Killed a Z06 with a GOOD driver at Carlsbad...

[McRat]

OH NO!! Not that McRat Dude AGAIN!!!

Now read this BEFORE :burn:

I got my first chance to drive a Cobra today. My friend Leon was nice enough to let me borrow his "bolt-on" 03 Cobra to run against MY OWN CAR DRIVEN BY MY WIFE!!

Wifey red-lighted, but I would have won irregardless.

http://www.qinsp.com/k/katvspat1.mpg

	Pat	Kat
        Cobra   Vette
R/T	0.554	0.368
60'	1.735	1.738
1/8	7.673	7.745
MPH	90.35	90.22
1/4	11.952	12.008
MPH	113.18	115.43

My MPH was WAY down because I hit the limiter hard on the 3-4.

Leon's car is BADASS, and I believe with some practice, I could have run ~11.7@116.

Not bad for my first time I guess.

If anyone wants, I'll post a detailed review of 03 Cobra here. But keep in mind I drove the car a total of 2 passes = ~2mi.

 

[StangD281]

Originally posted by McRat
OH NO!! Not that McRat Dude AGAIN!!!

:lol1: You get lost again & end up on the wrong site?!?!

;-) j/k....sounds like you had fun! :thumbsup:

 

[McRat]

It was a RUSH!!! The 03 Cobra accelerates... shall we say, BRISKLY?

3rd gear is HELLA strong, and if I wouldn't hit the limiter and dumped the boost, it would have been at LEAST 116, as I was reeling Kathy in quickly.

Ford set the limiter too low, I shift by "feel", and it was still pulling harder when the damn computer decided to piss in my cornflakes.

 

[ADR]

Man, you can drive, how did you launch the Cobra?

 

[McRat]

My next pass I tried to shift at 6000 and the car went slower. I heard that it pulls better when shifted at 6, but I heard wrong.

 

[StangD281]

I know what you mean about the limiter. It feels like it will keep pulling up top, but the peak power has come & gone by 6200 in most cases.

Fun to hear that blower screaming at 14+psi & 6000 rpms! :burnout:

 

[McRat]

Originally posted by ADR
Man, you can drive, how did you launch the Cobra?

Leon's car was wearing slicks, so I left about 4500 (by ear), and let the clutch out quick, but did not "drop" it. It hazed untill 5000rpm and then planted. It was my best 60' ever at Carlsbad which is "traction-challenged".

I did not powershift because it's not my car, and I don't even powershift my own car. I essentially drove it exactly like I do the Z06. (Now RENTALS??? That's a different story.) ;-)

 

[McRat]

Originally posted by StangD281
I know what you mean about the limiter. It feels like it will keep pulling up top, but the peak power has come & gone by 6200 in most cases.

Fun to hear that blower screaming at 14+psi & 6000 rpms! :burnout:

For the best ET's you need to shift AFTER peak HP to get the greatest "average rwtq". Usually about 500-1000 rpm after peak.
I shift the Vette at 6800 even though peak is 6000.

 

[ADR]

Cool, I have my Helmet and I will be trying my hand at it probably next weekend, have never been to the track.

 

[McRat]

Originally posted by ADR
Cool, I have my Helmet and I will be trying my hand at it probably next weekend, have never been to the track.

Tie in with the guys at www.ls1.com Western. They are mostly Fbody guys, but it's one of the biggest forums for racers in late model muscle in SoCal. I'm the moderator in that forum.

You can find people there who will give you skinny about Carlsbad and the other SoCal tracks and give you tips on how to prepare and how to get good ET's.

First point is: At Carlsbad, street tires are ineffective. You'll never get good times on them. But if you must run street tires, try 1500-2500 for a launch RPM, and do the 1-2 shift using the clutch (slip it) or you might get severe wheelhop.

 

[lovemycobra]

how much HP was the Cobra pushing? over 400 rwhp?

 

[McRat]

Originally posted by lovemycobra
how much HP was the Cobra pushing? over 400 rwhp?

I would guess ~450rwhp. Could be more. I'll ask.

 

[lovemycobra]

450 rwhp to your 368 rwhp and you only won by .056?

Damn Z06's.:thumbsup:

 

[McRat]

Originally posted by lovemycobra
450 rwhp to your 368 rwhp and you only won by .1?

Damn Z06's.:thumbsup:

I should have run 2-3 tenths quicker, but I wasn't used to the car.

The Z has 3 advantages that help make up for it's lack of HP:

1) Weight. 3080lbs with 1/2 a tank. It is over 200lbs lighter than a Viper and just about the lightest Vette ever made.

2) Gearing. While the Viper, F-body, Cobra, and Vette share the same T-56, the Z06 has a special build with different ratios. The first and second (third?) gears are lower than the other T-56's and give it more RWTQ for the first 1/8 mi.

3) Aerodynamics. While the Z06 is not the most slippery vette (the coupe is), it still has a .31? CD, and require less HP to accelerate after 70mph than most cars.

But the only thing that matters in the end, is who wins. Too much HP is never enough!

 

[Black3KGT]

McRat is a damn driver if I have ever seen one, you do Chevy proud!

 

[2F2F]

Good kill on your own kind, McRat. Kill 'em all =>)

 

[Xplicit]

Originally posted by McRat
OH NO!! Not that McRat Dude AGAIN!!!

McWho?

Make sure to have your friend adjust the limiter. Nice run, so when r u buying an 03?

 

[Project9]

Good job.

You know now that you need to switch. Come to the DARK SIDE McRat. Play for our team. ;-)

 

[McRat]

Leon's car will run at least a couple of tenths quicker with a 7000 redline, and defeating the bleed down circuit.

We are actually shopping for a 2004 SRT-4 Neon. Wanna give the riceboys a taste of their own medicine. But the current offering is missing posi, and we heard the next model will have it. I've already personally witnessed a bone stock one with 1000mi push 210whp to the rollers.

McRat is a registered trademark for my chain of Irish/Vietnamese Restaurants. I'm a legend in my own mind!;-)

 

[McRat]

Pat? Could you please post your driving impressions for us please?

Why sure! Anything for my fellow gearheads!:

_____________________________________________
Reprinted with permission from Mental Health Quarterly...

I've never driven a Cobra before, or any Ford that was quicker than 15 seconds in the quarter. While I had raced against several, they had never lived up to expectations. Are they like Supras and Vipers and mearly dyno queens? Often too much HP hurts ETs more than it helps. I decided to find out personally.

Thanks to Leon (46Stang), I got to do a couple of passes in his mod'd 2003 Cobra. I'll have Leon post the mods, but it has exhaust, K&N, programming and pulley if I remember right.

First I get in. The seat is a high quality racing bucket. Has plenty of adjustments. It's easier to get in and out of a Vette, but that's true of nearly all motorized vehicles. Ergo's are good EXCEPT the shifter is about 6" too far forward. By tilting the back of the seat to full upright, it becomes nothing more than quirk, and is acceptable.

Car starts up easy and idles smooth. Does not give any indication of high performance. My Ford Van has more lope. Exhaust note is very sweet. When you rev it, it starts to sound like serious business is going on under the hood. Revs very quick.

I drive up to the lanes. I cannot comment on handling other than to say it rides smooth over the rough Carlbad pavement. Car feels very solid and is quite roomy compared to Fbodies and Vettes.

Now comes the moment of truth. My wife Kathy (11 Second Momma) is going to run against me heads up. I pull in front of the water box (car is wearing slicks on back), and try to burnout. OPPSS!!! Traction Control is on. It's reverse of the Fbody and Vette and there is no instrument cluster light indicating it's status. My bad. I turn it off and try again. I didn't use water because I wanted to see how it would do without. I rev to 6000, drop the clutch, and just clean off the tires. Now I stage. The front tires are hard for me to judge, but I successfully stage.

On the third yellow let the clutch out quickly but do not drop it. I estimate I launched at 4500. The tires hazed up to 5000 and then grabbed (1.73 60'), I shift into 2nd at 6300 to allow for tach lag, and it starts to move out. I hold onto 2nd too long and tag the limiter as I pushed into 3rd. Third is the power gear in this car, and it really moves out. Again I smack the limiter before going into 4th HARD. My MPH suffers badly.

It is interesting to note that when you shift, it bogs like a turbo car. Apparently there is a bleed off valve that dumps the boost when you lift (I did not powershift).

The result?

	Pat	Kat
        Cobra   Vette
R/T	0.554	0.368
60'	1.735	1.738
1/8	7.673	7.745
MPH	90.35	90.22
1/4	11.952	12.008
MPH	113.18	115.43

SO... I got to smoke my victory cigar! WOO! HOO!!

Handling down the 1/4 was shaky but controllable, nothing like the rock-steady Corvette, but this is mostly due to slicks on the back and Eagle F1's on the front. Not a good combo, but not white knuckles either.

For some odd reason the engine turned itself off after the pass and had to be restarted to get down the return road. I've read about this on the Ford boards, and appears to be a common bug on the 03's.

I ran a second pass in his car, but missed the 3-4 HARSE. Only ran 12.5. I also experimented with shifting at 6000 during the second pass, and it was slower at all segments. It loves to rev.

My verdict? I'm guessing the reason I'm not seeing better track results is the location of the shifter, and the drivers not reving up to the limit. But let's get honest: I've seen more Vipers run 13.1-12.9 than 11's. I've seen more Z06's run 13.1-12.9 than 11's. Can the cars do it? Sure with the right driver and conditions. Cheap, simple mods (true "bolt-on") turn the Cobra into an easy 11 second ride with the right driver. The claims are NOT inflated, it's just hard for many folk to deal with that much HP. In my own opinion, the Cobra appears to take more "finesse" than the Vette or the Fbody, which can only be gained by seat-time.

Like I've always said, "On any car that runs quicker than 13.0, driver experience is more important than HP".

Thanks Leon!! :beer: It was a hellava ride!