[katshot]

Traded my '03 Centennial Edition convertible for a '03 Cobra convertible. Car is a 1-owner, all original. VERY clean I must say.
So, I've read over the FAQ's and have to ask other owners, other than performance mods, what should be on my short-list for mods? Are there any items that I should look at as far as maximizing reliability? I had one guy tell me there's a hose I need to move that will help cool the back of the driver's side head, and he said there's another mod for the rear that will keep it from failing.
What's your take on these issues?

[Uncle Meat]

The 03/04 Cobra suffers from a poorly designed cooling solution for the drivers side head. This allows cylinders 7 & 8 to run hotter than the rest. It is a good idea to install any one of the different cooling mod solutions that are currently available to combat this.

U.M.

[katshot]

Thanks for the reply. So what's the simplest mod for that issue that actually works?
I saw the ad for the aftermarket hoses. Looks ok but not cheap for a short piece of stainless hose and a couple aluminum fittings. Ever heard of the mod the one guy mentioned to me? Sounded like it was a matter of re-routing a hose on top of the head or manifold. Maybe I heard wrong but figured someone here would know for sure.
Also, I just noticed your sig. Nice purchase. I took a '09 Z06 out for a drive a couple months ago. Very nice car indeed. Scary fast though. More than I'd want to drive on public roads. Would be a hoot on a track though.

[Uncle Meat]

There are a couple different methods currently being utilized. All of these drivers side head cooling mods accomplish the same thing, they just go about it in a different way. You see in stock form the coolant has nowhere to go on the drivers side head. The easiest and earliest fix was to pop out the freeze plug on the back of the head, install a fitting and plumb that output to a "T-fitting" on the existing output hose on the passenger head.

Do an internet search on the LDC or Apten Cooling mods to learn more.

U.M.

[katshot]

Thanks a lot. Found this site that does a very nice comparison of the two kits you mentioned. Thought you might like to see it.

Cooling mod kits, Apten vs LDC Chicago

[Uncle Meat]

Just for reference... I never had a problem with my Apten cooling mod. There were a few people who reported that the plastic "T" supplied with the kit would melt at extreme temps. My Apten mod was on the car for 30K miles without ever an issue. I will however tell you that when you tie the drivers side coolant output into the existing passenger side it DOUBLES the heat output of the heater core! You see the hot coolant coming out of the passenger side head flows directly into the heater core. Now DOUBLE the amount of hot coolant flowing through the heater core once you tie the drivers side to the passengers side and you have a car that can double as a pizza oven when the heater is turned on!

U.M.

[katshot]

Still more research and I'm leaning toward the Even Flow Gen 2 kit. Don't have to remove the trans OR the blower, and it runs the coolant back to the radiator rather than trying to dump it into the stream exiting the right head. Makes better sense technically speaking I think. Any experience or input on Even Flow?

[Uncle Meat]

I'm aware of it and I've read about it, but have no firsthand knowledge about it. Don't you have to remove the blower and intake to install this?

U.M.

[katshot]

Their Gen 1 kit required removal of the blower. The Gen 2 kit does not.