My car is back at the dealer for the issues below, Anyone else observing the same?
It has been down on power since I got it 10 days ago. 500 miles have not helped, it is still a 300 hp car by the SOP and comparing to a 99 Cobra. I did notice it did pull noticeably better on a cool day, maybe 325 HP?
I have not heard from the dealer all day, a good sign I hope, as no news is good news and maybe they have found a problem that when fixed will bring back 50 or so RWHP and I can finally get going on my mods to catch up with you guys making 400 rwwhp!
Good luck and pray the Gods of horsepower look favorably on my runt of the Cobra litter.
My letter to dealer follows:
Subject: Lack of general power output of SVT 2003 Mustang Cobra VIN # 1FAFP48Y73F3011xx
Issues.
Car Lacks power.
I am very convinced that the Mustang Cobra I purchased is not producing the design specification power that is advertised by Ford. The car’s performance is not representative of the performance reported by Ford and other independent sources. To confirm this again on July 16.2002 I performed a back to back drive of a 99 Mustang Cobra vs. the 2003 cobra I purchased (VIN # is 1FAFP48Y73F3011xx.
This 1999Cobra had the Chip reburned by Ford under warrantee to correct it’s performance deficiencies also was equipped with a quiet cat-back aftermarket exhaust system and aftermarket air filter. It was not a highly modified car by any means. Compared to the 03 Cobra, the car was more responsive and perkier with crisper throttle response and smoother at speed than 03, especially noticeable in 1st and 2’nd gear.
The owner of the 99 Cobra also drove my car and called it "gushy". I agree.
My 03 just feels sluggish, like it has some muscle but is dragging. It does not rev snappy.
Only one time when, I stepped into the car at least 1/2 way at a stoplight, the motor newer went into any boost. No TC kick in, just very flat through rev range. Then after shifting to second gear, it suddenly went into boost??
Most of the time boost only makes it to 2/3 across gage. Boost tends to drop off a bit at high RPM.
As advertised in Ford’s 03 Cobra brochure, the Cobra should leave 2 black stripes of rubber as the tires spun through first gear on it's way to a sub 5 second 0-60 run.
No such thing with my car as the tires did not break loose at all. Traction control is not necessary. If this was a Mustang GT (General Transportation) I would think it was a quick enough GT, however for a Cobra, it felt much weaker than I would expect. Acceleration is ok, but not explosively fearsome as is found on a car by SVT Ford's own reports capable in excess of 110 mph quarter miles trap speeds. I know how a real fast car performs; having many performance vehicles over 30 years, and this car is not doing as it should. It is a high 13 or low 14 second car, not a mid to high 12 second rocket as touted by both the car magazines and the SVT people. There is something or a combination of items not right.
The car just feels sluggish, like it has a lot of muscle potential, but is dragging. It does not rev snappy or perky like it has an overly fuel rich fuel calibration or exhaust plugged? About 500 break in mikes have not changed this. Fuel mileage is only about 14 MPG under moderate driving. I am not generally a “Lead Foot”
The fuel cutting out at 6300-6350 does not help, SVT owners manual says 7000 rpm is cut-off point.
I have been told that occasional gray smoke is omitted from the car, mostly at initial start-up and drive away. This is unfortunately not tire smoke!
Car has high speed roughness.
Another thing I noticed was a noticeable growl and vibration starting to be first noticeable at 85 mph. It gets more or less linearly worse as you go faster. I did not want to exceed 115, where it was really noticeable. It seems too a high frequency to be a tire. It is a moderate vibration/noise like a back massager on the low setting, kind of a drone. Vibration does not change with power, coasting or in neutral or engaged in a gear. There appears to be a gear shifter rattle when lugging the engine down a low rpm at light throttle just before the up-shift indicator will light and a bit of clunkiness in the drivetrain, which may be related to the above roughness.
The shifter is no fun, It is real notchy and misses gears. Is clutch properly set?
Car has “Orange peel” in paint, particularly in the lower body panels.
When in the lift inspecting the car prior to pick-up, I noticed how much orange peel was in the paint on the sides of the car. In fact the entire car is not glass smooth and needs to be carefully rubbed out. The smoothness of the paint does not compare to my 1998 F-150, never mind Honda or Toyota quality.
Wheel lock missing from Car, other wheel locks were loose.
A wheel lug lock fell off or was never installed on the car? Lock number 81286 (487921) The 4 standard lugs per wheel were tight. The 3 remaining wheel locks were found loose and I retightened.
.
It has been down on power since I got it 10 days ago. 500 miles have not helped, it is still a 300 hp car by the SOP and comparing to a 99 Cobra. I did notice it did pull noticeably better on a cool day, maybe 325 HP?
I have not heard from the dealer all day, a good sign I hope, as no news is good news and maybe they have found a problem that when fixed will bring back 50 or so RWHP and I can finally get going on my mods to catch up with you guys making 400 rwwhp!
Good luck and pray the Gods of horsepower look favorably on my runt of the Cobra litter.
My letter to dealer follows:
Subject: Lack of general power output of SVT 2003 Mustang Cobra VIN # 1FAFP48Y73F3011xx
Issues.
Car Lacks power.
I am very convinced that the Mustang Cobra I purchased is not producing the design specification power that is advertised by Ford. The car’s performance is not representative of the performance reported by Ford and other independent sources. To confirm this again on July 16.2002 I performed a back to back drive of a 99 Mustang Cobra vs. the 2003 cobra I purchased (VIN # is 1FAFP48Y73F3011xx.
This 1999Cobra had the Chip reburned by Ford under warrantee to correct it’s performance deficiencies also was equipped with a quiet cat-back aftermarket exhaust system and aftermarket air filter. It was not a highly modified car by any means. Compared to the 03 Cobra, the car was more responsive and perkier with crisper throttle response and smoother at speed than 03, especially noticeable in 1st and 2’nd gear.
The owner of the 99 Cobra also drove my car and called it "gushy". I agree.
My 03 just feels sluggish, like it has some muscle but is dragging. It does not rev snappy.
Only one time when, I stepped into the car at least 1/2 way at a stoplight, the motor newer went into any boost. No TC kick in, just very flat through rev range. Then after shifting to second gear, it suddenly went into boost??
Most of the time boost only makes it to 2/3 across gage. Boost tends to drop off a bit at high RPM.
As advertised in Ford’s 03 Cobra brochure, the Cobra should leave 2 black stripes of rubber as the tires spun through first gear on it's way to a sub 5 second 0-60 run.
No such thing with my car as the tires did not break loose at all. Traction control is not necessary. If this was a Mustang GT (General Transportation) I would think it was a quick enough GT, however for a Cobra, it felt much weaker than I would expect. Acceleration is ok, but not explosively fearsome as is found on a car by SVT Ford's own reports capable in excess of 110 mph quarter miles trap speeds. I know how a real fast car performs; having many performance vehicles over 30 years, and this car is not doing as it should. It is a high 13 or low 14 second car, not a mid to high 12 second rocket as touted by both the car magazines and the SVT people. There is something or a combination of items not right.
The car just feels sluggish, like it has a lot of muscle potential, but is dragging. It does not rev snappy or perky like it has an overly fuel rich fuel calibration or exhaust plugged? About 500 break in mikes have not changed this. Fuel mileage is only about 14 MPG under moderate driving. I am not generally a “Lead Foot”
The fuel cutting out at 6300-6350 does not help, SVT owners manual says 7000 rpm is cut-off point.
I have been told that occasional gray smoke is omitted from the car, mostly at initial start-up and drive away. This is unfortunately not tire smoke!
Car has high speed roughness.
Another thing I noticed was a noticeable growl and vibration starting to be first noticeable at 85 mph. It gets more or less linearly worse as you go faster. I did not want to exceed 115, where it was really noticeable. It seems too a high frequency to be a tire. It is a moderate vibration/noise like a back massager on the low setting, kind of a drone. Vibration does not change with power, coasting or in neutral or engaged in a gear. There appears to be a gear shifter rattle when lugging the engine down a low rpm at light throttle just before the up-shift indicator will light and a bit of clunkiness in the drivetrain, which may be related to the above roughness.
The shifter is no fun, It is real notchy and misses gears. Is clutch properly set?
Car has “Orange peel” in paint, particularly in the lower body panels.
When in the lift inspecting the car prior to pick-up, I noticed how much orange peel was in the paint on the sides of the car. In fact the entire car is not glass smooth and needs to be carefully rubbed out. The smoothness of the paint does not compare to my 1998 F-150, never mind Honda or Toyota quality.
Wheel lock missing from Car, other wheel locks were loose.
A wheel lug lock fell off or was never installed on the car? Lock number 81286 (487921) The 4 standard lugs per wheel were tight. The 3 remaining wheel locks were found loose and I retightened.
.
