For months and many rides in my friends new 2011 Mustang GT’s, I fought the fever of buying a new Mustang 5.0 for myself. Well, in May 2011 the bug turned into a full blown fever when the opportunity to own one for myself was presented. The cure for that fever ended up being a big Grabber Blue pill in the shape of a Mustang sitting in my driveway.

It is hard to imagine you would want to increase the performance of your 2011 Mustang 5.0 but it happens. Since this car is going to be a daily driver I really wanted to weigh the options on the performance upgrade. I wanted to do the standard upgrades (tuner, exhaust and cold air).  Since the car is brand new, I also had the factory warranty in mind. To keep the factory warranty and get the performance I was looking for I decided to go with the Ford Racing Power Pack - M-FR1-MGTB.

The kit comes with Ford Racing’s ProCal Tool (tuner), GT500 style muffler (#M-5230-MGTCA1), K&N high flow filter and FRPP Performance oil filter (#M-6731-FL820).

2011-2012 Mustang GT 5.0L Ford Racing Power Pack - M-FR1-MGTB

The ProCal tool does not come in the box. You get a voucher for the ProCal tool and you have to go onto Ford Racing’s website to register your car data. Once this is done Ford Racing will expedite your ProCal tool to you.

The air filter is the easiest part of the install so I started with it first. You simply unclip the air filter lid.

Remove the stock filter and replace it with the K&N high flow air filter.

Replace the air filter lid and you are done with this part of the install and only 5 minutes into the install.

Next I decided to swap the factory muffler for the for the GT500 Style muffler (M-5230-MGTCA1) in the package. This is the longest part of the install. Jack up the car and remove the rear wheels for room to work. To remove the stock mufflers start with unbolting the muffler from the lead pipe. Next unbolt the hanger bracket at the back of the muffler. There are two bolts for this bracket, one on the top and one on the bottom of the frame rail.

Once this hanger is unbolted you can tilt the muffler up and slide it off the front hanger. You will need some extra hands to push the lead pipe up out of the way. Some twisting and wiggling of the muffler will be required. You reinstall the new mufflers in the same fashion.

I saved the install of the ProCal Tool for last. Make sure you read all instructions carefully. One of the instructions is to make sure your battery has a full charge. Even though your car may be brand new I recommend putting your battery on a trickle charge over night before the install. I did not and had to contact the Ford Tech line while installing the program. They were able to get me on tack quickly with no issue. I also recommend you make sure the Ford Racing tech line is available during the install.

For the ProCal Tool, Ford Racing sends you a memory card with your custom tune based off the information submitted on the Ford Racing website.  To insert the memory stick you will need to peel the rubber edge cover back on the ProCal Tool at the bottom.

Once the memory stick has been inserted you simple replace the cover and you are ready to install your custom tune from Ford Racing. Read all instructions on loading your tune carefully. Make sure you watch the programmer as the tune file is being loaded. If you are not sure, have your local Ford Dealer do the install for you.

I was amazed at the outcome of this performance upgrade. I could feel an all around performance improvement while maintaining the factory warranty which is very reassuring since at the time of install the car only had 900 miles on it. I am extremely happy with the Ford Racing Power Pack (#M-FR1-MGTB)

The kit does come with a Ford Racing performance oil filter (#M-6731-FL820). I did not use it on install due to the mileage on the car. However, it will be used on the first oil change.