Corvette ZO6 vs Mustang Cobra SVT

[2000LS1Z28]

The Z06 is faster then the 03 Cobra, out handles the Cobra, and gets better gas mileage then the Cobra. Of course it weighs about 400 pounds less. They dyno about 10-15 rwhp less then the Cobra though, because the 03 Cobra is heavily underrated hp wise. Not that it matters, cause the 03 Cobra is a boat in comparison. For the person that posted about how a 03 cobra smoked a Z06 at the track, go to ls1.com. They have a bunch of vids of Z06's smoking 03 Cobras. Of course here and there a Cobras gonna win, but stock versus stock the Z06 will win w/ identical drivers. I sat in a Z06, and i think people really make fun of the interior for no reason. The heads up display is easy to read. I'd buy one, but that is not gonna happen in the immediate future. BTW the Cobra is better to mod for going in a straight line. Those interanls leave alot of room for boosting.

[scoobaslicks]

vettes blow a** , a dime a dozen. they all look the fu**** same even Linginfelter vettes. you can't even supercharge one and get that much gain. they can only handle about 7-8 pounds of boost. Where as the Cobra with the 4.6L can handle up to 18 pounds of boost. Kenne Belle makes a bolt on supercharger for the cobra that boosts it up to 670 hp. it cost about $4500 but even so your still paying $12,000-$13,000 dollars less than buying a new Z06. And you can customize the f*** out the mustang of yours to boot, Making it an eye catching, bad ass mofo. If the rest of you have an extra $17,000 or so when you go to buy a new car then go for it. But if you want some good horsepower with some of smoothest flowing heads since the 351 cleveland, for a price hard to beat. Cobra all the way.

[syr74]

Stock for stock...the ZO6 will outrun a Cobra. I am a died in the wool Ford guy so you know that if I am saying this it's because I believe it. But, in no respect nor in any venue is it by very much. As mentioned above the Cobra does dyno higher than a Z06 (I have witnessed this a few times...in person), but it is a little heavier and I don't think it puts the power to the ground as well as the Vette does.

In no showdown does the Vette blow the Cobra away...not even on a roadcourse. Make no mistake, the Vette will win, but it won't be a walk away. I think this is as mucha credit to the Mustang as anything, considering what you can get into a Cobra for.

The Mustang has been ridden pretty hard as being a "drag strip" only kinda setup for some time now and this simply not true. The Mach 1 definately was designed with an eye on the strip and the GT's live axle is a liability although it hanbdles better than you might think. (The last gen Maxima used the fwd equivelant to a live axle rear suspension as it had a beam axle...as did the first generartion Audi A4)

But, with all due respect, people who think the 03 Cobra is a strip set up kind of car are either smoking something or do not get out much. Sure, the old girl shows her age in a lot of respects....steering's kinda vague, and uses more of a high powered hammer approach than a finesse approach to handling.

If you are driving a stock, new car that is in the Cobra's price range...unless you are driving an Evo or WRX STi And maybe a S2000 Honda on the right kind of road course.....(May I suggest all of them avoid picking anything with long straights or a lot of long sweeping curves.....and the Cobra brakes every bit as Hard as any of them) You have no chance whatsoever of ourunning a 03 Cobra anywhere except an autocross course in anything else for anywhere near the money.

It will flat take a 350Z, Crossfire, 330 BMW, RX-8...you name em...to school in any way shape or form. Road course, drag strip, whatever. The Honda, WRX, and STi only stand a chance on a road course and then, as I said, it had better favor the Japanese cars setup or you are not gonna do it.

The 03 Cobra can be put into a POWER ON controlled four wheel drift. For those of you who do not know what this is.....it is not what most people refer to as "drifting'. It is not for show as this is the real...most cars cannot do it...race car deal. For a car to to this requires big power and superb suspension tuning.

Yes, the Vette is the better performance car out of the box and I have to give the bowtie boys (and gals) their due. However, the Cobra is a lot easier and cheaper than the Vette to get a lot more hp out of...which I like. Cobra's can make genuinely sick hp levels (500+hp easily) with mods that wouldn't gain the Z06Vette 30 horses at most. Combine that with the Cobra's already lower price tag. ....And,. I like to think, even without my Ford bias I would rather have the Cobra money considered.

Also, and I am not alone here, while the Cobra is not nearly as good looking as it should be...I cannot stand the C5 Vette. I saw a pic of the new C6 and it is gorgeous, and I liked the old C4 too. But, the C5 looks like the designer of the MkIV Supra tried to do a Vette and forgot it isn't a Japanese car. IMO it's awful

I can see how a typical Japanese car guy would think the C5 was awesome. But, ironically, I think that demonstrates best of all why it was never well loved by "American" car guys

[Polygon]

Originally Posted by scoobaslicks

vettes blow a** , a dime a dozen. they all look the fu**** same even Linginfelter vettes. you can't even supercharge one and get that much gain. they can only handle about 7-8 pounds of boost. Where as the Cobra with the 4.6L can handle up to 18 pounds of boost. Kenne Belle makes a bolt on supercharger for the cobra that boosts it up to 670 hp. it cost about $4500 but even so your still paying $12,000-$13,000 dollars less than buying a new Z06. And you can customize the f*** out the mustang of yours to boot, Making it an eye catching, bad ass mofo. If the rest of you have an extra $17,000 or so when you go to buy a new car then go for it. But if you want some good horsepower with some of smoothest flowing heads since the 351 cleveland, for a price hard to beat. Cobra all the way.

A dime a dozen you say? There are FAR more Mustangs on the road than there are Corvettes, though I will agree that they still are a somewhat common car, and I do agree that the styling on the Vettes are a little plain. However; you have to understand that in the Mustang's engine you're dealing with forged internals vs. the cast internals in the Corvette. Of course the Mustang's engine will handle more boost. Build up the internals on the Corvette, then we'll talk.

[PWMAN]

Originally Posted by Polygon

you have to understand that in the Mustang's engine you're dealing with forged internals vs. the cast internals in the Corvette. Of course the Mustang's engine will handle more boost. Build up the internals on the Corvette, then we'll talk.

It's not really the fact of forged internals, it's the compression that stops it from running high boost on pump gas. But if you replace the internals with forged, you are adding atleast 5K to the already insane price over the cobra.

[Kurtdg19]

Originally Posted by PWMAN

It's not really the fact of forged internals, it's the compression that stops it from running high boost on pump gas. But if you replace the internals with forged, you are adding atleast 5K to the already insane price over the cobra.

Yeah the compression on the vette's are far greater than on the mustang, which limits the amount of boost it can reliably take. It would require more tunning of the vette to generate more hp, and forged internals wouldn't be a bad start if you want big gains.
Though I wouldn't say the price was insane over the cobra, you pay for what you get. Cobra R cost more than the Z06, and it was still lapping slower, yet it performed better than the Cobra.

[PWMAN]

Originally Posted by Kurtdg19

Yeah the compression on the vette's are far greater than on the mustang, which limits the amount of boost it can reliably take. It would require more tunning of the vette to generate more hp, and forged internals wouldn't be a bad start if you want big gains.
Though I wouldn't say the price was insane over the cobra, you pay for what you get. Cobra R cost more than the Z06, and it was still lapping slower, yet it performed better than the Cobra.

I believe the Cobra has 8:1 or 8.5:1, the Z06 has atleast 10.5:1 if not 11:1 compression. So you are limited to about 5-6 PSI on the vette, which non-forged internals can handle. That should boost the HP levels closer to 500. However, the cobra can get about 20 PSI, making closer to 600 HP levels.

[Kurtdg19]

Originally Posted by PWMAN

I believe the Cobra has 8:1 or 8.5:1, the Z06 has atleast 10.5:1 if not 11:1 compression. So you are limited to about 5-6 PSI on the vette, which non-forged internals can handle. That should boost the HP levels closer to 500. However, the cobra can get about 20 PSI, making closer to 600 HP levels.

Since the Cobra's are designed with the supercharger it would make sense for a lower compression to be used. If Z06's were designed with a type of forced induction i'm sure you would see a different platform for their engine design. If you wanted to boost your Corvette, you would get a better gain on the standard C5's since their compression is lower (not a whole lot) than the Z06. 10.1:1 - C5 vs. 10.5:1 - Z06. Which really like I said, isn't that much. A Cobra's engine was definatley designed to be tuned easier stock for stock providing a compression of 8.5:1 (as far as increasing induction) on pump gas.

[PWMAN]

On another note, a cam swap goes a long way on a forced induction engine.

[2000LS1Z28]

vettes blow a** , a dime a dozen. they all look the fu**** same even Linginfelter vettes. you can't even supercharge one and get that much gain. they can only handle about 7-8 pounds of boost. Where as the Cobra with the 4.6L can handle up to 18 pounds of boost. Kenne Belle makes a bolt on supercharger for the cobra that boosts it up to 670 hp. it cost about $4500 but even so your still paying $12,000-$13,000 dollars less than buying a new Z06. And you can customize the f*** out the mustang of yours to boot, Making it an eye catching, bad ass mofo. If the rest of you have an extra $17,000 or so when you go to buy a new car then go for it. But if you want some good horsepower with some of smoothest flowing heads since the 351 cleveland, for a price hard to beat. Cobra all the way.

You really don't look up the facts too much do you? For all those, "you can't boost a Z06 beyond 8psi", wow I guess I must've imagined the Lingenfelter twin turbo vette smoking every wannabe performance enthusiast shop cars (Including the Mustang adored Saleen, which wasn't even close). Forged interanls cost money, but honestly not $5K. Go to check out some lunati parts for a Z06. ANY car, and I mean any car can be boosted. You can make any car fast, including a Daihatsu Charade, just not w/ the stock engine. The bottom line is it comes down to who wants to invest the most money (Of course you have to invest it wisely). The vettes a better platform all around. Lingenfelter coereced a 9 sec. pass out of a bored/stroked out 427 twin turbo vette.
For the argument of handling, someone stated that you'd have to be smoking to think that a 03 Cobra isn't close in handling to a Z06 vette. Bzzzzzttttt!!!!! Wrongo. In Motor Trend they tested both cars, and the vette was more then 3 sec. faster on a road course. That's a serious ass whooping. The Cobra is heavy (3550 pounds), and it's nose tends to pitch in turns. It isn't a horrible handling car by a long shot, but it's no Z06. FYI a Z06 actually has better track times in several magazines over the Ferrari 360 Modena. The Z06 really isn't about 1/4 mile times, but about track times .

[PWMAN]

[quote=2000LS1Z28]You really don't look up the facts too much do you? For all those, "you can't boost a Z06 beyond 8psi", wow I guess I must've imagined the Lingenfelter twin turbo vette smoking every wannabe performance enthusiast shop cars (Including the Mustang adored Saleen, which wasn't even close). Forged interanls cost money, but honestly not $5K. Go to check out some lunati parts for a Z06. [quote]
Hey moron, the lingenfelter vette doesn't have 10.5:1 compression. You cannot boost a Z06 more than 6 PSI on pump gas. On race gas, I'm guessing the internals could handle anywhere from 12-15 PSI.

And yes the parts are not going to cost 5K, but once you include machine work it will. That is still including that you can put the engine together yourself too, and not pay to have it done.

[2000LS1Z28]

I think you need to do some maturing if you are going to do some name calling. Of course the Lingenfelter vette has forged internals, that is why i brought up the fact about how much it costs to do forged internals. Here are the costs of the Lingenfelter performance package.
CNC ported cylinder heads
Three angle valve job, checking of spring tensions & heights
LPE custom camshaft
Two true ball bearing turbochargers
Two high efficiency air to air chargecoolers
Custom molded silicone air ducts
4 into 1 custom exhaust manifolds
Two turbo outlet adapters
Turbocharger scavenge pump
Turbo oil drain reservoir
Two K&N 360 degree conical air filters
Heat shields and stainless clamps
Professional installation, testing and tuning
GHL stainless steel exhaust system
Turbocharger water feed and return hoses
Turbocharger oil feed and return hoses
Gaskets and fasteners
Chassis dyno report
2 year/24,000 mile warranty
1997-2004 Corvette package prices
Manual transmission package $ 22,995.00
Automatic transmission upgrade $2,595.00
I'd imagine alot of the money goes into the warranty. I fail to see how $5K is being invested into the internals.

[Kurtdg19]

Originally Posted by 2000LS1Z28

You really don't look up the facts too much do you? For all those, "you can't boost a Z06 beyond 8psi", wow I guess I must've imagined the Lingenfelter twin turbo vette smoking every wannabe performance enthusiast shop cars (Including the Mustang adored Saleen, which wasn't even close). Forged interanls cost money, but honestly not $5K. Go to check out some lunati parts for a Z06. ANY car, and I mean any car can be boosted. You can make any car fast, including a Daihatsu Charade, just not w/ the stock engine. The bottom line is it comes down to who wants to invest the most money (Of course you have to invest it wisely). The vettes a better platform all around. Lingenfelter coereced a 9 sec. pass out of a bored/stroked out 427 twin turbo vette.

Well if you want to boost a Z06 beyond 8psi it can be done, but not on the stock setup. Compression is already to high to be boosting much past that on the normal setup. What I am saying as well as many others is that stock for stock, a Cobra has better tunning capabilities (as far as forced induction) than a Vette. And since the Cobra is ohc, it makes it much easier to time the valves than the vette's ohv design. I'm not saying that with the vette it cannot be done, it just requires more tunning, which requires more money.

The Lingenfelter 427TT is based off the 427 pushing around 500+hp alone to start off. I have a video of one being dynoed at 735rwhp @9psi(which is what I think they are boosted to anyways). I'm not sure what the max boost achievable is on the 427TT package, but if you find out, I would like to know. A Cobra is capable of pushing 18psi or so as is, not a Vette, which is more like around 8.

[2000LS1Z28]

The Lingenfelter 427TT is based off the 427 pushing around 500+hp alone to start off. I have a video of one being dynoed at 735rwhp @9psi(which is what I think they are boosted to anyways). I'm not sure what the max boost achievable is on the 427TT package, but if you find out, I would like to know. A Cobra is capable of pushing 18psi or so as is, not a Vette, which is more like around 8.

Actually the 427 TT vette has the C5R block in it. In any event, I already stated that you cannot boost the Z06 w/o forging the internals (Atleast not beyond 8 psi). I just doubt the $5K some people are claiming that it costs to forge the internals of a vette. As stated before, if you want to make a car fast, you are only limited by the amount of money in your pocket book.

[PWMAN]

Originally Posted by 2000LS1Z28

I just doubt the $5K some people are claiming that it costs to forge the internals of a vette.

Well like I said before the actual parts will not cost 5K. Probably about 2K for the pistons, rods, and crank. But unless you own a machine shop and can build the engine yourself the labor will cost more than the parts.