F-ing Cobras

[CivicSpoon]

Actually I don't think he contradicted himself at all. The first sentence is about acceleration, not launching. Where with a NA car the power is always right there. With a turbo it's not there until the turbo spools. But when it does spool, there is an "instant" surge of power. Unless you have a big turbo, spooling from 1 psi to full boost could be considered "instantaneous" (obviously not a literal term).

At least that's how I interpret it.

[alphalanos]

I Agree but what about cars that are factory turboed. And what about high compression NA motors. there are too many variables to just generally say turbo is not a good idea when it is probably the best value for a small displacement motor.

[C8H18Blood]

Yeah thats why I'm saying there is no 'better' option in an absolute sense. It all comes down to preference (and somewhat application). Sure if I just went turbo I'd proabaly have a decent set-up with a low psi for relatively cheap, but I prefer NA.

[FuLL BLown STD]

u wanna beat some slobras in your area..i think you got a decent start with what you got but its not gonna be cheap to get you into some 12-13 sec qt's but your really limited cash wise..and you dont wanna take any route involving forced induction nitrous ect..dunno what to tell ya brotha =)

[4G4D Store]

I agree that turbo isn't as efficient in some racing situations like corning and things as NA. I problem that I hate about NA is the amount of money it takes to get a good NA setup. And honestly if you build your motor right you can get a turbo motor that would be good with corner racing - you just need a smaller turbo so you don't lag as much and the turbo spools faster between shifts. As far as drag racing goes, when was that last time you saw a 9sec honda that was NA - you just don't seen them - ya the turbo may not have as much traction off the bat, that is the problem larger amounts of power. The problem you are going to run into with NA is there are limits - 275hp on a na motor is quite a job and probably a few thousand bucks easy and that's all you can do. With turbo, your limits are much much higher 500-600hp isn't unfeasable at all. I've seen 450hp sohc daily drivers. They have have a hard time starting in first off the line, but just wait till third gear. But you are right, it is in the drivers view of what he wants. I just think you are limiting yourself with NA - there is only so much air a motor can suck in per stroke, no matter how smooth the air path is. If your only goal is to beat a cobra, I think you are going to need a little more than just a built NA motor. What happens when you beat a cobra then find something faster and your motor is at it's peak?? What then?

[turtlecrxsi]

Haha... ^^that is so true. Just to add that smaller turbos spool fast. I drive a factory turboed vw and full boost comes at 3k rpms and it doesn't take long to get to that point even with relatively longer gears in a 5 speed auto because of the small amount of displacement. Granted, it's no monster in power. But you can take a high compression small displacement motor and add a small turbo to it and make even more power and it may be more streetable based on how good of a tune it has. This way you'd get the best of both worlds, low end grunt from the turbo and high end performance from high cr. Also, consider that the Cobra engine is more than twice the size of yours and supercharged from the factory. Modded cobras are rediculously fast. With a pulley, exhaust and tune a cobra can easily make over 400rwhp.

[YZ125rider21]

thats only the 03-04 cobras....not talking about the one coming out with over 500hp :-)

[turtlecrxsi]

Yeah, I only like the 03-04... real fuckin' mean coupe right there.

[McMonte]

If your budget is low, just keep reducing weight. More power=higher fuel consumption & more breakages. Can you afford that scenario? You need to account for it.
Otherwise, crack open the piggy bank. My order

1. Legal semi-slicks for better traction off the line.
2. B20 bottom end + inj/ECU/exhaust to suit the new delivery.
3. Upgrade brakes, or at least stainless lines + new pads/fluid.
4. Play with gear ratios so 1-4 are lower, but still drop revs just below peak torque on upshifts. I think you're currently around 3300rpm in 5th gear at 60mph. For lazy performance (use that new B20 torque) get a really long 5th ratio from a compatible gearset.

If you do this, you might just break-even on gas

[BlackGT2000]

I agree with these guys, the 03+ cobras are a tall order to go up against. I think you will be fighting an uphill battle (and expensive) without some kind of forced induction.