'03 Cobra Mods - What Next?

[red93coupe]

I've been guiding my Dad some when it comes to mods for his '03 Convertible. So far he's done:
Bassani Cat-Back
Steeda Air Filter w/ heat shield (can't really call it a CAI)
Steeda Tri-Ax shifter.

I was impressed with the gains when it put down 422 rwhp on MC Racing's Dyno here in Merriam, KS.

My question is obvious - what would you recommend next?
He just had the warranty extended to 75K, so we have to keep that in mind. I was talking with him about the Apten Performance ported Eaton OEM blower, a pulley change, and doing a Bassani X-Pipe w/ Cats. Maybe some Steeda IRS bushings - whatever will help get rid of the wheel hop. Can anything be done with the ECU flash without warranty problems?

 

[Dr. Wu 2000]

If he opted for the extended warranty you prabably want to stay away from anything with the blower itself. Porting the blower or swapping a smaller pulley will void your warranty if you have to have warranty work done on the motor itself and they find that you messed with the S/C. The mid-pipe is a good next mod, as is the DiabloSport Predator handheld tuner. Be careful, as it is still up in the air as far as whether the tuner can be detected or not. Rumor has been going around that all the dealer can do is tell the last time the CPU was reset, such as when you disconnect the battery or something like that. If you do have a custom tune they say to re-install the factory flash and then have around 10 driving cycles before you bring the car in for service. Not much more power to be had other than them unless you start messing with the blower or pulley. That's what a lot of us are contemplateing right now, including myself.

 

[red93coupe]

Thanks! Any other ideas?

What combination of mods do you guys recommend for the IRS to help with wheel hop? Does the weld-on Steeda bracket do any good?

Has anyone here done the Apten ported OEM blower? I've held one in my hands, and it looks like they do really good work - I think they claim gains of around 40HP. As long as it doesn't have to go in for internal engine work, we'd be safe with the warranty, but that IS a big gamble.

 

[01TrueBlueCobra]

X-pipe w/cats are good , also get some headers. Don't worry about the warranty , get a 2.80 pully and a diablo handheld programmer. All you have to do is put the stock pulley back on and use the tuner to put the computer back to stock. Theres no way they can tell. They cannot void a warranty just because a computer was reset. The computer can be reset just by changing the battery or if it goes dead and a lot of batteries go dead in this country.

 

[greenham64]

watch changing pullies, changing them can leave indications that the dealers are really looking for

 

[Dr. Wu 2000]

watch changing pullies, changing them can leave indications that the dealers are really looking for

Exactly. if you bring it in for warranty work on the motor, they will go over that thing with a fine tooth comb. You are really taking a chance messing with the blower at all.

 

[MiamiFan1354]

If you want to keep the warranty, then YOu may get away with an xpipe WITH cats. Don't get headers.. All it does is change the exhaust note, no real power gain on these cars.. WORTHLESS... and they are a pain in the rear to install. I should know, I got them.... Worst purchase I ever made.. They leak, they didn't give power, and they cost more to put in than they did to buy...

To stay in warranty, CAI, Xpipe and catback is about all you can do. Get some BFG DR's and some IRS bushings. You should hit 12.5's with that..

 

[wizbangdoodle]

If you want to keep the warranty, then YOu may get away with an xpipe WITH cats. Don't get headers.. All it does is change the exhaust note, no real power gain on these cars.. WORTHLESS... and they are a pain in the rear to install. I should know, I got them.... Worst purchase I ever made.. They leak, they didn't give power, and they cost more to put in than they did to buy...

To stay in warranty, CAI, Xpipe and catback is about all you can do. Get some BFG DR's and some IRS bushings. You should hit 12.5's with that..

MiamiFan, I am curious as to what brand headers you used. I was tossing around the idea of putting on a set of Bassani headers but if you say they are no good I may have to reconsider.

 

[Darkhorse845]

Pulley increase psi.