I recently purchased a 97 cobra and it seems like parts are hard to find. I am looking for some pretty big gains before the summer. looking to run low 12's. if anyone can point me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated.
Exhaust: UPR X-pipe for $139. Aluminized, Mandrel Bent, Offroad. Best pipe for the buck. Catback: All close to eachother, get which pleases your ear the most
Gears: FRPP 4.10's MINIMUM. I have 4.10's and love them, a great street gear. 4.30's and 4.56's are better for the track.
Intake: Don't worry about that for now, a CAI or Powerpipe intake will yeild 3-6hp.
For a few hundred dollars, gears and an x-pipe will get you into low 13's if your a good driver, with a great '60. The gears will REALLY wake up the car on the street too, excellent for midrange passing power, especially in second gear around town. Car picks up a lot faster.
i suspect that parts will continue to come out as these cars are dropping a little in price. frankly, they are just hard to find, and when you do find one, usually the individual (not dealer) wants $14-18 G's for them, and oh yeah, alot of them are damn convertables, not great for racing (and insurance). mustang fans love theirs cars because of the bang for the buck, and these are good, but not the best compared to the plethora of 5.0 aftermarket parts that are cheaper, easier to build, and make gobs of hp. the good thing about these cars is that they redline at nearly 7grand and i think the compression is about 9.5:1 which is IDEAL for boost.
What are you looking for exactly? I just got a 97, and the only thing I can't find is enough money. How much do you have to spend? A blower would definately put you into the 12,11,10 second zone, but if your block is stock, stay around 6 to 9 psi. If your like me 4 to 5 grand, is a large chunk of change for a blower, but other than forged internals, that is probably the biggest difference between ours and 03 cobras. Free flowing exhaust:Off road h, and straight through mufflers, 15 to 20 hp? Pulleys, air filter, larger maf, chip or tune. Traction is another thing. I have never ran a 1/4 mile dragstrip, but I would imagine smokeing your tires off the line could easily negate a lot of horsepower. I was all gung ho trying to figure out what to install before WFC7 but it looks like I'm going to do: A/T catback, prochamber, and suspension. maybe a cold air intake, depends on when my 1200 bucks runs out. good luck If you can't find something for your car, surely someone here has done it, and knows where to get it. You can PM me if you would like to and I will try to find it for you. Chris
Agree with most of what was said above. Gears (4.10 minimum if you're staying N/A), some decent tires, a better exhaust. If you're into making some real power, go nitrous or supercharger.
Check any muscle mustangs and fast fords magazine or 5.o magazine and you will see more parts then you have the money to buy.
My mod and price list is- Bassani Catted X - pipe- $499, Magnaflow catback- $269, MARCH pullies- $69, Densecharger cold air intake ( from throttle body to fenderwell - $150, Diablo Chip-$300, BBK adj. fuel pressure reg. $99, Ford motorsport ceramic shorty headers- $279, and afew other mods.
I would suggest either Magnaflow or MAC catback if your price range is under 300$. If you are willing to spend more then Borla or Bassani is the way to go.
X-pipe- Uncatted will yeild more hp then catted- its your choice depending on emissions in your state. Magnaflow makes the same pipe as Bassani for less money.
Cold air intake- if money is an issue get the Densecharger. If you have more money get a WMS setup ( these both have an optional mass air package). A few people on Corral.net and here have had good results with the 87mm and 95 mm mass air setups. 95 mm may be alittle over kill however- depending on your mods and future mods.
Gears- go with 410's if you don't run at the track alot- you'd be shifting as you cross the traps with them. If you drive around on the street 430's are fun...but your gonna need something to help out with traction.
Headers- go with long tubes ( same amount of work as the shorty install for more power) unless you are willing to spend $500+ on JBA shorty headers.
Just remember that if you get the X-pipe and then get headers you will need to modify the X pipe to make it shorter.
Chip- Don't get a chip till you are finished modding. A custom burned dyno chip is best - about $300-500. If you wanna go cheaper then get a mail order one but do reasearch and make sure you get it form a reputable tuner. I like Diablo and Autologic chips.
- Pullies- I like steeda pullies for $150 ish. They do not use a piggy back design on the crank pully like the cheaper pullies do.