Just test drove an 03 Cobra

[Joe 1320]

Originally posted by Supernova
The F-body is not the be all end all car like it was 5 years ago.

Got news for you all...... it wasn't even that 5 years ago. Some people take so much pride in what they own that their egos get in the way of reality.

Reality is that ANY vehicle can be made fast. All you have to do is throw enough money and planning into the project. All too many times, the car ends up being fast and the less than mature owner's attitude becomes arrogant to the extent that they literally do believe that their ride is the best, the fastest, etc. Maybe I grew up in a different era, but I honestly could care less about what body style is being used, as long as the performance is top notch, all I ask is that I just don't want it to be ugly as sin. An example would be a 11 second AMC Pacer....... just ugly enough that I wouldn't care if it even ran a 10, It's not for me. Other than that, who really cares whether the f-body is faster than the mustang? It's a stupid arguement that started 40 years ago as a marketing tool to sell cars. It's time has long since passed but egos just won't let it die.

[Christopherrr]

Originally posted by Jay 02 TA ws6
Mine doesn't rattle. Seriously.

Crappy window motors? Check. Squeaky flip-up headlights? Check. Rattles? Absent... 2 and a half year, 35,000 miles... still young, but still solid.

window motors, still strong as the day I bought it...

headlights...gears are stripped, but I'ma take care of that...

sqeaks and rattles??? None...interior wise, I get hear sqeaks from my suspension and my bent axle shaft than I do interior wise.

115K baby!!!! It turn over today while I was stuck in GA400 TRAFFIC!!!! AUHHHHH!!!

I love my f-body...so what another car is faster...like joe said, there will always be someone faster...always. I just love f-bodies...just like a mustang owner would say the same thing about his stang...

differences, that's what makes the world go round...

[casey02ws6]

Ahhh the supercharged vs N/A arguement. I agree Jay completely tiresome. The Cobras are sweet and fast - they deserve respect. Just because Ford chose to supercharge while GM went with cubic inches doesn't make their motor any less worthy! I looked at the Cobra before I bought the WS6 - and I have to admit I am a diehard GM fan and almost bought it. I actually found the WS6 while I was "mulling over" the Cobra purchase.

Joe - good point - ANY vehicle can be made fast! How fast do you want to go. BUT - then you ask who cares whether the F-body is faster than the Mustang - I DO - it is fun. It is a rivalry. It just adds something to the experience!

All that being said, we have plenty to be proud of - whether it is an LT1 or LS1 - 85% of the cars on the road will see our taillights if we choose!

Can't we all just get along?

[Supernova]

Originally posted by LimTeng99TransAm
I love my f-body...so what another car is faster...like joe said, there will always be someone faster...always. I just love f-bodies...just like a mustang owner would say the same thing about his stang...

I'm a Mustang owner and I'd admit that any day of the week. I just get tired of hearing the blown vs N/A argument and stock/modified stuff... I think the VAST majority of Mustang owners would admit that. Same for F-body guys.

[Camaro4-2]

this thread has outlived its usefulness

[thomas]

Sorry guys, didnt mean to start that war( supercharged vs supercharged) Actually your right. Stock is stock no matter how you put it. The slobra is just faster wheather its supercharged or not it just took ford 10yrs to catch up. We could argue about that all day but it wouldnt solve anything. Gm did leave us with our @#$%@ in the hand but I will be an fbody lover till the end.

[markd79ta]

If memory serves, the f-body ended in 2002 and it was scheduled to end three years prior. The (supercharged) version of the Cobra started in 2003. You can't compare a car in production to one that is out of production with the "stock to stock" argument because the evolution of f-body performance ended in 2002 (more like '99 when GM put the f-body on the chopping block). Simply, GM didn't see the f-body as a priority...Ford continues to press on with the Mustang...unfortunately. Anyhow, who knows what motor the f-body would have had if production continued...the 400hp LS6...who knows. Well, we will never know. Dodge is coming out with some pretty wicked RWD muscle machines that are complete top to bottom cars light years ahead of the Mustang. I will be the first to admit that the blown DOHC 4.6 is an awesome motor, but everything else about that car is awful except the IRS; the GT is still a complete joke, and the Mach I has a good motor with a horrible suspension. ...if GM wants to tuck tail and run, there are some alternatives that are not that "edit edit edit" Mustang. I would go with the 350Z before that thing.

[Camaro4-2]

yea I could see the next generation having the LS2 motor....I want em back!

[Supernova]

If memory serves, the f-body ended in 2002 and it was scheduled to end three years prior. The (supercharged) version of the Cobra started in 2003. You can't compare a car in production to one that is out of production with the "stock to stock" argument because the evolution of f-body performance ended in 2002 (more like '99 when GM put the f-body on the chopping block).

True, but they were both available at the same time in 2002. The Cobra was a VERY early 2003 model (I got mine in July 2002). Probably why people compare the two since many people (like myself) had a choice between the F-bodies or the Cobra.

Dodge is coming out with some pretty wicked RWD muscle machines that are complete top to bottom cars light years ahead of the Mustang.

Such as what? The Magnum? That thing suffers from the same problem as the new GTO--it's looks. No matter what Dodge wants to call it, it's a station wagon. Haven't seen enough on the new Charger to really say. Either way, the 05 Mustang will be out around the time it would come out anyway, so it's pointless to compare 2 cars you can't even drive yet.

[markd79ta]

Originally posted by Supernova
True, but they were both available at the same time in 2002. The Cobra was a VERY early 2003 model (I got mine in July 2002). Probably why people compare the two since many people (like myself) had a choice between the F-bodies or the Cobra.

Such as what? The Magnum? That thing suffers from the same problem as the new GTO--it's looks. No matter what Dodge wants to call it, it's a station wagon. Haven't seen enough on the new Charger to really say. Either way, the 05 Mustang will be out around the time it would come out anyway, so it's pointless to compare 2 cars you can't even drive yet.

Looks are in the eye of the beholder. I won't even start on the looks of the Mustang especially the 90s version. ... besides I am more interested in what the car does and how it is built then looking good. Most production years come out in the late summer early fall...just because '03 Cobras were coming off the assembly line as the '02 f-bodies were closing shop doesn't mean they are the same production year...they are not. The '02 f-bodies started rolling off the assembly line in the late summer/fall of '01. Maybe if F.O.R.D released the SC Cobra in 2002 or even '98 when the LS1 f-bodies came out... Even production year comparisons are the '94-'02 GT - Z28/Formula/Trans Am and the post mid-90s Cobra - WS-6, SS, Firehawk ('93 was the old style Mustang). We all know the results of those comparisons on the drag strip, road course, and autocross.

I find it very hopeful that Dodge is coming out with their RWD/AWD muscle platform. Even though the Charger hasn't hit show room floors, it is based off the same platform as the Magnum/300C which is a lot better then anything F.O.R.D. or GM is putting out, and yes those two cars are available to drive. The Enforcer (sedan version of the Magnum) and Charger are coming out in the next couple of years. Anyhow, F.O.R.D. is still using that completely stupid McPherson strut system even on the '05 Mustang which is completely and totally inferior to the double wishbone put in the 4th gen f-body and the new Dodges. If I want that cr*ppy strut system, I will buy an 80s car. ...the double wishbone front, 5-link rear, 6.1 Hemi...hmmmm...need I say more? Anyhow, there will never be any respect for a Mustang from me until it is built correctly as well as some acknowledgment from Ford regarding fuel tank placement. The SC Cobra is a great motor in a horrible car; even the non-SC Cobra and Mach I is a great motor in a horrible car. There is hope, Chrysler products disgusted me until they turned things around in '98 so maybe Ford can do the same some day...but, right now, it is F.O.R.D. The GT(40) is a phenomenal car, but only a select few will have seat time in that. The design and build of the Mustang is the pinnacle of what that company does!

[rufrider76]

man this one has some people's undie's in a bunch.

[poopnut2]

What's up. This is my first post. I'll introduce myself in a later post.

I own a mustang but have FULL respect for the F-body. I'll actually be buying a 93' Formula next year for a daily driver.

Stock for stock the 03' cobra will whoop up on a stock F-body LS-1 given both drivers are of equal skill. The starter of this thread has a few mods and being that your car weighs a little less and has a solid axle, off the line you're gonna feel a little more oomphh then you would in the IRS cobras. But get half-way through second gear and if you can get traction the 03' will put you in your seat like a mofo.

I've driven a few 03's at my job and I've driven my friends 98' WS-6 a few times. His T/A is stock except the K&N but it doesn't even compare to the pull of a bone stock 03'.

And...the 03' motor is fully forged as I'm sure someone has mentioned already. 800hp on a stock block is pretty nice.

[Silver02Z28M6]

I raced an '03 Cobra on the freeway. He said he had a pulley, I'm not sure what else. He smoked me as hard as I smoke stock Mustang GTs. He pulled away like I was standing still. All I could do was laugh.

[Jay 02 TA ws6]

Originally posted by poopnut2
What's up. This is my first post. I'll introduce myself in a later post.

I own a mustang but have FULL respect for the F-body. I'll actually be buying a 93' Formula next year for a daily driver.

Stock for stock the 03' cobra will whoop up on a stock F-body LS-1 given both drivers are of equal skill. The starter of this thread has a few mods and being that your car weighs a little less and has a solid axle, off the line you're gonna feel a little more oomphh then you would in the IRS cobras. But get half-way through second gear and if you can get traction the 03' will put you in your seat like a mofo.

I've driven a few 03's at my job and I've driven my friends 98' WS-6 a few times. His T/A is stock except the K&N but it doesn't even compare to the pull of a bone stock 03'.

And...the 03' motor is fully forged as I'm sure someone has mentioned already. 800hp on a stock block is pretty nice.

Where I really felt like my car pulled harder was from a 70 mph highway punch. Again, I am only applying this to the proverbial "butt dyno" -- it felt faster... doesn't necessarily mean it was. DOHC engines tend to have a smoother power delivery (from my driving experience anyway)... that smoothness takes away from some of the raw and violent feeling of the 70 mph punch that the 2-valve pushrod has. My car, despite being about 20-25 rwhp less than a stock 03, WILL snap your head back harder from a 70 mph punch... this I PROMISE you. I could go in to the torque vs. horsepower curves to further explain this feeling, but I have to get back to work, hehehehe...

I guarantee that me vs. a stock 03 Cobra would be a heck of a race, man... I am probably still the underdog, but I would not get whooped on... not at all.

[fastTa]

LS1 motors are far superior to the ford motors. The LS1 heads are essentially a race designed head. Even though Jay is 20-25 RWHP less than the Cobra, he would pull on it.