sn95 cobra road race build

[jcveron]

hey guys ive been thinking of a 94-98 cobra to build for open track racing. i would like it to be like John Griggs' red vert cobra. it has 660 rwhp but i cant find any specs on the engine. that thing sounds insane. does anyone have any suggestions on which way i should build the engine? supercharger, twin screw, centri, turbo, N/A? i am looking probably in the 600 to 700 hp range but then again i dont know what power range would be best for a build like this. any suggestions on which motor to use? i will be using the griggs suspension. probably the 13000 dollar kit. thanks guys! :beer:

 

[98 Saleen Cobra]

His motor is this.. a teksid block with higher compression, fully ported C-heads and custom cams iirc. He has a vortech S-trim at 12psi and it spins around 8k iirc. on it's street tune they tone it down to 7k and it's at like 9psi I think. I would highly recommend if you have never open tracked before doing it stock.. Give them a call. BTW I built my car very very similar to his minus the higher compression.

 

[jtkz13]

Typically N/A is better suited for road race duty due to heat soak and engine temps associated with FI.

If you do go FI I would suggest an intercooled centrifugal setup as you spend most of the time in the upper rpms.

 

[jcveron]

98 Saleen Cobra...i can always count on you to reply to my posts and to that i say thank you :beer: i have open tracked before this would not be my first time. i am very familiar with high horsepower vehicles. do you think forced induction would be the way to go? i see the post above me said that n/a might be a better option. ive never been in a centri car are they slow on the bottom end until they reach boost kinda like turbo lag?

 

[98 Saleen Cobra]

98 Saleen Cobra...i can always count on you to reply to my posts and to that i say thank you :beer: i have open tracked before this would not be my first time. i am very familiar with high horsepower vehicles. do you think forced induction would be the way to go? i see the post above me said that n/a might be a better option. ive never been in a centri car are they slow on the bottom end until they reach boost kinda like turbo lag?

No problem buddy. If you have a lot of expierence on the track then I would say go ahead with this build.. as for HP you will hear a lot of different opinions. Personally if you are looking for a very reliable car with a lot of hp and tq the best bet would be to go pushrod. I would build a 408W stroker or a 427W stroker with big heads, cam, and either fuel injection or a carb. It's simple, it's proven, and it makes great hp and tq. But if you are looking to keep the DOHC motor I would probably have to recommend a centri. I would do a big crank pulley with a big blower pulley and pulley it for no more than 15psi. I would also go Air to air vs air to water. On the track it's optimum. I wish I would have gone that route, but I already had a A/W setup. Built the crap out of the motor though, and get a nice big radiator. I don't think you need the full World Challenge setup from them. That is just overkill. Unless money isn't an option then go that route, but you are looking at 15k for the suspension then another 3-5k for install. Don't forget about brakes, safey (roll bar), fuel system, etc. All in all man you are looking at close to 50k to build a car that you are talking about. well maybe not that much if you do the work yourself, but ask me how I know on how much it costs man lol. It's expensive as hell. :beer:

 

[jcveron]

money is not really an option but i do not want to spend where i dont need to ya know? i really like the DOHC motors (hence the 03/04 i have) i am not sure what you mean as far as the centri. i know that they are either air to air or air to water intercooled but as far as the crank and blower pulley i am not very familiar with. what kit would you go with if you say that that one is overkill? any suggestions on the best rollbar and best brake kit?

 

[98 Saleen Cobra]

money is not really an option but i do not want to spend where i dont need to ya know? i really like the DOHC motors (hence the 03/04 i have) i am not sure what you mean as far as the centri. i know that they are either air to air or air to water intercooled but as far as the crank and blower pulley i am not very familiar with. what kit would you go with if you say that that one is overkill? any suggestions on the best rollbar and best brake kit?

Oh well since money isn't an option let me just spend it for you . lol. Alright what I meant my crank pulley is get a 15% O/D crank pulley which is bigger and allows more surface area for the belt so it won't slip and you won't be shredding belts. The Centrifugal blowers run off of RPM that is why I say get one, since you will be in the upper RPM range more often then not. I would get a Vortech T-trim with a Custom A/A setup for the intercooler. Roll bar I would go with a Maximum motorsports 4 point with the cross brace. Brakes you can't go wrong with Baer, I would get the 6R caliper with a 14'' two piece rotor, and a good size rotor for the rear also 2 piece. slotted or blank rotors will be just fine. Get a brake cooling kit as well. I would also invest in some good seats as well. Sparco, Cobra, Corbearu, etc. You will need to build the rear end. 3.73's will be perfect with a Torsen T2R differential, 31 spline axels as well. Unless you go with Griggs Hybrid camber'd rear end then go with what he recommends. Fuel sytem I would go with a sumped tank with a good external pump. External pumps are easier to change and can be done at the track if need be. For a transmission I would get a T56 Magnum like I have with a McLoad RXT clutch. All this with the Griggs supension will be killer. Don't forget a bullet proof shortblock though. :beer: Oh and for wheels you want light 18'' wheels. So pick a good company lol

 

[98 Saleen Cobra]

Or you can go with griggs 4 on 4 brake kit as well.

 

[jcveron]

And how much will all this cost me?

 

[98 Saleen Cobra]

lol it depends man. You doing the work yourself or no?? Just parts I'll break it down
Fully Built motor- 8k
GR40 Suspension World Challenge - 13k like you said
rear end build- 1300 with labor
transmission- 3500
fuel system- 2000
Baer brakes- 3-4k
Vortech SC with A/A- roughly 5k for all brand new stuff this includes bypass valve and MAF
Clutch- 800
Roll bar- 400 i think
Seats- 800 or so
Wheels- 2-3k or so
Cooling system- 600 or so
Misc- add another 1k or so this would be for gauges, harnesses, and stuff I'm missing

On the highside of adding everything up 43k lol.. Just saying. You gotta pay to play man.. If you want the best this is it.

 

[jcveron]

You sAid the 13k kit was overkill right ? Which kit do you think is needed? I won't be professionally racing ya know. Also 6 speed or 5 speed?

 

[98 Saleen Cobra]

You sAid the 13k kit was overkill right ? Which kit do you think is needed? I won't be professionally racing ya know. Also 6 speed or 5 speed?

I would just get this kit but with a Watts-link
Griggs Racing Products

You will hear mixed stuff with the 5-6 speeds. Now I've driven T5's, T45's, T56's, T3650's etc.. By far the best shifting transmission hands down is the Magnum.. Right above it is a full blown Jerico lol. Sooo yea. That's my tid bit. If you aren't professionally racing either you don't need the racing brakes and stuff. the Griggs 4 on 4 will be just fine. Also you might not even need an SLA, you can always upgrade it later on down the road. You also don't need the high end light as wheels. This is just if you were to do it all at once and wanted to have the best of everything lol. You kinda made it sound like that's what you wanted.. But the transmission, rear end, tranny, and motor, and supporting mods like fuel and stuff is all necessary. Unless you want to spend most of the time broken lol.

 

[Tabres]

Dollar for dollar you're much better off buying someone else's race car. There are plenty of well sorted cars for sale on the nasa and scca forums. Typically you'll never, ever be able to build one for what you'd pay for a car that someone is getting rid of.

 

[jcveron]

Ok you got to excuse me a bit. Not familiar with magnum and Jericho etc. Lol if you don't mind tone the build down a little bit to be a badass race car for open track but not a professional race car. Let me know what I should buy and kinda explain a bit on the names lol. Is the magnum a 6 speed?

 

[98 Saleen Cobra]

Ok you got to excuse me a bit. Not familiar with magnum and Jericho etc. Lol if you don't mind tone the build down a little bit to be a badass race car for open track but not a professional race car. Let me know what I should buy and kinda explain a bit on the names lol. Is the magnum a 6 speed?

lol ok. The T56 magnum is a 6spd that is based off of the GT500 TR6060 transmission. It's pretty much bullet proof. A Jericho is a fully race prepped transmission that NASCAR uses. Straight cut gears and whines like a SOB. Not a street transmission.

As for toneing it down, I would really call Griggs to talk with them on your plans for the car and they will set you up with a good package including brakes if you wanted them. Everything else I listed like a built motor, sc, cooling, seats, safety, fuel system is all stuff that you will need if you want 600-650hp. Those are all supporting modifications as most would call them. Now you can run a stock motor, N/A, scratch the built rear end and keep the stock tranny, etc if you want and just build the suspension first and keep it n/a.. all the other stuff is due to wanting 600-650hp.

 

[98 Saleen Cobra]

dollar for dollar you're much better off buying someone else's race car. There are plenty of well sorted cars for sale on the nasa and scca forums. Typically you'll never, ever be able to build one for what you'd pay for a car that someone is getting rid of.

this!

 

[jcveron]

Do you think 600-650 hp is enough/too much to outrun lambos ferraris porsches on the open track? U think that the n/a motor would be better?

 

[98 Saleen Cobra]

Do you think 600-650 hp is enough/too much to outrun lambos ferraris porsches on the open track? U think that the n/a motor would be better?

You don't need that much to outrun lambos and ferraris and porsche's. Btw where the heck are you open tracking at in Louisiana? I would like to know. All that you would need is a light car with about 500-550rwhp and experience and suspension and you'll be golden. Staying N/A is great for maintance and stuff. That's why I said building a pushrod motor would be awesome. If my new motor ever blows up that is the way that I'm going..

 

[jcveron]

Between new Orleans and baton rouge there is a dragstrip called no problem raceway. They also have a mile and a half road course that ferraris lambos etc come pro race at. I haven't heard of those forums that y'all speak of. I am in love with the sound and performance of Griggs' red vert cobra I'd love to build one to his specs that car is what brought all this about

 

[98 Saleen Cobra]

Oh I forgot exhaust. He has 1-7/8'' primary Kooks headers with o/r xpipe. I'll have to check out that race track it's not that far from me at all. Like 2 hours..