GT or Cobra for Drag racing?

[joegodfrey]

I'm going to be buying a mustang in a couple of months and was wondering if anyone had any input on which would be better to setup for a drag/daily driver? I have noticed alot of perfomance mods for the 2v 4.6, but it appears little is around for the cobra version. I need about 500 horse at the wheels. Any input would be appreciated, thanks.

[GKSCOBRA]

I really like the cobra but i think the way to go because of cost would be the GT. Everything for the cobra is expensive.

[Hammer]

The Cobra's Independant Rear Suspension isn't exactly the greatest for drag racing. I'd go with the GT...

[Mustang92]

Get the Cobra and do a live axle swap then you'll be good to go. There are as many if not more bolt-ons for a Cobra and to achieve 500 HP you'll need a blower.

Bill

[tireburner163]

I would go with a Cobra and do a solid axle conversion(you could sell you IRS and prob. break even)

500 HP will be a lot easier to accomplish with a Cobra. A Vortech with a intercooler will go a long way towards you goal. I'm guessin a intercooler blower would put the Cobra in the 420-450 hp range(much more with inproved exhaust and intake)

[joegodfrey]

thanks for the input, I'm gonna go with the gt for a couple of reasons, looks slower, and already has the solid rear axle, and there is a turbo kit for it from TDC.

I haven't seen any one on here talking about turbo's? I saw a setup from tdc with a T 66 P trim good for up to 600 hundred horse.

Has any one had experience with a turbo on the 4.6?

[Hammer]

I know of a few turboed modular GTs...

A couple things....
Overall, the turbo kits will run a little more in parts cost compared to the blowers with around the same gains...
and if you're not putting it in yourself, the turbos will run more cost in installation...

The stage I TDC kit costs a bit more than my Procharger unit with less power output....

The stage II puts out some good #s but costs much more than comparable blower kits (parts cost)...

One last thing...
the high powered TDC kits may be good for 600 horse, but don't expect to strap a turbo kit on a stock engine (or any other kit for that matter) and expect to see that kind of performance improvement.

The stock engine internals just weren't made to handle it, or the stock fuel system, nor is the stock transmission, or the frame....
You just can't keep dialing up the boost until the desired rwhp number comes up on the dyno...

Don't get me wrong, I have absolutely nothing against turbo setups, but it seems that the turbo is this year's "thing" and everyone seems to be caught up in the hype.

In my opinion, if you're serious about a reliable 500 rwhp GT, start with the engine...
298 ci stroker kit with forged internals
ported\polished heads and after-market intake (preferably Ford Motorsport)
upgraded fuel system (maybe an aeromotive pump and some big injectors)
upgraded ignition (maybe an MSD unit)
full performance exhaust swap
a forced induction unit with a "sane" amount of boost (blower, turbo, or nitrous)
custom programmed and "tuned" chip

the above combo should net at least 500rwhp with a nice powerband. Remember that the higher you pump up the boost, the harder it becomes to tune the car for reliability....

Run the above like a banshee until the tranny\rear end dies and get yourself a world class T5 and 9 inch rear...

I'm not even going to get into the frame and suspension mods to get that power to the ground...

Just be safe out there and have a good time...

[joegodfrey]

Thanks for the info Hammer. I actually have always prefered superchargers, just thought they were more expensive so thats cool. I already planned on upgrading the internals I didn't think about the frame though.
thanks again

[tireburner163]

I still say go with the Cobra. It will respond better to boost and the heads flow better that any 4.6 2-valve heads.

You could pull out the Cobra IRS, sell it, and buy a solid rear-end. With the sale of your IRS you might even be able to turn a profit.

With the built internals you were talking about, a intercooled Vortech S-trim, full exhaust, and the usual bolt ons should put you over the 500 mark with ease.