Freshing up Cobra

[jm35ny]

I'm original owner of an 03 Cobra with has about 30,000 miles currently and run great. Due to other projects the car only gets driven about 1,000 miles a year. I last did upgrades about 10 years ago which were 2.3 whipple gen II, 60lb injectors, 2600 air meter and twin Focus pumps in the stock fuel hat, pro chamber and flow master exhaust. Pretty basic setup and car made 550 and 490tq at the wheels with 14lbs of boost.

I wanted to go through my setup and see if there changes I should make to that original setup. I've always kept up with basic maintenance, was thinking about getting the it re-tuned and just go through the car mechanically or add a couple pounds of boost.

Any recommendations?

 

[CobraBob]

Are you LOOKING for more power, or just want to truly "freshen" it? With the mileage that you currently have, which is very low, I don't think you'd have much mechanically to pay attention to. You've kept up with basic maintenance, which is good. I guess you could install new plugs, freshen or replace the air filter, install a smaller upper pulley for a bit more boost, and then get a new tune. If it was mine, that is probably all I'd do.

Oh, and maybe add one of my shifter gasket kits (available now in dark blue and medium blue).

 

[jm35ny]

Thanks, yes thats pretty much all. I just got a 3.25 upper to replace the 3.5 that came on the whipple. I've heard mixed reviews about the focus pumps and them failing.

 

[roy_1031]

I’m all about going hog wild and letting it rip! I’ll gladly help you spend your money haha. Beef up the irs with some upgraded bushings, an e85 rated fore return fuel system, smaller upper or a Metco lower and or both to crank up the boost, retune it and knock out 700rwhp with that little 2.3 sized blower


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[stangfreak]

I don't even think anyone does the focus pumps anymore. I remember the ford gt pumps were popular too. I had those. Thats an old school setup from back in the day. But that boost, 14lbs on a 2.3 whipple, I mean, it needs more boost. I am sure you are missing the low end grunt. It will be more fun on the street, even if racing is not your thing. A ported eaton with a uper lower combo will be side by side with your car. and feel more fun on the street.

 

[jm35ny]

I was gonna increase the boost to 16psi, by adding a 3.25 upper. I know the focus pumps are old school, should i go GT pumps and a aftermarket hat?

 

[MG0h3]

You’re basically limited based on your fuel.

Doesn’t really matter which aftermarket blower.

91: @600rwhp
93: @625-650
E: 700+ just depends how crazy you want to get.

Doesn’t matter if you run 17psi or 15psi on 91 from what I’ve seen. You see damn near the same numbers but maybe a little more peak HP but lower torque on a couple extra PSI.

If you’re only running 91/93, just run a bap and you’re fine.

If you have E, get a Fore kit and run that


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[CobraBob]

You're in NY so I assume you're going with 93 octane. Increasing the boost is a good recommendation, and then get a new tune. Who will tune it? JDM? Performance Dyno in NH? Mustang Magic?

 

[stangfreak]

I was gonna increase the boost to 16psi, by adding a 3.25 upper. I know the focus pumps are old school, should i go GT pumps and a aftermarket hat?

I went with to a return style setup when I did the 2.9 whipple. I wanted to do it once. If you want to keep returnless and that size blower and are happy, the ford gt pumps will work IMO. I got it out I wanted lots of power. I still do. so I went with a big return style setup so just incase I want more power I can handle it. Did joe at mustang do your car? If so, I have been going to mustang magic since 2003 with my cobra. joey the tuner will steer you in the right direction. Even at 16lbs, its not enough boost for the twinscrew. we all ran 19lbs on pump gas, 93 octane. 18-19lbs. For the 2.3 whipple, 2.2 kb, it was the sweet spot.

I am waiting for the vmp 3.1 03 cobra blower to come out and see its results. I will do one last blower swap and I am done. Then I will start doing motor work. Iv had too many blowers. 3.1 vmp vs gen 5 whipple. Those are my next two choices. 25lbs minimum. Nothing less. anything less, its pointless and it wont be any better than the previous blowers. whipple themselves even told me. so the point is, when you pick the blower you want, make sure its setup properl and at the right boost to get the peformance out of it.

Back in the day, people were running 15lbs of boost on the 2.2 kb. I remember watching guys on streetfire and other medias where they were right there with that kenne bell car and they had a ported eaton with a upper lower pulley setup. Yea the kb make a better peak hp number but, it wasn't being spun properly. wehre the eaton just had a better power curve. I had a 2.4 kenne bell when it came out. I was the 5th person to buy one. I ran it at low boost. 15 and 17. Granted, the first batch of the 2.4 were just terrible, I made no power and my car felt like crap. Literally had no low end. jimmy vaccaro drove my car, venomous john drove my car, mike79 drove my car, and yea, sold it and went back to the eaton lol.

 

[jm35ny]

Hey guys thanks for the info, yes Mustang magic put the car together years ago and it an old school setup that runs well. Its street car that was tuned for 93 octane and has never seen the drag strip. HP was pretty good at 550 but i thought the Tq was low around 485, again this was at 14 psi.

I thought that 17-18psi was kinda on the ragged edge for 93 octane, i just want a reliable setup so i def don't want to spin it harder than that.
I was kinda concerned about the focus fuel pumps cause due to seeing a few of them failing.

 

[stangfreak]

You want a fun reliable street car. The terminator needs that snap. I honestly would have kept the eaton if you were going to run that low boost boost. 14 lbs making 485 tq, you just answered your question. Thats like me installing am 88MM turbo, run 10lbs of boost. Its not efficient and it wont run properly. To me, when I do a setup on the car, I make sure it runs how it should. I don't want to be that guy who has a whipple, kenne bell twin turbo and looses to cars that I should beat easily. Maybe I take things too serious. The low boosted twinscrews like I said, makes a "cool" peak hp number. A ported eaton making 510rwhp will be more fun on the street and just as fast as a 14 15lb whipple. The 03 cobra is known for its snap. If its a street car, and you want to have fun. Please don't get mad or take it the wrong way lol. The pprted eaton with a upper lower will make 540-560rwtq. You have to choose your setup on what the goal is for the car. It needs at least 18lbs on that whipple.

But yea good luck with anything you choose to do. Maybe I will see you at mustang magic. I got a lot of stuff I need to refresh on my car as well.

 

[jm35ny]

Yes i agree completly, the car pulls hard in the midrange and up. But it feels like it doesn't have the instant snap of my old pulleyed eaton. Its obviously cause the 2.3 needs to be spun faster.

I don't mind running 17-18 as long as i can do it without hurting the motor. I've seen a few friends blow their motors on that boost, i guess the tune wasn't great or a fuel problem.

The car will need a fuel system, probably return style and a few other things.

 

[roy_1031]

Yes i agree completly, the car pulls hard in the midrange and up. But it feels like it doesn't have the instant snap of my old pulleyed eaton. Its obviously cause the 2.3 needs to be spun faster.

I don't mind running 17-18 as long as i can do it without hurting the motor. I've seen a few friends blow their motors on that boost, i guess the tune wasn't great or a fuel problem.

The car will need a fuel system, probably return style and a few other things.

Your engine will be alive and thriving at 17-18psi. Lots of us are running it past that on e85 with great success. I was running 22psi on e85 on a 2.3 TVS making 730hp. That was a very potent setup on the street. Also for what it’s worth I was still using the OEM head bolts, no studs.


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[01yellercobra]

You don't need a return system if you're going to keep it at 17-18psi. Buddy of mine is running GT pumps in a Fore hat with an upgraded FPDM at 17 or 18psi. Has plenty of room with the pumps. He thought about going E85, but decided he's not going to push the car that hard. Just his style.

 

[jm35ny]

Thanks guys that would be perfect if i could use just GT pumps and a aftermarket hat. I'm not interested in running E85

 

[Tunedprt91]

I was running 22psi on e85 on a 2.3 TVS making 730hp. That was a very potent setup on the street. Also for what it’s worth I was still using the OEM head bolts, no studs.


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I'm at 21 psi on E85 on the stock head bolts and it worries me from time to time.