Test drove a Terminator and a 5.0 today! Questions!!!!

[wjk]

1st off here's the exact car I drove.. 2003 FORD MUSTANG COBRA CONVERTIBLE 2D ''SE HABLA ESPANOL''

I really don't want a convertible but those seem to be the only ones near me. I was hoping someone could inform me about the Terminators as far as driving is concerned.

If anyone has driven an 05-09 GT and a Terminator I'd like to hear from you!

1) 1st thing I noticed was the clutch was about 10x harder to push in then my current 2005 GT. I figured it would be stiffer, but not that much. The only comparison I can think of would be the difference from pushing about a 5lb box with your foot(my GT) vs a 25lb box with my foot(terminator). Is that about right?

2) The shifter on the car was extremely hard to shift. My dad, my brother, and I all missed third when driving it, and we all drive stick shifts daily. Later when we went to the Ford dealership I hopped in a GT500 to see if the stick was the same, and it was like butter compared to the Terminator.

3) The traction control light wouldn't come on by pushing it. I'm guessing it had a tune which got rid of it. Seemed odd..

Here's my impressions of the 2 cars. The Terminator seemed to have a lot more power! The tires were bigger yet it was still able to get them spinning with just throttling it in 2nd with 4 people in the car and it being a vert which weighs more. I was impressed! The 5.0 on the other hand hooked up very well and would not spin the tires even in 1st with smaller tires (245s I think). To me it seemed like the 5.0 was easily out powered in this segment.

What the 5.0 lacked in the acceleration category it made up for in the ease and pleasantness to drive category. The clutch hardly had any pressure on it and the stick shift went into gear with hardly any strength. Along with the easiness of switching gears it also was a lot roomier inside and much quieter. Clearly this aspect was dominated by the 5.0.

If the Terminators shifter and clutch are supposed be that way it seems like it wouldn't make that great of a daily driver which is what I intend to use it for.

Any insight would be helpful. I have no plans what so ever on buying the new 5.0 but I would love to get a Terminator.

 

[mrose75]

Yeah, the Cobra Clutch (LOL) is a MF at first. I went from driving a Honda Accord to a Cobra, so imagine my shock. But I daily drove it for the first year and a half. My leg got stronger and I got used to it. I wouldn't wore about it. Granted on occasion at a long red light I will pull it out of gear.

 

[Bdubbs]

I haven't driven to many stick cars, and my cobra isn't a daily driver either. It seems these clutches are a bit on the hard side. If I'm at a light for a bit I just throw it in neutral and take my foot off the clutch.

I know you've been wanting a terminator for awhile, so don't settle on a vert if thats not exactly what you want. GL.

 

[greengt88]

i have an 04 cobra, and 08 GT. I hate the 08 GT- Clutch feels like crap, electronic throttle sux, severe lack of torque, sounds weird, hate where the e-brake handle is, the seats suck. i have alot of boltons too. Steeda CAI, TB spacer, SCT X3, underdrive pulleys, IMRC Delete plates, exhaust. It doesn't hold a candle to what my cobra was stock, even with all that crap on it. It does ride and drive nice though, just not for me, glad the wife drives the 08. i'll stick with my terminator and hard clutch. a shifter, quad. and firewall adj. along with a fluid change should cure any cobra shifting issues. less than $300 to fix. get the cobra please. even if its a vert. i didn't want a vert either, but ya know u can leave the top up. i've had mine down only 3x's in the lasst 8mos.

 

[suaveflooder]

Simple for me

Keep it stock = Go with the 5.0
Going to modify it = Terminator

I hope that helps :beer:

 

[JStyles]

Get the Cobra, I like the hard nature of the terminator. That price is ridiculous considering the miles though.

 

[monX]

Do you know what clutch was in the car? It might have been an aftermarket clutch with an LDC freeplay spring which lead to a stiff pedal feel, there's few things you can do to ease up the pedal, getting a new oem cable might also help. The stock clutch on the car is actually pretty soft...

 

[03cobra#694]

Aftermarket shifter will make all the difference in the world. Check out the link below also.
http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/terminator-talk-229/686622-want-smoother-shifts-try.html

 

[RDJ]

nice terminator but as was said price is too high for that many miles.

 

[CobraBob]

Aftermarket shifter will make all the difference in the world. Check out the link below also.
http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/terminator-talk-229/686622-want-smoother-shifts-try.html

An aftermarket shifter does not usually fix the problem he's talking about. I know from experience. Goes beyond the shifter. The clutch plays in. A shift quadrant/firewall adjuster will help. 2nd to 3rd issues are common with the Terminator and T-56. The mod discussed in that thread, though, will usually help a lot. I'm just saying that going with an aftermarket shifter is not going to cure a 2nd to 3rd shift problem.

 

[CobraBob]

When comparing the Terminator (my personal favorite) to the 5.0 GT, bear in mind that from an engineering/quality standpoint there is a huge difference between the two. I wouldn't base my decision only on the engine. Unless I could live with the harshness of the Terminator to gain an inexpensive leap in engine performance. JMO.

 

[TeddyKGB]

Rare terminator for sure...that one of 154 verts made in that color. Dont worry about the clutch too much, like others have said you get used to it pretty quick. The 03 is also just a much more raw car than of the S197s, it is just brute strength which I like.

But like the previous few posters have said that price is WAY too high. I have 23K miles on mine and some mods done to it and that is the price range I'd be willing to sell at.

Check the terminator FS section, there should be a few near you.

 

[4.6snakedoc]

You talk about a 5.0 but the years you mention for a GT are the 4.6. Are you talking about the 2011 GT?

I have the clutch quad and MGW shifter and even with that ( as Cobra Bob stated) it is still stiff and 2nd to 3rd is still difficult.

+4 on the price for that cobra. More like $17-18 K. I have a vert and love it.
What other mods and tune are on the cobtra?

GL

 

[timspony]

I had a '05 GT and traded it for the '04 TR RagTop last fall (I did not like the '05 at all!!)...Love my Cobra's!!!

5.0 nice...but in the long run, the 03/04 Cobra will always hold there value!

 

[metaman]

Sounds like the Terminator had a stock clutch and shifter set up. I also found these hard to live with to the point of my knee being sore from a traffic jam.

I ended up resolving the issue very simply. I now have a centerforce dual friction clutch, aftermarket quadrant / firewall adjuster, and Royal Purple Syncromax for tranny fluid.

Totally different driving experience with these simple modifications. That being said, if I where today buying a daily driver, it would be the new 5.0.

Simply because it is going to be more ergonomic and easy to deal with when just driving normal than the Terminator.

Don't get me wrong, I have daily driven my terminator for 6 years and have no major complaints other than the ergonomics.

The seats are pretty in the terminator, but try sitting in them on an extended road trip.

I also improved the ergos of the shifter location by installing a Steeda Comfort Pro shifter handle. It moves the handle of the shifter over to the left about 4 inches.

So what do you want? Do you want rough around the edges and the potential for huge power with bolt on mods? Or do you want refined and the potential for quick fun power with bolt on mods?

If all you are ever going to do to the terminator is similar to what I have done, pulley, intake exaust, then go with the 5.0 and get it running just as fast with full exhuast intake and tune.

However, if you want to transform your car into a total beast then the terminator is going to be the most cost efficient route for you.

Right now if I where willing to take on a new car payment, which I am not, I would trade up for a new automatic 5.0. I am not willing to do this because I will never again pay new car prices when I can just wait a year and snag one for 10k off with a few miles on it. That is what I will probably do around this time next year.

 

[jdgt03]

Like said above, there two different cars, ive wanted a terminator since i seen and heard them at the nmra world finals in 03, but i bought a 03 gt instead because of my bugdet. I had alot of fun with the 03 and it was pretty fast after about 5k worth of boltons, but the cobra is just a different animal. Look at like this to, think about how many 03-04's u see everyday? I see maybe 1 around here other than mine. And u might not see the 10' 5.0 alot now but wait till next year, it wont be so special anymore. But get what u want and what u can afford, but for me it would be the 03, mine will never go anywhere. They are a car like no other.

 

[65fastback2+2]

thats what ya get with manual vs. hydraulic clutch

 

[KINGCOBRA86]

they want 22grand with 60k miles, i would pass on that on man

 

[MoKo_03SVT]

ditch the stock clutch and the pedal wont be as hard to press. i switched from my stock clutch to one from ProMotion Performance, and its soooooo much lighter/better now. HUGE difference. my leg used to get TIRED in heavy stop and go traffic with the stock clutch. now i dont even notice it.

as far as being hard to shift... the "anti-venom" mod helps out a bunch with that. which only takes a minute to do, and only cost about $3. also an aftermarket shifter would help with this too.

terminator pwnz GT

 

[hotcobra03]

cobra

ours is a daily driver,,, i think you just need more time in the cobra seat...

yes clutch is stiff and third is hard at times... we changed rear gears to 373`s which now in traffic we can go as low as 20 in 4th and still not chug ,than stay in second to almost a stop...

we do drive ours easy,272k still on orig clutch