'01 Cobra Commuter???

T

Todd Smith

Founding Member

Oct 8, 2001

72

0

0

Castro Valley, CA

Oct 5, 2008

#1

• Oct 5, 2008

• #1

Hello everyone! Im a current low mileage 01 Bullitt owner and love my car. But I need an every day driver. I was considering buying a stock '01 Cobra with 38,000as a commuter. I don't know a ton about these cars buit thought it'd be a cool commuter. I drive about 100 miles round trip from work each day, so I'd be putting a lot of miles on it. Was wondering from you Cobra owners how these cars hold up? Reliability is a primary concern and was hoping I could have a cool fast commuter that holds up for commute duty. I was originally considering a late model GT, but soon relaized that I could have a much better car with an 01-03 Cobra for less than I can buy a late model standard GT. Any imput is appreciated. Also, do the Cobras require Premium Fuel only, or can i run regular when commuting?? Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

Mod Dude

Feb 18, 2001

43,264

17,952

224

Massachusetts

Oct 5, 2008

#2

• Oct 5, 2008

• #2

Cobras were meant for 91+ octane fuel, but do have knock sensors incase 87 octane is used. However, performance and fuel economy may suffer.

I commute 60 miles/day in my '04 GT. I get about 25-27 MPG highway and it's nice to have power to pass. Just get it up into 5th gear and use cruise control and it does well.

I used to use my Mark 8 to commute as well. Same 4.6L DOHC basically. I sold it with 130K miles and it idled as smoothly as new. The engine can easily take the miles.


Of course you need to decide if dropping 500 miles worth of 91+ octane/week just to commute is worth it. To be honest, i've been thinking of buying a cheap civic, gutting the hell out of it for weight savings and using that as a commuter.

Commuting in a Mustang makes you lose your appreciation for it when you spend so much seat time in it. Ont he rare occasion i have another vehicle to use, the mustang stays parked and when the weekend rolls around and I fire it up..it's like driving it for the first time again!

 

2BADSTANGS

Member

Jun 19, 2008

385

1

18

Colorado

Oct 6, 2008

#3

• Oct 6, 2008

• #3

99 Cobra usually= teksid block= better. I would have to agree with runing the premo gas. Durability is not even a question. Did I mention I got a running 4cyl '93 lx for $250? It's not REALLY cool, but it gets great milage!!!

 

C

CobraCruiser

Member

Dec 8, 2002

265

0

16

Toledo, Ohio

Oct 9, 2008

#4

• Oct 9, 2008

• #4

It is a nice car to commute in. My '99 would get close to 30mpg on the highway, although it was for fairly extended running period. The seats in the '01 trump the '99s by a mile, plus you get stronger half-shafts.

As for gas, why screw around? It is made for premium, use it.

Concerning the block, there is nothing wrong with the later aluminum blocks. The Italian-cast Teksid may be the preferred, but the later Mexican and Canadian ones are just fine. All the 4.6 aluminum blocks are better than the cast iron ones.

Either way, it is a good cruiser.

 

tx65coupe

Active Member

Nov 29, 1999

1,551

1

37

Oct 9, 2008

#5

• Oct 9, 2008

• #5

Whats wrong with using the Bullitt as a daily driver?

 

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

Mod Dude

Feb 18, 2001

43,264

17,952

224

Massachusetts

Oct 10, 2008

#6

• Oct 10, 2008

• #6

Low mileage + limited availability factor?


If i had a nice clean bullitt i wouldn't want to DD it. Your front bumper will get rock chips like crazy.

i DD my GT 350 highway miles a week. As long as you can maintain 5th gear and cruising speed you'll get 25-27MPG easy. However i can run off 87 octane so it's a little cheaper. The Cobra will do the same mileage, but require 91+ to do so. I would think a GT would be a bettr commuter than a Cobra for that reason.

But then again, you can get a cheap honda, use 87 and get 30+ MPG. Then it will make you appreciate your Mustang more

 

blackfang

Founding Member

Dec 17, 2001

1,290

1

39

Richmond, Va

Oct 10, 2008

#7

• Oct 10, 2008

• #7

My 97 was my daily for 7 years even with 4.30's. It is doable and tolerable.

 

'66 coupe

Founding Member

Aug 7, 2000

1,202

9

59

Lakeland, Fl.

Oct 10, 2008

#8

• Oct 10, 2008

• #8

Mustang5L5 said:

i DD my GT 350

Click to expand...

This was all I saw at first, and was like, "WTF is wrong with this guy?!!"

 

hotcobra03

Active Member

Nov 29, 1999

969

4

39

poteet,tx

Oct 10, 2008

#9

• Oct 10, 2008

• #9

My 03 is my dd .stops on the dime,handles like a dream, horsepower!

 

H

hauling4you

New Member

Sep 24, 2008

1

0

0

Oct 12, 2008

#10

• Oct 12, 2008

• #10

I would drive the Bullit, considering it is a slower car and to me basically a GT. I would buy the Cobra and keep that nice and low miles. I see Bullits all around me, when I bought my 01 Cobra just a few weeks ago I looked at getting a 01 Bullit but just could not see why I would spend so much on something that had so much less then the Cobra. Just my 2 cents.

Dave

 

CRoberts91

Member

Jul 10, 2007

148

1

18

Northport, AL

Nov 6, 2008

#11

• Nov 6, 2008

• #11

so, you want something with efficiency and the fast factor... its time to go with two wheels.

 

snakebite01

New Member

Oct 22, 2008

81

0

0

new jersey but not for long

Nov 8, 2008

#12

• Nov 8, 2008

• #12

i wouldn't use either as a commutter.. they're both rare cars and SPECIALTY cars.. if you want a cool commutter get a smart car.... lol i'm sorry but i'd rather c a car like that go to someone who is going to use it for what it was built for