Moe

I was bringing my car to the dealership today to get the clutch looked at and an SVT Cobra pulls up next to me and revs the $hit out of his engine. So I revved mine back, the light turned green and we were off. I spun way too much and he got the jump but I kept up with him until 3rd gear, I had to turn off. Either he didn't push that hard or we really underestimate our cars. I was so happy, my girlfriend was following me to give me a ride home and she was really impressed (she really likes Honda). Anyways just wanted to share, cause it made my damn week.

Albertan

Well again I have to say that a normally aspirated Max has no chance in a straight line race with a Cobra. But... The Cobra driver sounds like a bit of a tool so that sometimes can go a long ways in your favor. Second it may have been a 1999. Ever wonder why there were no 2000 SVT Cobras? The '99s performed soooo bad that SVT had to do a full recall on them and basically add some aftermarket goodies to get them to perform half decent. That is to say they spent most of the 2000 campaign recalling the 99s and fixing them and making sure the '01s didn't suffer a similar fate. I can't remember the exact details but the '99 Cobras are relative goats and may be somewhere in the league of a Max. A high 6 second Cobra....Its a sad day for SVT fans....

Albertan

PS - Good Race

RussMaxManiac

You may say that, but it is possible. If the 2k Max can run high 14s, stock and then run low 14s to 14.0 with CAI, Ypipe only, I think it is possible. A guy we know with a 97 Cobra SVT modded runs 13.8-14.2 depends. And that is close to the cobra's range and for the year it was the fastest made.

Albertan

LOL...whatever gets you through the day...

http://www.svt.ford.com/cobra2001_specs.html

Granted its the current model year, but they are all over 300 HP anyways. A '97 was 305 HP. I know because I almost had one drop shipped to Saleen to make a Cobra S-281 when I graduated. Anyways the cars are 1.3 seconds apart 0-60 and a good second in the quarter mile. They aren't even in the same league. Think about it. "I can add a Y pipe and hang with an SVT Cobra"?!? Sounds like the kind of Honda owner I always hear everyone making fun of. My 2K Max is a 5 speed and it is nowhere near as fast as that '97 Mystic Cobra I drove. Sorry...

The New CLIMAX

iTrader: (1)

and I ended up running against a what looked to be stock 97-98 Mustang Cobra, I thought I was going to get spanked by this thing, but when the light turned green, we were off, I ran a 15.1 , while the cobra ran a 15.4, I even have it recorded to prove it, but after reviewing it, I notice he didn't have a good start, and when I looked in my rear view mirror, I saw him comming up fast. But I would have to say that any good driver with a Cobra can stopm all over us, unless we have a S/C 5spd and even then it will be close.

madmax2k

14.0 with Y-pipe and CAI? Yikes.....

That being said, when my Max was stock, I raced a later model Cobra on the street. he actually revved at me! I guess he was tired of getting his #$@ kicked by every Z28 in town and wanted a race he figured he could win. Well, I took him out of the hole, but by the top of 2nd gear he was pulling. Just as I was about to get walked, we came up on traffic. Whew.

But, with the 2 mods on Mad Max now, Id say a Cobra would be a decent race. Im sure Id lose, but I doubt it would be a spanking.

The New CLIMAX

iTrader: (1)

one person on here has reached those numbers, but he also ran 14.8 or 14.9 stock, and the best I could get out of my 2K is 15.1, maybe with more practice I could get better #'s but then again not all cars are alike and altitude ( where you are located) also affects time and track, and weather, not to mention the driver which has lots to do with it as well. I would think that a 2K 5spd with S/C would run about 14.0. Now onw could say well just get the CAI and Y pipe and you already have those #'s, why spend 4K on S/C and install. But try running a cobra on a 50-70 MPH roll, and see what happens, We are left behind even with Y, and CAI. But with a S/C I could see us hanging with one of then, I didn't say winning but hanging.

Albertan

Well I have never even been to a 1/4 mile track so I'm no authority, but I don't see how a Max could stay with a Cobra out of the hole...the torque difference is like night and day. My old '91 5.0 LX was about the same power as the Max but still felt like it would walk on the Max easily. Maybe the Maxima is just so much smoother. I dunno. I wouldn't run pretty much any Mustang built since I got my drivers licence (1986) in my Max, but thats just me...

Vobra

Um, just as a voice of experience A decently driven Cobra will walk a Max. No question, not even a close contest. I had just about the slowest stock 4.6 Cobra available -- a '96 ragtop. 305 bhp. In stock trim (except K&N if you count that as a mod) it would do 13.7s in the quarter at 103MPH. It wasn't a ringer, it dynoed at 270-something RWHP after I added pulleys (which are good for about 10 RWHP).

If you can't hit 13s, don't mess with even a stock 4.6 Cobra, unless you're pretty sure the driver is a real monkey .

Oh, and I don't get my *** kicked by Z28s either

--Chip
'96 Vobra 435 RWHP
'00 Audi A4 QTMS

68Stang

How is a 96 droptop the slowest with a 13.7? A 97 hardtop does 14.1, thats 4/10 slower then yours and around the best that a 96/97 cobra will pull unmodded or with a k&n.

madmax2k

Of course, not with a 435 hp Vortech Cobra you wont! I was talking stock to stock or lightly modded to lightly modded.

Vobra

A '96 ragtop is the slowest because it has the lowest HP and highest weight, and it still does 13.7s stock. What I'm saying is that any stock Cobra is good for mid-13s with a decent driver behind the wheel. I drove 14.1s my first couple of tries too until I learned how to drive it properly. My car was not a ringer -- after I put K&N and pulleys on it, it only dynoed at 270HP or so at the rear wheels. It's just a matter of using the HP properly. The guys in Cobras running 14s just need to give me a call for some pointers .

And yes, the 435 HP helps . But I wasn't getting trashed by Z28s before that either. Now they're barely interesting .

MarshMan

is it just me or does it sound like u guys can hang with cars til you start to hit 2nd and 3rd. it may be that i just cant always get the start i would like but i can hang with most anything from about 45-90 (til i hit 4th) i got a friend with a 97 trans am and i raced about an 95-98 SS and both barely inch away from those speeds, but off the line they have WAY more torque so pull away fast from the beginning. do u guys notice such things or do u all have better chances from the line vs. more powerful cars?



Jonathan Marsh
intake, ypipe, rear exhaust, short shifter

Dave B

Well believe it or not, I hung with a 96-97 Cobra from a 40mph to 95mph roll-on. He got the jump which put him at my front bumper, but from there he wasn't pulling. He had a intake and that's all. The guy even admitted he was damn surprised my car hung with him like it did. After thinking about the race, I figured out why I hung with him. Chances are he was in 2nd when the race started at 40mph. Since the DOHC Cobra has horrible gearing for a high winding motor, he probably started the race in a weak part of 2nd (slight bog). I was in my strongest part of the powerband (deep 2nd). You could say he was a bad driver, but all he had to do was hit the 2-3 shift which is incredibly easy with the T-45 (I've driven plenty of these cars, 5.0s and 4.6s). When I let off at 95mph in the top of 3rd, he was only getting started in 3rd because his 3rd gear goes to 115mph. If the race would have progressed he would have walked me hard. I used to own a 94 Z28 and I know how freaking hard Cobra's pull after 100mph. We can't sit here and say that ALL DOHC are 13 second cars because it is completely driver and track dependant. If this was the case then we'd be saying ALL 5 speed Max's run high 14s and modded ones run lower 14s, which we know isn't the case even though the car is capable of it. I know that there have been a few Cobras that have hit mid 13s stock, but that is extremely rare and probably under some very good conditions (high baro pressure). The stock Cobras at my track (KCIR) run low to mid 14s in the upper 90s. We've even got a guy with a 100hp shot of NOS in his 99 Cobra and he runs 13.2s on ET streets. The Cobra with the stock 3.27 gear is very hard to launch due to it's lack of gear and poor lowend torque for a V8 car that weighs 3300lbs. Either it's bog or spin....very much like the Max. Adding a 4.11-4.33 gear makes a Cobra completely different type of machine. All of a sudden the car is a complete beast making full use of his mid to high range power (low 13s).

As for the "new" Cobra. 99 was the ONLY year for the new body style Cobra. There wasn't a 2000 or 2001 Cobra model (except the Cobra R) because of the "power issue" Ford had with the motor. Ford didn't solve the problem by adding aftermarket gear to the car. Instead, they cleaned up the intake manifold and removed "flashings", added new mufflers, and tweaked the ECU a little. That's all. The 99 Cobra is a tad slower than the 96-98 Cobra. Why? Because the independant rear isn't made for a drag racing. It added about 112 lbs of weight to an already heavy car (3480 lbs) and the rear suffers from nasty axle hop on launch. Many guys have destroyed their CV joints at the track. The new Cobra is a high 13 second car at best and a lower 14 second car on the average assuming the car is run on radials.

The way I look at it is this. If you take out the launch and run from a roll, a stock Cobra is gonna have a hard time beating the Max to 90mph. Many modded NA Max's are approaching 95-97mph trap speeds and many Cobra's hit 98-101mph trap speeds. It sounds like a close race to me (within 2 cars). Not exactly what I call a blowout. Now if the race was to 120mph or from a stop, then things could get nasty.

Dave

Albertan

Good explanation/justification Dave. I agree with what you say totally. But I will still emphasize that on the whole a Cobra and a Maxima are two different vehicles, and, by and large, despite their shortcomings a Cobra will win 19 out of 20 times with comparably skilled drivers. Not a biggie really...they are both designed for different things. BTW there are 2001 Cobras

http://www.svt.ford.com/cobra2001_main.html

Check out the new SVT Focus while there. Kiddie cars for sure, but I bet they'll be fairly quick with 170hp in a small car like that. Later.

MaxirmaSE

I raced a cobra on a down shift and pulled on it.

Maximam

Correct! The Cobra problably did have a bad start. I have had alot of seat time in a '98 Cobra and the car does not want to get any traction till over 60 mph. The Mustang has a very hard time with traction.

Mark

Dave B

Albertan-

I was wrong. There are 2001 Cobras. I thought I had read that it was so late in the 2001 model season that Ford was gonna bring out the Cobra for 2002. My bad. I do like this statement on the SVT Cobra page

......"Many factors, including variability within production tolerances, may affect vehicle performance."

Looks like SVT is covering it's butt this go around

I'm still debating between a 98 Cobra, 2002 "Bullit" Stang, or a WRX for my next car. I think all Cobras and even the GTs look much better without the spoiler and a set of drop springs. The car looks really clean. If I get a Mustang, I'm going to the junkyard and getting a standard no spoiler trunk.


Dave