Goal: Quick, reliable street car....need mods advice

[neckdemon]

so i got this '03 cobra. and it's pretty quick. for now. so what i want to do is a few mods to get the car to the point where it is a pretty fast daily driven street car (which will see minimal trips to the track). so what mods should i be looking at doing? i already have planned:

tires
full exhaust
CAI
the "wheel-hop" fixes

i know the exhaust will net me a few ponies and the CAI probably a couple also. what i really want to do is get the car the kind of power it would need to run somewhere in the 11's. but still be a reliable vehicle. so, for this reason i am thinknign i should shy away from any pulley's or putting a kenne bell on it. how about intake and head work? is the throttle body worth replacing? a good tune? maybe even switching to some 3.73's. i'd like some advice on what avenues i should be exploring. thanks in advance. if this was a fox body i would know where to go with it, but i am new to these engines.

 

[mlambrecht]

You will definitly want to put a pulley on it. I am running 15 lbs of boost through mine with a 6 lb lower and am having no reliablity problems. The main thing to watch is those ong high speed runs, I race my car quite a bit but I always let it cool and never get on it for more than 12 seconds with out letting it cool in between runs. You can very safely run 12 lbs of boost and the gains would be well worth it. You really won't see much benefit from intake work with out having the boost raised a little. A ported blower would be the next thing on my list with a ported throttle body and plenum.

 

[mixxer]

read the sig for mods - drives just like stock

 

[03gobluecobra]

intake, exhaust, tune, gears (4.10's) and tires will net you 11's. A pulley isn't too bad for this car. However, once you do a pulley, you can expect your stock clutch to not last too long. Also, if you go past a pulley, expect to start to address some fuel system issues, which in turn could make your car less reliable over a long period of time. Also, some downtime if you run into tuning issues.

Start with intake and exhaust, and see how far you want to go.

 

[Steeda30]

Mine has been pullied since 5k, ported at 40,300, and now has 43,400 miles, on the stock clutch. It sees WOT often, but never powershifted. It's been a problem free car so far, drives excellently. :banana:

I suggest a pulley setup and a port by Stiegemeier. :thumbsup:

 

[armyed]

I like this tread because when I get back from Iraq ill be getting an 03 cobra and I was plaining on putting a KB on it and a few other little things but thats where I wanted most of my power to come from. It will also be my daily driver that I will go everywhere with it (since I couldnt have an 03 cobra and not drive everywhere with my baby). I was wondering from all you guys who have Kb's on your car how reliable is the car and what would I need to do to get the most out of it pushing about 18psi and of course I would put a different clutch in it. Maybe a new radiator and a different fuel system? Sorry I just took over your thread but maybe you will get something out of this yourself. Thanks, Eddy

 

[aceupmysleeve]

full exhaust, cai, port it, tune it.

 

[rwhp]

upper pulley,blower port, lower pulley...HOLD ON!! :banana:

 

[YELL03]

This is easy:

Just do a

1 - catback ($300-$500)
2- cai ($100-$200)
3- 2.8 pulley ($75-$150)
4- Gatorback belt 73.5" ($25-$30)
5- Dyno-tune or Predator or Xcal2 tuner ($400)
6- Colder Plugs gapped at 0.032 NGK TR6 or Motorcraft ASGF12FM1F4
($15-$75)

For under $1000 this will give you approximately 450rwhp.

On my current 03 Cobra it gave me 440rwhp./478rwtq SAE (xcal2 dynotuned)
by Dale at Axcelerated Motorsports

On my last 03 Cobra I got 445rwhp/452rwtq SAE (predator tuned by RWTD)

This is the perfect way to start.

Later on you can port the blower and go for 500rwhp.

Hope this helps,

Howard

 

[CobraBob]

This is easy:

Just do a

1 - catback ($300-$500)
2- cai ($100-$200)
3- 2.8 pulley ($75-$150)
4- Gatorback belt 73.5" ($25-$30)
5- Dyno-tune or Predator or Xcal2 tuner ($400)
6- Colder Plugs gapped at 0.032 NGK TR6 or Motorcraft ASGF12FM1F4
($15-$75)

For under $1000 this will give you approximately 450rwhp.

On my current 03 Cobra it gave me 440rwhp./478rwtq SAE (xcal2 dynotuned)
by Dale at Axcelerated Motorsports

On my last 03 Cobra I got 445rwhp/452rwtq SAE (predator tuned by RWTD)

This is the perfect way to start.

Later on you can port the blower and go for 500rwhp.

Hope this helps,

Howard

My exact advice. He can easily get 450rwhp with the very basic and inexpensive mods that you listed. Then later when he wants a bigger thrill he can invest in a ported Eaton, Whipple, KB or twin turbo. With the appropriate supporting mods of course (meaning a bigger budget). ;-)

 

[FireRed04Vert]

I like this tread because when I get back from Iraq ill be getting an 03 cobra and I was plaining on putting a KB on it and a few other little things but thats where I wanted most of my power to come from. It will also be my daily driver that I will go everywhere with it (since I couldnt have an 03 cobra and not drive everywhere with my baby). I was wondering from all you guys who have Kb's on your car how reliable is the car and what would I need to do to get the most out of it pushing about 18psi and of course I would put a different clutch in it. Maybe a new radiator and a different fuel system? Sorry I just took over your thread but maybe you will get something out of this yourself. Thanks, Eddy

As a Vietnam vet, I want to thank you for doing what you do for us...and stay safe my friend.

 

[neckdemon]

This is easy:

Just do a

1 - catback ($300-$500)
2- cai ($100-$200)
3- 2.8 pulley ($75-$150)
4- Gatorback belt 73.5" ($25-$30)
5- Dyno-tune or Predator or Xcal2 tuner ($400)
6- Colder Plugs gapped at 0.032 NGK TR6 or Motorcraft ASGF12FM1F4
($15-$75)

For under $1000 this will give you approximately 450rwhp.

On my current 03 Cobra it gave me 440rwhp./478rwtq SAE (xcal2 dynotuned)
by Dale at Axcelerated Motorsports

On my last 03 Cobra I got 445rwhp/452rwtq SAE (predator tuned by RWTD)

This is the perfect way to start.

Later on you can port the blower and go for 500rwhp.

Hope this helps,

Howard

thnx. sound slike a good start. one question. you don't think i should go with a full exhaust? like maybe some long-tubes and the rest?

 

[YELL03]

Long tube headers don't provide large gains for the money and time spent.

Do the basic combo first, get used to it, maybe add some Drag Radials, and then your ready for your next round of mods after you get used to all the new power.

You can always run an offroad aftermarket midpipe for a few extra ponies, as long as emission testing is not a problem where you live.
Catless midpipes will gain you 10-15rwhp and a catted midpipe might gain you 5-10rwhp.

Howard

 

[Special Blend]

Long tube headers don't provide large gains for the money and time spent.

Do the basic combo first, get used to it, maybe add some Drag Radials, and then your ready for your next round of mods after you get used to all the new power.

You can always run an offroad aftermarket midpipe for a few extra ponies, as long as emission testing is not a problem where you live.
Catless midpipes will gain you 10-15rwhp and a catted midpipe might gain you 5-10rwhp.

Howard

How's the ported blower treating you Howard?
Are you getting any belt slip with that 2.8 and no idler??
Ryan.

 

[neckdemon]

Long tube headers don't provide large gains for the money and time spent.

Do the basic combo first, get used to it, maybe add some Drag Radials, and then your ready for your next round of mods after you get used to all the new power.

You can always run an offroad aftermarket midpipe for a few extra ponies, as long as emission testing is not a problem where you live.
Catless midpipes will gain you 10-15rwhp and a catted midpipe might gain you 5-10rwhp.

Howard

ummm, the DR's are already on the way. that was the first thng i was doing. the stock tires are a load of crap. i also want to address the wheel hop issue. so the stock headers on the cobra are good enough? guess i'll just go with a mid-pipe and a cat-back then.

 

[YELL03]

Special Blend -

Absolutely NO beltslip at all.

It has been so cold with snow and rain that I have not really had much of a chance to enjoy all the new power from the ported blower (an extra 52rwhp), but I do notice the car pulling alot harder after 4500rpms when I have pushed it.

With the cold streets I really need DRs to test the power down low.

neckdemon -

Smart move ordering the DRs.
A nice set of BFG DRs or MT DRs will help with the wheelhop.

Just do a catback for now, that is where most of the gains are.
IF you are going to do a catted midpipe, I would just stay with the stock midpipe and save the $400-$500 and put it towards a ported blower.
JMHO

Howard