16,000 Bucks What are my options

twogts4us said:

Excellent post - I'm putting 303 RWHP down, which is quite enough to get anyone into trouble. While I understand you want to plan your build, you should get the car first, and keep your options open.
BTW, I have heard from several folks who were disappointed with their centri blower on the street. Lack of power down low...which is the original problem with the mod motor.

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An interesting little sub-thread. My take:

High horsepower is, IMHO, not so much the problem as explosive torque combined with street tires and the confines of city driving. One is more likely to swap ends by accelerating hard across an intersection or while turning left/right with a bit too much throttle and 400 ft-lbs available than exercising those horses by opening it up on the highway on-ramp where tire-spin is much less likely.

To that end a positive displacement blower might be more "dangerous" by virtue of the fact that it's capable of making torque right off the bottom and catching a driver by surprise.

If I could go back and do it again, I would have opted to get a 03 04 cobra hands down... with what your looking to do, especially since you want a daily driver, the cost to buy a gt and throw in an engine and power adders is much more than you think. After everythings said and done, you'll have a gt with a nice engine but its still a gt and its still a 2 valve. Then you get into the appearance mods and see more money go out the window. Ya you'll have a sweet custom car the way you built it, but consider the down time for the builds here and there, as well as unforseen problems. Its called the Termi for a reason. It looks amazing, its already supercharged with a nicely built bottom end by Ford (also buying from a dealership you can get a juicy warranty so you can run it into the ground a get it fixed for free or much less than out of pocket), you have the bragging rights of having a cobra with killer suede seats that cost over 1000 used if your lucky, its a 4 valve. I mean the list really goes on and on. I would strongly consider that option before opting for a gt and dumping your money, especially with your goals. Also, I've never heard anyone to this day badmouth a cobra. That car really is that amazing for the price. Also, I'm into my build currently already 10 grand just on the engine. I haven't even got around to the turbos, fuel system, transmission because that's gonna take a dump, and other misc stuff. And I stayed 2 valve which kinda pisses me off because I did really see how painstaking a 4 valve swap was til after I bought the car. My cars been down 4 months and I've been cruising my busa for 4 months and its not a good time. Much better suckin up a little bit higher payment and having a bad ass car imo. Especially since your new to the crowd. People can say all day long get used to a gt first but I call bs. Get a bad ass car from the get, and try not to kill yourself. Stock gt's have such garbage power. Besides finding a stock cobra and having 300 someodd horsepower is perfect to get used to. Then when your ready for more power, bolt ons and a tune and your over 400. Then you can keep going when you crave more. I've been where your at trust me. I had mustangs and didn't really know what I was getting into with mods til I was already in too deep and its really not worth it unless your a diehard stanger and have to have something completely custom and done up. When your like me, someone who is NOT a mechanic and have to pay everyone else for the work, the money becomes an issue. A lot of guys here that I rely on for info and help are diehard mustang guys and many can do their own work. Save yourself the time, money, agony, despair, and do it right the first time. You WON'T regret it!!!!!

03 Cobra Mustang Convertible

Cobras are not hard to find. Just gotta look. This one for instance has all sorts of goodies but since your looking at a dealership and have a trade, keep in mind dealerships buy cars well behing book so all it takes is a little negotiating. I've been in the car business for 10 years so first rule of thumb is a car is not what someone sais its worth, its what someone is willing to pay for it. That works both ways. Dealerships don't get attatched to cobras. Its just anothr car to them. But ya if you want low 400 horsepower in a gt then that's fine. As for me, vortech V2 aftercooled 01 get destroyed my bottom end. High mileage cars and superchargers don't mix. Ever!! But regardless, goodluck with you endeavor and keep us posted on what you get!

just buy a 99 Cobra

Actually, there is nothing wrong with getting a GT to 350-370rwhp and expecting it to live 100,000 miles. 400 starts pushing it depending on how often you romp on it. If you stay off the floor, it will last like a stock engine. If you hammer it on a daily basis, it will last at least 50K miles if you use synthetic oil and change it at 5000 miles.

Mine got to 50K from 0 but I guarantee you that you won't abuse it anywhere near what I did. A turbocharged engine will last longer at the level since you don't have parasitic loss.

Power is one thing, controlling it is another. You will definitely need a suspension improvement, especially the rear control arms.

sn95prospector said:

2. Kenne Bell is intercooled versus aftercooled which Ive read that the aftercooler is inefficient

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Point of clarification:

Pretty much every automotive "intercooled" system is actually "aftercooled."

Intercooling refers to cooling of the air charge between compressor stages in in systems with multiple compressors. When charge cooling occurs after the last -- or only -- compressor in the system it is technically called an "aftercooler."

The upshot is that the KB is aftercooled, like pretty much every other kit.

The only downside to the kenne bell is the noise level.

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The blower is pretty much silent during part throttle operation. And when you it comes to WOT, not too many enthusiasts I know of complain about the whine of a twinscrew at WOT.

How could anyone not love the sound a Kenne Belle at WOT???

I like the sound my car makes with the Steeda crossover exhaust. At 7000 RPM's it sounds like an F-1 car with 12 cylinders running a much higher RPM level. Scares women, children, and the kid driving the cute little ricer car I'm about to destroy.

How about a 96-98 cobra? Yea I'm biased for that bodystyle but for $16,000 you can buy a very nice 96-98 and probably still have money left for a blower OR full bolt-ons...suspension and all. That would be my pic.

i have the intercooled kenne bell 2.1 @ 9psi. I am using the gatorback belt which has a sound / whine of its own over the blower... otherwise it is basically silent at anything other than wot.

the day i got it back from its initial dyno tune the only sound difference i noticed was a slight whistle at idle. when i laid in to it, it had blower whine, but that was no where near the whine of an eaton.

fast forward 3 years... im getting some mhs stg 1 pi blwr cams, because im used to the hp, and i generally want the lopey cam sound (and something to do this winter while the car isnt being driven).

i already know i will be investing in a shortblock & tfs heads in the future. remember; hp is addictive... according to my dad, "too much horsepower is almost enough", when you catch the bug. do yourself a favor, if you decide to get a kenne bell kit for your 2v, get the tuner kit with the bigger blower. granted it will necessitate a larger hood and some other odds and ends, but if you decide to upgrade later, you wont be kicking yourself in the junk for getting a blower that will not meet the level your looking at at that point. ie; i am limited to around 550 to 600 rwhp with my 2.1


one more thing. i think kenne bell tends to 'blow up' their dyno numbers. i think they may use uncorrected numbers for their marketing. look at my mods for reference. do not get me wrong, if i could do everything over again... i would still go kb, however, i would have gotten the tuner kit for upgradeability.

just my 2 cents.

usaf_branham said:

i have the intercooled kenne bell 2.1 @ 9psi. I am using the gatorback belt which has a sound / whine of its own over the blower... otherwise it is basically silent at anything other than wot.

the day i got it back from its initial dyno tune the only sound difference i noticed was a slight whistle at idle. when i laid in to it, it had blower whine, but that was no where near the whine of an eaton.

fast forward 3 years... im getting some mhs stg 1 pi blwr cams, because im used to the hp, and i generally want the lopey cam sound (and something to do this winter while the car isnt being driven).

i already know i will be investing in a shortblock & tfs heads in the future. remember; hp is addictive... according to my dad, "too much horsepower is almost enough", when you catch the bug. do yourself a favor, if you decide to get a kenne bell kit for your 2v, get the tuner kit with the bigger blower. granted it will necessitate a larger hood and some other odds and ends, but if you decide to upgrade later, you wont be kicking yourself in the junk for getting a blower that will not meet the level your looking at at that point. ie; i am limited to around 550 to 600 rwhp with my 2.1


one more thing. i think kenne bell tends to 'blow up' their dyno numbers. i think they may use uncorrected numbers for their marketing. look at my mods for reference. do not get me wrong, if i could do everything over again... i would still go kb, however, i would have gotten the tuner kit for upgradeability.

just my 2 cents.

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Totally off topic but...you're in the AF and your last name is Branham? Me too! That's crazy.

Skidzz said:

Totally off topic but...you're in the AF and your last name is Branham? Me too! That's crazy.

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Seperated at birth?

lol. thats crazy.

Skidzz said:

Totally off topic but...you're in the AF and your last name is Branham? Me too! That's crazy.

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LOL It's my last name as well.

One thing you need to be sure and not overlook, is the fuel system. Having to buy injectors, fuel pump, boost a pump will all add up quick, not to mention a new MAF and all that mess.

IMO, your best option would to be search the boards on Corral for a used Vortech and Procharger set up. Slap it on, put full exhaust, full bolt on's, then use the rest of the $ to put towards suspension parts. You can make all the power in the world, but if you can't hook it, it's pointless.