Why are the Cobra Mustangs so heavy?

[billg]

Can anyone explain to me why Ford insists on making the Cobra Mustang so heavy? 3,660 pounds is ridiculous for a sports/sporty car. Think what the performance would be if they got the weight down just to equal a Z-06 Corvette (around 3,120 pounds). It would be a half-second quicker in the quarter, would handle much better, and would get better gas mileage while cruising.

The same goes for the Lightning. The thing is a pig.

Bill

 

[FoMoCoDave]

Cast iron block, supercharger system, IRS are some of the things that make 03 heavy.

 

[TrueBlue'01GT]

If that engine was aluminum it would save a lot. They said they could not get that power output with the aluminum block cause it would blow but I call B.S. They are just cutting corners to save money.

Pig or no pig you still can't get a 400HP (390 underrated) car for under $40k.

 

[Cobra03]

Because it is not a sports car. The Cobra is an $18,000 car (base price for a V6) with $15,000 worth of performance parts bolted on. A lightweight sports car chassis is very expensive to design and build. You cannot turn an economical four seater into a lightweight sports car, it has to be done from the gorund up. You cannot compare it to the Z06. The Z06 is designed and purpose built from the ground up to be lightweight. There is no $18,000 version of the Corvette. Why? Because the chassis alone probably costs nearly that. The Cobra will never compete in the weight category until is is seperated quite a bit further from the V6 Mustang.

 

[Cobra03]

Originally posted by Cobra03
Because it is not a sports car. The Cobra is an $18,000 car (base price for a V6) with $15,000 worth of performance parts bolted on. A lightweight sports car chassis is very expensive to design and build. You cannot turn an economical four seater into a lightweight sports car, it has to be done from the ground up. You cannot compare it to the Z06. The Z06 is designed and purpose built from the ground up to be lightweight. There is no $18,000 version of the Corvette. Why? Because the chassis alone probably costs nearly that. The Cobra will never compete in the weight category until is is seperated quite a bit further from the V6 Mustang. You can have two of the following three: fast, light or cheap, but not all three. A Miata is light and cheap, but not fast. The Cobra is fast and cheap, but not light. A Corvette is fast and light, but not cheap.

 

[SVT4ME]

Still a quick car with a little trunk

 

[New22003]

Its not extremely heavy.

Number 1 the Vette and Viper have composite body panels and are 2 seaters. The cobra is a 4 seater with steel body panels.

The cobra weighs much less than say a 3000 gt mitsubishi, about the same as a Camaro/Firebird, and only a few pounds more than a supra.

The lightning is a TRUCK for god sakes!

Full frame, frame made to haul a 1/2 ton, big beefy suspension, beef beefy parts. The fact that something that big can kick just about any imports butt is pretty impressive.

 

[TorchRedCobra04]

okay...wth...
the cobra is heavy yes, but like they said previously...ITS FRIGIN MOST BANG FOR THE BUCK!...
and sides that, the cast-iron block issue...it was not a cheap way to get around building/forging costs...
i know people (and also have a video of) who put the same exact eaton supercharger on a stock GT...without the cast-iron block, they blew a hole right through it...cast-iron did not come into play out of nowhere...and in the long run it is more expensive considering hauling charges, and shit like that

and the cobra...vs...Z06...
the cobra has more RAW power on the dyno then the z06...there is an article out there prooving this with dyno results...
the quarter mile with a stock z and snake, thats another story...snake would loose :/
but anyway, the snake gives lil z good run for its money considering its almost 700 pounds heavier then the cobra!

 

[TorchRedCobra04]

okay...wth...
the cobra is heavy yes, but like they said previously...ITS FRIGIN MOST BANG FOR THE BUCK!...
and sides that, the cast-iron block issue...it was not a cheap way to get around building/forging costs...
i know people (and also have a video of) who put the same exact eaton supercharger on a stock GT...without the cast-iron block, they blew a hole right through it...cast-iron did not come into play out of nowhere...and in the long run it is more expensive considering hauling charges, and shit like that

and the cobra...vs...Z06...
the cobra has more RAW power on the dyno then the z06...there is an article out there prooving this with dyno results...
the quarter mile with a stock z and snake, thats another story...snake would loose :/
but anyway, the snake gives lil z good run for its money considering its almost 700 pounds heavier then the cobra!

 

[TrueBlue'01GT]

Originally posted by TorchRedCobra04
and sides that, the cast-iron block issue...it was not a cheap way to get around building/forging costs...
i know people (and also have a video of) who put the same exact eaton supercharger on a stock GT...without the cast-iron block, they blew a hole right through it...cast-iron did not come into play out of nowhere...and in the long run it is more expensive considering hauling charges, and shit like that

Probably blew a hole in it after the internals went to shit and they had nowhere else to go but through the block. Sure the cast block might of contained the parts but the damage was already done.

That said, you still can't get a better bang for the buck than the '03 Cobra.

 

[numbaonestunna]

Originally posted by billg
Can anyone explain to me why Ford insists on making the Cobra Mustang so heavy? 3,660 pounds is ridiculous for a sports/sporty car. Think what the performance would be if they got the weight down just to equal a Z-06 Corvette (around 3,120 pounds). It would be a half-second quicker in the quarter, would handle much better, and would get better gas mileage while cruising.

The same goes for the Lightning. The thing is a pig.

Bill

The lightning is a truck. How much did you think it would weigh? It has body on frame, and it's based off of the F-150. If it were a ranger, I could see it being a lot lighter, but not as an F-150. 'Nuf said. The cobra is a fatty... it's true, but again, it's based off of the base GT. Even the GT weighs in at around 3400 pounds, and the Cobra has all that extra stuff. A lot of it is for crash and safety, actually.