What purpose the 03 Cobra?
- Thread starter stang99
- Start date
I could not agree with you more!
I am not sure what you mean. Nothing has changed at all. The 03's are very tough. What about corvettes, vipers, and all the earlier cobras? Weren't they made to drive hard and they have a lot of potential for more power also. what did you expect SVT to do? Say people can drive the 03 however they want and mods WON'T void the warranty??? We can't put a 200 shot of nos, then blow the motor and go to the Ford dealership and say "well John Coletti said there is a lot of potential in these cars for modding" and just doing exhaust and intake won't always void your warrenty. So like every year before this, the 03 cobra was made to have a great bang for the buck sports car to compare against Chevy and Dodge and all the other cars, and if you want to take your own risk of modding/racing than SVT also gave us a car with a lot of potential to do that.
It depends on the mods and dealer, Tetge. This is a grey area. You cannot be absolute about every dealer and ever mod. I do agree with you that these cars are meant to be driven hard, and that you should drive them hard and that if anything breaks, you should get warranty work on it. It's a machine and it'll break, just like every other machine. Now, it's reasonable that specific mods are allowed and some are not. Where you draw the line, will always be a point of conflict between us and the dealers.
A cold air intake won't void your warranty unless you somehow damage the MAF installing it, blow your motor and the dealer can prove that was the cause.
An exhaust change won't void your warranty but is flat out against the law to do on a car intended for regular use on public roads unless the existing OEM exhaust is not functioning properly.
A pulley / chip change where A/F, timing and torque are all significantly impacted would be much easier for the dealership to argue, but again they would have to prove that the specific mod caused the failure and any warranty issues would only apply to the failure in question.
Has anyone actually broken a driveshaft yet???
An exhaust change won't void your warranty but is flat out against the law to do on a car intended for regular use on public roads unless the existing OEM exhaust is not functioning properly.
A pulley / chip change where A/F, timing and torque are all significantly impacted would be much easier for the dealership to argue, but again they would have to prove that the specific mod caused the failure and any warranty issues would only apply to the failure in question.
Has anyone actually broken a driveshaft yet???
The purpose was clear. In interviews from 18 months ago there were slight references to wanting to build a car that could whomp F-bodies. I firmly believe that's where it started. Of course, mid-development the F-body's were killed. I'm actually surprised ford did not kill the Cobra, but my guess is that with the new body style coming there won't be a Cobra until 2005 at the earliest, and that the first few won't be up to the 03's performance. It takes time to dial-in a new platform. So, since it was already in the works might as well close out this body style with a bang.
It's also clear to me ford wanted them to be pushed beyond their factory defaults. Clearly it was designed as a ~500hp car, and dialed down to 390. I'm not sure how that plays into warranty. I remember an article a while back in C&D (I think) where John C made comments about covering cars under warranty damaged in "driver education" events using a separate SVT budget. I haven't seen anything about that since, so I don't know if it was dropped though.
It's also clear to me ford wanted them to be pushed beyond their factory defaults. Clearly it was designed as a ~500hp car, and dialed down to 390. I'm not sure how that plays into warranty. I remember an article a while back in C&D (I think) where John C made comments about covering cars under warranty damaged in "driver education" events using a separate SVT budget. I haven't seen anything about that since, so I don't know if it was dropped though.
Whatever the purpose they were going for.. I like it.. A lot
However, the people that design the cars and the people that make the rules have separate goals and views.. I dont see the shareholders names proudly ensigned on my engine. The people that built this car, that made this car's purpose are people just like you and me.
In fact, do you know that they never took off the pulley off the MM&FF car? It says that they are still enjoying ever bit of it or something of the sort. And i'll bet money that john coletti has a chip and pullied cobra already!
In response to the quality issues: They should get their shit straight with the driveshaft. It might not be directly their fault tho. I dont think it was built by them.. But its there duty to check whether their cars are built with quality parts and I can see people getting angry at that. As I am :mj:
When you look at the big picture they really have provided us with one hell of a car! This was the best 34k rollercoaster ride i've been on yet!! The kinks will get worked out with time.
But thanks, its people like you who make things like this driveshaft an issue. The squeaky wheel gets the grease...
or should i say.. the shitty driveshaft gets the boot.. (hopefully)
However, the people that design the cars and the people that make the rules have separate goals and views.. I dont see the shareholders names proudly ensigned on my engine. The people that built this car, that made this car's purpose are people just like you and me.
In fact, do you know that they never took off the pulley off the MM&FF car? It says that they are still enjoying ever bit of it or something of the sort. And i'll bet money that john coletti has a chip and pullied cobra already!
In response to the quality issues: They should get their shit straight with the driveshaft. It might not be directly their fault tho. I dont think it was built by them.. But its there duty to check whether their cars are built with quality parts and I can see people getting angry at that. As I am :mj:
When you look at the big picture they really have provided us with one hell of a car! This was the best 34k rollercoaster ride i've been on yet!! The kinks will get worked out with time.
But thanks, its people like you who make things like this driveshaft an issue. The squeaky wheel gets the grease...
or should i say.. the shitty driveshaft gets the boot.. (hopefully)
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Look at all the guys on this board who are talking about doubling or tripling the stock boost. Would you want to have to pay cash out of your pocket to replace a blown engine from some guy who went way beyond the design specs of the car? Aftermarket exhaust is one thing, but Ford knows that for every legitimate warranty repair they're going to pay out on someone who really abused their car and then concealed that fact.
As with every other aspect of life, honest people pay for the excesses of a few jerks.
(Disclaimer: I'm not saying you're a jerk if you mod your Cobra. I'm saying you're a jerk if you run 5,000 pounds of boost plust nitrous and then take it all off and have your engine replaced under warranty when it EXPLODES.)
As with every other aspect of life, honest people pay for the excesses of a few jerks.
(Disclaimer: I'm not saying you're a jerk if you mod your Cobra. I'm saying you're a jerk if you run 5,000 pounds of boost plust nitrous and then take it all off and have your engine replaced under warranty when it EXPLODES.)
I believe the purpose of the Cobra is to deliver a car that we wanted.
If you choose to mod the car, then there is some responsibility that must be taken by the owner. There are agreed upon performance mods that most consider acceptable (intake, exhaust, shifter, etc). If your modding goes past that level (pulley, chips, NOS) then its on the owner. They have to accept that their modifications may have made something fail. :bored:
So, in short... I think it is common sense... if your trying to hide something you did to get warrenty work done ... get help because you have thinking errors.
If you choose to mod the car, then there is some responsibility that must be taken by the owner. There are agreed upon performance mods that most consider acceptable (intake, exhaust, shifter, etc). If your modding goes past that level (pulley, chips, NOS) then its on the owner. They have to accept that their modifications may have made something fail. :bored:
So, in short... I think it is common sense... if your trying to hide something you did to get warrenty work done ... get help because you have thinking errors.
Well, you ask a lot of questions. Thyey made this car to make money, and the market research indicated they were losing sales to the relatively small group of ecocnomy performance advocates to Camaros and Firebird LS1's.
While I agree with you generally, I think your position is a bit naive. In the 21st century, with safety and litigation issues overriding, why would any corporation overtly encourage possibly illegal, dangerous, or damaging operation? Why would any corporate lawyer allow it, nor any accountant allow it who has to factor in warranty estimations in the TCO?
I do not think anyone has denied a warranty for an exhaust unless its design or quality of construction caused a problem. If you put on a K&N, and it lets a lot of dirt into the oil, you are risking problems. Why should Ford assume the liability for that?
Mod your car within reason and accept responsibility - personally, I do no not want to assume the liability for anyone racing their cars, either in sanctioned or unsanctioned autocross or drag strips.
By your logic, insurance companies should also foot the bill for racing a Cobra, since that is its "intended use". I don't think so.....
I once owned a Federally licensed full automatic weapon...it was designed to kill people and break things...but I never did.
:beer:
While I agree with you generally, I think your position is a bit naive. In the 21st century, with safety and litigation issues overriding, why would any corporation overtly encourage possibly illegal, dangerous, or damaging operation? Why would any corporate lawyer allow it, nor any accountant allow it who has to factor in warranty estimations in the TCO?
I do not think anyone has denied a warranty for an exhaust unless its design or quality of construction caused a problem. If you put on a K&N, and it lets a lot of dirt into the oil, you are risking problems. Why should Ford assume the liability for that?
Mod your car within reason and accept responsibility - personally, I do no not want to assume the liability for anyone racing their cars, either in sanctioned or unsanctioned autocross or drag strips.
By your logic, insurance companies should also foot the bill for racing a Cobra, since that is its "intended use". I don't think so.....
I once owned a Federally licensed full automatic weapon...it was designed to kill people and break things...but I never did.
:beer:
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