Your thoughts on the '04 Cobra

I was recently thinking about purchasing a 2004 Mustang Cobra SVT. What are your thoughts on this car?

its a nice car, i just think ford used a SC as an excuse to make up for the fact the motor on its own cant compete VS. older Camaro/Firebirds.

Personaly I would take 95/01 cobras or 04 Mach 1 over it any day. ( i look down on a company that feels the need to SC a car to compete w/ NON-SC cars)

I still think I'll go for the Cobra though (it's kind of like my REALISTICALLY AFFORDABLE dreamcar)...my plans are you install a K&K Fuel Injection Performance Kit and a Borla exhaust. After a computer re-program, that should push it near to 450hp.

they are more like 415crank in reality, they are under rated.

yea there under rated iv heard of people making more then 390 hp at the rear wheel stock. they also make a cheap pulley that makes the SC spin faster. anyways i really like the 04 cobras. i think the terminator is the best svt cobra ford has made

It is the fastest but its not the best. Due to the "pig iron" block and power “band-aid” its more nose heavy than the pervious Cobra. For the money a 01 is a better deal you can add a supercharger if you want and end up with a faster car for less money. But personally I agree with zx2srdotnet a power “band-aid” is just a very poor attempt form Ford to get power out of a motor that is lacking it instead of going to the drawing board and designing something better.

I do like that a lightning pully will help give more power though

the 04 cobra is a beast, end of story

I'll still take a WS6 over it anyday. :-P

and you will still get raped by the cobra also....

but it Ford had to use a SC to do it.

the 04 cobra is a beast, end of story
Only in a straight line and weight contests. Get a 01 upgrade the suspension to 03 specs and some 17x9's and the 01 will kill the 03/04 in the corners. Hell without mods the 01 runs better slalom times than the 03/04 did.

but it Ford had to use a SC to do it.

so what, thats such a lame argument.

put an SC on the firebird then see who wins thats my point.

Ford need a SC to beat a car that is already no longer in production. Thats PATHETIC.

and for the extra 4k the Cobra cost you can easily put a SC on the LS1 and slaughter it. lol

put an SC on the firebird then see who wins thats my point.

Ford need a SC to beat a car that is already no longer in production. Thats PATHETIC.

and for the extra 4k the Cobra cost you can easily put a SC on the LS1 and slaughter it. lol

Band aid? A factory SC is a band aid, how do you figure that?

The problem is, you all are looking at the market with a different set of eyes. One is looking at from a road racing point of view, another is looking at it as a 1/4 mile point of view, another is looking at it as total hp, another is looking at how it comes from the factory, another only reads car mags point of view, etc. It all means nothing in the end!

04 Cobra is a cool car, but I would not buy one. Like what was mentioned, go 01 and turbo that baby! Turbos are the only way to go :)

Band aid? A factory SC is a band aid, how do you figure that?
It was the only way they could get that kind of power out of the 4.6 make it reliable and meet government requirements on emissions. The SC was easy way out instead of going back to the drawing board and designing something better which they should have done. SVT didn’t even do a good job on the 03/04. The heads don’t flow well, the cooling system is a joke, the intercooler is in a very bad spot, and the SC its self isn’t all that great. About the only other thing they could have done was to go to a larger bore like they did with the Cammer but that would just cause more problems. The Cammer is great as a race only engine but because of the walls between the pistons being so thin it’s just not reliable for daily street use.

a SC engine would probaly have more potental. and a lot of people like the whine

Not a band aid, its a cost effective improvment :D

Its simple...and it makes sence to anyone..the ls1 is always going to be better then the 4.6...why?

Its bigger.End of story. None of this crap im hearing the the ws6 faster. Well hell. It better be faster. Its a 350 over a 289. No crap.

And for this "band-aid"....

That band-aid smokes the ls1. And if it takes a "band-aid" to make my car smoke yours..im going to buy that band-aid.

acutally its a 350 over a 281.

and my damn belt on my escort (sounds damn cool at 6000rpm) you dont need a SC to sound good.

no shit the ls1 is huge for one thing. its not a band aid... u honestly dont think ford has the ability to make a 350hp na 4.6? thats retarded, like you said the heads dont flow well etc etc... this stuff cuts costs and makes improvements easier once you buy the car. the reason they add a supercharger on is because it makes a rediculous powerband for one, and two its much cheaper than investing in development for a new engine or putting all kinds of expensive parts on the current one. its about cost. you want a 350 hp na 4.6 fine. but you better be prepared to pay out more. plus the size... smaller than ls1. look at the 5.4, thats closer in size and it was pumpin out around 390 in the cobra R

I never said they didn’t have the ability to make 350hp NA it’s the 400hp mark they can’t hit with out the aid of a SC. Yes it was cheaper than investing in developing a new engine but they are just prolonging the inevitable and that is what really made it in Fords case a power “band-aid”. There is already a SC 5.4 DOHC going in the GT500. So what is the next step? V10? That’s highly doubtful. The LS1 may be larger in displacement than the 4.6 but its smaller in overall size and weight. Its weight that’s really hurting the Mustang. Hell the GT500 is going to weigh in at around 2 f*ing tons!!! WTF?

In interviews w/ SVT they even said that SC was the only way to get the numbers they wanted.

actually they do have a v10... they havent found a car to put it in tho, probably goin the shelby gr-1. i believe its 6.0 liters and 610hp. now thats not bad. over 100hp/liter

I know they have a V10 but it’s very doubtful there will ever be a production Mustang with one. From what I have read the GR-1 has been shelved and Ford is about to start phasing the GT out.

yeah i knew the GT was going to be phased out, that was the plan all along from what i understood. I thought the gr-1 was going to replace it but maybe not...

Don't forget about the new Cobra (2 seater roadster). I think they were talking about using the v10 in that also. Who knows what Ford is going to do until they do it. They've changed their minds on so many things last minute. As for the SC issue, I think it's great. Ford keeps cost down which keeps retail prices down (in most cases). Also, if you have an earlier car w/out the SC and you want to add one to yours, you can. I know, you have more work than just slapping on the SC, but you get my point.
Yes, the 4.6 is physically bigger and heavier than a 350 (5.7L) and that is part of the problem but also part of what's good about it. It's bigger and heavier because of the DOHC and multi-valves which helps w/power. I don't know, I still think the old way (I'm only 32) I like the lowend torque of a pushrod engine like the 5.0, 5.8. Also like the Chevy v8. They are also easier to work on but, I guess Ford doesn't want us to do that anymore. Oh yeah, the old 5.0 is lighter than the 4.6 which helps the 5.0. Yeah, I know, stock the 5.0 only had 225hp. But you know Ford could of made the 5.0 w/300hp or more if they wanted. Slap on the Cobra or GT40 intake and other SVT parts.
Oh yeah, back to the SC, GM got 40 more hp by using a SC on the 3.8 in the Grand Prix GTP for 240hp compared to 200hp on the 3.8 na. Don't forget about the Grand National 3.8turbo vs. 3.8na. Then you also have the Cyclone/Typhoon 4.3turbo 285hp vs. 4.3na 185hp.
NOT SO MUCH OF A BAND AID ON THOSE CARS...HELL, IT WAS GENIUS.

The Cobra 2 seater roadster was dropped for the GR-1. Shelby didn't like the look of it. I don't know many people who did. The thing looked like an Audi TT.

In spite of its size the spacing sucks. You can't even make it a 5L and keep it reliable as a daily. I think you are right Ford really doesn't want us to mod their cars. From talking with a guy I know who tunes cars for a living you can't even get the same kind of gains from exhaust in the 05's as you did from the 99-04's without a tune. Ford really locked them down this time.

^^ why would they do that