Back in a Cobra...again!

[Adam01Snake]

Sup Fellas,

I just purchased a 99 Cobra Coupe today and I felt was a deal too good to pass up. This car is in excellent shape from what I can tell so far I paid 8K and the car has 116K on the odometer. Their isn't hardly a scratch on the car and the interior appears to be in like new condition with a little wear on the drivers seat, but for a 10 year old car its not much.

It's been a while since I posted much on here as I haven't had a cobra in a few years ( since 2003) which was back when I owned my 2001 that I did the normal bolt ons, gears, CAI, Short Throw Shifter, etc. I don't suppose much has changed as to what we can do to these cars since then?

I wanted to post and say hi as I'll be more active again since I just got this car. I plan on doing the normal treatment to this car since it's pretty much stock other than the 40 series Flows and a K&N in the airbox.

I do have a few questions with hopes you guys can catch me up on what the latest goodies are for a new edge cobra.

Steeda Triax is probably going to be the first mod simply because I can't stand the stock shifter. From here I was thinking a cold air intake. I had a WMS CAI on my 01 but have seen from browsing here that the JLT RAI appears to be a popular choice, and It's priced less than most CAI on the market. Next I want gears, here is where I need some advice. With my car having 116k miles, what would I need to have done to the rear end to make the gear install go smooth. I noticed where AM (American Muscle) sells a Trac Loc rebuild kit as well as another Install Kit with bearing and all for the gears. Should I have it all rebuilt at the time of getting 4:10's? How much should I expect to pay? When I had gears put in my 01 my car had like 10K miles on it, so I didn't have to do any of this additional stuff and I got off pretty cheap on the labor (around $500).

So to sum up this post...
I guess I have a question about what all needs to be done to the rear end on a car with 116k miles before having gears installed. Any suggestions/comments would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Adam

 

[Wishing4Cobra]

I honestly would recommend going with the MGW shifter instead of the Tri-Ax, you will absolutely love it.

Definitely a good choice with the JLT.

 

[slick4_6]

I honestly would recommend going with the MGW shifter instead of the Tri-Ax, you will absolutely love it.

Definitely a good choice with the JLT.

A lot of people will recommend the MGW shifter over the Steeda. I have the Steeda but only because the MGW was not out when I bought the shifter to go in my car. JLT is arguably the best CAI available and he is also a site sponsor.

 

[M.P. Cobra Fan]

Congrats man. It doesn't take long to start the planning on mods! My biggest complaint is that we do not have tons of choices. Hell I am just hard to please, if we had more choices I would never buy anything becuase I would keep going "which one"! If you ever make your way up to ATL, let me know.

 

[black4vcobra]

"Newest" mod for our cars is an intake spacer that has proven to gain us some hp in the midrange. There is a fairly recent thread that covers them extensively. As stated above, you should seriously consider getting an MGW shifter. As far as gears, go for 4.10's or 4.30's depending on what your goals for your car is. Full install kit and rebuilding of clutches in differential is a good idea. A differential support is a little cheap insurance to keep the differential from cracking if you beat on the car a little bit. Don't forget the full length subframe connectors as well.

Hope this helps, glad to have you back!

 

[Adam01Snake]

I checked out the website on the MGW shfter, wow those look very well built. I was torn between Pro5.0 and Steeda, I had a pro5.0 in my 00GT and loved it, and had a Steeda in my 01 Cobra and liked it ok, not quite as much as the feel of the Pro5.0...now I have another alternative with MGW! I did read the thread about the Intake Spacer, all 15 pages hehe! I couldn't tell by the end if it was a good mod to go with or not, as it appeared only one person took the time to dyno the results. Has anyone else done that mod yet? That might be further down the list of mods for me, as I might go ahead and get a new clutch when I get gears. What Clutch would you guys recommend for a bolt on car, I don't have plans on forced induction...at least not in the near to foresable future.

Thanks for all the Responses!

I come up to Atlanta often, I actually just moved from their down to Hamilton a few months ago for work to be in the Columbus area for my company. I used to live in Dallas, GA where we had the little 1/8 mile track for years until it closed a few years back.....ahh the good ol days! At least now I'm closer to Reynolds (Silver Dollar Speedway) if only the NMRA would come back to it!!!!

Thanks,

Adam

 

[brkntrxn]

Adam,

Good to have you back.

- MGW is the hot-ticket shifter nowadays. I still have Tri-Ax's in both my Cobras. If buying a new one today, I'd probably give the MGW a try.

- SPEC and Centerforce are still good clutches to get. The Termi clutch is also a good alternative now.

- JLT RAI or CAI, either one are the current best

- Motive Gears via Ford (Motive makes them for FRPP) are the best/quietest gears out. I would normally suggest doing a torque test on the rear end to see if your clutch packs are worn enough to warrant a rebuild. However, with 100k and the cost of the gear install anyway, you might as well freshen it up while it is open.

- Full length subframe connectors are a must... just like they were back when you had the 01.

- You probably already read my opinions/thoughts on the intake spacer.

- Bruce's IRS kit is the best available out there to alleviate wheelhop. Do a search on this site for him.

 

[Adam01Snake]

Adam,

Good to have you back.

- MGW is the hot-ticket shifter nowadays. I still have Tri-Ax's in both my Cobras. If buying a new one today, I'd probably give the MGW a try.

- SPEC and Centerforce are still good clutches to get. The Termi clutch is also a good alternative now.

- JLT RAI or CAI, either one are the current best

- Motive Gears via Ford (Motive makes them for FRPP) are the best/quietest gears out. I would normally suggest doing a torque test on the rear end to see if your clutch packs are worn enough to warrant a rebuild. However, with 100k and the cost of the gear install anyway, you might as well freshen it up while it is open.

- Full length subframe connectors are a must... just like they were back when you had the 01.

- You probably already read my opinions/thoughts on the intake spacer.

- Bruce's IRS kit is the best available out there to alleviate wheelhop. Do a search on this site for him.

Thank you so much for your feedback! I guess the Maximum Motersports Subframes are the ones to go with from what all I've read at leat for my purposes of having a moderately quick street car. Yeah I figured with 116K it might as well be rebuilt. So the motive and FRPP are the same? I ddn't realize that, cool! The Termi Clutch...I guess your refering to what comes stock on the 03/04 Cobra? Didn't think that would fit since it had a different Tranny...So much to learn! I feel like a kid on the first day of school! hehe