Just purchased my first Cobra and need advice please

[Hunter-White]

Hey everyone. First off I'm going to say it feels really good to be able to come to this side of the forums for once. I have owned 3 gt's previous to buying this 2001 Cobra. 70k miles are on the car and it's a 5 speed. The only mods to the car is a k&n air filter, o/r x pipe, flowmasters, and in the trunk is a metal bar that bolts onto each side of the trunk (strut tower bar?). Anyways somehow it helps traction. Those are the only mods. I have an sct chip I'm going to have programmed but other than that I don't know what other mods to do. I'm new to the DOHC on modding. I will be getting some drag radials. The only other thing to keep in mind is I will possibly add a turbo this summer. Any advice will help tremendously on the mods. Thank you for your help!:SNSign:

 

[Kilgore Trout]

That sounds like a nice car congrats!

Lets see some pics...

Drag radials cannot be driven in the rain.

Turbo will cost ten thousand dollars.

 

[Hunter-White]

Thanks alot. I'm basically getting the turbo for free. My friend totalled his 03 eclipse and his turbo from it is in great shape. He's going to let me make payments just whenever I can so I would say all I'll need will be the piping and intercooler. I'll try to get some pics soon. It has 17x9 black bullits on it right now and I'm in the process of getting 17x10.5 dd black bullits for the rear.

 

[01Steeda]

I have dailey driven Nitto's for 3 years in rainy South Louisiana. you cant go running around like a madman, but it isnt an issue.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Young guys tend the think they are invincible and can do risky things like run DRs in the rain with no consequences.

Old guys like myself realize that life is too short to take such unneccessary risks.

 

[VENOMOS1]

i agree on the dr's in the rain. ive read way too many stories of bad accidents due to the tires while driving in rain. way too much of a gamble for me. why not purchase some used rims for the radials(or spare set of wet traction tires) and a jack and change them. a few hundred dollars and 10 minutes is better than the cost of crashing your car. gotta remember, you may be a good driver but many people that you are sharing the roads with are not so good.

 

[svtpower]

Congrats, now slow down

He's going to let me make payments just whenever I can so I would say all I'll need will be the piping and intercooler.

Congrats on the car!

There are a few things you need to know though.

1) As far as the turbo goes... You will end up spending a hell of a lot more money and time trying to get a turbo from an eclipse to work in your car then you would buying a kit made for your car.

You are going to need: A lot of custom piping, fuel pump upgrade, bigger injectors, a CUSTOM tune from a GOOD TUNER, different spark plugs, a lot of custom mounting brackets, possibly relocation of some components, a tubular k member, and TURBO OUTLET HEADERS: custom or from another kit as well as a dozen other things I am sure. Good luck is all I can say.

The weakest link on these cars is the halfshafts. You can't launch these cars like you could your GTs, you will snap an axle eventually because of the wheelhop problem. In order to combat that you need to beef up the bushings in the rear, get some better shocks and brace up the diff among other things. Either that or swap it out for a GT's solid rear axle.

If you keep the IRS:

#. Item = Function, Importance

1. 4W Alignment = Improves handling and reduces hop, Highly recommended
2. Tires = Help everything, Absolutely Necessary
3. Shocks & Springs = Reduce hop & improve handling, Highly recommended
4. Subframe Connectors = Reduce chassis flex, Absolutely Necessary
5. Subframe Bushings = Reduces hop and improves stability, Highly Recommended
6. IRS Pinion Brace = Reduces hop and prevents failure, Highly Recommended (only needed for 99/01s)
7. Differential Mount Bushings = Reduces hop and prevents failure, Highly Recommended
8. Subframe Bracket = Reduces hop and improves stability, Highly Recommended
9. Shock Tower Brace = Improves rigidity and prevents failure, Recommended
10. Adjustable Tie-Rod Ends = Improves handling, Recommended for lowered cobras
11. Swaybar Bushings = Improves handling, Recommended
12. Adjustable End Links = Improves handling, Recommended for lowered cobras
13. Half Shafts = Prevents failures, Highly recommended
14. Diff Cover Brace = Prevents failures, Highly recommended


Tell your friend to use his turbo as a paper weight, get some suspension mods (listed above) and have a shop put a set of 4.10 gears in your car. You will be MUCH happier.

Also if you want to live DONT USE DRAG RADIALS ON A DAILY DRIVEN CAR. There is a reason people are steering you away from those. People have lost their lives because they thought they could.

 

[Hunter-White]

Thank you all very much for your input. As for the drag radials I will put them on but will restrain myself from driving the car during rain. I was looking on ebay and saw a supercharger that had been taken off an 03 term and replaced with kb. They said the charger only had 5k miles on it and it came with everything needed for $1000 buy it now. Anyways just curious why it's so cheap. I will more than likely stay away from the f/i and do the upgrades to the IRS. Although I'd like to keep up with a terminator. Where should I go to get all the IRS upgrades? Thanks alot guys.

 

[Hunter-White]

And btw I know where gt rear axle is right now and I figure I could pick it up for pretty cheap if you guys would be interested.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

There are always guys on www.svtperformance.com looking to do solid axle swaps. I would suggest you buy that axle cheap and sell it to one of them.

As for the eBay supercharger, $1000 is about right for a removed Eaton M112 from a 03 Cobra maybe even a little high.

Anyway it does not matter, do not put used parts on your Cobra.

The best IRS upgrades are avaliable at www.maximummotorsports.com except for the IRS brace which you should get from Billet Flow.

SVTPower really took the time to give you some excellent advice, I would suggest reading his post very closely.

 

[95 yellow 5 0]

turbo... $8k in the kit alone + miscellaneous + the absolute need for forged internals.... etc etc you'll be near $20k to a have a reliable turbo cobra.

the eaton supercharger sucks compared to the others out there. for the amount of modifying your car to make it work, you can just get a supercharger that will make a lot more power. Kenne Bell 2.1 L or the Procharger D1SC are the best. KB's a little more expensive though.
forged pistons and rods are necessary if you're wanting to run high boost.
Upgrading the TR3650 is a good idea too....

 

[Hunter-White]

The tremec 3650 is a POS. Is that not what we already have?

 

[95 yellow 5 0]

The tremec 3650 is a POS. Is that not what we already have?

by upgrading i meant replacing lol...
TKO600 or T56 are the best alternatives

and yeah 01+ cars got the TR3650 (late GTs and Cobras)