03/04 rods and pistons in my 01

[01BlueCobraVert]

If I were to put new 03/04 rods and pistons in my 01, what would my compression be? 8.5:1?
Also, is there any issues or are these a direct replacement for the 01 parts?
Thanks

 

[97desertCobra]

The pistons should bring you close to 8.5.1. I'm not sure how much of a difference there is between the 01 and 03-04 cylinder heads in terms of change in compression, can't imagine its much at all.

 

[droptopsnake01]

no change they will go right in

 

[VtekII]

if im not mistaken, the terminator pistons arent really the greatest things ever are they? would it be worth it to pop a little better ones in there?

 

[droptopsnake01]

if im not mistaken, the terminator pistons arent really the greatest things ever are they? would it be worth it to pop a little better ones in there?

if it were me I would put cp's in there

 

[birdman941]

Put flat tops in there.

 

[GodStang]

03-04 Cobra pistons are about the worse you can get. Rods are great. You may want to look else where for pistons. I have rarely seen an 03-04 cobra go and it not be melted pistons.

 

[01BlueCobraVert]

I have a friend at ford who can get them cheap which is why I was going to go that route.
Would I need to do anything to my block if there is nothing wrong with it and I am not putting any larger pistons in there?

 

[birdman941]

First, why would you want 8.5 CR on a 281 CID motor?
Are you installing a blower?
If so, what kind?
If not, do you just want a doggy, powerless car?
Members have already stated the Ford OE units are not that great.
So, assuming you might install a blower,
and want to go the CHEAP route,
that is not a good idea no matter how you look at it.
You will find when adding a blower, the CHEAP route is not the way to go.

 

[GodStang]

I have a friend at ford who can get them cheap which is why I was going to go that route.
Would I need to do anything to my block if there is nothing wrong with it and I am not putting any larger pistons in there?

Rebuilding your engine twice is expensive.

At 390hp:

 

[cobraracer46]

:lol:Those pistions failed due to a tuning error, not because it was a 03-04 Cobra piston. Too much timing or not enough fuel from some dyno hero led to their demise. :burn:Sure there are better pistons available like CP or JE pieces, but even those fancy pistons will melt from the reckless lap top keyboard punching of some dyno jet monkey tuner.:smmon:

The new terminator pistons and rods are not exactly a drop in modification for the 99-01 Cobra short block as the 96-01 Cobra crank needs to be rebalanced to handle the added weight from the Manley connecting rods.

 

[01BlueCobraVert]

First, why would you want 8.5 CR on a 281 CID motor?
Are you installing a blower?
If so, what kind?
If not, do you just want a doggy, powerless car?
Members have already stated the Ford OE units are not that great.
So, assuming you might install a blower,
and want to go the CHEAP route,
that is not a good idea no matter how you look at it.
You will find when adding a blower, the CHEAP route is not the way to go.

I plan to add a blower down the road. My engine is in pieces at the moment and I figured I should put some better parts in there now. I am only looking to achieve between 450 and 500 RWHP. I have seen tons of 03/04 cobras pushing 600 on stock internals. I have a ported intake and longtubes so it shouldn't be too bad until I buy a blower. I didn't see how using 03/04 stuff is going a cheap route. :shrug:
I am not looking for crazy power and it seemed like they would be suffcient for my needs...

 

[GodStang]

:lol:Those pistions failed due to a tuning error, not because it was a 03-04 Cobra piston. Too much timing or not enough fuel from some dyno hero led to their demise. :burn:Sure there are better pistons available like CP or JE pieces, but even those fancy pistons will melt from the reckless lap top keyboard punching of some dyno jet monkey tuner.:smmon:

That was on a stock car...

 

[cobraracer46]

That was on a stock car...

The stock Cobra pistons don't just melt by themselves. Something caused those pistons to fail. Either somebody ****ed with the stock tune, the fuel system failed or the car over heated.

 

[gt347mustang]

If the 03/04 pistons are so bad, why are there thousands of people daily driving/racing around with 600rwhp+???

The general thought is, if you're going through the effort to teardown and rebuild you might as well do something good like a cp piston.

If I were you, id do a decent set of 9.5:1 pistons to give you a little more power since you don't even have a blower yet.

 

[GodStang]

The stock Cobra pistons don't just melt by themselves. Something caused those pistons to fail. Either somebody ****ed with the stock tune, the fuel system failed or the car over heated.

Many many many many guys have blown #7 and #8 pistons on 03-04 Cobras on high speed 5th and or 6th gear pulls. Just a small sample. Trust me if you have the car apart there are better pistons to go with.

Just an idea. very small sample. some may be bad tunes but a lot are stock all at high speeds:

mustang500hp (Stock): Galled #2 piston suspect due to low piston clearance. Failed at 2k mi.

Xterminator (Stock except for UPR CAI): After a couple of 70 - 140 mph blasts. No.1 piston seized & ripped the wrist pin from the piston. ~16 kmi.

smytty001 (Stock): Piston #7 damaged at 2.7 kmi. Stock except for CB.

John1975 (Eaton 2.93” upper, x psi, 433/_ rwhp/tq): Suspect blown #2 piston. Failed after 3 high-speed (135-155 mph) runs. A/F = 10.9-11.7:1 right up to redline. Octane = 94. K&N FIPK. Engine failed at 3.5k mi. Modded for 1.5k mi.

RedSquad7 (Eaton w/ 2.93” upper, 13-14 psi, 459/456 rwhp/tq on DJ): 2/4/05. 2nd Engine. Burned piston #2 after high-speed run (155-160 mph) during which several vacuum lines came off. A/F = 12.0-12.2:1 (at tailpipe). Octane = ?. Total timing = ?. 9” open K&N. Stock fuel sys. Bassani catted X and CB. Modded for ~2 kmi. Predator custom tune. Engine failed at ~10 kmi.

Z-06_Killa (Eaton 2.8” upper, 12.5(?) psi, 470/501 rwhp/tq DJ, 508 rwhp MD w/ N2O): 5/23/05. Piston #2, cyl and head damage. Lead came off spark plug, causing damage to piston...piston fatigued in that location/possible clogged injector. Detonation was heard by passenger in other car @ 120+mph before it let go. A/F = 12:1 blower, 11:1 N2O. NGK BR7EF plugs gapped at 0.032”. Octane = 93. Total timing = 23 deg blower, 20 deg N2O. Prochamber, Magnapack CB. CAI. Failure at ~22k mi. Modded at ~15k mi.

calithekid (Eaton, 2.76”, _ psi, 435/453 rwhp/tq): 5/27/05. Knocking sound noticed during street race. One bad piston occurred at ~140 mph and missed shift -> over reved engine. Custom dyno tune, Magnaflow CB, JLT CAI, 5000 mi at time of failure. Motor replaced under warranty.

Grey03Cobra (Eaton, _ psi, 483/503 rwhp/tq): Piston (heat) damage to #7 & 8 occurred after top end high speed run (160 mph). Bassani X, CB & Mid-Length Headers. UPR CAI. Diablo chip. Engine failed at ~18k mi.

tommygun (Eaton 2.8” upper, 14 psi, 456/458 rwhp/tq): Piston #7 broke from top down to the ring land resulting in no compression. Failed when racing at > 150 mph. Detonation noted at time of failure. Octane = 91. A/F = 12.2:1 at peak power. NGK TR6 plugs. 11,235 mi when failed (700 mi after tick fix). 5.6k mi modded. Also had exhaust and CAI.

SALEENGTROUSH (Eaton w/ 2.8” upper, _ psi, _/_ rwhp/tq): Heat damage to piston #7 & #8 is scored. Many (>50) high-speed (upwards of 160 mph) runs. Heard detonation during run when it blew. UPR CAI, Mac O/R-H and CB, Custom Predator tune.

cobra93teal (Eaton w/ 2.8” upper, 15 psi, 520 (!) rwhp, ? tq on DJ): 2/5/05. Heat damage to pistons #3 & #7. Damaged during high-speed run. Octane = 93. NGK TR6. Total timing = ?. CAI. Stock fuel sys. Borla CB. Modded for 17 kmi. Engine failed at 31 kmi on 12/28/04.

8URZ-28 (Whipple, 3.0”/2#, _ psi, _/_ rwhp/tq): 9/24/05. Loss of power after high speed run (~140 mph). Coolant spewage from overflow tank. Knocking sound at idle and smoke out exhaust. NGK TR6. KB BAP, 60# injectors, MAFia. Amazon CAI, Accufab TB. MRT H-pipe, Borla Stingers.

Red&BlackSVT (Whipple, 23 psi, 656/631 rwhp/tq): 3/27/06. Damage to piston #7 and head damage. After numerous high-speed (160 mph) runs. A/F =11.5. Octane = 93&104 mix. Total timing = 23 deg.

 

[birdman941]

I plan to add a blower down the road. My engine is in pieces at the moment and I figured I should put some better parts in there now. I am only looking to achieve between 450 and 500 RWHP. I have seen tons of 03/04 cobras pushing 600 on stock internals. I have a ported intake and longtubes so it shouldn't be too bad until I buy a blower. I didn't see how using 03/04 stuff is going a cheap route. :shrug:
I am not looking for crazy power and it seemed like they would be suffcient for my needs...

Whipple? Eaton? Centri?
It makes a difference.
You need an overall plan.

 

[GodStang]

If the 03/04 pistons are so bad, why are there thousands of people daily driving/racing around with 600rwhp+???

The general thought is, if you're going through the effort to teardown and rebuild you might as well do something good like a cp piston.

If I were you, id do a decent set of 9.5:1 pistons to give you a little more power since you don't even have a blower yet.

Thousands of people daily driving/racing with 600 rwhp??? I doubt that. There may be a few Thousand with 600+ rwhp but I am pretty sure that 75% if not more are on at least their second engine.

Of the local guys we have here we had 2 whipples and 3 kenne Bells. Only one of them was on their first engine and that was because the Kenne Bell was only on there less than 1K miles. At least 2 of the 4 died with eatons still on and not sure on the other two.

 

[droptopsnake01]

reguardless if you have a friend that can get you a deal its just not worth it. I just wouldnt feel good about my "built motor" if I just had stock 03 cobra slugs in there.

If you are going to build your motor, don't cut corners.

 

[mustangman36578]

+1 and you are not going to want to drive that car with 8.5:1 NA. the lowest you should go if you are sure you will go FI in the future but it will stay NA for now is around 9:1.