Just to put things in perspective and i hate to tell it but hopefully no one from where i live see's this but i have a bolt on 2004 mach 1 motor in my 2004 convertible 5spd gt. The ecu from the car the motor came out of was tuned. It has pullies, k&n short ram intake, full exhaust, and i had a set of 4.30's installed. My heavy car on 17x10.5 deep dish bullitts and 315 street tires launching at only 2,000rpm's ran a 12.71 at 108mph. It bogged in 4th also so it actually may have been good for a high 12.60 pass. Its highest trap is 109mph to date. That should tell you how much potential a mach 1 motor has with only small bolt ons. my 60ft was a 1.87. If i get it down to a 1.6 thats low 12's all day in a convertible. im looking to do cams next. Also a mach is a great route to in a few aspects over the cobra especially if you have a budget. One thing is the insurance. The cobras insurance will be much higher as the mach 1 doesnt exist in the insurance world. I say go with the mach 1. As someone stated before on how a 450rwhp cobra doesnt want any parts of a 450rwhp mach 1. Thats true. Hp for Hp its hard to beat a mach
Considering a Mach 1...Tough Choice
- Thread starter Emoney81
- Start date
I think it comes down to preference and where you wanna go with the car. I personally love my '04 CO Mach. I've only made about 10 passes in my car and my best was a 13.2 @ 108. Ive got full exhaust (long tubes and catted x pipe) a JLT intake and a short throw and that was on nitto 555r's with 3.55 gears. I'm sure she can go much faster. The cobras are nice though and they respond well to bolt ons but the SRA in the mach 1's makes for a nice platform for a strip car. You can't go wrong with either one. But hey, even if you do buy a Mach, who says you can't upgrade to an '03-'04 cobra later??
This is a fairly narrow statement. If you want a light weight naturally aspirated v8 powered coupe with great handling potential then the Mach is where the money is at.
Well with port work to the heads and a different set of cams, what kinda power is the Mach capable of? If I were to get one it wouldn't see a track, so I don't need monster power to be king of the hill. That said, I do want a strong street car that people would at least think twice about testing. My '96 Z28 put down 362rwhp/379rwtq with some fuel issues. If the Mach could achieve #'s like that I would strongly consider it.
Where there any internal parts that needed to be changed? Did you dyno it? I'd like to see what kinda #'s you put down if you did.
This is actually the first I'm hearing about any head issues. Did it just affect the '03's?
Dont let the head tick scare you away because the cobra and the mach 1's had the same heads and cams.
Now as far as power potential goes the mach can easily make the power your z28 had and will actually be the faster car with the equal hp because you will need more gear in the mach for one. You wont need to port the heads just get a ported short runner intake because the heads already flow great. With a custom set of cams and the ported short runner with full bolt ons your car will have no problem touching 370-400rwhp. That car will be very very stout. You could also just swap in a set of 96-98 cobra intake cams which will yield 20rwhp. Properly spec'd custom cams will yield about 45rwhp and the ported short runner will yield about 20rwhp. So thats 60-65rwhp from custom cams and short runner. If you decide short runner and intake cams thats 40rwhp. Either set up will be very strong. Your other alternative would be to do a eaton swap from an 03 cobra. Mach 1 is a great choice which is why i went with that motor in my 04 GT
I love my mach 1. After reading the conversations i have to say i would go with the mach. The WS6 is definatly desirable especially since it was the last body style for the firebirds/trans ams. My buddy has a stock WS6 and when putting it against my stock 03 Mach 1, I get him everytime no problem. I have a problem with this comment.......If both the Mach 1 and WS6 are the same price, then I would go with the WS6. Throw on some long tubes, full exhaust, lid, and a cam upgrade and you're looking at over 400 rwph (depending on the size of cam, possibly around 420-430 rwhp). You could do all those upgrades for pretty cheap if you search around and install everything youself.......
If you put long tube headers, full exhaust, and cam upgrades in the mach 1 you would be pushing well over 400 as well. I went with the mach due to its 32 valve motor vs the 16 valve LS. But it breaks down to this.....Both cars are bad ass and both cars can use upgrades to be "more" badass.
If you put long tube headers, full exhaust, and cam upgrades in the mach 1 you would be pushing well over 400 as well. I went with the mach due to its 32 valve motor vs the 16 valve LS. But it breaks down to this.....Both cars are bad ass and both cars can use upgrades to be "more" badass.
My opinion is if you want a rare car with history and lots of potential then get a MACH 1, but if you want a raw Torquey machine then go for the WS6. Stock for stock both cars are a drivers race and with light/mild mods it's still a drivers race. Once the H/C/I come into play then a N/A MACH is not much of a match unless the MACH does the same mods which will cost more.
I personally have never driven an LS1 but I've raced many of them and I know Their potential as I'm sure you(OP) do. Either choice will be a great one.
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I personally have never driven an LS1 but I've raced many of them and I know Their potential as I'm sure you(OP) do. Either choice will be a great one.
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Something I've always wanted to say also which related to this topic is that pushrods engines need displacement to make power while on the other hand OHC motors such as our mustang motors don't need displacement to make power. If you like being n/a then stick with LS family but if you like making power either way(FI or NA) then get a MACH.
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Ive had my mach 1 for about a year now, and my advice to you would be to find out what your after. If you just want straight line performance and dont really care about styling or handling then get a ws6, but if you want a nice cruiser that might not have as much potential easly as a ls1, but can hold its own against most other stock sports cars.It looks sick, has a very solid ride, and still has almost as much potential as a ls1. Id say it sounds better too...
http://www.svtperformance.com/forum...0823-21k-mile-comp-orange-light-mods-t56.html
this is a mach for sale in the mach threads
great numbers and mild bolt ons with some nasty gears
just throwin that in to show what potential a mach 1 has
this is a mach for sale in the mach threads
great numbers and mild bolt ons with some nasty gears
just throwin that in to show what potential a mach 1 has
Thats a bit much for a mach. If thats his only choice then he is better off getting a terminator honestly
Lol I wasn't saying buy that one, just showing what potential Mach motors have bud
:rockon:
I'm brand new to the Ford side of the game as well, I purchased my 03 mach last month and it's awesome. It has a few mods on it already, but I plan on putting on a super charger after this deployment. It's for surely a head turner, I love it.
I've had a WS6 before, great car..but I agree that the Mach has more to offer, and easier on the eyes.
I've had a WS6 before, great car..but I agree that the Mach has more to offer, and easier on the eyes.
If I wasn't already in love with my Mach and still wasn't able to swing a Terminator, I'd have a WS6 or an LS2 GTO. Each has it's own potential to make stupid power and has a lot of bang for the buck. I loved my dads WS6 growing up and now I enjoy having a car just as sexy and just as fast. My advice to you is, take advantage of the svtp market and keep a close eye out for an already supercharged/built Mach 1. Drop dead sexy, comfortable and lets not forget that exhaust note... HAVE YOU HEARD AN O/R X STINGER CAR IN PERSON?! Good luck man, you can't really go wrong. Why not build your current SN95?
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Well guys, I actually test drove the Mach I was speaking about. It is an '03 DSG 5spd car. It had about 120k on it, but very clean. Interior still smelled new. It happened to have a JLT intake on it and a flowmaster exhaust. After driving it I will say that it definitely outperforms my SN95 Cobra. I would hit 90 mph a couple of times easily and quickly. But I feel I could attribute that to the gears. The stock 3.27's in my car don't compare, but I'm curious as to whether if I put 4.10's in my car would it wake it up a whole lot. I think it would, but don't know if I want to do that if I'm trying to sell my car. Anyways, I liked the car like I knew I would. At this point it's a close call with that and the WS6.
Initially, my plan was to build my car. But I think I was underwhelmed with it's near stock performance. So then I thought, why start a build on a weak platform. But fast forward to a couple of weeks of having the car it's starting to grow on me. The inclination to just keep the car and build it up some is begining to grow. I think coming out of my Z28 affected my perception of the car some.
Oh ok. I thought you were talking about some other issue that I might not have been aware of. I've also got a '03 Marauder and the driver side head does have a tick to it. Not exactly sure whats causing it, but it's not killing the car. At least not yet...
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