Page 6 - ford

Having already obtained precise dimensions from the factory piping and our test vehicle, our engineering team has begun the arduous, but rewarding process of developing and fabricating intercooler piping for our '11-14 F-150.

Cold-Side Intercooler Pipe Fabrication

Fabricating the cold side appears to be less of a challenge than dealing with the hot side, so we decided to start there to get the ball rolling. Following the path of the factory piping, we began fabrication at the intercooler side of the pipe and worked our way up toward the throttle body.

Ford F-150 EcoBoost intercooler pipe fabrication

Ford F-150 EcoBoost intercooler pipe fabrication

Obtaining the perfect angle required some trial and error, as well as repeated test fitting - as you might imagine, the path of this piping is precise, and we need to be highly accurate in order to ensure fitment will be good among all of the trucks on the road.

After having finished the first portion of our two-piece cold-side pipe, we

Finally!! Ford has teased us with the prospect of an all-wheel-drive (AWD) Focus RS for the US since the early 2000's. Now, in 2016, it is finally here and in our garage. This is pretty groundbreaking considering that no Ford with an RS badge ever made its way to American soil, and they were not hot-hatches to ignore. The label had particularly dominated the rally world. Who can forget the infamous Escort RS Cosworth rally car with its countless podium finishes or the Focus RS WRC that won back-to-back manufacturer titles in 2006 and 2007? We at Mishimoto haven't, and we're glad to be reveling in all the mechanical glory that is Ford's newest, AWD, turbocharged hot hatch.

Besides Ford providing us with a vehicle name that carries endless puns and name plays, this RS is packed with goodies, making it hard to pick an area to focus on because there are so many awesome features (I promise, that will be the only pun.). Although this RS shares its heart with the Mustang EcoBoost, it does have

In our last post, we took a look at the axleback fabrication process. Now that our prototypes are on the GT and ready to rock, it is on to testing! While we were not expecting much in the power department out of these exhaust options, we still wanted to see how they sound on the dyno.

Mishimoto's Mustang GT Exhaust - Race Axleback

Mishimoto's Mustang Axleback Exhaust - Race version

Mishimoto's Mustang GT Exhaust with polished tips

Mishimoto's Mustang GT Exhaust - Pro Axleback

Mishimoto's Mustang Axleback Exhaust - Pro version

Mishimoto's Mustang GT Exhaust - Street Axleback

Mishimoto's Mustang Axleback Exhaust - Street Version

Testing

In addition to sound testing, we will test each of our axleback options on the dyno to determine if one offers any benefit over another. This will help us to decide which option to proceed with. After making a few passes with a stock GT to determine a baseline, we ran each of our axleback options (large mufflers, small mufflers, and straight pipes) on the

We have begun developing a catch can system for the 2015+ Ford F150 EcoBoost! This project, although small (in components), could have a significant impact on the F150 EcoBoost market. Why? There are not many direct-fit options, and there are a lot of these trucks out there. Oil blow-by can be pretty serious, especially on turbo applications, and this truck is twin turbocharged! Nonetheless, many gearheads tend to question the merits of using a catch can. So before we go any further, let's briefly explain what a catch can actually does and why it's so beneficial!

Port vs. Direct Injection

With port-injected engines, the fuel injectors are inside the intake manifold and produce the fuel stream that mixes with the air. This mixture is shot into the combustion chamber, right past the valve area, helping to keep the valves clean and free of deposits. We all know that fuel is a great solvent.

Modern, direct-injected engines have a different approach. The injector is inside the combustion chamber,

If you follow our Engineering Blog you have probably seen the exciting array of vehicles that come in and out of the Mishimoto garage for some R&D. The luckiest and most interesting of the bunch get to stay around as our SVP (Special Vehicle Project) cars. This means that upon arrival at our facility, they are evaluated from head to toe for a complete offering of Mishimoto parts from cooling to power products, we want to cover them all. The 2.0 Camaro was the last to be welcomed to our Engineering headquarters, but it wasn't the new kid on the block for long"

Picking up Mishimoto's brand-new Focus RS

Picking up Mishimoto's brand-new Focus RS

Mishimoto's brand-new Focus RS

Mishimoto's brand-new Focus RS

The highly-anticipated 2016 Ford Focus RS has arrived at Mishimoto! We wasted no time in making our RS part of the family, and ensuring the world knew who its new owners were.

Welcoming the RS to the Mishi family

Foreign Exchange Student

That's right, we have a new student fresh off the boat

Last time we wrapped up our resonator-delete testing, and with that component good to go, we're on to our next conquest, axleback exhausts. If you have not had a chance to take a look at our resonator deletes check out our blog posts HERE.

Axleback Fabrication

Any living, breathing car enthusiast knows that the exhaust is an important modification for modern muscle. Most owners want to rid themselves of the stock sound and let their pony car be heard right out of the gate. Being s550 owners ourselves, we want to hear the unrestricted growl of the Coyote in our GT, so we set out to design some axlebacks. We intend to design a few options as we want to offer an exhaust for every taste.  We plan to test a straight-pipe option for those who want to hear the GT scream, a small-muffler option for those who want an aggressive note but have neighbors, and a large-muffler option for those who like a more tame sound.

We began the design process by applying the data we obtained from the stock exhaust

Along with creating an awesome intercooler for the EcoBoost (EB), we also want to improve upon the pathways through which air travels to and from the charge air cooler. This will involve replacing factory components that route from the turbocharger to the intercooler and from the intercooler to the throttle body with engineered aluminum pieces.

Factory Ford F-150 EcoBoost Intercooler Piping

The factory piping setup on the F-150 is essentially a rat's nest of molded plastic and rubber couplers that, evident upon removal, is complemented by an internal coating of oil. No wonder catch cans are so popular for these trucks!

Our engineers felt like teenagers again with all of the oil on their skin as they removed the piping in order to inspect each piece, keeping in mind that they would need to replicate all connection points to ensure that our piping is a bolt-on setup.

Check out the cold-side pipe, below.

Factory F-150 intercooler piping

This pipe routes from the single intercooler outlet up

We have some updates for our 2015 Mustang GT intake project! Our engineering team has been diligently working on a functional prototype so we can start getting some testing results. It's full steam ahead with our plan for this intake, which includes a cool design for a fully enclosed airbox, keeping the stock tune, and of course, gaining more power! Let's briefly examine what we have so far starting with the airbox, shown below.

Prototype 2015+ Mustang Parts

In our design for the intake airbox, check out how the lid contours to the dip to the right side of the radiator; that's pretty slick! This airbox will grab air from the same location as did the stock intake airbox. Also take a look at how we designed our bracket! This was another opportunity to get creative with our designs. This entire airbox, including the brackets, were all cut using our waterjet. Fun-fact: For the water and abrasive material mix to cut cleanly through this steel, the water pressure shoots out at around 60,000 psi!

As any traveler can tell you, it is an unparalleled experience to be an American abroad and take in so many of the mesmerizingly different facets of the world. This is to be expected, but one thing that first-time travelers often don't so readily anticipate is the way in which being abroad empowers one as a representative of his home country. (I probably should have expected this; some good friends of mine are Canadians residing stateside, and they are practically walking billboards for Tim Hortons™.) Being a walking window into American culture not only elicits patriotism, but also prompts one to join his international friends in examining the USA from the outside-in.

One pervasive international perception of the US is that of our capitalist ideals and consumerism. This is polarizing stuff, but just about everyone with whom I spoke could agree on at least on one thing: When it comes to being consumers and producers, Americans are damn good at it. We know how to make a product, and we vote

In our last post, we wrapped up the fabrication of our X- and H-pipes. Now that we have some excellent looking prototypes, it is time to put them to the test. We are not expecting much in the way of power with this modification; however we still want to give these resonator deletes the rundown for sound benefit.

Mustang GT Exhaust testing

Testing

In addition to testing for any power increase we may see with our resonator delete, we will be testing our three different X-pipe designs to determine which one we will proceed with.

Mustang X-pipe testing

We loaded the GT on to our DynaPack in preparation to make some runs. We began with a completely stock GT to establish a baseline. After we let the GT take a breather, we then made several runs with the H-pipe in place of the factory resonator. We replicated this process with the three X-pipe options that were covered in our last post.

Mustang GT Exhaust testing

Results

As expected, neither the X-pipe nor the H-pipe alone made any power gains