Looking at Vortech kits for my Cobra, what else will I need?

LarsD

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Jul 2, 2002
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Poking around at the idea of putting a V3 Vortech on my Cobra. Did a search and really didn't come up with a solid answer. What other (if any) supporting mods will I need? The car has longtubes, o/r X, and a CIA right now. Also has some sort of tune on it that I will have to disable (I think it is an older plug in chip). I plan to get the car tuned, but if I'm only running the stock 7-8psi will I still need a GT pump, bigger injectors, etc?

Thanks
 
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Upgrading your fuel pump is a great idea and I would get at least 42 pound injectors. You will also need a new mass air meter as well. The stock rails and fuel lines will suffice you for now. And yes when you get the car tuned they can either reburn your chip or you can get a programmer to load tunes etc.
 
Upgrading your fuel pump is a great idea and I would get at least 42 pound injectors. You will also need a new mass air meter as well. The stock rails and fuel lines will suffice you for now. And yes when you get the car tuned they can either reburn your chip or you can get a programmer to load tunes etc.

OK, that is kinda what I figured, that being the case, it sounds like it would be better for me to buy one of the tuner kits instead of a regular kit (IE: Vortech 4FR218-050SQ - Vortech Centrifugal Supercharger Kits - Overview - SummitRacing.com ). Sound about right? I want to get a V3 unit though as I don't feel like punching a hole in the oil pan. I could use 42lb'ers, a lightning MAF, and what, a Focus pump or a GT pump? I'm not very familiar with the returnless system mods.
 
Yup the V3 will save some time and not needing to tap the oil pan. I have a V2SQ on my GT but I have leftover parts (bracket/belt/discharge pipe from a Bullitt/Cobra application) if you are interested in piecing a kit together.

I have 36lb injectors and a SVT Focus pump, stock pulley and minimal engine bolt ons and put down 380/378. With the freer flowing 4v heads over 400 should be easy for you.

My tuner returned my car to stock from my Diablo and simply flashed the computer using a laptop and SCT software. My programmer is currently unmarried so you do not necessarily need to buy another chip or programmer to have it tuned, they can simply flash your current chip or just flash the ecu.
 
According to the previous owner it has a Diablo sport chip in it. I haven't pulled the EEC yet to confirm. I might pull the K member and pan before I do the S/C as I have a header leak that I think can only be fixed by replacing the LT's. So since I'd be down there, might as well pull the pan and put an AN fitting in it for a drain. I would prefer a V3 head unit, but according to Vortech's site most of the kits for my car have been discontinued (even though they are listed on AM and Summit still). So I might end up piecing together a kit. Still planning though, need to finish gathering parts for my 91 to do a H/C/I swap as it is slow as balls. I want to have an idea of what I'm getting into though to make sure I don't run out of money halfway into it. :p

Josh: Was that 380/378 at the wheels?
 
Who do you plan on doing your work if not yourself? More importantly, who is tuning the car? You should have a solid 11 second car with 7-8psi.
 
Who do you plan on doing your work if not yourself? More importantly, who is tuning the car? You should have a solid 11 second car with 7-8psi.

I'll do all the mechanical wrenching myself. Talking to a guy in SA right now about the tuning. I would normally do that myself also, but I know there isn't a lot of room for error on a boosted car.
 
I'll do all the mechanical wrenching myself. Talking to a guy in SA right now about the tuning. I would normally do that myself also, but I know there isn't a lot of room for error on a boosted car.

Who, Lethal Performance, Henderson, or Murrilo, or another? Bring the car to Houston, you will be glad that you did. I've dealt and seen the work of most of those guys, it is worth the $50-75 in gas to get the best tune on the car.
 
Who, Lethal Performance, Henderson, or Murrilo, or another? Bring the car to Houston, you will be glad that you did. I've dealt and seen the work of most of those guys, it is worth the $50-75 in gas to get the best tune on the car.

I was talking to Ron at Bell Automotive, was also considering Lethal. I don't have a problem going to Houston, but I don't know any shops there, and I don't know what kind of condition I'm going to be limping the car around in since I can't trailer it.
 
I was talking to Ron at Bell Automotive, was also considering Lethal. I don't have a problem going to Houston, but I don't know any shops there, and I don't know what kind of condition I'm going to be limping the car around in since I can't trailer it.

Gforce. Lethals new Z06 that put down 1000rwhp this week is nice, but they have little on the Houston guys. Mike will get you setup with a great tune.
 
Any idea what a tune normally costs? Or what software they use?

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I'm a die hard tune guy, I'll drive 1000 miles if I need to, fortunately, we have 3-4 great shops here in Houston, 3 that tune mustangs, which are top notch.

I don't have pricing on them since I am not a vendor, but it would be your standard street/dyno tune. Ballpark would be 400-600, if I had to guess, which is standard in the industry.
 
About Us |

I'm a die hard tune guy, I'll drive 1000 miles if I need to, fortunately, we have 3-4 great shops here in Houston, 3 that tune mustangs, which are top notch.

I don't have pricing on them since I am not a vendor, but it would be your standard street/dyno tune. Ballpark would be 400-600, if I had to guess, which is standard in the industry.

Sounds average then. I'll have to check them out when I get to that point, thanks for the info!
 
Is an aftercooled T trim kit too much, can I pulley it down? Found one for sale at a decent price.

You can pulley it down but the problem is that blower is going to want to scream up top, where the sq ir si will scream in the lower end also. You will have to spin that t-trim pretty hard. You would be better off going with the si trim but a good deal is always hard to pass up. I wish I would have a t-trim on my car for the future mods I have planned. Being as you have the cobra....you MAY be ok with a t-trim, I just know several gt's that have t-trims and they lost a good amount down low, but being the 4v, you may be ok:shrug::nice::flag:
 
You can pulley it down but the problem is that blower is going to want to scream up top, where the sq ir si will scream in the lower end also. You will have to spin that t-trim pretty hard. You would be better off going with the si trim but a good deal is always hard to pass up. I wish I would have a t-trim on my car for the future mods I have planned. Being as you have the cobra....you MAY be ok with a t-trim, I just know several gt's that have t-trims and they lost a good amount down low, but being the 4v, you may be ok:shrug::nice::flag:

Yeah that had occurred to me. The after cooler is a nice bonus and will give me room to grow. I'll be limited by my stock rods and pistons at first, so I don't think I'll get anywhere near this blower's potential.