2004 cobra
- Thread starter turboblue
- Start date
Ya, and it ran 12.9. Bone stock with about 250 miles on the odometer, first time the driver ever had it at the track. Driver stated he hopes to cut 3-4 tenths off that ET before the tracks close down for the winter and he starts modding it.
Ooops. That wasn't the street. Sorry.
Ooops. That wasn't the street. Sorry.
With a good driver those Cobra's will run 12.5 out of the box, luckily 90% of Cobra owners are young punks who are mezmorized by HP numbers and can't drive. I don't have my GN anymore, but I've race about 30 Cobra's at the track with my Z06, and I've never seen one run under 12.7. Luckily for me I'm still a second faster. Those cars are hard to launch, you should easily beat them out of the hole, but then again, GN's beat everything out of the hole!
Cobras are nothing to take lightly
This past spring, I was at the Smackdown day with my son who was tuning his '03 Cobra that had a chip, air filter, pulley, exhaust and factory sized drag radials. He ran a best time - with limited traction - of 12.05 but at ~119 mph!!! That mph was worthy of a mid 11 timeslip but the track was greasy, the humidity was nearly 90% or more and a lot of head wind.
I ran a best of 12.7/109mph at only 19psi since I was just doing the initial tune on a brand new turbo/combo and alky kit. I know I was heading for the upper 11's but we got rained out by a drenching thunderstorm just as things were getting interesting. But back to the Cobras...
A stock '03/'04 Cobra with a good driver who can launch will kill a lot of cars out there. Just like Z06's, they're nothing to mess with unless you've got a solid low 12 second car or better yet, a strong running 11 second ride. And if the Cobra has been just mildly tweaked, you're looking at a solid mid 11 second car with very high 10 potential given some light massaging (fuel upgrades, etc). Put a Whipple or K/B twin screw unit on the DOHC and it's in yet another league assuming the work has been done to the driveline to take the power that the motor can easily put out!
This past spring, I was at the Smackdown day with my son who was tuning his '03 Cobra that had a chip, air filter, pulley, exhaust and factory sized drag radials. He ran a best time - with limited traction - of 12.05 but at ~119 mph!!! That mph was worthy of a mid 11 timeslip but the track was greasy, the humidity was nearly 90% or more and a lot of head wind.
I ran a best of 12.7/109mph at only 19psi since I was just doing the initial tune on a brand new turbo/combo and alky kit. I know I was heading for the upper 11's but we got rained out by a drenching thunderstorm just as things were getting interesting. But back to the Cobras...
A stock '03/'04 Cobra with a good driver who can launch will kill a lot of cars out there. Just like Z06's, they're nothing to mess with unless you've got a solid low 12 second car or better yet, a strong running 11 second ride. And if the Cobra has been just mildly tweaked, you're looking at a solid mid 11 second car with very high 10 potential given some light massaging (fuel upgrades, etc). Put a Whipple or K/B twin screw unit on the DOHC and it's in yet another league assuming the work has been done to the driveline to take the power that the motor can easily put out!
While I'm not a big Mustang fan, there's no denying the Cobras are a threat on the street. I wouldn't mind retiring my GN to weekend duty and having a new Cobra as a daily driver. An affordable, reliable 12 second car with a warranty is aweful tempting. Resisting doing the cheap mods that make a big difference would be aweful hard though.
I would say it was either a regular 99-01 Cobra or you are FOS. Take your pick. Some of the guys on these boards should have been fiction writers.
Even with a crappy driver, the muscle doesn't go away when traction is not an issue, the manual is geared better, & I doubt you are trapping over 110-112+ mph which is what it would take to pull a stock one pretty good as you mentioned.
turbocliff
I Slang in my white T
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2004
I have only lost three street races all year- 2 of them to the same 03 cobra, and one to a solid axle converted 04 cobra....
they are not to be taken lightly- Watch out for sprayin LS1 cars too, however they haven't gotten me yet-
they are not to be taken lightly- Watch out for sprayin LS1 cars too, however they haven't gotten me yet-
Blown Cobras can be flat out nasty. I was at Etown last year and there was a younger guy there that knew what he was doing with one. It had just the basic mods, intake, pulley, cold air, etc. and he clicked off 3 12.20s in a row, all at 118mph. This was on regular radials, not DRs. Now, my car ran 10.76@124mph last weekend and 10.57@127mph last year, but on the street, from a roll that ET doesn't mean anything. Doesn't seem like it would take much to get more mph out of that Cobra.
Never lost to one, at the track or on the street... from a roll or a stop.
They are impressive from a roll, but from a stop on the street they aren't impressive at all.
of course I run 127mph in the 1/4 so maybe I am comparing apples to oranges here.
I would absolutley love to own one. the potential of those cars is without a doubt incredible.
They are impressive from a roll, but from a stop on the street they aren't impressive at all.
of course I run 127mph in the 1/4 so maybe I am comparing apples to oranges here.
I would absolutley love to own one. the potential of those cars is without a doubt incredible.
I own both (GN hasn't been driven in over 4 years) and can offer some insight into them.
They have awesome potential. Even the fastest ones you encounter on the street haven't even removed a valve cover yet. After all they're fairly new and only getting seriously modded now. Soon you'll be seeing alot more cammed and built versions. They have awesome power and mph potential, but I sure miss the way my GN launched compared to this car. It's MUCH more difficult to hook up the Cobra.
Mine makes 472hp to the rear wheels and has gone slightly over 120 mph in the 1/4 with a K & N intake, cat back and catted x-pipe, smaller pulley (14 psi vs. 8 psi stock) and a tune. The whole deal cost me about $2000 (including the Nitto DRs). Another $4,000 for a different blower (Whipple), injectors and MAF and I''ll be at 575+ rwhp (650 crankshaft?) on pump gas and be as streetable as the day I bought it. I expect my traps to equal what I accomplished in my GN (see sig), but I doubt my ET will be anywhere near what I did in my GN. The Cobra has earned my respect, but GNs trapping far less can and do beat Cobras with regularity in 1/4 mile contests while trapping far less.
I know I went into the motor with my GN (ported heads/cam) to get my first 11 sec. timeslip (on slicks). My Cobra did it on DRs 4 months after I owned it with basic mods and I'm not the best 6-speed driver out there. (Man I miss my automatic
)My Cobra reminds me very much of my GN:
- fast model only produced two years
- takes well to mods
- inexpensive to make fast
- maintains streetability with speed
- potential seems limitless
I suspect street driven 10 second cobras will be pretty common in a year or two, at least I'm hoping.
The GN & Cobra are both awesome cars with their own strong points. I'm lucky to have been able to enjoy both.
I hope this info was useful.
P.S. - Cliff, I'm not ready for you yet, maybe after my blower swap.
Excellent post, gnxs!
gnxs - what an outstanding comparo you posted between the new Cobra and the Turbo Buick/GN! Excellent job on the writing and I could not agree more with your insights.
It was nice to read a real world analysis of two vastly different cars - the Cobra and the GN. Your personal views as well as the facts you stated were clear, succinct, and to the point. The potential you mentioned about the Cobra is very real and your forecast of 10 second, fully streetable Cobras is already coming to pass.
Again, thanks for the reply. You did a great job explaining the differences between two of the finest performance vehicles ever made.
gnxs - what an outstanding comparo you posted between the new Cobra and the Turbo Buick/GN! Excellent job on the writing and I could not agree more with your insights.
It was nice to read a real world analysis of two vastly different cars - the Cobra and the GN. Your personal views as well as the facts you stated were clear, succinct, and to the point. The potential you mentioned about the Cobra is very real and your forecast of 10 second, fully streetable Cobras is already coming to pass.
Again, thanks for the reply. You did a great job explaining the differences between two of the finest performance vehicles ever made.
That is a good thing about manuals. If they can't drive them well the look really bad getting beat by my 87GN. My friend drove his dad's 2000 corvette with 6spd to a 9.6 E.T. at 76mph best. I was driving my mom's 2000 lightning to a 9.2 E.T. all stock he was pissed. I know I should have used my GN but I was having fuel pump problems. But when I drove the vette I ran 8.8 @ 85 mph.
Thanks to my 5spd dakota.
This was 1/8 not 1/4
Thanks to my 5spd dakota.
This was 1/8 not 1/4
