Anyone open tracked an 03

[TOC]

New to this site and was wondering if anyone has taken their 03 Cobra to an open track event yet, as I'd appreciate any input.

I will be purchasing a spare set of wheels and tires. Like to stay with the same size front and rear, so I can rotate them front to back.

Looks like the least expensive way to go is to stay with a 17 by 9" wheel and use 275/40-17 Khumo's.

I like the looks of the SSR Competition 18 by 9.5" wheel (and its very light), but I don't know if you can get a 285/35-18 on the front end without clearance problems. If I go to the 265/35-18 on the front, 285/35-18 rear, I lose the ability to rotate the tires.

Also looking at putting the Brembo brake kit on the front (with cooling ducts fitted), as I don't think the stock set-up will survive too long on the track, given the weight of the 03 Cobra.

The one concern I have with running this car on a track is the possibility of oil starvation. I've read somewhere that some open 4.6 Cobra open trackers run an extra quart of oil to help prevent this.

Let me know what you think.

 

['68-Cobra]

Hey '03!

I am going to the track on Friday to give my 1500 mile '03 a day of testing at an Instructor Clinic here in the Carolina's. We have a 14 turn, 2.3 mile Road Course just south of Charlotte. E-Mail me & i'll let you know how it goes.

I have limited my RPM to 4500 so far, but plan on changing oil tomorrow & moving my limit up to 5500 for the track. It will be hard to keep my foot out of it, but I'm going to try! I believe in breaking an engine in slowly.

I have great expectations, but don't expect to weaqr it like a glove the 1st time out.

As for tires, I just took a set of Kumho's off of my track wheels (Cobra R's) & purchased some Yoko's. I loved the Kuhmos', but only got 6 weekends out of them. That gets expensive! I have an SCCA buddy who runs the Yoko's & gets twice the life out of them with almost as good of a grip. Time will tell. Got them from Tire Rack.

Where in Texas are you? I grew up in Houston & then moved to Longview before going to La Tech & eventually moving to NC in '84.

[email protected]

:thumbsup:

 

[JKD COBRA]

I took my 98GT to Sebring twice. It was great, the most fun I have ever had. Something you might want to think about: if it is your first time racing you might want to just leave the stock tires on. Because don't worry about trying to be the fastest there, just try to learn as much as you can. A lot of people like to put on new tires and then go to the track, but all your going to do is ware the expensive tires out. You will have a great time no matter what. So I say go with your stock tires, that way you can go nuts with the car and do all the racing you want you know? And then when those tires are worn out then you have the nice set of Kuhmos that will be fresh so you can enjoy them on the street or track next time. Have fun at the track, you'll love it.


John

 

[TOC]

Hey '68-Cobra, I live in Corpus Christi. Both the SCCA and the Porsche Club are quite active there, each group running events at least once a month.

I'm an occasional participant with both groups. Auto-crossed the 03 earlier this month. The 03 can induce some serious power on oversteer (put on quite a show the first two passes on the track). However, those are tighter/shorter courses, and small (light) cars like the Honda S2000 will have a huge advantage there. I did however, run within a 1-second of a new BMW M3.

I had previously run my stock 2001 Cobra at the Porsche club events where it ran with some of the faster Porsches. This is where I found that the stock brakes (and the soft suspension for that matter) are somewhat limited on the faster tracks. I totally smoked the fronts in one afternoon, thus the concern for the even heavier 03's brakes.

Thanks for the input.

 

[NorCalRedfire]

Originally posted by TOC
I like the looks of the SSR Competition 18 by 9.5" wheel (and its very light), but I don't know if you can get a 285/35-18 on the front end without clearance problems. If I go to the 265/35-18 on the front, 285/35-18 rear, I lose the ability to rotate the tires.

I know these posts go back a few months but I have been looking at those same wheels. Did you ever get them? If you did, what size tires did you get and how was the clearance, both front and back.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Bingo13]

Re: Re: Anyone open tracked an 03

Originally posted by NorCalRedfire
I know these posts go back a few months but I have been looking at those same wheels. Did you ever get them? If you did, what size tires did you get and how was the clearance, both front and back.

Thanks in advance.

285/35/18 will fit fine in the front. I have 275/35/18 in the front and will be moving to 285/35/18s this week. I currently have 295/35/18s in the rear without any issues. Once my suspension mods are complete I plan on some open track events.

 

[NorCalRedfire]

Re: Re: Re: Anyone open tracked an 03

Originally posted by Bingo13
285/35/18 will fit fine in the front. I have 275/35/18 in the front and will be moving to 285/35/18s this week. I currently have 295/35/18s in the rear without any issues.

Thanks, Bingo. How do you like the ride with 3.73 gears? Do you feel you are getting better off the line acceleration as compared to stock gears. I've read some posts and 3.90s seem to be the general favorite, but I was wondering if you could feel the difference with 3.73s.

:thumbsup:

 

[Bingo13]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Anyone open tracked an 03

Originally posted by NorCalRedfire
Thanks, Bingo. How do you like the ride with 3.73 gears? Do you feel you are getting better off the line acceleration as compared to stock gears. I've read some posts and 3.90s seem to be the general favorite, but I was wondering if you could feel the difference with 3.73s.

:thumbsup:

I think with a modded car (pulley/exhaust/cai/chip) the 3.90 gears would be perfect for the quarter mile. I can tell a very slight difference off the line with the 3.73s (if it hooks) but my second/third/fourth gears are more responsive now and at cruise the car stays just above the "drone" zone with my exhaust setup. I tried the 4.10 gears and they made for some interesting runs through third gear but I did not want them for everyday driving. ;-)

George Chronis at the SuperStallions forum came up with this chart for our T56 units. This might help you-
T56 XLS File

 

[NorCalRedfire]

Bingo, thanks for the excel file and the info. If I can figure out what I'm doing, I'm going to try to add to the file to see how the gear change affects rpm/mph ratios. If I can get it together, I'll post it back on this thread.

 

[NorCalRedfire]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Anyone open tracked an 03

Originally posted by Bingo13
George Chronis at the SuperStallions forum came up with this chart for our T56 units. This might help you-
T56 XLS File

I modified George's Excel files somewhat. There are two new ones for download.

1. This one just replaces the static numbers for the stock car with the ability to put in your own rear gears and tire size and see what happens to the rpm. Click here to download the first modified spreadsheet

2. The second one does away with the chart but lets you compare two different set ups side by side so you can compare a change in gears or tires size or both. Click here to download the second modified spreadsheet.

Don't know if any of this is useful, but I'll probably start a new thread and put it up for anyone who wants it.