Getting more air into an EA

[Plunkett]

It's time to start planning out the next upgrade to the EA, Cold Air Induction. Currently running standard air box with a K&N Filter with modified straighter snorkel. I have been scratching my head for a while trying to find good placement for a pod filter but can't find enough direct air to do it justice.

After taking a look at Noosacuda's wicked looking ED XR8 I have decided that a shaker would be a fantastic way to go as it would not only improve the air flow but provide a significant aesthetic upgrade to the very stock looking EA. As pointed out in the "Vegabass's XR6 with shaker" thread (also a fantastic looking machine), the existing EB manifold has the throttle body sticking out the front of the engine not out the top (Why ford, WHY?). leaving me with a couple of options.

I could either run piping from the shaker to the existing air box (such as Noosacuda had to do with his Windsor T/B) or I could go even further and upgrade to an EL manifold and run it direct into the T/B (such as Vegabass). Keeping the existing manifold would mean the air is travelling though a hell of allot of pipe, twisting and turning, creating more and more back pressure and taking away from performance. As I like making things hard for my self I think I will swap over the manifold and make a nice little project out of it.

I know you can bolt on the manifold, but I don't know what sort of effect this will have with the ECU and unichip? I have heard that I might need to upgrade to an EL XR6 computer but I don't know if this is simply a suggestion or if it is a necessity . If I do need to upgrade the ECU then how do I get around the smartlock issue?

Can anyone else think of any other problems that I have overlooked, or any suggestions of better ways to achieve a similar result?