cobra questions

[NickPic]

well after some research i have decided to go with a 03/04 cobra. my questions are....

are there any usual problems that occur with them?
what are the best 1st few mods(performance) to get for them?
where are the best places to find quality mods for a good price?
also if anyone knows how hard is it to add the styling bar on the verts?
thanks

[hottcobra]

well one of the best things you can do is have a compression test done. That will show is the motor is worn out.

If you find a bone stock tremi. the best bang for the buck would be a tune and pulley swap.

[NickPic]

thanks any other info from anyone

[lowflyn]

I spent over a year searching for my 03 Cobra. Do not buy the first one you come across...wait till you find the one that meets your criteria.

I bought a stock pulley'd 03 that had alot of suspension mods done. No complaints yet, and going to be ported/pullied by next week.

[PureVenom]

Quote: Originally Posted by NickPic well after some research i have decided to go with a 03/04 cobra. my questions are.... are there any usual problems that occur with them? what are the best 1st few mods(performance) to get for them? where are the best places to find quality mods for a good price? also if anyone knows how hard is it to add the styling bar on the verts? thanks

I will comment on the styling bar soon. I'm ordering mine friday. I hope to install it next weekend. I'll do a complete write up on it.

[NickPic]

Purevenom I would love to see it and read about it when ur done

[hottcobra]

Quote: Originally Posted by PureVenom I will comment on the styling bar soon. I'm ordering mine friday. I hope to install it next weekend. I'll do a complete write up on it.

what?
you buying the roll bar before the tires? I think you scared to go to the track.

[PureVenom]

No, I have one set of rims and I don't want to drive to NY on mickey's as they will be practically bald after that 4k mile round trip and I'll need a new set and would have just pissed away $400 on tires.

The light bar was given to me as a b-day gift however I had to use that money for emergency reasons at that time...and now I am finally able to get it again.

[hottcobra]

sounds like you need to buy 2 more rims.

[PureVenom]

That's the plan when I have the extra cash...if I bought those mickey's right now they would just sit in my garage anyhow. And a $9 discount per tire isn't overly big...so I'll let him sit on them until he decides to come off the price more...or...I'll order them from lethal for $209 a tire....and no tax.

[hottcobra]

[NickPic]

seriously how bout some answers to my Q's...........j/k

[PureVenom]

Quote: Originally Posted by NickPic well after some research i have decided to go with a 03/04 cobra. my questions are.... are there any usual problems that occur with them? what are the best 1st few mods(performance) to get for them? where are the best places to find quality mods for a good price? also if anyone knows how hard is it to add the styling bar on the verts? thanks

Typical Problems:

In stock form/power levels:
- Throw out bearing will go bad
- Could develop the tick depending on when the car was built. This typically is a result of long high speed runs because coolant pools up in #7 and 8 cylinders and has no means of escape.
- Goes through tires depending on how heavy your foot is.
- Halfshafts could break due to wheel hop
- Some have reported a vibration issue above 50 mph. Most have had this corrected by now.
- Recall issued for the carpet under the gas pedal hooking on to the gas pedal and holding it wide open.
- Drive train will clunk...this is normal.

In modded/higher power levels
- Halfshafts could break due to wheel hop
- Input shaft could sheer off as it is only a 10 spline
- Same tick issue if you have not installed the cooling mod

Best performance mods and some highly recommended mods:
- If you are looking for around 400-450 rwhp, then just install a smaller upper pulley and a tune. (BilletFlow: Home of Premium Billet Pulleys, Throttle Bodies and Accessories for the upper pulleys)
- If you are looking for around 500 rwhp, then go with a ported and pullied eaton swap and a tune.
- If you are looking for 550+ rwhp, go with a twin screw blower swap and a tune (whipple or KB)
- CAI is definitely a must. www.jlttruecoldair.com
- Cat back for sure. Stock it is way too quiet.
- Some form of mid pipe upgrade would definitely be recommended. Offroad if you don't have to worry about visual inspections in your state.
- MGW Short throw shifter. Butter smooth. MGW LTD., INC. - CNC Machined and Turned Parts. Accessories for the Corvette, Mustang, and Viper
- Upgraded heat exchanger. A dual pass would be a good choice. Or, one of the two options available that route your AC coolant to super cool your intercooler fluid. Killer Chiller is one, I forgot the other one. ( Home Page I believe is the website.)
- Head cooling mod is a must. Either the even flow kit which routes to the front of the car or the other style that connects the driver head into the passenger head outflow.
- Idler pulley swap is a must. Stock idlers have been known to come apart. Billetflow is a good source for those as well.
- IRS Bushing swap. You can go cheap and get the steeda poly bushings...but I recommend the bushing kit from a member of another forum. They are all delrin, aluminum, and ultra hard poly. For $600 the kit is a great deal. I just installed it this spring...great kit.
- 26 spline input shaft. This will require a new clutch though.

Ok, that's several typical mods just off the top of my head.

Sources for parts:

Check out our vendors at the top. I haven't shopped with them yet as I haven't needed to buy parts lately.

If you aren't able to find 03/04 cobra parts through them, here are some highly recommended sources for parts:

- Lethal Performance - Lethal Performance, Performance parts for Ford Mustangs - They will carry just about anything you are shopping for.
- Atomic Performance - Atomic Performance - TA Performance, Pro 5.0, SCT, C&L, JLT Cold Air - They will have most of what you are looking for. If they don't have it on their website but they carry the brand you are looking for, you can PM them here and they can get it for you. It's happened to me several times. Their user id here is Atomic Performance.
- Billetflow - BilletFlow: Home of Premium Billet Pulleys, Throttle Bodies and Accessories - For your upper and idler pulley needs. They also make throttle bodies, but I have one and would recommend buying a different one. Idle sucks.
- Running with the devil - www.rwtd.com , www.fordcustomtuning.com - I recommend these guys for your tuning needs if you decide to to remote custom tuning and don't have access to a local dyno tuner. They are well established tuners located in Mobile, AL.
- Amazon Racing - Contact us in Anderson, South Carolina, for performance auto parts, performance chips, and Dyno Tuning - Home - I also recommend these guys for your custom tuning needs. These guys are located in South Caroline.
- Brooks Speed - Brooks Speed - Custom Ford, GM, Dodge Tuning - Eric Brooks used to work for SCT developing the XCAL hand held tuners. He has a ridiculous amount of knowledge about tuning. I highly recommend him as well for your custom tuning needs. He is located in Georgia.

Ok, that's about it off the top of my head. If you have any specific questions about mods for an 03/04 cobra and what not, post up. If I can't answer it I can tell you where to go to get the answer.

[SpectorV]

^^ good info, you can tell by looking/driving a car how good of condition and well taken care of it is, like said above dont buy the first one just because you can lol. Very nice clean ones are hard to find (well easy if you dont mind paying a ton)

look on svtperformance.com for the for sale section.

[NickPic]

wow thanks alot pure venom alotta info there. thats alotta help.

[NickPic]

whats the most hp u can run safely thru a stock internal 03/04 cobra engine and drivetrain?

[PureVenom]

there are many running 700+ rwhp on stock block and drive train.

[sonicpony03]

That must be those forged internals hard at work...

[PureVenom]

It is. 600-700 is really as far as you want to push it...just because of the tight piston to wall clearance, but, you can go 700+ if you want as many have. Swap out pistons to improve the clearance and you are all set for 700-800 rwhp.

The block and internals will take what you want to throw at it. The rods are going to take it. The crank is going to take it. The only issue is if you generate too much heat the pistons may start scoring the cylinders...but the pistons won't break...just damage the bore.

[sonicpony03]

That's still pretty impressive...god I have to get one soon, goddamn 5 years of school

[SpectorV]

seems with the stock blower 500rwhp is about the limit you can get out of it ported (give or take in that area) with an aftermarket blower its about what ever you want up till the engines limit lol.

I wouldnt personally want more than 600rwhp in a DD if that.. probably 500 honestly you cant use it on the street lol only useful in saying you have it.

600-650 seems to be where everyone says the limit is at for reliability but many push much farther and they do last.. its a risk you have to take.

[lowflyn]

With a stock blower that has been ported I'm shooting for 530 at the wheels on wednesday on a stock engine. Should be fun.

[NickPic]

wow very impressive. how hard are the cam installs on these? i would love to get it cammed with a nice loop when i find my cobra.

[slostang]

Rob, please tell me you aren't getting MT DR's, go with the et streets or a full slick at least. You will thank me later when your rear end and transmission are still in one piece!

[NickPic]

anyonw know how hard it is to do cam swaps on the cobra?

[SpectorV]

cams really dont help very much at all, no real need to do it. and 530 is a nice goal, its hard to get to but maybe you will do good, especially if the dyno is not a mustang dyno.

[NickPic]

o really glad i asked.

[PureVenom]

Cams will help out a little, but not near as much as it does on the pushrods. THe benefit you get from cams in the cobra is it improves the air flow which lowers your boost while maintaining the same horsepower. So you loose some heat but loose no power.

As for the swap, installing the cams isn't too bad. It's the timing of them that is time consuming. BUt put it this way, a shop would charge you between 1500-2000 in labor to do the cam swaps. So it's a most of the day job.

[NickPic]

do the cobra's get a big gain from headers? long tubes, mids, or shorties?

[hottcobra]

headers do the same as cams on the cobra you lower boost and temps but keep the hp the same.

[PureVenom]

bingo....

[slostang]

I got at least 30rwhp with my longtube setup.... I've also seen cams give a good bit when you are in the higher boost range or if you get a set of worked heads. You can easily make 100 rwhp... I'll probably be doing heads and cams on my car after the first of the year.

[PureVenom]

Yes, you will gain power when you ramp up your boost back to where it was before the cams and headers and tune for them. However, installing them alone will not increase power....if it does it will be minimal.

There is a huge article on mod fords that will give you detailed reasons as to why you won't gain anything with the mod alone.

[slostang]

I didn't ramp my boost up for the headers... I did tune for them but that is pretty much a given with any mod.

[PureVenom]

Quote: Originally Posted by NickPic do the cobra's get a big gain from headers? long tubes, mids, or shorties?

here you go, read through this to get an idea of how headers, cams, and other changes in air flow efficiency affect the cobra...and any other car with a positive displacement blower.

Effectiveness of Engine VE Changes with a Positive-Displacement Supercharger - ModularFords.com