TESTED: Ford Mustang GT Power Packs 1-3

Ford Performance offers three different 50-state legal “Power Packs” for the 2015-2017 Mustang GT that increases horsepower without affecting the factory warranty*. We back-to-back test Power Packs 1, 2, & 3 on a stock Mustang GT to see if Ford’s claim of 13-37hp increases are legitimate. We then analyze the GT350 intake manifold’s effect on the torque curve to see if it really has less low-RPM torque than stock in favor of high-RPM power. Finally, we determine which packages would be best for street and track use through in-depth torque and gear ratio analysis.

Ford Performance is really stepping it up from their factory-built hot rods like the Ford GT, GT350/R, Focus RS and Raptor, to supporting the aftermarket with factory-engineered Ford Performance Power Packs and Handling Packs. These Power Packs really cater to those who want OEM-quality calibrations that will not affect the factory 3 year/36,000-mile warranty* (*when installed by a dealer or ASE-certified mechanic) and are 50-state legal and CARB-certified for those who live in the strictly regulated state of California and don’t want to deal with the legal hassles that can come from modifying cars.

The calibrations that come with these packages are optimized for 91+ octane. This enables the Ford engineers to raise the rev limit and push the envelope beyond the stock tunes that are designed to operate with 87-octane, for the non-enthusiast customers who may not know any better. There is also a pretty neat No-Lift Shift (NLS) strategy which enables the driver to stay full throttle when shifting without bouncing off the rev limiter. In addition to the enhanced throttle response, the calibrations allow for gear ratio changes up to 4.09:1 and work with both automatic and manual cars. There is a lot of confidence in these proprietary calibrations that have OEM-reliability since they were developed by the Ford Engineers that have far more resources at their disposal than what most shops and fly-by-night tuners are capable of.

For the 2015-2017 Mustang GT, Ford offers three “Power Packs”: