98 Cobra performance upgrades

I have 96 Cobra that is bone stock. What do you guys reccomend on upgrades? Do people put chips in anymore? I also thought of gear changes. I eventually want to put a supercharger on it, but want to do the less expensive stuff first. I have flowmaster exhaust on it now, but it needs to sound a little meaner. Is it leagal for shops to do anything to the exhaust as far as headers and stuff, I'm not a mechanic by any means so I will have to pay somebody.

Yes its legal as long as you can pass smog.

I have 96 Cobra that is bone stock. What do you guys reccomend on upgrades? Do people put chips in anymore? I also thought of gear changes. I eventually want to put a supercharger on it, but want to do the less expensive stuff first. I have flowmaster exhaust on it now, but it needs to sound a little meaner. Is it leagal for shops to do anything to the exhaust as far as headers and stuff, I'm not a mechanic by any means so I will have to pay somebody.

if you want it to sound meaner go with an offroad h pipe. my friend had it on his mustang gt it made it sound so much better. ill try to get the brand for you

Most shops probably won't install an O/R mid pipe since they're illegal, it's an easy install though. 4.30's would also make a good difference.

What is 4.30's?

What is 4.30's?

4.30's is the gear ratio for the ring and pinion. here is a good site for ford parts http://www.gefracing.com/

there are 3.73, 4.10, 4.30, 4.56s gear ratio you can go with.

there are 3.73, 4.10, 4.30, 4.56s gear ratio you can go with. Along with a couple other ones, 4.30's would be the best IMO. They'll improve your acceleration a lot and 4V's can use steep gears because they're high reving motors, but you won't have high highway RPM's like you would with 4.56's.

Ok, I have decided on a gear change. The dealer reccomends 3.73. Now is it worth the $$$ to do a throttle body change? Also, how about pullys?

I wouldnt worry with a throttle body just yet. U/D pullies will help though.

Ok, I have decided on a gear change. The dealer reccomends 3.73. Now is it worth the $$$ to do a throttle body change? Also, how about pullys?

like 351wmustang was saying go with underdrive pulleys. if you wanted to you can get new cam and lifters. try going on www.summitracing.com (http://www.summitracing.com)

Ok, I have decided on a gear change. The dealer reccomends 3.73. Now is it worth the $$$ to do a throttle body change? Also, how about pullys? From my experience most of the people that work at dealers are dumbass's, atleast get 4.10's. I know it kind of goes without saying but don't get your gears installed by the dealer. And I woulden't get a TB while you're still stock.

What are the stock gears? If they are 3.55, keep them, since you want to go with a S/C in the future. I had 3.55 in my old S/C Stang, and they were plenty, plus you will keep the revs down on the highway.

It has 3.27 gears now, and the car doesn't get out on the highway much if at all.

i had 4:10 in my 99 cobra and they were great. If i were you i wouldn't start with gear changes. start off with cheap little things. Seems like you don't have much experience with moding a car. i would start with small things and learn to install them and work tords harder things so you can learn more about your car. learning more about your car will help you get more out of it. such as driving it correctly and getting the fastest times you can get. i say start with a cold air intake and mass air flow sencor upgrade. that will give you 10hp and make the car sound nicer. then i'd finish off the exhaust with some emissions legall headers and x or h pipe. full exhaust will make a huge difference and it's a easy install. after your done with the bolt ons you can buy reflashes and handheld computer tuners that will make the most of the mods you have. that right there will get you into the 12's with decent tires. once you have learned about your car and know what you are doing you can then deside how much further you want to go. weather it be naturally aspiratted with some patriot heads and cams or forced induction with a blower or nitrous. But in my opinion you need to learn more about your car. My old setup consisted of: BBK under drive crank pulley, flowmaster american thunder catback, short shifter, and 4:10 gears. with some bald nitto 555's i ran a 13.3@106mph. I've seen 98 cobras run 12's with drag radials and minor bolt ons..

an offroad midpipe is an easy swap you can do yourself, its 8 nuts and it comes off, swap on the new pipe with MIL elminiators to trick the check engine light and your good to go and it will sound mean as hell. 4.30 gears are great in a cobra, my brother ran 4.30 in his i had 4.10 in mine, i wish i had 4.30. underdrive pullies are supposed to be proven to gain 10hp or so but i couldnt really tell, besides if you go s/c you will remove them anyway. accufab makes a nice single blade throttle body you can swap on awhile i cant see why it wouldnt help even though your fairily stock. if you want to go big get some bbk ceramic longtube headers and a short offroad midpipe. best overall kick in the pants increase i think besides a s/c