Is the 03-04 Cobra the Beast it was 7-10+ Years Ago?

[MG0h3]

^^^Ugh who ****ing cares. Best part is stomping dudes in 70k cars.

I could pay cash for a new Z right now but I still love rocking my Cobra.

There's always someone faster but as long as the damn car puts a smile on your face who cares.

 

[werstlna]

The comparison is a bit like a vintage Arnold or Frank Zane vs the mass monsters of today. Yes, the modern body builders and high HP cars pack a lot more muscle and tech. There is a natural progression where at some point however more is not always better. We all like more power to a point, but we also like that connected feel where we can see ourselves maybe aspiring to be a bit more like Arnold or a bit closer to the guttural feel of driving a visceral machine. Bloated cars and bloated bellies can post some big numbers, no doubt, but there is something special in a heavy hitting V8 engine, manual tranny, rear wheel drive, and not much else between you and the driving experience.

I understand how the old timers feel connected to the machines of their era and that's likely what is going on here.

 

[MG0h3]

^^^yep.

That's why I dig my car. It's not some old carb'd rough idling pos but it freaking rips. Smoked the vette yesterday with the AC blowing cold and windows down.

 

[tt335ci03cobra]

Mod vs stock. Got it.

I have 800whp on pump gas and 10psi. Loves to spin to 7500rpm. Sounds great, car weighs 3400lbs. Guess how many kudos I could give you for using a cute little pink roll eye face on a forum to mock my post when I’m waxing hellcats and beating liter bikes on my pump gas tune.

I have even fewer internet kudos to think about giving you when I’m doing a clutch kick to induce a 100mph 3rd/4th gear burnout on my 1200whp tune.

Enjoy stock cars. I mod mine and post vids of real people. Funny you didn’t notice the hellcat had drag radials, the other hellcat had bolt ons, etc

 

[tt335ci03cobra]

Also, what 89 was stock blown, the tbird?

 

[Blown 89]

Guess how many kudos I could give you for using a cute little pink roll eye face

Seeing as how you refuse to shut up the moment someone isn't impressed by your car I'd guess you care more than you're letting on.

 

[Dbrd_5.0]

I’ll always have luv for the 03-04 cobra. And hopefully soon have one in my garage line up. My opinion, the best mod new edge body ever made

 

[Snagged]

Yep I believe there were 29 Firehawks and 100 Anniversary SS Camaros with the LT4. Rare and expensive. I wanted them.



My '95 Z28 had a built 396 LT1, H/C, etc with a 200 shot on it. Not much could beat it on the street back then. Still to this day the best sounding car I've ever owned.

Wow, I bet you beat everyone with that car. Stock for stock the Camaros were already destroying the Mustangs of the time.

And yeah, the sound those motors made with exhaust was addicting. I couldn't get enough. Good times, good times.

 

[GT Premi]

Thats one of the big turn offs of the SS and WS6 cars is that really nothing is special about them. Its really a hood, cai, catback and wheels package. If you compare that a GT vs a Cobra everything is different, engine, interior, exterior, brakes, drive line.

Back when I had a 4th Gen Fbody you'd see cars advertised as SS or WS6 because they had the hood, and with out looking at the RPO code or doing a Vin search you couldn't verify. You don't really get that with Cobra's as theres way to much to fake/swap.

Didn't the WS6 and SS come with beefed up suspension and a torque arm? There were other visual cues like the flow-through rear spoilers and, obviously, the wheels and tires.

I believe the 1st gen baby T-birds had a Paxton option as well.

I believe you're right.

... when I advertised tons of people said "ehhh thats too many owners" makes no sense

It does make sense. When a car has had "too many" owners, it makes potential buyers think there's a[n expensive] problem that's making the owners offload the car.

 

[cj428mach]

Didn't the WS6 and SS come with beefed up suspension and a torque arm? There were other visual cues like the flow-through rear spoilers and, obviously, the wheels and tires.

All 4th gens have a torque arm on the rear. They have different shocks at least the original 96-97 cars built by slp. The early cars could get better gears but they were still in a crap 7.5" 10bolt. I think in 98 or so gm built the whole car so they did even less customizing.

The rear spoiler is different on the SS, the WS6 i think uses Trans Am spoiler.

 

[SVTCobra60]

Ok. Did you see the part where bolt on 03 cobras still keep up with c7z’s?


I’ll find more.


Pulley port e85 cobra vs hellcat and zr1


Ported 100shot slicks 160,000 miles vs hellcat on drag radials.


^”that hellcat on a tire, somebody about to get their hide smashed...”

Cobra literally pulls 1-2 cars at launch.

Ya, cobra’s are weak. Dodge has this 707hp thing out, Chevy had this 650hp thing, well 2 of them now. Ones new ones last gen...

Those were incredibly impressive races. When you say bolt on, does that entail stock blow cars with pulley/port, or does that include big whipple/tvs/KB cars?

Mod vs stock. Got it.

Why would you ever compare a 15 year old car with brand new cars stock to stock? One of the main draws of the 03-04 cobras is it's mod potential lol

 

[03Sssnake]

All 4th gens have a torque arm on the rear. They have different shocks at least the original 96-97 cars built by slp. The early cars could get better gears but they were still in a crap 7.5" 10bolt. I think in 98 or so gm built the whole car so they did even less customizing.

The rear spoiler is different on the SS, the WS6 i think uses Trans Am spoiler.

Precisely, the 96-97 cars were at least finished by SLP. I have never understood why GM kept that shit 10 bolt in 4th gens.

 

[big reg]

Those were incredibly impressive races. When you say bolt on, does that entail stock blow cars with pulley/port, or does that include big whipple/tvs/KB cars?



Why would you ever compare a 15 year old car with brand new cars stock to stock? One of the main draws of the 03-04 cobras is it's mod potential lol

You do realize every car in that video is moddable in the same fashion as well? Hellcats put down 900rwhp with nothing more than pulley, injectors, BAP and E85. On pump they will put down 775-800 with the same mods minus the BAP as it’s not needed on pump gas. Stock exhaust too.

Those vids are unicorns too. So a 520rwhp Cobra puts bus lengths on a car that traps 125-127mph stock and supposedly has “Bolton’s”. I can assure you that is not the norm. They will need an aftermarket blower plain and simple.

I know exactly what Terminators are capable of. Here are the 2 I’ve owned in the past.

https://www.svtperformance.com/forums/threads/2003-sonic-blue-e85-kb-cobra-feeler.875015/

https://www.svtperformance.com/forums/threads/03-silver-10th-coupe-22k-miles-20k.603973/

 

[Sn95Snake]

The comparison is a bit like a vintage Arnold or Frank Zane vs the mass monsters of today. Yes, the modern body builders and high HP cars pack a lot more muscle and tech. There is a natural progression where at some point however more is not always better. We all like more power to a point, but we also like that connected feel where we can see ourselves maybe aspiring to be a bit more like Arnold or a bit closer to the guttural feel of driving a visceral machine. Bloated cars and bloated bellies can post some big numbers, no doubt, but there is something special in a heavy hitting V8 engine, manual tranny, rear wheel drive, and not much else between you and the driving experience.

I understand how the old timers feel connected to the machines of their era and that's likely what is going on here.

Definitely agree with this comparison. More isn't always better, I feel alot of the newer cars lack the soul that the older cars have.

I feel the 03-04 Cobra will always have a place in mustang history, but it just isn't the king of the road anymore. They can still be made stupid fast and I loved mine when I had it!

 

[Snagged]

You do realize every car in that video is moddable in the same fashion as well? Hellcats put down 900rwhp with nothing more than pulley, injectors, BAP and E85. On pump they will put down 775-800 with the same mods minus the BAP as it’s not needed on pump gas. Stock exhaust too.

Those vids are unicorns too. So a 520rwhp Cobra puts bus lengths on a car that traps 125-127mph stock and supposedly has “Bolton’s”. I can assure you that is not the norm. They will need an aftermarket blower plain and simple.

I know exactly what Terminators are capable of. Here are the 2 I’ve owned in the past.

https://www.svtperformance.com/forums/threads/2003-sonic-blue-e85-kb-cobra-feeler.875015/

https://www.svtperformance.com/forums/threads/03-silver-10th-coupe-22k-miles-20k.603973/

I get your point and agree. I hate comparing stock cars against modded ones. But I think we are being a little too hard on a car that around 15 years old. I'm obviously biased since I still have my Cobra but it's pretty impressive to me they are still beating out modern cars, even though the Cobra is modded.

Think about the cars that were running around 15 years before the 03/04 Cobras and what it would take to make those run with and/or beat out a 03/04 Cobra. We are dipping back into the IROC Camaro days, Fox Mustangs... Kind of blows one's mind a bit, ha.

 

[Corbic]

You do realize every car in that video is moddable in the same fashion as well? Hellcats put down 900rwhp with nothing more than pulley, injectors, BAP and E85. On pump they will put down 775-800 with the same mods minus the BAP as it’s not needed on pump gas. Stock exhaust too.

Those vids are unicorns too. So a 520rwhp Cobra puts bus lengths on a car that traps 125-127mph stock and supposedly has “Bolton’s”. I can assure you that is not the norm. They will need an aftermarket blower plain and simple.

I know exactly what Terminators are capable of. Here are the 2 I’ve owned in the past.

https://www.svtperformance.com/forums/threads/2003-sonic-blue-e85-kb-cobra-feeler.875015/

https://www.svtperformance.com/forums/threads/03-silver-10th-coupe-22k-miles-20k.603973/

These newer cars are also two to three times as expensive. Cobra punches above it's class. That's ultimately what counts. It's a car that you can still have fun with, still run with the "big boys" and still be reasonably competitive. No matter who you are or what you have, someone else is faster. If not today, certainly tomorrow.

 

[Sinister04L]

Wow, I bet you beat everyone with that car. Stock for stock the Camaros were already destroying the Mustangs of the time.

And yeah, the sound those motors made with exhaust was addicting. I couldn't get enough. Good times, good times.

There wasn't too much that would take me out on the street. 650whp was pretty beastly back in '97. When I wasn't breaking shit of course lol.

All 4th gens have a torque arm on the rear. They have different shocks at least the original 96-97 cars built by slp. The early cars could get better gears but they were still in a crap 7.5" 10bolt. I think in 98 or so gm built the whole car so they did even less customizing.

The rear spoiler is different on the SS, the WS6 i think uses Trans Am spoiler.

The spoiler didn't change for the WS6, whether it was a Trans Am or Formula.

Precisely, the 96-97 cars were at least finished by SLP. I have never understood why GM kept that shit 10 bolt in 4th gens.

Me neither. I broke mine 3 times before I could finally afford to drop a Moser 12 bolt in it. Problem solved!

 

[Sinultros]

Modded Cobra beats stock C7 zo6: "modded vs stock not fair!"

BIG single turbo Supra beats stock C7 zo6: "2JZ FTW!"

 

[cj428mach]

Precisely, the 96-97 cars were at least finished by SLP. I have never understood why GM kept that shit 10 bolt in 4th gens.

I remember raging at that ZR2 pick up's got the 8.5" 10 bolt. It was a major kick in the nuts to have to spend $2500 bucks just to have a rear end that would survive 330rwhp on DR's at the track. (Non auto cars)

 

[tt335ci03cobra]

"Blown 89, post: 15936770, member: 45161"]Seeing as how you refuse to shut up the moment someone isn't impressed by your car I'd guess you care more than you're letting on.[/i]

The butt hurt is strong in you. I spent good money on it. It’s fun to talk about it because most people like imagining what the experiences would be like. You like stock cars so the idea of understanding how fun a modded car could be escapes you. It’s ok, breath and go covet a vey Ron or a henessey venom. Post up stories if you ever get one of how fun and fast it feels.

You do realize every car in that video is moddable in the same fashion as well? Hellcats put down 900rwhp with nothing more than pulley, injectors, BAP and E85. On pump they will put down 775-800 with the same mods minus the BAP as it’s not needed on pump gas. Stock exhaust too.

Those vids are unicorns too. So a 520rwhp Cobra puts bus lengths on a car that traps 125-127mph stock and supposedly has “Bolton’s”. I can assure you that is not the norm. They will need an aftermarket blower plain and simple.

I know exactly what Terminators are capable of. Here are the 2 I’ve owned in the past.
[/i]
https://www.svtperformance.com/forums/threads/2003-sonic-blue-e85-kb-cobra-feeler.875015/

https://www.svtperformance.com/forums/threads/03-silver-10th-coupe-22k-miles-20k.603973/

Driver mod gets a 500whp cobra to trap 125-130. It also gets an 03 cobra into the 10’s on slicks with a good clutch.

I’ve never said stock 03 cobras will hang with bolt on hellcats, I posted videos of well driven bolt on, ported and ported with nos cobra’s hanging with the fastest of today’s coveted cars because someone said 03 cobras aren’t the beasts they were 15 years ago.

I argue they are just as good if not better today than they were in 03. Cobras are about $20k instead of $30k, and I specifically showed what bolt on, ported blower and nitrous cobras can do because those are literally sub $1250 mods in each way. For under $4k, a cobra can hang with today’s fast domestic showroom cars. Throw in a clutch and quadrant, some delrin bushings, a shortthrow and fuel mods, and your barely breaking 5-6k for a car that moves out pretty reliably on a hellcat or a z06. 525-600whp in a 3550lbs .34 drag coefficient car will do just fine against 600whp 3600-4500lbs cars with .35-.38 drag coefficients.

It’s also way easier today to build one quick reliable and cheap than it was 15 years ago because all the learning of combos and wisdom of integration is easily available.

I compare modded vs stock when there is a generation or a sizable year gap. I like stock vs stock comparisons for context but real world racing has no commitment to this internet gentleman’s stock vs stock agreement.