1996-98 svt cobra owners, get in here!

RawNotch

New Member
Jan 24, 2003
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Hey guys,
I will be purchasing a 96-98 cobra, and I was wondering if there are any problems I should look for when I'm checking the car out. Also, what set-ups are you guys running, and what are your guys' 1/8 or 1/4 times. stock or built, cars that you've beat, what not.

I' m selling both of my foxes, which I love to death, by I want a step-up in comfort, and Reliability. Leather, alarm, keyless entry( finally some creature comforts for me in a stang), I love it. Plus I want a car that I can throw a blower on, and not have to worry about as much. Oh yeah, blown cobra guys, what is your set-up, and what are your times/hp numbers. etc.

Thanks guys, Bryan
 
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RawNotch said:
Hey guys,
I will be purchasing a 96-98 cobra, and I was wondering if there are any problems I should look for when I'm checking the car out. Also, what set-ups are you guys running, and what are your guys' 1/8 or 1/4 times. stock or built, cars that you've beat, what not.

I' m selling both of my foxes, which I love to death, by I want a step-up in comfort, and Reliability. Leather, alarm, keyless entry( finally some creature comforts for me in a stang), I love it. Plus I want a car that I can throw a blower on, and not have to worry about as much. Oh yeah, blown cobra guys, what is your set-up, and what are your times/hp numbers. etc.

Thanks guys, Bryan


Hey Brian, AWESOME choice on the 96-98 cobras. Ive had a 96 and now I have a 98 and I loved them both and modified them heavily. Both are nice show pieces I had the stalker body kit on the 96 w/ chrome cobra R's, nitto drag radials, pulleys, flowmasters, off road h pipe, mass air, plugs, wires, and this badass wing that they don't make or sell anymore :notnice: man i am disappointed that I sold that one. It ran a 13.6 but was short shifted at 5800rpms. Now I have a supercharged 98 chameleon cobra w/ all roush stuff on it. Vortech, roush body kit, 17" eagle wheels w/ roush center caps, saleen wing, custom paint, pro 5.0, 42# inj. 80 mm Pro M mass air, oh both this and the 96 had 4.10 gears, taylor race wires, etc etc...im missing a few things but this is getting long...anyways i ran a 12.6 with this also short shifting at 5800 rpms. Just found out thru some stangnet members this winter taht I dont have to shift until 6200-6500 rpms and I should be in the 11s plus I got some more stuff for her on the way. I love the car and love to modify it...oh and I smoke C5 vettes and even a RT10 viper up at Capitol Raceway in Crofton MD. Dude was pissed and I was syked I ran a crappy 13.0 and he ran a 13.1 Traction is a huge issue w/ these cars so make sure you get some Drag radials atleast but I got some M/T ET streets here now and I m gettin some suspension componnets in the next couple weeks to. You'll love the car over the Fox I had a 88GT moded up b4 these two. Cya
 
That's awesome....have you ever had any problems with either of your cobras? Has anyone had any reoccuring problems? come on guys.. need some more info, I.E more track times, horsepower #'s. Thanks guys!!!
Roush21 said:
Hey Brian, AWESOME choice on the 96-98 cobras. Ive had a 96 and now I have a 98 and I loved them both and modified them heavily. Both are nice show pieces I had the stalker body kit on the 96 w/ chrome cobra R's, nitto drag radials, pulleys, flowmasters, off road h pipe, mass air, plugs, wires, and this badass wing that they don't make or sell anymore :notnice: man i am disappointed that I sold that one. It ran a 13.6 but was short shifted at 5800rpms. Now I have a supercharged 98 chameleon cobra w/ all roush stuff on it. Vortech, roush body kit, 17" eagle wheels w/ roush center caps, saleen wing, custom paint, pro 5.0, 42# inj. 80 mm Pro M mass air, oh both this and the 96 had 4.10 gears, taylor race wires, etc etc...im missing a few things but this is getting long...anyways i ran a 12.6 with this also short shifting at 5800 rpms. Just found out thru some stangnet members this winter taht I dont have to shift until 6200-6500 rpms and I should be in the 11s plus I got some more stuff for her on the way. I love the car and love to modify it...oh and I smoke C5 vettes and even a RT10 viper up at Capitol Raceway in Crofton MD. Dude was pissed and I was syked I ran a crappy 13.0 and he ran a 13.1 Traction is a huge issue w/ these cars so make sure you get some Drag radials atleast but I got some M/T ET streets here now and I m gettin some suspension componnets in the next couple weeks to. You'll love the car over the Fox I had a 88GT moded up b4 these two. Cya
 
RawNotch said:
That's awesome....have you ever had any problems with either of your cobras? Has anyone had any reoccuring problems? come on guys.. need some more info, I.E more track times, horsepower #'s. Thanks guys!!!


Nope never had one single problem w/ either car. the 96 was recalled for an ebrake thing but it never messed up for me but i still took it for the free fix anyways.
 
My brother just bought a white 98 cobra with cobra r wheels, and a vortec supercharger running 6-8lbs boost. Man that thing is fun, we haven't taken it to the track yet but it has sooo much more pull in the higher rpms. It just keeps pulling harder the more you stay in the gear. Fun cars for sure, he paid 12k for it if I recall correctly.
 
I think you are making an EXCELLENT choice in vehicle. The 96-98 Cobra market is pretty reasonable, and you can find good cars anywhere from 10k-15k depending on age, mileage, and condition. Here are some basic trivia that I can recall of the top of my head:

These cars will typically make around 255-260 rwhp in factory stock condition.
Going with a good combination of bolt-ons can net you 300-305 rwhp N/A.
The cars should run high 13s out of the box.
With a few bolt ons and some gears the car should run 12s easily.
8 psi boost should net you 400+ rwhp without too much effort.
There is a growing market for 'big bore' and stroker engine combinations that seem pretty attractive.

The 1996 cars had overheating issues. Keep your eye out for that one.
The 1998 cars are less prone to IMRC failures.
All 96-98 cars are prone to IMRC failures.
The 98s have R-style wheels.
 
Ahh I see....... I was pretty dead on with my assumption of how fast they were..
Thanks for the overheating info,I'll have to keep my on that, as well as the IMRC. I've been looking at 96's just because it's almost the exact same car as a 97-98, but a little cheaper. About the gears, they come with 3.27's? correct if i'm wrong. I was wondering how short of a gear I should go with. I hear people going with 4.10's and 4.30's. That seems a little extreme to me, maybe because anything more than 3.73's on my foxes, and it's over kill. I know modular's lack some low-end tq, but is that really necessary? I'm just trying to get a feel because I've had my brain on fox bodies for 3 years now, and it feels good to be making a list of goodies for a new type of vehicle. I hope you don't kill me, but one more question, I want a reasonable amount of gearing, I.E, I dont' want 4th to top out at 105, more like 125. Is this possible with 4.10's in a modular, because it sure as hell isn't in a fox body. I know stock 96-98 cobra's have very tall gears, that's why i'm asking. Sorry for the length :hail2:
Aaron 4.6 said:
I think you are making an EXCELLENT choice in vehicle. The 96-98 Cobra market is pretty reasonable, and you can find good cars anywhere from 10k-15k depending on age, mileage, and condition. Here are some basic trivia that I can recall of the top of my head:

These cars will typically make around 255-260 rwhp in factory stock condition.
Going with a good combination of bolt-ons can net you 300-305 rwhp N/A.
The cars should run high 13s out of the box.
With a few bolt ons and some gears the car should run 12s easily.
8 psi boost should net you 400+ rwhp without too much effort.
There is a growing market for 'big bore' and stroker engine combinations that seem pretty attractive.

The 1996 cars had overheating issues. Keep your eye out for that one.
The 1998 cars are less prone to IMRC failures.
All 96-98 cars are prone to IMRC failures.
The 98s have R-style wheels.
 
Anyone have some more info???? I know there's more cobra owners on here than this.....
RawNotch said:
Ahh I see....... I was pretty dead on with my assumption of how fast they were..
Thanks for the overheating info,I'll have to keep my on that, as well as the IMRC. I've been looking at 96's just because it's almost the exact same car as a 97-98, but a little cheaper. About the gears, they come with 3.27's? correct if i'm wrong. I was wondering how short of a gear I should go with. I hear people going with 4.10's and 4.30's. That seems a little extreme to me, maybe because anything more than 3.73's on my foxes, and it's over kill. I know modular's lack some low-end tq, but is that really necessary? I'm just trying to get a feel because I've had my brain on fox bodies for 3 years now, and it feels good to be making a list of goodies for a new type of vehicle. I hope you don't kill me, but one more question, I want a reasonable amount of gearing, I.E, I dont' want 4th to top out at 105, more like 125. Is this possible with 4.10's in a modular, because it sure as hell isn't in a fox body. I know stock 96-98 cobra's have very tall gears, that's why i'm asking. Sorry for the length :hail2:
 
All I have to say is build your bottom end, or just do bolt ons...
the only thing forged in these motors are the crack.. The pistons and rods are made of monkey ass....
Buy Sean hylands book as welll, tons of info on the 4.6, avail. from cartech..
Lin
 
All I have to say is build your bottom end, or just do bolt ons...
the only thing forged in these motors are the crank.. The pistons and rods are made of monkey ass....
Buy Sean hylands book as welll, tons of info on the 4.6, avail. from cartech..
Lin

{see revised CRANK instead of Crack..}{which is wahat your pistons and rods will do with anything over 6 psi on these motors...}
 
Orange04Cobra said:
All I have to say is build your bottom end, or just do bolt ons...
the only thing forged in these motors are the crank.. The pistons and rods are made of monkey ass....
Buy Sean hylands book as welll, tons of info on the 4.6, avail. from cartech..
Lin

{see revised CRANK instead of Crack..}{which is wahat your pistons and rods will do with anything over 6 psi on these motors...}


Dude your straight w/ stock internals as long as you dont get greedy. I got 10lbs of boost on my 98 cobra w/ stock internals and its been one there for like 5000 miles and 3 years...NEVER had a single problem and no detenation. Motor should handle close to 600hp on the flywheel but not much over that and even 600 is pushing it a bit. One guy on here had like 603 and said he was going to keep pushing until it blew but i havent heard anything yet. But i agree the pistons/rods are junk but they serve there purpose./
 
Roush21 said:
Dude your straight w/ stock internals as long as you dont get greedy. I got 10lbs of boost on my 98 cobra w/ stock internals and its been one there for like 5000 miles and 3 years...NEVER had a single problem and no detenation. Motor should handle close to 600hp on the flywheel but not much over that and even 600 is pushing it a bit. One guy on here had like 603 and said he was going to keep pushing until it blew but i havent heard anything yet. But i agree the pistons/rods are junk but they serve there purpose./
Cool...
Much better response than "You dont know jack"
I retract my earlier comments...

Yeah, I have heard , and even seen , big power makers on stock 96 internals, but how long will they last?
And why even chance it. Hell, you can do an awesome bottom end build for under 5,000, and beat the SH$T out of it with no worries..
I would hate to have it lingering in the back of my mind "Is his the run my rod breaks? Will I burn a piston?}
I guess We have blown up enough here down south, so now I just start inside, and work my way out...
I mean hell, yeah the tune makes it or breaks it, but the ammount of stress is the main factor... Just putting a blower on a 96 with 6psi puts 30% or more stress than the internals were ever meant to see...
{plus the pil control rings in these cars suck..
Just my opinion though, and hell, who am I ....
Peace...
Lin :nice:
 
Roush21 said:
Dude your straight w/ stock internals as long as you dont get greedy. I got 10lbs of boost on my 98 cobra w/ stock internals and its been one there for like 5000 miles and 3 years...NEVER had a single problem and no detenation. Motor should handle close to 600hp on the flywheel but not much over that and even 600 is pushing it a bit. One guy on here had like 603 and said he was going to keep pushing until it blew but i havent heard anything yet. But i agree the pistons/rods are junk but they serve there purpose./
Sounds good. I'm going to put the vortech on, using the stock pulley and then get extremely good at driving the car down the track. I think 8 psi will be all I will need. WIth the stock blower pulley, full exhaust and gears, that should be aroung 400rwhp. That's plenty of power I see it way to often, overpowered cars with lackluster drivers. In my N/a 89 306, I spank on my buddies supercharged 95 cobra, simply out drive him. Thanks for the input guys, I cant wait to get her. First car newer than a 91 ever.