A decade of HP behind

[usamuscle892]

Well, we have this expressway here in Augusta, actually it's Augusta's Autobaughn (spell that right?) called Riverwatch Parkway. Has some great banks and not sharp turns so that means little, or no, breaking at high speeds. Well, I was at high speeds today. Had some buddies for me down town and I ended up behind like a 2001 Mustang Cobra Convertible that I decided to have a little fun with. We started off just flying up to 100 then when my limiter reached like 120 he FLEW past my a$$ like I was sitting still. Remember I have a 92' stock TBI so I was pretty much smoked to start with. Fun though.

[Trash man]

for whatever reason my TBI doesnt have a limitor, when i was on a closed road with 5 miles of str8away i was doing 145-150 no problem

[Steel2686]

Those Cobras are no joke. Even the convertibles are quick considering the extra weight they carry. Still, they don't look near as good as your car does.

[redws6]

for whatever reason my TBI doesnt have a limitor, when i was on a closed road with 5 miles of str8away i was doing 145-150 no problem

i think from 92 and up the used speed density instead of the mass airflow sensor...that really doesnt have anything to do with a limiter but i figured they might have changed the setup when they switched to speed density.

[Steel2686]

i think from 92 and up the used speed density instead of the mass airflow sensor...that really doesnt have anything to do with a limiter but i figured they might have changed the setup when they switched to speed density.

Good point. Could be a new set-up as my Friend's old '89 Iroc got up to 135 at our local track (Limerock).

[wolfdogs]

anything over 100mph in most states is straight to jail and impoundment of your car.........

take it to the track.............

[usamuscle892]

145-150!!! WHat! Actually, I don't know if I'd want to push my engine THAT hard, I know that I dont need too(illegally). That Cobra was BAD!!! You never really can tell with those things, Mustangs I mean....you always run across guys with the wheels, body panels, and spoilers but all they have is a weak standard V6. But this was no V6. This guy had probably done tuning past the factory specs to his Cobra. Do those things come supercharged or something cuz all thy have in them is a little 4.6 EFI right, or is it a 5.0 or something? My guess is that is was a 01'. Thanks for saying that mine looks better, I agree. Our F-bodies have ALWAYS looked better than the Mustangs. Especially 3rd gen on up, F-bodies just kept getting better. The Mustang unfortunatley did the opposite it got uglier and cheaper. I'll admit the 05' and up have a good retro look but I know lots of owners and they say they regret the buy because they are built so CHEAP! Really, GM has always topped Ford on quality. But depite the fact that the Cobra was less attractive than mine and cheaper, the car smoked my a$$ and that means I need to start turning wrenches especially since its getting warm. I love working on the car when its warm, I just cant get into anything when its cold and wet outside.

[usamuscle892]

Ok, I got some info on them. The picture I'm gonna attach is EXACTLY what the car looked like except he had some black bullet mags on his. So basically I was right when I posted earlier, they do have a that tiny 4.6 in them. They aren't supercharged, it's just a naturally asperated 320HP!!! So I managed to keep up with a 2001 SVT Mustang Cobra with a 320hp small-block, I think thats pretty damn good for a 92 stock TBI305. And I looked better doing it!!!

[Steel2686]

The '02 and up Cobras were supercharged. They were rated at 390 HP with the blower, but I tend to believe those numbers are suspect. I test drove one in '04. What turned me off the most was the quality of the interior (or lack thereof). It just didn't feel like 390 hp. Not even close. To be honest, my car feels more powerful, even if it isn't.

[Jay 02 TA ws6]

The '02 and up Cobras were supercharged. They were rated at 390 HP with the blower, but I tend to believe those numbers are suspect. I test drove one in '04. What turned me off the most was the quality of the interior (or lack thereof). It just didn't feel like 390 hp. Not even close. To be honest, my car feels more powerful, even if it isn't.

'03+

I agree with your sentiments... it doesn't feel nearly as fast as it is. The biggest reason for it is the shape of the torque curve. The LS1 torque curve continues to build up to its peak around 4500... so you feel like you're accelerating harder all the way up to that point. The Cobra, on the other hand, peaks somewhere around 2000 and ever so slowly falls off from there... so as soon as you reach that point, the car isn't accelerating as quickly as it was earlier in the gear. With each upshift, the fastest the car will gain speed is right after you shift, and will drop off from there. It's still a relatively flat curve, but this is why it doesn't feel as fast. It pushes you in your seat really early on, and then lets up. Where as the f-body will continue to push you into your seat harder and harder, until you're past about 4500.

Most dyno tests showed the 390 number to be a gross underestimate. 425 is a little more like it. (360-370 rwhp on many stock dynos)

[Jay 02 TA ws6]

Ok, I got some info on them. The picture I'm gonna attach is EXACTLY what the car looked like except he had some black bullet mags on his. So basically I was right when I posted earlier, they do have a that tiny 4.6 in them. They aren't supercharged, it's just a naturally asperated 320HP!!! So I managed to keep up with a 2001 SVT Mustang Cobra with a 320hp small-block, I think thats pretty damn good for a 92 stock TBI305. And I looked better doing it!!!

The 4.6L is FAR from tiny. It's a huge motor by physical size.

That car is probably a high-to-mid 13 second car (if driven competently)... I can't see you keeping up with him with a stock car.

[Jay 02 TA ws6]

But depite the fact that the Cobra was less attractive than mine and cheaper, the car smoked my a$$ and that means I need to start turning wrenches especially since its getting warm. I love working on the car when its warm, I just cant get into anything when its cold and wet outside.

Wait... so did you keep up? Or did he smoke you?

This outcome seems much more like what should happen in the race if the Mustang is driven well. He wouldn't really need to be modded or tuned at all to do it, either.

[Steel2686]

'03+

I agree with your sentiments... it doesn't feel nearly as fast as it is. The biggest reason for it is the shape of the torque curve. The LS1 torque curve continues to build up to its peak around 4500... so you feel like you're accelerating harder all the way up to that point. The Cobra, on the other hand, peaks somewhere around 2000 and ever so slowly falls off from there... so as soon as you reach that point, the car isn't accelerating as quickly as it was earlier in the gear. With each upshift, the fastest the car will gain speed is right after you shift, and will drop off from there. It's still a relatively flat curve, but this is why it doesn't feel as fast. It pushes you in your seat really early on, and then lets up. Where as the f-body will continue to push you into your seat harder and harder, until you're past about 4500.

Most dyno tests showed the 390 number to be a gross underestimate. 425 is a little more like it. (360-370 rwhp on many stock dynos)

My bad. You're correct. It was the 2003 and 2004 Cobras that came blown.

Those dyno test numbers are interesting. I guess it's completely possible to be an underestimation. As I said, it just didn't feel all that fast. Your explanation as to why is spot-on. I never felt "wowed" while driving it. Again, it was only a test drive, but I put it through it's paces as far as acceleration was concerned. The gearbox felt extremely clunky also. Not sure if it's an issue with the clutch or the actual tranny, but I left the dealership unimpressed.

Needless to say, I was happy I bought an F-body over the drab and boring Mustang.

[Jay 02 TA ws6]

My bad. You're correct. It was the 2003 and 2004 Cobras that came blown.

Those dyno test numbers are interesting. I guess it's completely possible to be an underestimation. As I said, it just didn't feel all that fast. Your explanation as to why is spot-on. I never felt "wowed" while driving it. Again, it was only a test drive, but I put it through it's paces as far as acceleration was concerned. The gearbox felt extremely clunky also. Not sure if it's an issue with the clutch or the actual tranny, but I left the dealership unimpressed.

Needless to say, I was happy I bought an F-body over the drab and boring Mustang.

I also found its handling to be quite poor. The iron block made the car extremely nose-heavy and it would push badly in the turns. It was smoother than the f-body through corneres over rough surfaces (thanks to the IRS), but on smooth corners, my WS6 seemed to grip and turn-in much more aggressively. It's also about 300 lbs heavier than an LS1 f-body.

I walked away from my test drive with the same conclusions - happy I owned a WS6 and not a Mustang.

The shifter position in the Mustang is absolutely embarassing. It's terrible.

[Steel2686]

I also found its handling to be quite poor. The iron block made the car extremely nose-heavy and it would push badly in the turns. It was smoother than the f-body through corneres over rough surfaces (thanks to the IRS), but on smooth corners, my WS6 seemed to grip and turn-in much more aggressively. It's also about 300 lbs heavier than an LS1 f-body.

I walked away from my test drive with the same conclusions - happy I owned a WS6 and not a Mustang.

The shifter position in the Mustang is absolutely embarassing. It's terrible.

Glad to see someone took it hard through corners on the test drive. Where I took my test drive, there weren't any good curves. I always wondered how it felt handling-wise. It definitely felt nose heavy. I did one hard stop with the salesman's permission. I was staring at pavement. It just dipped immediately.

Agree 100% on the shifter location. I couldn't see being comfortable in traffic with that. On the comfort note, I also found the seats to be unsupportive, like they wouldn't hold you through hard cornering. Did you find that to be the case?