One of 2 03 cobras in northern alberta made it to the track on the last weekend of may. Naturally I went over to take a look at this mythical beast. The supercharger on that thing is huge. and he was running on his stock rubber still.
he had about 6000km on the car so far. Very nice car... for a mustang

It was the third time trial of the day and I was having some transmission trouble as the trans was having a hard time staying in gear. I decided to run one last time and who do I get matched with? the cobra

I said some coaxing words to my car before the race, but I probably didn't need to. I don't think either of us wanted to lose to a mustang.. not even a supercharged cobra.

The race capt signaled us forward and we both fired up our beasts and proceeded around the water box. he did a small burnout on his street rubber, i did a light spin with my drag radials and we began stagging. he stagged late and gave me time get comfortable. the lights drop and I get off with a .627 reaction time and spun my way to a decent 2.1 60'. The cobra got off at nearly the same time, but spun pretty bad. I went through first and pulled 4 cars on the cobra. A slooooow shift into 2nd and he gains back 2 cars. I short shifted into 3rd since second was slipping so badly the engine was tickling the revlimiter, unfortunatly that dropped me down to 3500rpm in 3rd gear. The cobra with a healthy motor and solid shifts with his nice T56 trans starts reeling me in. I can see him slowly growing in my rear view as the finish line looms closer and closer. I can tell the camaro is trying it's hardest to keep the whining supercharged mustang at bay. I begin wondering if I will be able to hold him off. 2 tense seconds go by and I cross the finish line still a good car length ahead and a little over a tenth in our ETs.

The Cobra went on to put down better times than me that day, however his best time was still only a 13.9@105 (our air SUCKS)
he was a mere 3mph more than me and still 2 tenths slower

A nice car however, and a decent friendly guy, but I can honestly say I have an 03 cobra under my belt

 

good kill! them 03 cobra's are heavyweights! literally they weigh in at over 3700lbs!

 

nice win.

 

Wonder what the conversion factor is for 4800 feet? Sounds like you have a very low 13 second car and he has the possablilty for 12s. Nice run, but watch out. He needs a pulley to be pulling much better times!

 

he needs a chevy...





lol

 

Your right, because with a thirdgen, I would be going 12s for only $1000 in performance mods! Not 13s like I do with my Ford!

 

Are you being sarcastic?

 

I am just messing around, don't worry, I have no hate for the thirdgens or Fbodies!

 

ive only seen one 03 cobra that was acutally driven like it should be..he was racing his buddy in a 02 SS...

the ss was very consistant at 13.1x and th best the cobra could pull was a 13.3...they switched drivers and the ss still beat it

 

I thought so, he was layin it on pretty thick

 

Funny cause my friends SS pulls 13.1s also, but has a full SLP exhaust, Mass Air, and 4.10s! The Cobras I have seen were low 13s to mid 12s in stock form, but pulling 108-111 with my friends SS pulling 109. His car trapped 105 stock, and was in the mid 13s.

 

i'd be pretty pissed if i was your friend. i've seen stock LS1 camaro's and T/A's run as fast as 12.8 most are 13 flat to 13.5 if a mediocre driver at best.

 

Not when all the other LS1s are pulling 13.5s stock around here. I have never witnessed a 12.8 or even a low 13 from a bone stocker. I have heard of a 12.9 from a Firehawk but did not see it (did see the 333 rwhp dyno sheet, when it was supposedly stock though).

 

I've witnessed 13.20's out of several bone stock LS1's.

 

well this SS was a box stocker.
the cobra was also box stock

i know beacuse i talked to both guys in the pits

im only at 500 feet above sea level so the air is good around here so im guessin thats why there fast.
the stock LS1's are basement 13's around here (properly driven of course )

my dads 01 stripper Z ran a best of 12.82@109 with only a k&n

 

The cobra i raced at the track trapped 107mph and ran a 13.1 with exhaust. I dont think many stock 03 cobras trap 111mph bone stock.

 

The LS1s up here run low 14's at about 98-100. I've seen about 3-4 stock LS1 cars run. The cobra definatly makes more power than the stock LS1's.

There was a supercharged LT1 there that same day. the guy hadn't even put headers on the lt1 yet, not even any time on the dyno. just stock motor with a supercharger and he was trapping 104's. he will probably gain another 2mph with tuning and if he starts adding bolt-ons....
So that cheesy arguement IS true :P


"well if i added a supercharger to an LS1...."

hehehe

 

With out being sarcastic i would pay to see an LS1 SS pull a 12.99 or faster. Im from memphis and we have the track every Tuesday and Thursday around here and i go all the time. But i have never seen a LS1 SS under a 13.40. Im not saying i doubt anyone, id just like to see that.

 

I've witnessed stock Ls1's clip the elusive 12's, they wont all do it and they need a good driver, but it can be done.......

Believe it was in 2000 at a MFBA meet a Rt 41 drag(guessing 600feetish alt.) a guy had 800 miles on a brand new gold TA Ram Air, bone stock and an auto....

He hotlapped it 8 times in a row and ran 13.3-13.4 everytime :-)
that was an auto and not broken in.. with the dealer plastic still on the car(inside)

they are fast cars bar none......speciually form the factory for 23k if u want a stripper Z when u could still get them

Later
Jeremy

 

Nice kill 03 Cobras are beasts.

 

Hell Yaaaaaa!

 

Dude where are yall comin up with these 03 cobra times I wish I was racing agaist the 03 cobras yall see. I was in baytown last month and I talked to a guy with a cobra with a 12.7 timeslip bone stock.But there are many factors to consider : driver,track conditions, and the way the car is running.

 

what's a "stripper Z" ??? is that the 35th aniv edition? just wondering. As for Stock LS1's i was at the track and a dealer from a local chevy dealership ran a Z 28 Stick, best he put down was a 12.87 and a 12.92 rest of the times were low 13's or so forth. Wish my dad owned a Chevy dealership And i even looked it over real quick to see if anything was done to it... still had the stock air filter in the air cleaner :hail: :hail: :hail:

 

there are plenty of LS1 tearing apart modded Cobras.. i have tons of vids of it.. go to fuelslut.com and look for 98 snake killer... The 03 Cobra is not invincible, it can be beat, it was made by humans, it has flaws... You wont need 35-40k to beat it either.. less then half of that and you can be on your way to chared snake.


*waits for mustang input on LS1s stopping on Cobras*

 

Not only do the new cobra's weight more, they do it all on the front end of the car! It's still cool to see a factory blown stang but what is so confusing for me is understanding why chevy has a 405hp n/a pushrod motor.
I must say, best money spent on the old 5.0's is gears in the rear and a cam swap. Those things have potential just like an f-body, the newer 4.6L engines just seem like too much hassle.

 

whats more amazing is the MPG they get!! i heard mid 20's!!
another thing is that the 405 hp is just factory.. it can still go higher and meet EPA standards!! ooo the new C6 is gunna come with the base 405 LS6 motor and the Z06 is gunna get a big fat 6.0 motor.. probably a little higher then the SS concpets output of 430. i say 450-460 with some cam and head work. SLP has a new program for all new 02-03 and older (like its old or something) 01 Z06's where they will tinker with it to 476hp!! and its Street legal! if it wasnt.. then wtf does SLP stand for eh? SLP might have bad customer relations, but they sure can play around with the car for max power!

 

Can someone please give me a link to a "STOCK" LS1 Z28 running 12.999999999 or better.

 

What's the elevation in Alberta? Here at IRP, I've never seen a stock ls-1 run better than a 13.3. And that's about 40 trips to the track in the last three years. However I did see a new Cobra put down a 12.8 at 109mph with some knuckleheaded-teenager-driver-friend of mine behind the wheel. Any guy whose car runs mid to high 13's (around sealevel) which is what a lot of ls-1s run and thinks they really killed an 03 Cobra even if they won one 1/4 race is smoking something funky though. I'd call it luck. And the 03 Cobras don't gain only a few tenths with a few hundred bucks, they gain more like a whole sec. with just minor mods. They're much cheaper to go fast with than even the ls-1's. Of course I'm not talking about the car's price on the market today, I'm talking just mods.

 

read my sig. air density is anywhere from 4000ft to 6000ft depending on the day.
we are about a second slower than we would be at sea level.

 

ls1.com search the fourms and you will find many. have a nice day.

 

also i think LS1.com has a section for stock LS1's that made it into the '12 sec club' or something. check that site out maybe.

 

Didn't notice that. Thanks. Your car is pretty quick then.

 

to make it FAIR why dont somebody put on a superchrager and run it at the same boost level as the mustang and then se what happens when everything is fair. :hail:

 

Do that with an 01 Cobra too to also make it fair!!! Both the LS1 and the 01 Cobra will make more power at the same boost! So before you get all cocky about it, realize the motor was designed for boost which will hurt the performance more than just boosting a stock motor!

 

you wana run 18 psi in an 11:1 compression LS1 with stock internals... we dont need no stinkin sc.. we got a LS6 to beat the 03 cobra... hey, its still a 5.7 and no power adders, just basic moddifacations.. since the fbod is so close to the 03 cobra now with 325hp, 405 should put the fbod well ahead of the cobra... they should of just put the LS6 in all the Fbods in 02, but cant have the fbod faster then a vette..

 

Think i smell a ford guy.......


anyways i didnt say it would work.
and i wasnt getting all cocky i really dont care if it beats a LS1 not like i have one anyways also dont the cobras cost more than a LS1.

 

I am just sick of the same damn GM excuse of "lets put an S/C on the LS1 and see which wins" and by me making that 01 Cobra statement I am just doing exactly what you do (see sounds stupid doesn't it, no matter how true).

The fact is pricewise, S/C or not the Cobra is still being made, and is faster, that pretty much ends that story!

 

i thought this was a thirdgen site.

 

Correct me if I am wrong but don't a 2001-2002 Camaro SS 6-speed with the SLP run a 12.8 or 12.9 at the track STOCK in the 1/4, I have seen this in several places, I just wanna confirm

 

Ok you were saying put the Ls6 in the camaro look at the 02 zL1 camaro , its got an LS6 and it runs 12.5's. So there you go that would tair an 03 cobra a new one . See we dont need no stinkin supercharger.

 

Hehehe thoes ZL1's aint nothing to what people are buying right now! the ones GM made are around 600hp... there are only 69 made (as there were 69 made back in 1969) and they will kill a heavily modded cobra... for a little more $$$! They get first gen stripes and other cool nostalgic things... Still doesnt beat the original ZL1... all alum 427... i have an article from one of the dealerships that said that if it doesnt run 11's bring it back for a refund... also the engine was more expensive then the car... total it was about a 7500-8k car... up from around 3500-4k...

 

Oh booohooo put an LS6 here and put an LS6 there. Give me a break, how about we take the two cars each company made and run them!!! There is an idea, but wait then the Mustang wins and you guys will never accept that! I am in no way against the GM camp, but when all I hear is complaining about the S/C it gets to be a little old! Grow up and accept a little defeat especially when none of you own LS1s!

 

yes, i dont own a LS1, but you dont own a 03 cobra... so

hehehe N/A OHV LS6 vs Supercharged DOHC 4.6... WE WIN LOSER!! HAHAHHAHA! just kidding, your not a loser..

 

You said just put the car GM made and the car ford made together and the cobra wins . No , because gm did make the 02 ZL1 camaro and it does run 12.5's , so yeah. I am not complaining I have no problem with a little defeat(my car used to have an L03 in it,theres not much winning there)I am just stating the facts . I happen to think the 03 cobras are pretty bad,S/C or not those suckers are mean, I am just stating the facts on the matter. I have no hard feelings agaist mustangs I had a 5.0 2 years ago , and I had some good times with that car. Mustangs are ok in my book, just not r*ce.

 

Boy tipical GM guys going into limited production cars in order to beat up on the Mustangs! How many ZL1s have you guys seen recently. You guys will never accept defeat even though I have no problem admitting the GTs will get destroyed by the LS1s. I guess that goes to show you something about the GM camp and the Ford camp.

Keep on making excuses and bringing up incerdably limited production cars to compete with a Mustang! Because with every lame excuse another Ford fan realizes why they don't drive a GM!!!

 

Don't be sad that you drive a Ford. Discussion is good but flames are bad.