So when I pulled off that piece of plastic that covers about 15% of the stock IC behind the front grille, I started thinking about the flow of air into the airbox. I noticed that the opening doesn't get direct flow. It comes in from behind the front grille indirectly. I'm sure Ford does this in order to keep debris and water from entering directly into the airbox.
I thought maybe I can get just a bit more air if I gave it more of a "ram air" effect. After all, the SHO and F150 have this coming into the airbox more directly anyway.
So as I had the front grille and bumper off for some other project I was attempting, I decided to tackle this at the same time.
Although it's possible to do this without removing the bumper (or so I've heard), it's tough to reach some of the hardware. As I had the bumper off, it was a breeze to get the grille separated. Now the grille is actually three pieces on top of each other in the Sport. On the outside, you have the three horizontal "bars", then underneath that is the plastic "mesh" layer, and beneath that is the main barrier piece. This was the piece that needed trimming.
There are a lot of small clips that hold these various levels together. I didn't get a photo of it, but what worked liked a charm without breaking these tabs was some plumbers tape I cut into tiny squares and just wedged those into each clip. Once I had all them wedged, the pieces just fell apart super easy. Best part...nothing broke.
I wish I would've taken a picture of it, but apologies. Maybe when I take the grille off again, I will update this post to show it.
Anyway, here's a pic with the bumper and grille off. You can see the opening for the airbox...
Here's the inner barrier piece that needs trimming:
I took it off and on a few times to get the exact shape and opening size I was looking for. Here you see the final hole size I was happy with:
Mesh layer over it:
And finally, the three "bars" mocked up onto it:
As you can see, it's very well hidden and is virtually unnoticeable:
Now, how much better flow is it, you ask? I can't really say, tbh. It's kind of a small mod that may or may not help out some, but the logic is sound, so I'm going with that, LOL.
Of course, this may not be for everyone; however, it's been 2 years with no detrimental effects nor have I gotten anything significant into the airbox. I've driven in rain as well as having gone through multiple car washes throughout the years. So, I'd say it was a decent modification since I had the bumper off anyway.
