I was just thinking about this the past few days. Ive been reading all your posts on this forum, about the different mods, and the amazing power these cars put down stock and even very lightly modded, and it made me wonder, why would any sane person throw down 60-65k for a saleen thats rated at 425 hp at the CRANK! :shrug: I mean, i dont know about you guys, but i loved the s351, but i think saleen has to do alot better then 425 hp in order to make it stand out from the now much higher level that the cobra is at. Anyone agree with me? I was actually considering buying a saleen, but now that i see what these cobras can do, theres no frikkin way iwill do that, ill just buythe cobra, do all the bolt ons, and have a faster car for MUCH less money. How do you guys feel about this? Would you consider buying a new saleen s281e if oyu could, or would you rather have your cobra? i know id much rather have the snake!!
Saleen S281E vs 03 Cobra, who in their right mind would buy a saleen!
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I'd buy a Saleen in a heartbeat if I could. Wait, you say the S7 doesn't count? ;-)
I briefly considered the Saleen and Roush. I didn't want a way overpriced maxed out 2-valve GT. These cars are a really "bad buy" to me. Instead I opted for the 03 Cobra with high mod potential for low investment. Additionally I preferred the subtle looks of the Cobra rather than, in my opinion, the "riced out" looks of the Saleen and Roush cars.
-norcal_cobra
-norcal_cobra
norcal,
while i disagree on your view that the saleen looks "riced out", i do definately agree that performance potential wise, the s281e falls badly behind the 03 cobra, and the snake is the much better buy for the money.
i guess my reasoning is, why not buy a 03, mod it to a comfortable 450 rwhp, and make it look like the saleen i wanted, i can do that for much less, and be faster then the already maxed out s281e.
while i disagree on your view that the saleen looks "riced out", i do definately agree that performance potential wise, the s281e falls badly behind the 03 cobra, and the snake is the much better buy for the money.
i guess my reasoning is, why not buy a 03, mod it to a comfortable 450 rwhp, and make it look like the saleen i wanted, i can do that for much less, and be faster then the already maxed out s281e.
99SVTcobraVERT
New Member
well.... first thing is the 03 saleen 281E which is in production year with 03 cobra is 445hp not 425 and 450tq. their convt with all the suspension work that is heavier and bigger brakes only weighs 3,620lbs. coupe is 3,428lbs. from seeing the poll on how much everyone's car weighs it looks like everyone's 03 weighs 3800-4000lbs. the E packs same punch internal wise as 03 cobra,forged crank,forged connecting rods,forged pistons... and also comes with blower cams.comes with catback,x pipe,42lb injectors,saleen powerflash computer (which isnt the greatest,but its perfectly tuned to be safe),14inch brakes,full race craft suspension,its lowered properly,rotors are slotted,4piston cal alcon brake system,18x10 rears in chrome,white,or satin with standard 295-35-18 p zero tires...and so far have only made about 10 this year total..... its a collector car. you can swap out the blower for a bigger,better one just like the cobra. BUT its a 65k car.... why would you want to touch it other than maybe a smaller pulley. not to mention has live axle. love the 03 to death and i WILL have one. but the cost to make an 03 exactly like an saleen 281E is crazy expensive.......the E will prob be up to 475 next year, its jumping up every year because of everyone screaming s351. well the E is playing catch up to a centrifugal vortech, 70 cubic inches and 1.2L...id say its doing very well so far
That 425 crank hp went 12.24 straight out of Saleen with Evan behind the wheel. With slicks & nothing else, 11.7's. The '03 Cobra in stock trim did no such thing.
As for pricing, how many 281-E's did they make? A couple hundred? How many '03 Cobras? 12,000 or so.
Take it for what it's worth, but one is a collector's car that will be driven by big money to weekend car shows. Most Cobras are daily drivers. There is a difference in the average buyer of the car, and there is a market to made in it.
As for the "potential," the Saleen motor is forged, runs a twin-screw blower capable of higher boost than the Eaton with no efficiency concerns, and already comes with a Bassani X-pipe & Borla catback. Imagine if someone actually tuned that car as opposed to Saleen's "PowerFlash" that is certainly less than powerful.
But what do I know.... :read:
As for pricing, how many 281-E's did they make? A couple hundred? How many '03 Cobras? 12,000 or so.
Take it for what it's worth, but one is a collector's car that will be driven by big money to weekend car shows. Most Cobras are daily drivers. There is a difference in the average buyer of the car, and there is a market to made in it.
As for the "potential," the Saleen motor is forged, runs a twin-screw blower capable of higher boost than the Eaton with no efficiency concerns, and already comes with a Bassani X-pipe & Borla catback. Imagine if someone actually tuned that car as opposed to Saleen's "PowerFlash" that is certainly less than powerful.
But what do I know.... :read:
And NosCobra typed 2 mins quicker than I did ;-)
99SVTcobraVERT
New Member
saleen body kit (cheapest wholesale you can find new) maybe 1000 bucks.
painting and installing kit at LEAST 1000.00
saleen light weight hood 750.00
saleen alcon brake system 2500.00
saleen 18x10 and 18x9 package chrome with tires 3500.00
saleen recaro leather racing seats 2500.00 for set of 4
lowering springs 250.00
saleen hard convt cover 450.00
another 100.00 to paint
thats an astonishing $12,000 total....
granted its a lot less than cost of one to make your 03 like an E, BUT when you go to trade it in will it be worth anymore? no...maybe 1000 to dealer. when you go to sell will anyone want to REALLY jumped on fake saleen? maybe for only 2000 more if you lucky.... but when you go to sell a saleen its always going to be worth A LOT more than its reg counterpart.... 03 cobra was made for guys like us average joe that wants to spend his dollar and get something GREAT for it. 281E is made for people that can afford to drive it 500 miles a year and such. E is collectors car and will always be top dog in mustang world as far as price and how much its worth. but the 03 cobra... thats what made chevy,dodge,and imports cross over to the dark side hehe... no saleen has ever really done that!
painting and installing kit at LEAST 1000.00
saleen light weight hood 750.00
saleen alcon brake system 2500.00
saleen 18x10 and 18x9 package chrome with tires 3500.00
saleen recaro leather racing seats 2500.00 for set of 4
lowering springs 250.00
saleen hard convt cover 450.00
another 100.00 to paint
thats an astonishing $12,000 total....
granted its a lot less than cost of one to make your 03 like an E, BUT when you go to trade it in will it be worth anymore? no...maybe 1000 to dealer. when you go to sell will anyone want to REALLY jumped on fake saleen? maybe for only 2000 more if you lucky.... but when you go to sell a saleen its always going to be worth A LOT more than its reg counterpart.... 03 cobra was made for guys like us average joe that wants to spend his dollar and get something GREAT for it. 281E is made for people that can afford to drive it 500 miles a year and such. E is collectors car and will always be top dog in mustang world as far as price and how much its worth. but the 03 cobra... thats what made chevy,dodge,and imports cross over to the dark side hehe... no saleen has ever really done that!
99SVTcobraVERT
New Member
LOL dan they say great minds think a like! i didnt even read your post before typing any of mine! lol
99SVTcobraVERT
New Member
but saleen cobra and saleen s281 E are totally different machines... E is sohc forged 4.6 while cobra saleen is reg 281 model dohc 03 motor. one has IRS, one has live axle and then there is all the upgrades the E has standard....
99SVTcobraVERT
New Member
true, but once again the 03 cobra is for guys like us. its great for the money and you can mod it to make it as fast as you want =)
some good points...
you guys have made some good points no doubt. the saleen is definately an awesome collectors car, but IMO, i think the cobra performance wise is definately the better value for the money. the saleen may run that 12.24 out of the box, but i dont think it would take that much $$ to get a 03 cobra there. I guess its all personal preference, thats why im gonna get an 03, mod it to be as fast as the s351s were, and make it look like what i want, i dont care about collectability, or resale calue, as i will hold on to this car for a very very long time. thanks for the input guys, there certainly is alot of different ways to look at both cars being worth what they are. :beer:
you guys have made some good points no doubt. the saleen is definately an awesome collectors car, but IMO, i think the cobra performance wise is definately the better value for the money. the saleen may run that 12.24 out of the box, but i dont think it would take that much $$ to get a 03 cobra there. I guess its all personal preference, thats why im gonna get an 03, mod it to be as fast as the s351s were, and make it look like what i want, i dont care about collectability, or resale calue, as i will hold on to this car for a very very long time. thanks for the input guys, there certainly is alot of different ways to look at both cars being worth what they are. :beer:
Silver 03 Cobra
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The S281E may be a rare car but look how many S281's are for sale in Mustang Trader. They aren't worth near what they were paid for to get them.
As far as cost to mod an 03 up to an S281E it would not be near the cost for the E model in total value. The 03 will put out a lot more power than the E for very little money. Then you are only looking at suspension and appearance mods. Why pay Saleen $1200 to install a $200 set of springs. You can buy everything he bought to install on that car and install at a 1/3 of the cost or free if you can do it yourself. I bet the E's will be extremely rare because he won't sell too many. I'd buy a Z06 before I ever came close to an E. And I will never ever own another vette.
As far as cost to mod an 03 up to an S281E it would not be near the cost for the E model in total value. The 03 will put out a lot more power than the E for very little money. Then you are only looking at suspension and appearance mods. Why pay Saleen $1200 to install a $200 set of springs. You can buy everything he bought to install on that car and install at a 1/3 of the cost or free if you can do it yourself. I bet the E's will be extremely rare because he won't sell too many. I'd buy a Z06 before I ever came close to an E. And I will never ever own another vette.
Re: some good points...
The Saleen website claims 12.7 @ 122. Someone can't slip the clutch there. MM&FF went 12.6 @ 110, 11.5 on slicks. Again, this is a driver contest, not hp. All the torque in the world means nothing when you are spinning in one place. Just ask the average Viper owner.
It takes equally as less to make the 281E faster....pulleys are cheap!
Aren't they already? :shrug:
The Saleen website claims 12.7 @ 122. Someone can't slip the clutch there. MM&FF went 12.6 @ 110, 11.5 on slicks. Again, this is a driver contest, not hp. All the torque in the world means nothing when you are spinning in one place. Just ask the average Viper owner.
99SVTcobraVERT
New Member
122mph = mid 11's with right driver
I would buy the Saleen if money wasn't an object just because of the re-sale value being a lot higher. But since It is I will be buying a regular 03 Cobra
True indeed, yet this comes from Saleen's self-maintained website. Hmmmmmm :read:
I tend to think *actually* driving the car to get the 1/4 mile time works better.....something like what Evan does for a living. In that case, the car went 12.6 @ 110.
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