Am I head for trouble or what???

[casaleenie]

I don't know how to say this so I'm just going to spit it out....
I DON'T THINK MY CAR IS FAST ENOUGH ANYMORE!!!! There, I said it....and I feel a little better already...
At the beginning of the driving season I was intimidated by the speed and power of this little car, but now I'm having feelings of inadequacy. Everyones is bigger!!!!! er, faster....
Is there a Cobra support group that can step in and help...
Am I headed for a fall here??? What to do, what to do?
Has this ever happened to anyone else???
Should I accept my fate or be looking for engine upgrades???

Is more HP the answer? If this problem can be solved by money then I'm willing to accept donations. I know you all want to help..

[JWheaton]

Leave well enough alone.

Your comfort level does not necessarily translate into an increased skill level.

If money is not a problem, please accept my invitation to send it to me!

[nolimits]

Absolutely upgrades are needed in your case.
Feelings of Inadequacy should be given therapy whenever possible.



Now if this is the post you intend to show the other 1/2, to justify your winter project...try harder...she'll see right through it!!

Good Luck with your Issues. Give us a call if Classics by Elite can help overcome this problem.
See Ya...
Jay

[750hp]

Power isn't everything. It's a lot, but it's not everything. I found that I had to compromise the handling of my Cobra just so it would hopefully stay on the road when accelerating in a straight line.

The acceleration is fun - no doubt - and the look on passengers faces is always a laugh, but 300hp Cobras would go around me mid corner on a racetrack like I was driving my old Fairmont.

My latest thought is that a 500hp small block with top $$$ suspension would be the ultimate - something like a JBL or Kirkham 289 FIA / 427 hybrid

[CowtownCobra]

casaleenie,

What would you estimate your current horsepower?

[johnd9]

Casaleenie

Funny you should make the comment about not enough HP. I am in the midst of dumping about $2,500 into a new top end for my 428 (too which you contributed to what to do in another forum - thank you), and the same thought has crossed my mind.

First, one learns to drive and get used to slow cars. For me that was Honda Accords, Acura Legends, Mazdas, etc. Somehow, when I got used to them, although they were slow, they were still fun from time to time to wind out in a low gear on a beautiful day with the sunroof open and the windows down. Then I got into Camaro z-28s, Corvettes and now a Cobra. When I first saw the Cobra my mouth dropped to the floor. I could not believe I actually had reached a point in my life when I could own such a cool car. I mean, who really designed this thing because it is hands down the most beautiful car I have ever seen. But the sound, and the speed...really blew me away - I just kept thinking to myself....get home....before the check book opens! Literally days before buying it I rationalized it with my fiancee that...."well at least I wont have to put anything into the engine because it is so damn fast already"....fast forward 2 months and it is spending 3 weeks in the shop having the work done that i already described. So what happened?

First of all, there are many things that make a Cobra awesome. open air, beautiful body, the simplicity of something without a computer. BUt the question of how fast it is haunts me. And I really am going to give you an answer to your question.

So here it is.....

I totally understand your need for speed, and support it wholeheartedly. Understanding you currently have a 351, here would be my recommendation. Go for a stroked 392-396 making somewhere around 500-550 hp. Should be a relatively light engine compared to the big blocks (unless this qualifies as a big block??) and should have plenty of room for hp. in that hp range, you should be near the handling limits of the car - straight line or otherwise. And it is the handling limits that I say are the true definition of when enough HP is enough. If you want more, I suggest you quit your day job and get into real racing. Anything else, and you would be risking your future just to get the rush of a little more speed from a chassis that really cant handle it.

Or so is my opinion.

Good luck!

john

[Junket]

As 750hp says HP is not everthing as someone of the fair sex once told me it not what you have but how you use it she liked the way I got on and off THE TRACK THAT IS but if that don't help a trip to the speed shop for a shot of Viagra will help.
Ken

[427sharpe]

casaleenie;
Welcome to the cult of power! Now that you have seen the light and can cast away that IBM (itty bitty motor), you can step up to a big block and find out what a real cobra feels like!
Just remember a few things:
1. Bigger really IS better!
2. Gas prices HAVE to come down sooner or later!
3. Horsepower sells engines, TORQUE wins races
4. There aint no replacement for displacement!
5. IT'S ONLY MONEY!

[casaleenie]

[quote]Originally posted by johnd9


[b]Casaleenie

Funny you should make the comment about not enough HP. I am in the midst of dumping about $2,500 into a new top end for my 428 (too which you contributed to what to do in another forum - thank you), and the same thought has crossed my mind.


Johnd9,

You have me confused with someone else. If I gave you any tech. info regarding engines, please disregard... I might have been drunk or on heavy duty meds. My tool box consists of a pair of pliers a phillips screw driver and a cell phone. I hold the cell phone with the pliers and hit the numbers with the phillips...
Never ran into a problem that someone else couldn't fix...

al

[Excaliber]

I felt like that for awhile. But actually that "feeling" seems to have settled down lately. Going on my 3rd year of ownership, got about 20K miles on the car. Runs great, easy to maintain, comfortable to drive. I'm happy with it I guess.

.....I still think about, "What if I had a blower"? So, maybe I'm not quite done yet! ha ha

Ernie

[Turk]

I have one word of advice for you.

NOS!

TURK

[Hal Copple]

even having owned a number of high performance cars over the years, my car before my SPF being a 300 hp AWD Mitsu Eclipse, my 460 hp replica scared the wits out of me when i first got it. But eventually, i added some things to give more power, and think about more from time to time. But i have realized that i only use my full throttle very seldom, as it is just too dangerous, except on a road course, and then i am only running against myself anyway. I would like just a little more power, but the tractibility and mpg, and livability of my daily driver SPF (i actually have about 63-65 thousand miles on it now), are just too nice to sacrifice for power i really can't use. Even being experienced in my car, i am about at thet maximum acceptable safe street power now. And since i don't race on the street, why do i need any more power? So, i have enough.

[Tony Radford]

Casaleenie, I don't have to tell you what I did (per our recent email exchange). I know exactly where you are coming from. It seems like yesterday (actually 18 months ago) when my car was delivered and I took it out for the first time. It was awesome and most exciting. Since then, I've decided that I'm unable to live life to the fullest without 500+ HP. I'm heading down to Southern tomorrow morning with the rest of my polished engine components. Hopefully by next week I will get my chance to see how the mach III group lives!

[trularin]

Leave well enough alone.

Build another if you want to spend money. Make that one faster than this one, but, you have a great machine now.

Think how much time and money you could save if you just build a second versus overhauling the first.

Just my $0.02

P.S. Paint it silver with black stripes.

[Clois Harlan]

Hummmmm!

Those twin Paxton Supercharges and Crossram manifold sure look good on Geary Sarnos Cobra.

Just stoking the fire a little.


Clois

[GeorgiaSnake]

Al, take two of your plug wires off and drive the car for a bit. Get used to it then put the wires back on and presto instant gratification - and it was free

With that said I love my stroker motor

Randy

[Clois Harlan]

Just in case some of you missed Geary's post, take a look:

Got my Crossram

[BANDIT 1]

My Condolences;

You are finding out first hand what they call "Big Block envy". It's a terrible thing going over what "I should have, could have been...". How terrible it must be to have to say to yourself, "Man, if I had put in that 460 "stroker" engine I wouldn't have lost to the Ferrari...and the Viper...and the V8 Pinto...and the Sears Briggs And Stratton powered riding lawnmower, etc..." I guess ol' Bandit wasn't wrong (is he ever...) about there never being enough horsepower and "lack of speed, kills".

All I can say is sell that puppy to some kid in a Mustang GT and go get that BIG BLOCK!

Actually, I would probably recommend going to the Olthoffs and getting one of their "stroker" small blocks or getting a supercharger.

Good Luck...

[rdorman]

Sooner or later this happens to almost all of us. Don't listen to the BB boys, it happens to them as well (point in case, going from 520 CI motor to a 557 CI supercharged motor. )

If you put more horse power in it today, tommorrow you will want more. It is a sickness, seek help. Go down to the local speed shop and have them set you up with NOS. Go with one of the systems where you can change the horsepower by changing the rods/jets/whatever. Start with the smallest ones, say 50HP. When you are bored with that, put in the 75HP ones. So one and so forth.

By the time you get to 1000HP shot you will probably have cooked the motor. But at least you have discovered you tolerence thresshold for HP. So then build a new motor with that amount of HP, plus some for good measure!

Rick

[427sharpe]

Heck yes it happens to all of us (more power needs)...thats what WINTER is for!