96-98 Cobras?

GT Drifter · Nov 2, 2005

I'm thinking about maybe picking up a 96-98 Cobra SVT next year for a summer daily driver/fun car.
However I don't know much about these cars apart from the fact that they've got a 4.6L DOHC v8, 32 valve right? Bigger brakes then the GT (duh), what else is different?

Also how good is the aftermarket in terms of bottom end, cams and heads?

95 yellow 5 0 · Nov 3, 2005

GT Drifter said:
I'm thinking about maybe picking up a 96-98 Cobra SVT next year for a summer daily driver/fun car.
However I don't know much about these cars apart from the fact that they've got a 4.6L DOHC v8, 32 valve right? Bigger brakes then the GT (duh), what else is different?

Also how good is the aftermarket in terms of bottom end, cams and heads?

96-97 have pretty ugly rims in my opinon, that's why i got the 98 the second time around. I believe the cobras gotta bigger throttle body and mass air, but that's probably given. Needs premium fuel which has hurt my wallet as of late but it's going down. 3.27 gears as I believe the 94-98 GTs had 3.08s.
the 32 valve will repsond very well to the bolt-ons. as for head/cam/bottem end, they are pretty expensive and most people don't bother with it unless you're gonna run serious boost with a supercharger or want to stay n/a and run 11's. Sean Hyland is one company i know that has packages for the cobras. I've seen valve job and roller rockers added 60hp to a 99 cobra in an old issue of MM+FF.

GT Drifter · Nov 3, 2005

Cool, thanks for the info.
I just want to run high-low 12s for now n/a. I'll worry about getting crazy later.

95 yellow 5 0 · Nov 3, 2005

you can do it with all the bolt-ons and good tires. good luck. i love 96-98 cobras cuz u never see them on the road.

GT Drifter · Nov 3, 2005

Yea, I like them too. Seem a bit more rare.
I see 03-04 Cobras all the time, the odd 01.

BensBACobra · Nov 5, 2005

these cars respond well to head and intake port jobs, make sure you put wide tires on the back and and long tube headers, go with an eaton or traction-lock rear w/ 4.10's and heavy duty axles and you will be in mid-low 12's easy

EPIK · Nov 6, 2005

I just recently stepped up from a 96 gt to a 97 cobra this weekend. I picked it up for 8,900 which is fairly cheap in my opinion. It has a tad more miles than i wanted but i dont think 88,000 is very bad though. This thing makes my auto gt feel like a v6 now. I would say go with it because the 94-98 stang is the best late model body style in my opinion, and you dont see very many of the 96-98 cobras in good shape any more. I dont think the stock wheels are the best to ever come on a stang, but there not that bad. I plan on upgrading to the black deep dish bullits soon anyway. Oh and by the way, the color is rio red, i believe.

hersheyman · Nov 8, 2005

95 yellow 5 0 said:
you can do it with all the bolt-ons and good tires. good luck. i love 96-98 cobras cuz u never see them on the road.

+1. Ignore what rims are on the cars cause you can easily change those out. I put 10.5" rims on mine back in April and they really fill up the fenders nicely. Makes for a much meaner stance!

white_90_GT · Nov 12, 2005

I've also been thinking about picking up one of these. I'm used to the 5.0 feel, so when I test drove a 97 cobra it felt a bit weak in the bottom end. Don't get me wrong I easily hit 90 mph in 2nd gear on the test drive, but it just didn't pin me in my seat like I thought it would.

I've heard this complaint before, I'm just wondering if changing the gears in the rear end would fix that up, or what everyone else does.

5.0's 4 ever · Nov 12, 2005

white_90_GT said:
I've also been thinking about picking up one of these. I'm used to the 5.0 feel, so when I test drove a 97 cobra it felt a bit weak in the bottom end. Don't get me wrong I easily hit 90 mph in 2nd gear on the test drive, but it just didn't pin me in my seat like I thought it would.

I've heard this complaint before, I'm just wondering if changing the gears in the rear end would fix that up, or what everyone else does.

Put 4.30s in there and the difference will be night and day. My 96 felt like a slug down low also when it was stock. After I changed the gears I was glad I sold my other 5.0 for it.

hersheyman · Nov 13, 2005

white_90_GT said:
I've also been thinking about picking up one of these. I'm used to the 5.0 feel, so when I test drove a 97 cobra it felt a bit weak in the bottom end. Don't get me wrong I easily hit 90 mph in 2nd gear on the test drive, but it just didn't pin me in my seat like I thought it would.

I've heard this complaint before, I'm just wondering if changing the gears in the rear end would fix that up, or what everyone else does.

Everyone swears by 4.10's for these cars. I might go with 3.73's instead only cause I plan to put a Kenne Bell on there in the next 1-2 years, once I save up the cash!

SVT32VDOHC · Nov 14, 2005

white_90_GT said:
I've also been thinking about picking up one of these. I'm used to the 5.0 feel, so when I test drove a 97 cobra it felt a bit weak in the bottom end. Don't get me wrong I easily hit 90 mph in 2nd gear on the test drive, but it just didn't pin me in my seat like I thought it would.

I've heard this complaint before, I'm just wondering if changing the gears in the rear end would fix that up, or what everyone else does.

Not to burst anybodys bubble, but there is no way that a stock or even modified 96-98 Cobra will hit 90MPH in 2nd gear. My geared and exhaust 97 Cobra won't do it, and neither will my blown 96.

cmb91LX · Nov 14, 2005

SVT32VDOHC said:
Not to burst anybodys bubble, but there is no way that a stock or even modified 96-98 Cobra will hit 90MPH in 2nd gear. My geared and exhaust 97 Cobra won't do it, and neither will my blown 96.

Even with the 5 spd 273 geared 5 liter cars, that is a stretch

SVT32VDOHC · Nov 16, 2005

cmb91LX said:
Even with the 5 spd 273 geared 5 liter cars, that is a stretch

I would have to agree with you on that one too. I shift into 3rd before the 1/8th with my 96 and then proceed to cross the 1/8th at like... well it depends what track.. Lapeer was 95MPH and Milan was 89-91. Those two tracks here in Michigan are totally different.:Track:

md20 · Nov 16, 2005

SVT32VDOHC, what gear do you like better on your cobras? the 3.73 or 4.10's?

I just joined the SVT club (damn, it feels good), my 96 white/black cobra is on the way. be here in a few days. 73,000 miles and only 2 chamber flows on it.

Marine One · Nov 18, 2005

My 96 Cobra convertible replaced a 95 GT convertible. Although the cars look almost exactly alike (down to the color), that is where the similarities pretty much ended. The Cobra drives and just feels like a completely different car. And despite the fact that this car is nearly completely stock it still draws a lot of attention and gets a lot of compliments. I'd say go for it.

greenstang1313 · Nov 18, 2005

white_90_GT said:
I've also been thinking about picking up one of these. I'm used to the 5.0 feel, so when I test drove a 97 cobra it felt a bit weak in the bottom end. Don't get me wrong I easily hit 90 mph in 2nd gear on the test drive, but it just didn't pin me in my seat like I thought it would.

I've heard this complaint before, I'm just wondering if changing the gears in the rear end would fix that up, or what everyone else does.

You say that the 4.6L Cobra felt slower than a 5.0? From what I heard, the 4.6s they put in the cobras between 96 and 98 are much faster than the 5.0s in the earlier years up to 95. I mean look at the horsepower difference, my 94 Cobra has like 240 stock horsepower, whereas the 96 Cobra has like 305.

Maybe its just the psychological thing about driving a 4.6 which is smaller than a 5.0.

95 yellow 5 0 · Nov 18, 2005

my 95 gt vert had 3.73's, borla exhaust, short shifter, u/d pullies and a k&n. i sold it and got the 96 cobra that came with bbk o/r H and 2 chamber flows. the cobra was a sheeeet load faster up top. it's just the low end torque difference. but once the cobra gets goin it flys. it was def faster stock than the modded 95 gt.

SVT32VDOHC · Nov 19, 2005

Post to your reply above

Post to question above...If you have a 96-01 Cobra the gears are noticeably different. It depends what you want to do.

Drag racing, with little freeway usage go with a 4.10

No drag racing with much freeway useage go with 3.73.

4.10's are not killer on the freeway, but 80mph is 3,000RPM. Put is this way, once upon a time, my 96 had the same mods as my 97 but with a 4.10 instead of a 3.73; here were the results.

96 1/4 time was 13.54@106.54MPH
97 1/4 time was 13.9-@101mph....(exact time is in sig.)

Any more questions just ask!..take is easy man

95 yellow 5 0 · Nov 19, 2005

SVT32VDOHC said:
4.10's are not killer on the freeway, but 80mph is 3,000RPM. Put is this way, once upon a time, my 96 had the same mods as my 97 but with a 4.10 instead of a 3.73;

i'm gonna see what my rpms are at again at the highway. i forget now but i remember they were high for it "not having gears." i think my car sat at 3k going 80 w/o them in...?

so are you sayin 3.73 downshifting to 3rd at 80 is faster than a 4.10 on the highway?? if ur on the highway ur gonna race from 60-80 rolls... for street like 25-45.. i already bought the 4.10 but wouldnt 3.90 be the best then being right in the middle.

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