Need help HOPPIN up my 98 COBRA

socccerman · Jul 14, 2004

I bought a 98 Cobra with 35,000 miles on it. It already has Flowmasters and 373 gears. Other than a supercharger, what are some upgrades I can have done to make it faster? I don't want to go nuts here, just a few things to help out. If I put a new cam in it, what else would I need to do? Thanks for your help.

bdcardinal · Jul 14, 2004

you can put new cams in it, its cams on modular motors, on your application there are 4. start by using synthetic oil with a motorcraft filter. you can get a new throttle body. a CAI will give you a couple hp, as long as its plastic and not metal. get a new shifter.

tangerine · Jul 14, 2004

one power gain that I have heard of people doing is putting a set of mach 1 cams in it. I wouldn't waste any money on a cold air intake. The give little to none hp. One good combinations is the steeda underdrive pullies and the steeda timing adj.. You already have the gears so you have that part good to go. You can put cams in it without having to redo the whole motor. It just depends on how much you are willing to spend.

tangerine · Jul 14, 2004

get a new shifter.[/QUOTE said:
I left out. Get this first before you do anything because it will save you a lot of costly trans repairs.

WLD_WST · Jul 14, 2004

Nitrous

Aaron 4.6 · Jul 14, 2004

I've got a 98 with what I would consider very few bolt-ons. Its got 3.73s, a full WMS intake system with Pro-M MAF, Steeda underdrive pulleys, and BBK longtube headers feeding a Dr. Gas X-pipe. Thats about $1400 in parts cost (or thereabouts) and the car is making right at 300 rwhp. A stock 96-98 Cobra would be about 255-260 rwhp. The car has a flat torque curve and sounds great with the headers.

40 rwhp isn't too bad given the intake, cams, and heads are completely factory. One of these days that may have to change as well. I've seen N/A 96-98 cars in the mid-to-high 300s rwhp, but they were pretty high in the RPM range. If you want that kind of power with some torque down low I would go ahead an look towards the forced induction route and do that from the get-go.

wms004 · Jul 14, 2004

socccerman said:
I bought a 98 Cobra with 35,000 miles on it. It already has Flowmasters and 373 gears. Other than a supercharger, what are some upgrades I can have done to make it faster? I don't want to go nuts here, just a few things to help out. If I put a new cam in it, what else would I need to do? Thanks for your help.

Magnaflow Catted X pipe should be good for around 10RWHP on your 4v and will sound nice and smooth with the flows. Thats the combo I run. Otherthan that, Look at a slightly larger Accufab throttle body, K&N filter. Those are all reliable mods that I listed. You can bolt on everything yourself unless you dont' have a jack, in which you could have the X pipe put on for 40-50 bucks at a muffler shop.

try www.fulllineexhaust.com.. call them and tell them the stangnetforums recommended you try them.. they will thus do a price adjustment for the magnaflow catted X. Something around $380 shipped or less would be fair.

-wade

DavidCroft · Jul 14, 2004

On my 97 Snake I have a Mac cold air, off road H, Magnaflow Magnapack catback, a 5.0 shifter, a Spec stage I clutch, and a 160* thermostat. It pulls great and is loud as all hell. In fact its so loud that no one ever messes with me. I would recommend an off road H or X depending on the sound you like and a cold air to get the airflow better and it should add around 25-30 more HP. Best bangs for the buck. I would not,however, add headers. Waste of money. They are a PITA to install and very costly for the 5-10 rwhp people get out of them. I think most of the exhaust restriction is in the catback and cats. Good luck and what color by the way?

Aaron 4.6 · Jul 14, 2004

DavidCroft said:
I would not,however, add headers. Waste of money. They are a PITA to install and very costly for the 5-10 rwhp people get out of them. I think most of the exhaust restriction is in the catback and cats. Good luck and what color by the way?

Please defend this statement. Post some before and after dynos. Post some other combinations and power levels. Post something to back this up. This is contradictory to everything I know about cars.

I picked up ~30-35 rwhp from the LTs, O/R X and a tune. Stock catback. 2.25" pipes and stock mufflers. Not a mandrel bend in sight. I've seen a lot of 96-98 cars make ~300 rwhp with a combination like mine. I can't think of any N/A cars making that kind of power with stock manifolds in place. You cannot logically look at a cast 4V manifold and a full-length header and say that the manifold is not a restriction. The scavenging theory behind headers is too fundamentally sound and simple to dismiss with a hand wave.

I would cop to the X-pipe and tune being good for 10-15 of those extra ponies, but that leaves 20 or so accounted to the headers.

wms004 · Jul 14, 2004

Aaron 4.6 said:
Please defend this statement. Post some before and after dynos. Post some other combinations and power levels. Post something to back this up. This is contradictory to everything I know about cars.

I picked up ~30-35 rwhp from the LTs, O/R X and a tune. Stock catback. 2.25" pipes and stock mufflers. Not a mandrel bend in sight. I've seen a lot of 96-98 cars make ~300 rwhp with a combination like mine. I can't think of any N/A cars making that kind of power with stock manifolds in place. You cannot logically look at a cast 4V manifold and a full-length header and say that the manifold is not a restriction. The scavenging theory behind headers is too fundamentally sound and simple to dismiss with a hand wave.

I would cop to the X-pipe and tune being good for 10-15 of those extra ponies, but that leaves 20 or so accounted to the headers.

seriously, remember we are talking 4v.. even short headers will do something on a 4v.

Need help HOPPIN up my 98 COBRA

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