Pushrod Vs. modular
- Thread starter LilBerx
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JordanB21
Active Member
You can buy the modular cobra w/more horsepower (300) for a good price (96-98, not 99-04, they look better) versus the 95s which came with 240 horsepower.
95 cobra-city 15, HWY 23
98 cobra-city 16, HWY 24
95 cobra-city 15, HWY 23
98 cobra-city 16, HWY 24
Good point, most of the 96-98 cobras i see for sale have 4.30 gears. Probably kills the mileage on the highway.
If you are going to stick to bolt on's and want fuel economy, go with the 4.6L
If you plan on really modding the engine, go withthe pushrod.
If you plan on really modding the engine, go withthe pushrod.
No contest. The later model 4.6L. If you plan on tearing into the engine, the 5.0L is more "rewarding" (Heads, Cam, intake) as far as horsepower gains, but if you want bolt on and go, the 4.6L modular is your clear choice. Not to mention the EEC V is much more refined and easier to tune than the earlier EEC IV.
I agree with Grover about the low end of a pushrod... I want a clean sn-95 or a really clean 99-04 gt, preferably an 01.5-04. I found a 98 cobra nearby that has 83k and they only want 7800... This Will be my first purchase with a loan... (I am still young), and I do realize a note will go against having money to dump into mods, but I may part my fox out seeing how it has some desirable parts on it... And I'll be keeping The rear end and control arms for whatever I buy. I am going to try and get my buddy to part with his 99 before I buy anything, this will happen by match or April.
There are only three Mod engines I would trade my 5.0 for...those are the '00 5.4 Cobra, '03 Cobra, and '11 Coyote. Everything else, I'll stick with my tried and true pushrod 347.
Mintsick
10 Year Member
In stock or mildly modified form I don't think any of the engine combos you've listed are a concern with regards to daily driving reliability. Personally I'd go with a 99-04 based on exterior looks.
I liked the 4.6 that was in my fox. Although initially, I had to warm to it. Modding the engine is obviously wayy more expensive than a typical SBF and there aren't 50 bazillion suppliers making hipo junk for it accordingly. A post 02', P.I. headed engine should be your bottom line if you're considering one though as the head design has been upgraded to add like 15 more HP over the previous iterations. In retrospect, had I known then what I know today,..I would've held out for a 4v version of the engine when I bought mine.
As for the body. I'm not a fan of a new edge body, but I'd take a beat up version of one of them, before I'd be seen in a pristine, but butt ugly 94-98 anyday.
As for the body. I'm not a fan of a new edge body, but I'd take a beat up version of one of them, before I'd be seen in a pristine, but butt ugly 94-98 anyday.
Modulars are bigger, more complex, parts are more expensive and aftermarket support is smaller than the 302/351 Windsor. 2V anything is an embarrassment to the term “OHC”… Just talk to some (legit) import guys about hp/ci. That said, a 4V Cobra with no changes to the top end, forged bottom end parts, and a blower or turbo is an easy 500-600 hp, drive every day sort of thing, and would be 100% awesome. IMO, nothing 4.6 is worth owning unless it’s got bewst.
lol
my 327 cubed, S trimed, T56 trans full griggs 86 is a fantastic DD
but it only makes 460 rwhp and 480 rwtq..............................
my 327 cubed, S trimed, T56 trans full griggs 86 is a fantastic DD
but it only makes 460 rwhp and 480 rwtq..............................
Easy to say. Yours is stroked and poked with a full top end and stuffed into your car of choice. Of course you're not going to trade it for one of the above mentioned....
...now, what it if your choices were a wheezing 215hp E7TE 302 wrapped in an SN95, an early wheezing 215hp 4.6L in an SN95 or a later 260hp 4.6L in a New Edge?
But that's the game changer isn't it? Like a 4.6L without boost is pretty anemic, so too is a stock 5.0L HO without a complete top end kit.
You're gonna have to sink time and money into each to make either one of them worthy of their namesake by today’s standards. And if it came right down to it, I'd rather quote labour rates on installing a blower on a 4.6L OHC, over a H/C/I upgrade on a 5.0L OHV. In the end though, given the same budget, the modular is still going to retain the better daily driver status, while making more power to boot.
I dig both engines, but each has their strong points...and while the 5.0L OHV may get the hp/$ nod when it comes to replacing the top end, the mod motor takes the ball and runs when it comes to forced induction.
In the end....a H/C/I 5.0L OHV, no matter how powerful you build it, at best is still only going to be able to outrun the blown modular....and even then not without exceeding the cost. His other criteria associated with daily drivability (smooth running, good fuel economy, low emissions, etc) however will have taken a nose dive and in the end still lean heavily in the 4.6L's favour.
94-95 GT/Cobra: Pushrod 5.0 very easy to work on & DIY friendly. GT only has 215hp but responds very well to simple bolt-on mods. Parts are cheap and plentiful. Cobra has uprated brakes and 240hp out-of-the box so HP potential even higher with simple bolt-ons.
96-98 Cobra: Great engine, great soundtrack, 305hp, desirable Teksid block, uprated brakes. Restrictive exhaust so responds very well to LT headers, midpipe, catbacks. If you must have a 96-98 model, get the Cobra. The 2V GT engine comes with only 215hp/225hp, mods aren't cheap, and it doesn't respond well to bolt-on mods either so consider it the redheaded stepchild unless the PO has added a supercharger.
99-04 GT: New Edge styling, better brakes, and better engine (260hp) than 96-98 GT. Responds well to simple bolt-ons but they're not cheap. Cobras (especially '01+) more desirable with 320hp N/A ('01) but WAP block not as strong as earlier Teksid. The 390hp supercharged '03-'04 Terminator is the ultimate but expensive.
But that's the game changer isn't it? Like a 4.6L without boost is pretty anemic, so too is a stock 5.0L HO without a complete top end kit.
You're gonna have to sink time and money into each to make either one of them worthy of their namesake by today’s standards. And if it came right down to it, I'd rather quote labour rates on installing a blower on a 4.6L OHC, over a H/C/I upgrade on a 5.0L OHV. In the end though, given the same budget, the modular is still going to retain the better daily driver status, while making more power to boot.
I dig both engines, but each has their strong points...and while the 5.0L OHV may get the hp/$ nod when it comes to replacing the top end, the mod motor takes the ball and runs when it comes to forced induction.
In the end....a H/C/I 5.0L OHV, no matter how powerful you build it, at best is still only going to be able to outrun the blown modular....and even then not without exceeding the cost. His other criteria associated with daily drivability (smooth running, good fuel economy, low emissions, etc) however will have taken a nose dive and in the end still lean heavily in the 4.6L's favour.
I'm not disagreeing with you, and I don't think you're really disagreeing with me. Mod motors are expensive and complex, but because of the good block strength and decent flowing 3 or 4V cylinder heads, they can do well under boost. Unfortunately without boost, they ain’t much to talk about unless you dump $10K into them.
Also, drivability is totally a function of camshaft and tune. Pushrod cams are cheap (cuz you only gotta buy one…) and most pushrod guys jam big noisy bumpsticks between their cylinder banks and employ hack tuning methods, so it’s not surprising they have a reputation for being less drivable than mod motors. There are some guys out there that are starting to do boost on good cylinder heads and stock cam, and suddenly you have a low 11/high 10 second car that almost drives like it’s stock. Of course then the 302 block is on the verge of self-destruction, so the 4.6 gets the nod there.
…But then you’ve got the big tree-fiddy-won blocks that are safe into 7-800 HP range (arguably more for the early blocks) and deep 9s in the quarter… So how fast you wanna go?
That’s the beauty of all this… More than one way to skin a cat. Just gotta understand what knife to use.
you can go mid high 11's NA in a 2v with some junk yard parts if you know where and what to look for... they dont need to be boosted. granted boost is sexy as hell!
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