Hey guys this was posted by Cobra owner on LS1.com and I just wanted some of your input.


"There are several 03 Cobras running mid-9's that never had the valve covers lifted. I just went 11.13@132.3 at Rockingham and had to lift in second to avoid going into the next lane. My second pass was identical excpet my trap was 130. It looks like 8 psi in 17 inch ET STreets is a bad idea. I ran 8 in my 16's with no problems. If I can get that corrected my trap indicates a mid-10 run. I babied the car off the line because I'm still on the stock IRS and I'm relocating with a new job and I don't need to break my daily driver. The 132 pass was a 1.64 sixty footer. I launched at 3k rpm."

 

What's your question?

There are a few '03 Cobras running mid 9's and one that ran 8's on a bone stock motor I believe. I could be mistaken on the 8 second car. X2C motorsports built a T-88 turbo kit around a '03 Cobra and it cranked out some 8's. I'm almost positive it was a bone stock motor.

All it takes to run 9's in an '03 Cobra is a KB, nitrous, bolt ons, a C4, and a solid axle. That's on an untouched motor. Of course the supporting mods, such as a fuel system, are required.

edit: It sounds like the guy that posted that is full of **** though. 8psi and trapping 130's??? Yeah...right.

 

That's cool, I guess basically the guy seems fishy and he's been trolling all over a post I'm subscribed to, along with a couple of other (4.6 is GOD ) mustang friends. I'll admit I'm a little out of my league, so I wanted to see what some people who put in alot of time at the track thought about his statements.

 

I think he meant 8 psi in his tires. your average 03 cobra will have a bad driver and be a 12 sec car at best, hehe.

there are a few local ones that run low 11s high 10s but they are pretty rare in these parts. in order to trap 130+ in a cobra you will need about 550-650 rwhp. the two ways I have seen it done around here is a kenne bell with 17-22 psi and 100 octane, or a ported apten blower with a small shot of nitrous and 100 octane.

several mid 9 second cobras? no way. x2c motorsports down in socal did put one in the 9.0 range with a auto tranny, without take a valve cover off. its amazing what boost does

 

Here are a several 9 second Cobras for the haters.

1. Vid #1





2. Vid #2



3. 9.83 @ 137mph



4. 9.92 @ 134mph




You can read it HERE if you'd like. MM&FF had a Cobra shootout. Some of the faster Cobras attended.

 

what's to hate about? if LS1's came from the factory with all forged internals, then don't you think people would have paid the near $40,000 price tag 03'-04' Cobra's came with? i mean, Ford did a good job delivering a motor that was capable of handling a lot of power. but for the LS1 owner that wants to run 9's, they could do it for the cost of the car new and drop a bundle on it and do it for the same $40K that new Cobra owner's paid just for the car before all the mods!!!! there are a few 9 sec. LS1's who have run 9's on motor alone with stock displacement! neither car's are running pump gas, and the blower makes up for the cube differance, so i'd rather not here any comebacks on either of those subjects.

so, to sum it up, there is no great honor imo about running a 9 without removing the valve covers when you've already paid for the motor work to begin with!

Dave

 

Lots of ricer excuses in there my friend.

 

I do love the Cobras.. I'd like to have one as a Daily Driver, but they are VERY expensive (and I'm a cheap bastard), and that's why they run like a raped ape. They have a high dollar engine setup... From the forged internals, heads, to the charger. Yup, shouldn't take much to make them run 9's. I think Daves right, don't think any kind of "ricer" excuses were in his post. You get what you pay for. When some guy buys the new Z06 LS7 setup pretty soon, and comes up with the, "hell I run 9's and never had to take off the valve cover line" he will have ALREADY paid the price for the high dollar engine work. It better not cost much more to go 9's!!!

 

That is what I thought.

He also stated: (notice how he thinks it's cool for his buddy to clean up on F-bodies etc. on the street and then later he says "Street racing doesn't prove a damned thing except you are an idiot for endangering others").

"I have never read so many ridiculous posts in my life, so much misinformation and pure BS. I see these same young, ignorant dudes at the track pass by me and give me the FU look like I have no chance to beat an LS1. It only takes one pass to wipe that cocky assed attitude right off their silly, pimpled, snot faces. Like my buddy always says, "Wake up Alice, this aint Wonderland". I don't street race but I can't tell you how many F-Bodies, C5's LS1's and Z06's and Vipers I have watcherd my buddy clean up on the street while following along behind in my 03 whne we are going to and from tracks and out cruising. When I catch up the look on their faces is pure comical.

Real facts:

You can buy the FR500 heads, intake and cams for a 99/01 Cobra that will make 385 HP.

The 2k Cobra R 5.4 DOHC NA engine makes closer to 365-380 at the tire putting it closer to 435 at the crank. What's an LS1 making, maybe 300 on a sleeper? 5.4@365 to a 5.7@300. Looks like Ford is ahead to me. Push rod technology is becoming a thing of the past.

There are 4.6 Cobra engines running over 200 mph in the 1/4.

Ford listened to the "No replacement for displacement" BS from F-Body owners. The 07 Cobra 5.4 engine will be rated 450 at the crank but will probably make close to that at the rear wheel. It comes with a twin screw (Whipple) so there will be no need to swap out he blower like I did on my 03 for a KB. Swap out he pulley, exhaust and upgrade ther fuel system and a tune and they will easily put out 650 rwhp reliably.

Basic bolt-on Mach 1's and 4V Cobras will give basic bolt-on LS1's all they can handle at the track. I'm a track rat and had 200 passes on my 99 and 01 OCbras and probably over 150 on my 03. I know what I see at the track. LS1's are running j=ust as many low nines as 4V Cobras. Bolt-on LS1's are nothing nothing to fear for NA Cobra owners. You just think y our 300 rwhp car is bad. Um, "Wake up Alice". Street racing doesn't prove a damned thing excpet you are an idiot for endangering others.

12.9 for a stock LS1. You're stretching. 03/04 Cobras will average 12.5 bone stock with a good driver. A 1/2 second on the 1/4 is a royal (Eminem, pass the KY we're in for some serious) *** whipping.

If Chevy put a blower on an LS1 then the price tag would be well over $40K. Forged crank, forged pistons, H-Beam rods, fuel system to support 500 HP don't come cheap. They couldn't sell enough F-Bodies at $25-30k to keep the brand going. GM is about to go out of business if they don't make some drastic changes. They said on Fox they were about to be reduced to junk bond status. So much for the next generation Camaro.

Put a blower on your stock bottom end and huff 12-14 psi through it and it'll be puking up parts in short time. You may think the 03 Cobra pistons are weak but you don't know what you are talking about. I got one of the first 03's in the country and it's been force fed at least 18 psi for well over two years and is about to roll over 49k miles. My 03 rolled over 48k miles after I drove it to Rockingham where it turned the 11.13@132 pass. I know over 15 03/04 Cobra owners and have modded several of them and and none have had any problems because they all have good tuners. The engines I know that have burnt psitons were by bad tunes and all were from the same two shops. My car will reach 100k miles.

In closing, I'll meet any of you **** knockers at any track any day and be glad to show you the *** end of an 03 Cobra going down the track with 4.6 power. Wake up Alices, this aint Wonderland."

My question: if the n/a mustang motors are so hot, why are the Mach 1's and GT's so easy to beat?

 

Give credit where credit is due. Cobras are BAD rides! as unit said a kb, auto trans, solid axle, and a little juice and they will run 9's. As for ls1's vs the cobra's, new to new they are priced nearly the same. and with the cobra you already have a SCed forged engine. Its not SVT's fault GM didn't give ls1's the same treatment. but i can understand some of your arguements, where ls1's are cheaper (b/c they are used and depreciating in value) so you can put the extra $$$ that you saved over buying a new cobra into heavy modding, and probly come out ahead (money wise) over buying and modding a cobra. so personally i'd choose to buy a ls1 and mod it. however with a SS or WS6's MSRP back in the day vs 03 or 04 cobra MSRP, your not gonna be able to mod cheaper then you woudl a cobra, simply b/c ford already did it right the first time. -Jim

 

Bringing car pricing into play is pretty lame IMO. If we're going down that road, why not just buy a $5K Fox body with $20K in it will run 8's easily. Buh bye LS1.

We are all aware of what LS1's can do. I certainly don't need to be convinced of their abilities.

Like 12stones said "give credit where credit is due".

 

I agree, or even cheaper still, we could discuss bikes. But to say b/c a cobra has a supercharger, is a ricer excuse. i'm sure everyone here has heard "but yours is a V8" that always pisses me off. if your gonna make excuses dont race of be in the hobby at all, just reconize the car you drive (no matter the brand, model, etc) might not be the be all and end all in performance. -Jim

 

Well that is very true, my friend has an 03 Cobra and it is an awesome car. But with the mods he has done to his Cobra everybody says I'm BS'n that my car keeps up with his top end. He just put his 2.8 pulley on and we went messing around. I drove his car and a friend of mine drove the Blackbird. I honked 3 times and my friend in the Blackbird shot out into the lead. I had to really feather the clutch on the Cobra to keep traction and chirped a little. Richard wasn't used to driving my car all out, and he hit the rev limiter in 1st, and then again in 2nd, so I passed him towards the end of 3rd and he let off. So it took me to nearly 70 mph to pass. (Man did that suck beating my own car ). Then I drove my car with (3 passengers), and he drove his (with 2 passengers) : through the 1/4 he was a good 1-1/2-2 car lengths ahead. After the 1/4 we both have to let out for a slight curve, I kept in it a little harder and he NEVER caught back up.

 

well, all i can say is to me they are not ricer excuses, nor do i need them. take a look at my sig below and you'll see i've ditched the LS1! not that it isn't a great motor, especially in an all forged iron block setup, but it's not my favorite motor to look at......kinda like the new mustangs. anyway, i found my arguement to be justifiably unbiased as i had seriously considered buying a new cobra about a year ago. but truth be told.....the first mod i planned for the car was to sell the entire drivetrain! lol. i had already made a number of calls to Bennett Racing to have them build me a TT427sbf setup, Performance Automatics to build me a PG trans, Neal Chance for a converter, and X2C or Eccessive (can't remember) for a solid rear axle. as you can see from my sig, my plans haven't changed much except to do it in my convertible SS! so, i need not make any "ricer excuses" as you so pittifully put it. and besides.....what is your car running in the 1/4? are you running in the 9's or better too? because if so, i may hate on you til my car is done, but i can't hate on you for someone else's car doing it!

Dave

 

Not sure what it's running yet since I've done a ton of mods since last spring and I haven't been able to get to the track yet...too busy with work. I can tell you that I'm going to hit my KB with a 100shot. I don't ever plan on running 9's in this car since it's my daily driver...including Michigan winters. Can yours do that? Just curious. I won't compromise streetability enough to really cut serious 60's. 1.6's are all she'll do and that's all I care for her to do. She purrs like she's bone stock until I get into the throttle.

FWIW, my car is extremely slow IMO and I don't consider a 9 second car to be fast.

For the record Dave, my posts are not meant to flame. Just bs'ing.

 

not flaming either my freind....just pleading my case before the jury of my peers. fwiw.....my car will run on pump gas and have a full interior, stereo, power/steering, brakes, windows, locks, trunk, top, and LOTS MORE POWER ON TAP! the only thing i will be missing is the a/c, but i do have a drop top after all. i will most definately be driving this car to work on a fairly regular, fair weather basis. i will also be driving it to local shows as well. i'm not at all concerned about driving with a full cage in the car, nor dropping the top to reveal the new skelital system! LOL. i don't think a 9 sec. car is VERY fast either, at least not for a race car, but i wouldn't mind having one. however, for a street driven car...it's damn quick and i'll call you a liar to your face if you disagree. but i will NEVER drive my car in the salty winters of Chicago. i haven't done it since i've owned it in the last 2+ winters. you can even take a look at my homepage and see i took a pic of her sleeping a couple winters ago. just my preferrance, i've always driven the wifes minivan.

 

that never ceases to impress me. 9s and 8s on a 4.6L street motor. AWESOME

 

LOL I guess you need to be modding the 8 to 7 sec maybe the 4 sec forum sections.

 

I'm with you on that. A 9 second street car is a bad dude. No question about it. It's nothing special however at the track.

 

If I can get mine into the 9's and still drive it daily, I'll be happy enough. If I wanna go faster then that, I'll get an old Fbody or Fox and build that up.