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Any pre '03 Cobras running mid-12's naturally aspirated?

2K views 36 replies 22 participants last post by  bitemark46 
#1 ·
I know some of you guys have done it so what the hell is it going to take to run with a stock '03 Cobra while staying naturally aspirated? Yes, you do sense a little '03 Cobra envy but I'm not ready not give up my '01.
 
#3 ·
Yes. There are even two of us in the high 11's with solid axles....Ian Mullane (HIPSI) and myself.

Still...that 03 Cobra is gonna be a monster with bolt-ons, gears, some weight loss, and perhaps a solid axle. Ouch! Good ouch, though. :)
 
#4 ·
Nino said:
I know some of you guys have done it so what the hell is it going to take to run with a stock '03 Cobra while staying naturally aspirated? Yes, you do sense a little '03 Cobra envy but I'm not ready not give up my '01.
Someone correct me if I am wrong, but the 2003 will NOT BE NATURALLY ASPIRATED.

It comes with a blower, and last time I checked that doesn't qualify as NA. So you are comparing apples to oranges!

joe
 
#5 ·
Re: Re: Any pre '03 Cobras running mid-12's naturally aspirated?

RavenGT said:
Someone correct me if I am wrong, but the 2003 will NOT BE NATURALLY ASPIRATED.

It comes with a blower, and last time I checked that doesn't qualify as NA. So you are comparing apples to oranges!

joe
Joe, re-read Victor's post.... then think about it.

Victor... a good driver, sticky tires and weight reduction would go a long way. Add your normal bolt ons too.

You have to find +/- 60 rwhp... either through horsepower, weight reduction or grip.

Good luck!

John.
 
#7 ·
Re: Re: Re: Any pre '03 Cobras running mid-12's naturally aspirated?

John in Houston said:


Joe, re-read Victor's post.... then think about it.

Victor... a good driver, sticky tires and weight reduction would go a long way. Add your normal bolt ons too.

You have to find +/- 60 rwhp... either through horsepower, weight reduction or grip.

Good luck!

John.
John, I read Victor's post, and for once, I am not trying to be a smartass, I am merely pointing out that he is trying to run a NA vehicle against a blown application, not to mention, what poises itself to be the strongest factory car ever built by Ford. He needs to find the horsepower in some manner, before it even gets into the same ballpark as the 03 Cobra. And staying NA to compete against it, might prove itself extremely frustrating.

good luck though Victor!
joe
 
#9 ·
My long term goals are to get this car a sold mid 12 while remainging NA. It's possible.. Need to get some DR's and some GKN's and we are getting close.

03's will be nice, and if you want any information on them or want to talk about them, feel free to respond to the 1000000000 other posts about them on the corral. :D

I think with minor mods you can achieve this, Joe Lynch has been the IRS Guru/El Pres/THE MAN! I think mid 12's all motor would be really fun. Stock I am running some horrible 60's and I am afraid to run DR's until I get some GKN's for backup! Anyhow, lets see what others say.

Bob and HIPSI have demonstrated that with a live axle 11's are possible with hardly any mods. Of course, after seeing Bob Drive, I know I couldn't beat up my car like that! :cool:

Maybe he should drive my car down the track :evil:


Shawn
 
#10 ·
I think I'll be able to hold off the 03's for a while staying naturally aspirated.
 
#12 ·
Re: Re: Re: Re: Any pre '03 Cobras running mid-12's naturally aspirated?

RavenGT said:


John, I read Victor's post, and for once, I am not trying to be a smartass, I am merely pointing out that he is trying to run a NA vehicle against a blown application, not to mention, what poises itself to be the strongest factory car ever built by Ford. He needs to find the horsepower in some manner, before it even gets into the same ballpark as the 03 Cobra. And staying NA to compete against it, might prove itself extremely frustrating.

good luck though Victor!
joe
Nothing personal, but will you refuse to race an '03 on the street because it has a blower and you dont - and that wouldnt be fair? Bottom line is they'll eventually be out there, and if you wanna stay on top, n/a, it can be done (atleast vs. a stock '03), it'll just take some nice gear/exhaust/bolt-ons/weight reduction/and most importantly, good driving. There are more than a few 110+ stock motor N/A DOHC's running around. I don't plan on getting walked by a stock blown '03 :) That is assuming they dont run much over 110mph! We'll see!

Take it easy!
josh
 
#13 ·
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Any pre '03 Cobras running mid-12's naturally aspirated?

32Vpwr said:
Nothing personal, but will you refuse to race an '03 on the street because it has a blower and you dont - and that wouldnt be fair?
Take it easy!
josh
Nothing personal, but yes, I will refuse to race an '03 Cobra on the street. Take his ass to the track and I will run him. Thats what my GT is built for.

Who cares about fair, and what the point of that comment? You missed my original point, so forget it, I give up. You Cobra owners argue it.

joe
 
#14 ·
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Any pre '03 Cobras running mid-12's naturally aspirated?

RavenGT said:


Nothing personal, but yes, I will refuse to race an '03 Cobra on the street. Take his ass to the track and I will run him. Thats what my GT is built for.

Who cares about fair, and what the point of that comment? You missed my original point, so forget it, I give up. You Cobra owners argue it.

joe
Cool attitude. I apologize for not recognizing you own a GT. My mistake - actually I knew it by looking at your name, but for some reason it didnt carry through in my post, brain freeze I guess. I'm not going to get into whether or not street racing is plausible, but the fact is, more than not you will eventually run across one on the street. If you have the will-power/discipline to not race one that is giving you a hassle, then more power to you. I dont know what your GT runs at the track, but a small shot of dope will take care of the '03 Cobra.

My point about not being fair seemed to be your reasoning in your post. If it wasnt, then I apologize for misinterpreting your post - it just seemed to say it was unfair to compare a blown car to a n/a car. If I mistook your reasoning, then ignore my comment.

One last thing - I have a Saleen, not a Cobra. Just clarifying for you as you did for me :D

Take it easy!
josh
 
#15 ·
Ok, let's say that the AVERAGE stock 03 will run 12.50s. That is our goal. My 99 is stock with the exception of a K&N and drag radials and has run a 13.30 with a 2.06 60' time (hardly good). I would have gone 13.1x, but I screwed up a shift. At this point, gearing it alone would get me into the 12s, even with wussy 4.10 gears. And then add, pulleys, chip, exhaust, etc. and mid 12s should be quite easy with good driving.
 
#18 ·
Take a poll see what you get. You aren't going to run mid 12s on the IRS with DRs (good luck with slicks) and only 4.10 gearing. Ron99's car went 12.55 with those gears and tires, however it was lightened, at a great track with great air and a great driver--not to mention his car was a factory freak.

That is our goal. My 99 is stock with the exception of a K&N and drag radials and has run a 13.30 with a 2.06 60' time (hardly good). I would have gone 13.1x, but I screwed up a shift. At this point, gearing it alone would get me into the 12s
LOL, slap some gears in there with no other changes and let's make a wager to see if you hit 12s. :lol: Sorry, been there and done that, ain't gonna happen. LOL, keep on benchracing. If nothing else, STFU, unless you've done it--keep the speculation to yourself.
 
#19 ·
Fourcam281 said:
Take a poll see what you get. You aren't going to run mid 12s on the IRS with DRs (good luck with slicks) and only 4.10 gearing. Ron99's car went 12.55 with those gears and tires, however it was lightened, at a great track with great air and a great driver--not to mention his car was a factory freak.



LOL, slap some gears in there with no other changes and let's make a wager to see if you hit 12s. :lol: Sorry, been there and done that, ain't gonna happen. LOL, keep on benchracing. If nothing else, STFU, unless you've done it--keep the speculation to yourself.
Well....I haven't done it in the cobra, but I have done my fair share of drag racing. I see no reason why the car will go slower with gears in it. If you can please explain it to me.
 
#20 ·
With different gearing you're going to have to relearn how to launch/shift the car, which I'm sure you knew being an experienced drag racer and all. You aren't going to cut any great short times with 4.10s in a mod motor car, and although 4.10s let you use 4th gear in the 1/4, they force the shift too close to the line making it more of a hinderance than anything else. To fully exploit the advantages of lower gears that really work (4.30-4.56s) you'll need stickier meats and a rear that can take it. That's why.
 
#21 · (Edited)
Fourcam281 said:
With different gearing you're going to have to relearn how to launch/shift the car, which I'm sure you knew being an experienced drag racer and all. You aren't going to cut any great short times with 4.10s, and although 4.10s let you use 4th gear in the 1/4, they force the shift too close to the line making it more of a hinderance than anything else. To fully exploit the advantages of lower gears that really work (4.30-4.56s) you'll need stickier meats. That's why.
I guess I didn't mention that I was running on nitto drag radials. I'm not claiming that I'd run 12s the first time out, but I think that it's entirely within the realm of possibility. I'm sure that there will be a learning curve with the new gears.

EDIT - Actually, I did mention that I was running drag radials. Being that I cut a 1.96 60' with 3.27 gear, I don't see a 1.85 being too difficult with a 4.10.
 
#22 ·
As stated above I think our BIG advantage is weight--the 03 is FAT--way to heavy to be a true sports coupe--I think it is 500-600 pounds more than a z06--ford needs to wake up and loose the fat.
 
#23 ·
I have no doubt you can run 12's with the 4.10's. They are mostly certainly the WRONG gear for drag racing a DOHC Cobra, but that doesn't mean that you can't go quick with them.

You will run quicker with the 4.30's or 4.56's, but you can run 12's with practice using 4.10's.

Good luck ot you.
 
#24 ·
Bob Cosby said:
I have no doubt you can run 12's with the 4.10's. They are mostly certainly the WRONG gear for drag racing a DOHC Cobra, but that doesn't mean that you can't go quick with them.

You will run quicker with the 4.30's or 4.56's, but you can run 12's with practice using 4.10's.

Good luck ot you.
Thanks for getting my back Bob :). I know that they are not the best gear for drag racing, but my plans for the car are to road race and only occasionally drag race.
 
#25 ·
Can't run mid 12's with a stock internal, 4.10-geared, IRS '99-up Cobra? I've only done it about 30 times in a VERT at 2000 ft elevation with density altitudes of 2000-5500 ft :rolleyes: ... So yes, it can and is done!
 
#26 ·
How many N/A Cobras run 12s with 3.73s?

I'm sure they're out there, hell, I even know of one.

:evil:

EDIT: I am in no way stating that 3.73s are ideal, or even fun, for an N/A Cobra. They suck. I miss my 4.30s. I yearn for the 4.56s that sit on my apartment floor...but staying in 3rd gear through the traps is neato.
 
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