The new 03 Cobra owner million dollar question

[Procharger95]

What are the best basic mods to start with and what brand.

 

[jbp99cobra]

What are the best basic mods to start with and what brand.

Start by doing a couple of searches on SVTPerformance.com boards. There are a ton of threads on there listing a bunch of different mods.

Otherwise, the Terminators pick up some great power with air intake and full exhaust... and of course you can pulley it.

 

[OregonMustang]

Personally,

I would enjoy the car powerwise as it is now.....and then enhance the driving experience by getting an MGW shifter. It's not power...just power under control. I shift faster and cleaner with the MGW then I thought I ever could.

If you have a warranty watch it....UncleMeat reminded me today of this fact when I was about to strap on a new Magnaflow X pipe into my 04 Cobra. I will pass on it...and just get my Cat back...instead.

The only thing I'm disapointed with in my 04 is the sound "like a kitten my 99 GT sounded WAY better" and the wheel hop. The latter is down right horendous. You might want to think of tighening up your suspension control arms....coil over on the IRS etc.

Power is good but ....power under control...ahhhh sweetness...

Rock on and congratulations on the purchase.

 

[Procharger95]

Thanks for the advice. I've only got 3k left under warranty and I'm considering extending it though the temptation to modify it is greater. I was mostly considering just the basic cold air kit but don't know which brand to go with and next I'm considering the pulley upgrade or the ported blower...Which brand is the best is my biggest concern so I will definitely search that suggested site.

 

[Uncle Meat]

Start by doing a couple of searches on SVTPerformance.com boards. There are a ton of threads on there listing a bunch of different mods.

What's wrong with doing a couple searches right here on Stangnet? These topics have all been covered right here too ya know!

U.M.

 

[Benny]

Easy question

Air intake
Exhaust

Stock 03 breathes through a straw and exhausts through a garden hose!

 

[injectedracing]

2.76 pulley, intake, and a catback if you want a good sound. With a tune thats a 455rwhp, 485rwtq car.

 

[jbp99cobra]

What's wrong with doing a couple searches right here on Stangnet? These topics have all been covered right here too ya know!

U.M.

Nothing is wrong with StangNet. I thoroughly enjoy posting here, but there is one little fact to take into account...

As of 6:36pm 5/26/05

StangNet threads for all SVT = 4,298
SVTPerformance threads for Terminators (only) = 51,744

StangNet is great, but if there is more information out there, then I will try to help a brother out!

 

[95GTS]

Though I'm no longer an 03 Cobra owner I would say a cai and cat-back will wake your car up. From there, the pulley/tune combo will work wonders. Enjoy that bad boy

 

[PDubs]

As everyone else has said: intake and cat back at least. Start there and keep your warranty until you're ready.

 

[spree]

Yup...in terms of perfomance mods, you'll want to do these first:

catback
CAI
stickier tires
subframe connectors
midpipe

then if you want to trash your warranty, do these:

pulley
tune
ported eaton/whipple/KB (along with a MAF BAP and injectors)

 

[mustangmuscle]

Cobra Mods....

Just my $0.02 worth, but here goes.....

Get a good C/B, an intake (K&N FIPK II) and a custom tune installed with a Predator unit which allows you to re-install your stock tune should you ever need any warranty work. You will totally "wake-up" your car with these two mods and shouldnt put your warranty in jeopardy with the Ford warranty Nazi's. I have heard many C/B systems and for the money the Magnaflow cannot be beat (thanks again Uncle Meat for the recommendations!). With just these 3 simple mods my car rolled the dynojet to the tune of 414rwhp. Needless to say, I was more than impressed.

One more thing, when it comes to the 03-04 Cobra's, listen to any and everything Uncle Meat has to say. He knows his stuff and has helped me more than I can say! You should see his 03.....his videos are great but cant hold a candle to seeing the car 'in-person'

FWIW....

Sincerely,
Chris

 

[Procharger95]

Thanks for the replies all. What do you guys think is the better cold air system? JLT, K&N FIPK, C&Ls kit plus mass air, or some other system.

I was really hoping to get 500 rwhp without pulling the blower but it seems harder to do than I once thought. I'm seriously considering water injection if it's a reliable and practical source of power.

 

[Uncle Meat]

Thanks for the replies all. What do you guys think is the better cold air system? JLT, K&N FIPK, C&Ls kit plus mass air, or some other system.

I was really hoping to get 500 rwhp without pulling the blower but it seems harder to do than I once thought. I'm seriously considering water injection if it's a reliable and practical source of power.

JLT is good, K&N FIPK is good (and it's also C.A.R.B. certified if that makes any difference), Steeda's is good. C&L's setup is good too, but with that larger MAF you'll need to get the car tuned specifically for it. Larger MAF's are NOT needed on the 03/04 Cobra's! The stock MAF is good up to 500RWHP. Stay away from aftermarket MAF's until you start pegging the stock MAF.

Did you mean "pulleying" or "pulling" the blower? As in adding a pulley, or pulling the blower off and having it ported?

U.M.

 

[mustangmuscle]

To make the mark of 500rwhp you will probably have to do both a pulley on the blower as well as pull the blower for porting. Unless that is you go with a healthy shot of giggle juice. I pulley'd my unported blower and only gained about 30 rwhp. So to get to 500rwhp, which would be very nice, I am going to have to get the blower ported.

As far as intakes, the 2 that I like best are the K&N FIPK II, and the JLT. I went we the K&N on my car due to its countless dyno proven gains and at the time, the JLT had just come out and there were some reported problems with the unit. However, Tucker (ownder and founder of JLT) seems to really have his act together....he posts regularly on many sites and absolutely takes care of his customers. That goes a long way in my book...

Sincerely,
Chris

 

[Procharger95]

JLT is good, K&N FIPK is good (and it's also C.A.R.B. certified if that makes any difference), Steeda's is good. C&L's setup is good too, but with that larger MAF you'll need to get the car tuned specifically for it. Larger MAF's are NOT needed on the 03/04 Cobra's! The stock MAF is good up to 500RWHP. Stay away from aftermarket MAF's until you start pegging the stock MAF.

Did you mean "pulleying" or "pulling" the blower? As in adding a pulley, or pulling the blower off and having it ported?

U.M.

Yeah I meant pulling the blower off. I do figure that unless I have one of those freak 390 rwhp stock 03 Cobra's I will need a ported blower to obtain 500 rwhp. Right now if I can drive a bolt-on 450 rwhp Cobra into the 11s I hardly care about making 500 rwhp anyways

 

[Uncle Meat]

Right now if I can drive a bolt-on 450 rwhp Cobra into the 11s I hardly care about making 500 rwhp anyways

Ah yeah right ... famous last words of many a Cobra owner... hardly care about making 500 RWHP... It's so damn easy to do on this car. Once the mod bug bites you!

U.M.

 

[injectedracing]

FIPK and Steeda will make most power. JLT looks the best though. With just a pulley and an unknown CAI, I tuned a cobra on the rollers that made 460rwhp and 485rwtq. $250 in mods, plus the tune. So 500 can be had without touching the blower bolts.