New 98 Convertible Owner - Questions

[Shamus]

Just purchased a '98 Cobra convertible and have several questions that I hope this audience could help me with:

- Shifter not only notchy, but the shifter seems to get 'grabbed' as I going from one gear to the other at times. It's subtle, but its there...like the sychros aren't meshing properly (like I know what I'm talking about). I thought maybe putting new synthetic gearbox oil in but I BELIEVE synthetic came from the factory, correct?

- Handling not as tight as I'd like....there is no strut tower brace on the '98's, so that might be a first option. Better struts too...any suggestions?

- I expected the cowl to shake a bit, but I just can't get used to it...makes car feel heavy and sloppy. Believe there is bracing under chassis you can install?

- Although the exhaust is throaty, I'd really wanted my Mustang to burble and pop when you back off in a gear...sort of make the pipes 'rattle'. Hate to carve up a stainless steel exhaust, however are there good options to just replace mufflers and achieve the soumd I'm looking for? Appreciate any direction on these concerns. Thanks.

 

[97poonstang]

as far as the shifter goes... thats every mustang

handling, well theres many things to do to improve that and the brace would be a good start. Then go with springs shocks/struts, caster/camber plates, subframe connectors, upper and lower control arms, bushings.....

for the sound go with the bassani o/r its very raspy on these cars and it will give you the sound you are looking for!!!!

 

[Shamus]

Thanks for the reply. It's early...what does the 'O/R' stand for after 'Bassani'? Is this a cat back exhaust? And I noticed in your trailer, you have 'Flows' mentioned...Flowmaster mufflers? Appreciate your help, thanks.

 

[98svtconvert]

the o/r means off road. meaning no cat's. not sure about the synthetic oil stock but it does help to put it in. as for the shifter. i agree with the above statement, but putting in a short throw and some better trany fluid does help. the new shifter might be a little notchy at first but it will smooth out after a few miles. it ill also get rid of a lot of slop.

 

[Snarf]

Yep, I agree. The best key mods you could get that will adress the areas you mentioned are:

1. Steeda Tri-Ax or Pro 5.0 shifter [I have the triax and LOVE it] $170
2. Weld-in Subframe Connectors $100
3. Bassani Stainless Off Road [no cats] X pipe
4. plug and play MIL eliminators $45 [these are needed with O/R pipes to trick the computer into not throwing SES lights]

Personally, I have done all these mods myself and can tell you they'll make a huge difference in your car for minimal investment. PM me if you have any questions about stuff, i'd be more than happy to help!

 

[98svtconvert]

i have heard that the bassani catted x-pipe comes with a race pipe which can be put in inplace of the cats and then removed so that you can put the cats back on. this is a new thing that they are doing as i didn't get it with mine. i e-mailed them to try and purchase this seperately and they said that they don't sell anything like that by itself. is this true that the new pipes come with the spare pipes.

 

[qtrracer]

The cowl shake on both my '86 vert and '01 vert improved dramatically with a strut tower brace - lots of choices out there on those. The subframes also helped keep the doors aligned and reduces body twist. These cars tend to "push" into a corner because of the weight over the front, but I will say the extra weight of the IRS in the '01 evens out the distribution a little.

 

[Shamus]

Apreciate the input. I noticed you had a '98 as well....was it difficult installing the strut tower brace? I'm concerned there are no pre-drilled, tapped holes for an STB. For the strut towers, you can get your hands under the fenders to place the nuts for the bolts. However, how do you anchor to the firewall? Machine screws??

 

[motorCITY]

Shamus - congrats on your snake!

For your questions:

Shifter:
Mine does it too. Not to mention when it's cold - (worse)

Handling:
Some good info here --> Suspension 101

Exhaust:
Good place to hear sound clips of various setups --> Sound Clips

 

[Shamus]

motorCity, thanks for the reply...those two sites were great. Must have spent an hour listening to the exhaust notes.

You mentioned your shifter is similar...I almost feel as if the synchros catch slightly going from gear to gear, not just the notchiness...do u feel that as well? I may have some synthetic tranny fluid put in, not sure if it really came from factory that way. Also, many have gone to the Tri-ax shifter, but does that actually help with the feeling of the sychros grabbing? I think not...

Lastly, the sub frame connectors...a long piece of steel on either side of chassis that gets welded to the front and rear sub frames...correct? Not sure if you have these and what characteristics of the car this improves, although I assume it improves handling with less body roll and sharper Transitions. I will probably get a strut tower brace real soon as someone indicated that this will help with the excessive cowl shake I feel in the car which drives me nuts...Appreciate your input. Thanks.

 

[joeallgo]

ive got a bassani x pipe with high flow cats, with borla mufflers on my 97 cobra convertible. it sounds a little louder than stock untill you stomp on it, daddy likes just my two cents

 

[AzSnake]

motorCity, thanks for the reply...those two sites were great. Must have spent an hour listening to the exhaust notes.

You mentioned your shifter is similar...I almost feel as if the synchros catch slightly going from gear to gear, not just the notchiness...do u feel that as well? I may have some synthetic tranny fluid put in, not sure if it really came from factory that way. Also, many have gone to the Tri-ax shifter, but does that actually help with the feeling of the sychros grabbing? I think not...

Lastly, the sub frame connectors...a long piece of steel on either side of chassis that gets welded to the front and rear sub frames...correct? Not sure if you have these and what characteristics of the car this improves, although I assume it improves handling with less body roll and sharper Transitions. I will probably get a strut tower brace real soon as someone indicated that this will help with the excessive cowl shake I feel in the car which drives me nuts...Appreciate your input. Thanks.

Yes your shifter will feel better all together if you go to the triax. Also you may want to go synthetic when you swap tranny fluid.
I would seriously look at sub frames before you look at any strut tower braces. Sub frames are where the Mustangs chassis will get the biggest change in feel. It's remarkable how much the feel of the car changes when you swap them out. Go with the sub frames first and then go and look at your brace. Take a look at the Kenny Brown setup.
They got the standard SFC's you can start out with then if you like you can add jacking rails (Very nice to have) and if you like you can use their Extreme Matrix brace system for the SFC's. I have them and it's NICE. I can't stress how well they work. They take the mustangs chassis to a different level.

(pic is of the SFC's, the jacking rails, and the matrix braces. They run $99 for the SFC's, $79 for the jacking rails and $149 for the Matrix braces)