If you’re trying to extract the maximum horsepower from your 5.0 Coyote powered 2011-2017 Mustang, you’re going to need to get rid of the factory intake manifold. Edelbrock recently released their Victor II Coyote 5.0 intake manifold and it has already become a very popular upgrade for S197 and S550 Mustang.
The stock Coyote intake manifold is designed to balance low end torque and top end power. It does a great job of that but it simply can’t breathe well enough at high RPM to even keep up with the potential airflow of the factory heads. So, to get the most out of the Coyote 5.0 engine you need more total airflow. Before there were other options most enthusiasts and racers would upgrade to the BOSS 302 intake manifold. That works great at high RPM (mostly after 6,500 RPM), but sadly it sacrifices a bunch of low end torque. This may be okay for max-effort naturally aspirated race car builds or boosted street applications where there’s still plenty of torque on tap, but it’s certainly not without its compromises. That's where the Edelbock Mustang Victor II intake manifold comes in.
With the introduction of the Edelbrock Victor II Coyote intake manifold you can now get great airflow at high RPM without sacrificing a huge chunk of low end torque. Dyno testing has shown that the Victor II coyote manifold makes significantly more torque than the BOSS 302 intake, besting it by 27 foot pounds. Not only does it make way more low-end torque than the BOSS 302 intake, it still beats the OEM Coyote intake by 16 horsepower at the other end of the tach. Since you’re gaining power across the board with the Victor Coyote it’s the perfect upgrade for a street car, or even a road race car that needs that low-end torque for strong corner exits.
While you could bolt a factory throttle body to the Edelbrock Coyote Victor 2, for best results you’re going to want to use a 90mm Mustang throttle body. There are many excellent options on the market, but Brothers Performance recommends either the BBK 18210 for 11-14 Mustang or BBK 1807 for 15-17 Mustang. The Ford Performance M-9926-M5090 is also a great choice for 11-14 Mustang.
Good news for those of you that are fans of nitrous, as this intake is fully approved for use with nitrous oxide. Not only that but it has bosses already cast in for a direct-port nitrous kit if you choose to go that route. Either way, using nitrous with the stock plastic manifold (or even the Boss intake) can be a little dicey, as they tend to be brittle and don’t typically withstand any backfires. Typically one good nitrous backfire and they’re done. Obviously you should avoid nitrous backfires wherever possible, but it’s something that happens and an aluminum intake is much more suited to that sort of abuse.
Intake manifold installation is actually pretty easy on Coyote engines. You just need to unhook some vacuum lines, the throttle body and fuel rails and the intake manifold itself. Installation is the same as installing a BOSS 302 intake and nearly as simple, the only difference is the Victor II coyote intake requires flipping the stock fuel rail 180 degrees for proper fitment. Don’t worry though, there’s a fuel line with the kit that keeps it all direct fit. It should be noted that the Boss 302 install kit M-9444-M50B is recommended to simplify this installation. You may have read that you don’t need it, but it’s simply not worth trying to twist and bend a bunch of hoses, relocate the purge valve, etc. In fact, with the install kit there’s no need to fabricate anything on this install. You only need to lengthen the purge valve wires, otherwise its plug-and-play. It even clears the factory strut brace on 2011-2015 and 2015-2017 Mustang. You can see more in Edelbrock’s detailed instructions CLICK HERE.
As with any intake manifold change on the Coyote 5.0 engine, you're going to need a custom tune. That doesn't mean any old preloaded tune but, rather a tune that is designed specifically to work with this intake manifold. Most likely that's going to mean a dyno tune, which is really the only way to do this properly, even with the BOSS 302 intake manifold. At this level of modification, you're typically going to want long tube headers anyway, which usually require a tune also. We have always had great results with SCT or Diablosport handheld tuners, but keep in mind that's only part of the equation, as you'll still want to contact a competent custom tuner for either company's software.
Brothers Performance was one of the first dealers to receive the Edelbrock Victor II Coyote 5.0 intake manifold and they’ve already been flying off the shelves. Sure it’s a higher price point than a BOSS 302 intake but I’d say it’s worth the cost difference to keep the low-end torque, and our customers seem to agree. You could even compare it to the Cobra Jet intake, which is even more expensive than the Edelbrock unit due to it's required components and it still won’t deliver the low end punch that you’ll get from the Victor 2. All-in-all the Coyote Victor II really hits the “sweet spot,” allowing you to get big power gains up top but without sacrificing low end torque that you’d certainly miss while cruising around town.
Check Out These Other Popular Mustang Upgrades:
Mustang Throttle Bodies
Mustang Cold Air Intakes
Mustang Headers
Mustang Tuners
