If your Cobra pulls to the right read this

[Cobra Kook]

Not normal

I have owned 8 new cars in the past 2 years, all "Sports cars" except for the 2002 Lightning (sport truck) and driven them all on the same roads. Not one of them pulled either direction noticeably. My 03 Cobra was ok at first; the more miles the more it pulled. I will not accept instant lane change with hands off the wheel as normal for a car with big tires. It is a real problem! I only hope your slight pull does not get worse. I promise you will not be happy...

Hopefully they get it fixed this week if not I am going to try an alignment specialty shop. Opinion seems to be they will be able to end the madness. Better equipment and more experienced techs. then Ford.



I will let you know

 

[julio]

Guys, I have drove the one Cobra that we have thats
not sold, It seems to pull to the right slightly, I think its vin
is 305. We sold a coupe a couple of weeks ago that hasn't came back yet. dont know its vin. If and when I get one of these
I gonna make sure the car has a full tank of gas and the owner
sitting in it while I align it....I would suggest you guys do the same
I know it sounds lame, but its actually the proper way...good luck

 

[T3 Cobra]

:thumbsup:
Mine is vin 354 with 646 miles and I DO NOT have any pull on the roads I drive every day that I know very well

 

[dips]

There is nothing wrong with the suspension (it has been the same for 25 years) and nothing wrong with the alignment specs.

Roads in the US are crowned to the right. The car has massive tires that follow the road. That is why the car pulls to the right. If you get on a perfectly flat road there is no pull, but it is difficult to find a perfectly flat road. There are always compromises with performance - rut following and crown sensitivity are side effects of big tires. Drive a Cobra R, Viper or Camaro SS and you will think your car is a dream.

 

[CWCobra]

My '97 Cobra has 275x45x17s on front, and 315x35x17s on rear. It does not pull to the right; it tracks straight and true. My '03 pulls to the right. I submit tire size and road crowns can be excluded as an explanation. I'm continuing to drive my '03; just need to pay a little more attention to steering. The right hand pull is no big deal. If Ford has a recall, then maybe I'll get it looked at.
Peace,
CW

 

[dips]

The 97 Cobra live axle has no toe or camber change in the rear as the suspension moves. Rear steer due to compliance and knematics in an IRS car can be significant - it is not all from the front.

Not trying to start a war or anything, just saying that I don't think there is any problem with the car. As GM says to Corvette owners - it is a "characteristic" :-D

 

[Black2003Cobra]

In case anyone is still interested in this problem, I have some more info. First off, here are the alignment specs:

Front
Caster: 3.2 +/- 0.75
Cross Caster: +/- 0.75
Camber: -0.9 +/- 0.4
Cross Camber: +/- 0.4
Total Toe: 0.25 +/- 0.25

Rear
Camber: -0.8 +/- 0.2
Total Toe: 0.2 +/- 0.15

My car was way out of spec in such a way as to cause a pull to the right. However, after correcting the alignment as best the tech could, it still pulls to the right. The right front and left rear camber can not be brought into spec - there isn't enough adjustment that can be made! So it will be interesting what Ford is going to do about this. Brand new car and it can't be brought into spec! Oh, and even though those two number are out, the tech says that should NOT cause it to pull to the right! (But it still does!) I don't think it pulls hard, but definitely noticeable. Also, the right front and left rear camber numbers are -1.5 and -0.5, respectively. (Just out of spec by 0.1 degree.) Actually, if I interpret cross camber correctly, that's out in the front also. (Left front is -0.5 and right front is -1.5, so the difference is 1.0...cross camber spec is 0.4).