JLT Performance Cold Air Intake Kit Black Textured Mustang GT 2018-2022

While cold air kits have improved over the years, a good aftermarket cold air kit forms excellent to make power and another bonus, the factory intake is ugly. So today we're gonna replace it with a new intake from JLT.

JLT has long been one of the leaders in the cool air intake markets and no surprise they were the first ones to have one for the 2018 Mustang. It's gonna include this 120 millimeter mass air inlet tube, this large five by eight reusable power stack filter, along with an air box and all necessary hardware for installation. This will be a direct replacement for your factory air box. It will require tuning when installed.

For this installation we need quarter inch ratchet, seven millimeter socket, eight millimeter socket, 10 millimeter socket, a six inch extension, ten millimeter wrench, Phillips head screwdriver, T-20 torch bit, and a clip removal tool.

To begin the installation, we're going to remove the engine cover and to do that, you have to remove the strut tower brace. Now you can lift the engine cover off and work around it. Honestly, it's just easier to get it out of the way. To remove these, remove these nuts from each side. To remove the strut tower brace, you pop these caps off, remove the two nuts underneath, and then it just clips on. You just lift it up.

Here you can see the new 2018 engine with the engine cover removed. The cold air kit to remove it, kind of the same way as the older ones. Start by disconnecting this line here, this line back here, the line for the inner tube, the sound tube, and then your mass air sensor and the little plug there.

To release the sound tube, we're going to squeeze this metal clamp.

To remove the cold air kit, we take the whole thing off as one piece. You simply have got to separate the throttle body and remove this bolt right here on the fender.

The next step in the installation is going to be the most difficult part and that is removing the factory sound tube. You don't have to remove it. JLT does provide this piece here that will allow you to keep it by drilling a hole in your new cold air kit. In my case, I'm not a big fan of the fake speaker sound or the fake air sound, so I'm going to remove the air tube and install the plug provided by JLT.

I warn you now, if this is your first S550 and your first attempt at removing the sound tube, this is the hardest part of the whole installation. It's not difficult to do, it's difficult to get to. The sound tube, the bolt is actually way down here on the back of the firewall so you have to get small wrench in there, just make some little turns until you get the nut off and then you can remove the whole sound tube.

Here you can barely see that little red stud. There's a 10 millimeter nut on there. That's what you're trying to remove. I wish I could tell you there's some really cool, simple trick. There isn't. Grab a small 10 millimeter ratcheting wrench if you have one, or any kind of small 10 millimeter wrench. The easiest way I found to do it, reach your arm in, follow the header all the way back, and just make slow turns with your wrench and remove it.

Now we can remove the sound tube.

Now for the second part of the fun part of the installation. That's installing this plug. What you're going to do is exact same way you went in with your arm with the wrench, push this into the opening.

Now to begin the installation, we steal a few things off of the factory air box. We use this grommet with the metal sleeve, this locating grommet and the mass air sensor.

Get this off. Just push the metal sleeve through and work out the grommet. Now we need a sensor, but not the screws. You want to make sure you do use the JLT supplied screws when you install it.

We're going to install the sensor now into our intake tube. Put the supplied gasket in place. Line it up properly. It will only go on one way. Get these snug. You don't have to crank them real tight.

With the sensor installed now, we can install the filter. Put that metal vein facing down. Grab the alignment grommet we removed earlier. Put that right here in the fender. Now we can install the air box. Take the factory grommet with the metal sleeve and install that in our JLT box.

Put it down into place. Box in place. We install the stock bolt. The box mounted now, we're going to grab the JLT duct here. We're going to slide it forward and then push it onto the factory piece. There will be two alignment dots here. One will be on either side of the air box when it's seated properly.

We're ready to install the intake tube. Grab the supplied coupler. Put it on the tube first. Leave the clamps loose then connect it to the throttle bottle. Get everything seated and tighten it down.

Now this part is optional, but included in the kit is this piece of foam. If you want to, basically just push this right down in here to completely seal the filter in the box. I'm not a big fan of the way it looks. It's not really necessary in my opinion, but if you do want to install it and completely seal it, you can.

We can make all of our connections. The box has a hole for this tab here. Push that through and plug in your mass air sensor. At this point, we're going to reinstall our engine intake cover and your installation's finished.

As we've come to expect from JLT Performance, the fit and finish was spot on and it looks great under the hood. I've used JLT on plenty of other cars including my race car and I've always make great power, so I'm expecting the same out of the 2018. I can't wait to get this car back on the dyno and see what kind of horsepower we get out of it. Again I do want to mention this intake will require a custom tune so you will have to tune it along with the installation. But overall, the install's very simple. This will take you less than hour. Be back on the road in no time.