is it worth upgrading to a 96-98 cobra ?

[e85svt]

is it worth going from a 97 mustang gt with intake, exhaust, and pi heads to a 4v cobra or would it be a waste ? in terms of power i already know that the 4 valves respond to bolt ons better but just wondering if it was worth the upgrade. I plan on buying one soon and I need to know if it will be that much faster than what I have. ive heard mixed reviews and i wonder to myself if i should just wait and get a terminator or what.

 

[nomoretickets]

I have a hard time thinking a better value car out there than an sn95 Cobra. However, if you are planning on a Termi, then just hold out and keep saving. The sn95 will be quicker than your GT, both out of the box and with mods, but the real fun comes from mid to long term build and modification. The TEKSID block can be built to handle just about anything, and centri kits can put down great power for not alot of money if you wanna keep your stock shortblock. However, if you know you are going to do a Termi no matter what, just stick with your GT until you can step up. Otherwise you are going to be waiting for the dream car that much longer. Just my $0.02 having owned a PI Cam/Intake 98, and now two SN95 Cobras.

 

[ImThatGuy]

Its hard to beat a well built 96-98 cobra with a JT trim or YSI Vortech Centri blower, not to mention a great sleeper. I would buy a 96-98 Cobra and allocate the rest of the funds for a blower and other goodies.

 

[e85svt]

so how much power do you think the sn95 cobras will get with just a few bolt ons ? like intake, longtubes, and a off road mid pipe. also do you think I can build my 2v to and get at least 270 whp or so with some more modifications with out going with forged internals, just in case I do decide to hold out for a termi. my gt well..... well its bloody quick and I mean pretty fast for something with just an intake, flowmaster cat back and pi heads. im just worried that id be wasting my money.

 

[e85svt]

Its hard to beat a well built 96-98 cobra with a JT trim or YSI Vortech Centri blower, not to mention a great sleeper. I would buy a 96-98 Cobra and allocate the rest of the funds for a blower and other goodies.

so how much power could i be expecting from a cobra with intake, longtubes and an off road mid pipe ?

 

[Martin6107]

Why not convert your GT to 4V or build a 4V from scratch for boost?

 

[nomoretickets]

so how much power do you think the sn95 cobras will get with just a few bolt ons ? like intake, longtubes, and a off road mid pipe. also do you think I can build my 2v to and get at least 270 whp or so with some more modifications with out going with forged internals, just in case I do decide to hold out for a termi. my gt well..... well its bloody quick and I mean pretty fast for something with just an intake, flowmaster cat back and pi heads. im just worried that id be wasting my money.

With your PI heads, you are pretty much limited to going to nos for more power. Bolt ons can help a bit, and gears and good tires can help you get it to the ground, but the heads bump your compression, so boost isnt really an option. Thats the main way 2Vs make power, and even then you are limited by the bottom end.

With a Cobra you come right out the box around your target rwhp goal. with bolt ons and exhaust you can get around 280-300 rwhp from what most people have going. With good tires and gears, you will be running the doors off a similarly built 2V.

Not to mention the most important factor in that Cobras equal about +100 cool points in pointless internet arguments.

 

[Prototype007]

Don't forget the Cobra brakes are light years better than the 96-98 GT brakes.

So that's another bonus of buying a real Cobra.

 

[quarkdude]

is it worth going from a 97 mustang gt with intake, exhaust, and pi heads to a 4v cobra or would it be a waste ? in terms of power i already know that the 4 valves respond to bolt ons better but just wondering if it was worth the upgrade. I plan on buying one soon and I need to know if it will be that much faster than what I have. ive heard mixed reviews and i wonder to myself if i should just wait and get a terminator or what.

Hello e85svt,
I have a 1998 SVT Cobra, SN95 with a 2.1 kenne bell supercharger, forged rotating assy TEKSID 4v motor. With the addition of water/methanol injection and a 175 shot of NOS. This thing is a lot to hang on to. It's putting 510hp to the rear wheels. There are a lot of other driveline mods to hold the power. It is pretty much the fastest car I have ever owned, plus I like the SN95 body style over the new edge. You could say its a SN95 Terminator. You can't go wrong with a Cobra for sure. Light car with P O W E R. You would not be disappointed with a Cobra Purchase.

 

[mysteed]

so how much power do you think the sn95 cobras will get with just a few bolt ons ? like intake, longtubes, and a off road mid pipe. also do you think I can build my 2v to and get at least 270 whp or so with some more modifications with out going with forged internals, just in case I do decide to hold out for a termi. my gt well..... well its bloody quick and I mean pretty fast for something with just an intake, flowmaster cat back and pi heads. im just worried that id be wasting my money.

I previously had a 97 GT with a PI H/C/I swap, 70mm TB, BBK plenum, o/r x-pipe, and a magnaflow catback and I made 280rwhp on the rollers with a tune.

Why not convert your GT to 4V or build a 4V from scratch for boost?

Having done both I can say that buying a Cobra with a 4v is easier than building one simply from the fact that trying to find all the small bits for a 4v is getting harder and harder.

 

[e85svt]

Why not convert your GT to 4V or build a 4V from scratch for boost?

I was thinking the same thing, doing an engine swap and build it up from there seems like a handful though.

 

[e85svt]

I have a hard time thinking a better value car out there than an sn95 Cobra. However, if you are planning on a Termi, then just hold out and keep saving. The sn95 will be quicker than your GT, both out of the box and with mods, but the real fun comes from mid to long term build and modification. The TEKSID block can be built to handle just about anything, and centri kits can put down great power for not alot of money if you wanna keep your stock shortblock. However, if you know you are going to do a Termi no matter what, just stick with your GT until you can step up. Otherwise you are going to be waiting for the dream car that much longer. Just my $0.02 having owned a PI Cam/Intake 98, and now two SN95 Cobras.

well i was asking because i was getting used to the power in mine, so i started to consider an upgrade to either a new edge, sn95 cobra, or terminator. so i went out and test drove a 96 cobra convertible. the engine was bone stock with a catback and that was it, and honestly it felt slow and i mean slower than my gt. i don't know if it was the car or what.

 

[nomoretickets]

well i was asking because i was getting used to the power in mine, so i started to consider an upgrade to either a new edge, sn95 cobra, or terminator. so i went out and test drove a 96 cobra convertible. the engine was bone stock with a catback and that was it, and honestly it felt slow and i mean slower than my gt. i don't know if it was the car or what.

The 4Vs have totally different power delivery than 2V motors. The motors make the bulk of their power and torque high in the rev range, SN95 cobras in particular. In contrast, a 2V is making a lot of torque down low, 2-3.5k rpms. At those revs, the SN95 hasnt even opened up the secondary intake ports yet.

 

[2 cam sam]

You need to rev it. Even taking mine to the dyno, they hesitate to rev it to 7100 rpm when my shift light comes on.

 

[e85svt]

The 4Vs have totally different power delivery than 2V motors. The motors make the bulk of their power and torque high in the rev range, SN95 cobras in particular. In contrast, a 2V is making a lot of torque down low, 2-3.5k rpms. At those revs, the SN95 hasnt even opened up the secondary intake ports yet.

my gt is pretty fast though I mean first and second gear is insane, I cant get it to hook and im running fat tires in the rear. if i come of the clutch and let It go up to about 2500-3500 rpms and I step on it it just goes all over the place and it screams. I end up having to shift into second gear and I spin like crazy. I don't even have to step on it all the way and it still spins.

 

[GRUSE]

well i was asking because i was getting used to the power in mine, so i started to consider an upgrade to either a new edge, sn95 cobra, or terminator. so i went out and test drove a 96 cobra convertible. the engine was bone stock with a catback and that was it, and honestly it felt slow and i mean slower than my gt. i don't know if it was the car or what.

If you want a car that will make you forget the GT immediately,keep saving for the Terminator.I love my Cobra it was a great value buy.SN95's look better than new edge IMO.
Making a 500+hp SN95 cobra can get expensive also factor the time it will take,whereas the 03-04's already have the forged internals,blower,T56 and IRS if your into road course racing.
There are some good deals to be found in the market section for both Sn95's and Termi's,figure a an SN Cobra can cost as low as $3500.Terminators start at $15000.

 

[e85svt]

If you want a car that will make you forget the GT immediately,keep saving for the Terminator.I love my Cobra it was a great value buy.SN95's look better than new edge IMO.
Making a 500+hp SN95 cobra can get expensive also factor the time it will take,whereas the 03-04's already have the forged internals,blower,T56 and IRS if your into road course racing.
There are some good deals to be found in the market section for both Sn95's and Termi's,figure a an SN Cobra can cost as low as $3500.Terminators start at $15000.

ok thanks, based on what everyone has told me about the 96 and newer cobra I think im convinced to buy one now.

 

[nomoretickets]

my gt is pretty fast though I mean first and second gear is insane, I cant get it to hook and im running fat tires in the rear. if i come of the clutch and let It go up to about 2500-3500 rpms and I step on it it just goes all over the place and it screams. I end up having to shift into second gear and I spin like crazy. I don't even have to step on it all the way and it still spins.

I know it might FEEL fast, but thats just because it makes torque down low in the RPM range. Heading to the track an running some times should put things in perspective. Its impossible to gauge times by the seat of your pants. Whatever you decide to do, just remember you are the one putting up the $$$ and keeping the title. Ive pulled the trigger on SN95 Cobras twice now and I am not crying

 

[e85svt]

I know it might FEEL fast, but thats just because it makes torque down low in the RPM range. Heading to the track an running some times should put things in perspective. Its impossible to gauge times by the seat of your pants. Whatever you decide to do, just remember you are the one putting up the $$$ and keeping the title. Ive pulled the trigger on SN95 Cobras twice now and I am not crying

yeah I know that, like I said I didn't want to pull out a couple extra cents on something that's slightly quicker, however based on the replies ive gotten I think im going to buy a cobra now.