bank of cylinders, while a single plane intake is open where the carburetor bolts on, letting all four barrels feed any one cylinder. Turbulence in a single plane intake along with more air availability help the engine make power at wide open throttle (WOT,) making it great for drag racing, but a dual plane intake is much better at handling partial throttle, making it the better choice for street cars and track racing.

Cylinder Heads

The E7 heads that came stock with the 5.0 are restrictive, and while they can be polished and ported, the gains are limited, making it much more practical to use a set of aftermarket heads. Even mild heads will increase air flow by at least 40%, and they'll make the car lighter since they're made from aluminum instead of cast iron like the E7. Here are three main examples for aftermarket heads:

The GT-40 heads were originally developed for the '93 Cobra, but Ford Racing has continued developing them to keep them on par with other aftermarket offerings. Originally cast iron, the modern GT-40X is aluminum.

Edelbrock makes the mild, drivability-focused E-Street, which is roughly comparable to the GT-40, and the more race-oriented Victor Jr.

Trick Flow's Twisted Wedge heads use their own unique combustion chamber design that repositions the valves inside the head. Like Edelbrock, they offer these heads in street and race versions.

Cams

Wider, taller cam lobes increase the opening of the intake valves as well as the duration, allowing more air to enter the engine, but more extreme lobes may require piston reliefs and other modifications to clear the valves. We make cams with a wide range of profiles to fit your needs.

Where to Get Parts for Your Fox Body Mustang

www.andersonfordmotorsport.com has helped customers build high performance Fox body Mustangs since these cars were still rolling off the factory line. We sell a wide range of aftermarket parts and have even developed our own intakes and cams to help you get the most from your engine.