1996-1998 svt cobra vs. 1998-2002 SS/WS6

[JiggaStyles09]

hey guys i have been contemplating for a while on what to get when i graduate college and i have pretty much narrowed it down to 2 choices. the 96-98 cobras or the 1998-2002 F-body twins. Wondering on your opinions on which you guys like better. and avantages/disadvantages to both. keep price in mind too because i would plan on modifying the cars. i think the cobras run around 12-14 grand whereas the WS6/SS runs around 16 and up depending on the year.

also when researching these cars i noticed that there was a slight increase in hp between the 2000-2001 model year for the SS/WS6, and i was wondering about what was done to the cars that achieved this slight increase. i would really appreciate everyones feedback!!!! :) im not trying to make this into a GM vs. ford flame fest either. :wink:

P.S. TT i didnt know whether to put this in RC45s forum or here so please move it as needed. thx

[hanes]

It depends what you are after, the 96-98 Cobras are turds, Takes a lot of mods to make any power out of them too. They need heads etc to make any real power.
If you want any power go to the newer models(they rock).
Good luck finding a Decent WS6/ss for that kind of money!

[Garretts_turbo]

IMHO, an f-body will be a better choice than a Cobra. i love the WS6's styling and i believe that the WS6 can beat the 'stang.

[JiggaStyles09]

Good luck finding a Decent WS6/ss for that kind of money!


thats why i said 16 grand and up. 16 would obviosly be the cheapest possible (ie a 1998 with high miles), i do understand that they generally are in the low 20s for those model years. but anyways yea thanks for your opinions so far.

IMHO, an f-body will be a better choice than a Cobra. i love the WS6's styling and i believe that the WS6 can beat the 'stang.



yea you are right about the WS6 being able to take out the stang stock for stock but i would be planning on modifying either of the cars. so i thought that the cobra since it is cheaper and has a great aftermarket could be better in the long run. but yea i really do like the styling of the f-bodys especially the WS6 and the LS-1 is such a great engine.

[blah]

If you want a nice interior go with the Cobra, if you want pure speed and power go witht he SS, if you want looks, pure speed, and power and notice go with the WS6. Although the cobra sounds much better than the F-Body. but if you can afford one of those F-Bodies maybe you should look in a 2001 cobra, or Mach 1.

[JiggaStyles09]

If you want a nice interior go with the Cobra, if you want pure speed and power go witht he SS, if you want looks, pure speed, and power and notice go with the WS6. Although the cobra sounds much better than the F-Body. but if you can afford one of those F-Bodies maybe you should look in a 2001 cobra, or Mach 1.

yea the 2001 cobra was a consideration, but the performance gain from the 1998 to the 2001 was only 15hp, and a independent rear suspension. since im kinda on the budget the older cobras would work better. ie my spending limit would be no more than 20 grand.

[Vansquish]

My recommendation would be to try and find a later model Cobra with the independent rear suspension...it will handle in a much more mature fashion than any of the others, and there's a good chance you'll get your power down a bit more cleanly with that than with a live rear axle. All the same, if you're on a budget and you're looking to go as fast as you can for as little cash, maybe you ought to look into the 5L Mustang Cobras...they are highly modifiable and can put out quite a lot of power for relatively little cash. If you look you'll even find that the 5L was not limited to the Fox body Mustangs and that in fact it was offered during the first year or two of the more recent bodystyle's production run, i.e. 94/95. Even if you end up getting the 4.6, you'll sound like you're going a hell of a lot faster than the LS1-engined TA's and SS's. Good luck finding one man!

[blah]

One good thing about the mustangs, is the HUGE aftermarket with them, you can easily make power of of the older cobras. First mod should be a full exhaust system of course, then some engine work so if you wanted to you could add some forced induction. With any of these cars you will need some pretty good engine work if you wanna go F/I so that youll have a realible F/I car.

[hanes]

My recommendation would be to try and find a later model Cobra with the independent rear suspension...it will handle in a much more mature fashion than any of the others, and there's a good chance you'll get your power down a bit more cleanly with that than with a live rear axle. ..................!


Mustangs independant rears are great for road course, BUT FROM A DEAD STOP, TO PUT THE POWER TO THE GROUND THE LIVE AXLE IS THE WAY TO GO. The Wheel hop cobras have from a dead stop is NASTY. It hurts, its rather bothersome to have a 390 hp car and not beable to do a burnout without shaking the fillings!

[hemi_fan]

Being a mustang guy, I'd have to say that the LS1 cars will completely OBLITERATE the cobras stock vs. stock. Modding, it kind of an iffy question. You see, the mustang will need a lot more mods to keep up with the f-bodies.. BUT if you are modding both cars, the Mustang is BY FAR the cheaper one to mod, and it has an almost unlimited parts source. The LS1 is also VERY EASY to mod, but the parts are generally more expensive, and the engine itself is harder to work on because it it pushed somewhat under the dashboard while the mustang's engine will be more accesible. I also hear that the camaros feel like much cheaper cars on the inside, and their manual trannies arent all that great. But it all comes down to what you want to spend/do. If you are looking at cost, but still want some performance... got Cobra... but If you're looking for the all-out performer, go the the f-body. Im a mustang guy, but im trying not to be biased... thats my .02 Best case scenario tho, get an 03/04 cobra. those things kick some major arse...

[Vansquish]

Dude...no need to yell...and you're only half correct. If you're trying to make a fast getaway, the inherent problem with torquey rear-drive car is that at some point you're probably going to induce wheelspin...if you are good enough with the throttle, you shouldn't have trouble getting the power down in either the live-axle or independent rear cars. However, with the independent rear, if the surface is less than perfect, you'll likely have more tire in contact with the road at any given point in time...thus it's more likely you'll get your power down better on a regular street than a live-axle car. I don't exactly disagree with what you said, the Cobras are known for some wheel hop, but again, if you manage to get a good launch with minimal wheelspin, you ought to be faster with the independent rear than with the live axle.

[hanes]

We used to own one, trust me, to get good et's gotta launch them at 4500Plus, She wheel hops nasty! Even when she hooked , ET drag radials helped, but not very street friendly for a daily driver!

They have a major problem, there is a fix out by Steeda, SHM and others, but factory, i don't care how GOOD of a driver one is..... IT wheel hopped Period!!!

Talk to any drag racers, LIVE axle is the ONLY way to go, period. It is not something i'm making up, its the TRUTH!

[hemi_fan]

My recommendation would be to try and find a later model Cobra with the independent rear suspension...it will handle in a much more mature fashion than any of the others, and there's a good chance you'll get your power down a bit more cleanly with that than with a live rear axle. All the same, if you're on a budget and you're looking to go as fast as you can for as little cash, maybe you ought to look into the 5L Mustang Cobras...they are highly modifiable and can put out quite a lot of power for relatively little cash. If you look you'll even find that the 5L was not limited to the Fox body Mustangs and that in fact it was offered during the first year or two of the more recent bodystyle's production run, i.e. 94/95. Even if you end up getting the 4.6, you'll sound like you're going a hell of a lot faster than the LS1-engined TA's and SS's. Good luck finding one man!

As far as 5.0 Cobras go... I wouldnt go for the Cobra model. They are not that much faster than the basic LX/GT and for the price difference, you could just add a few bolt-ons and be looking at a few extra hp if u got an LX rather than the Cobra. Also, cobras are only 93-95 for 5.0. You would be able to look all the way back to 1979 for a 5.0, although I'd stick with 1990+ because they have Mass-Air and are more easily modifyable than the Speed Density intakes. Also if you go the route of 5.0, and dont mind the styling, the last of the fox's have more HP than the 94-95 5.0Ls because there was a space issue under the hood of those 2 years and a different intake had to be used. I think they are also a bit heavier, so the fox 5.0's should be able to outrun them stock vs. stock. But none of these cars were on ur list, so this is probably just a waste of typing space. LoL

*FYI, a $5000 Fox Mustang + the $10,000 you would add to get the LS1 would get you a car that could easily outrun the LS1s and The cobras you mentioned, depending on where you spend it. $10,000 on engine and drivetrain alone will net you one holocaustic 5.0L.

[Vansquish]

One of my best friends has one as well, and it's got the stock rear end...neither my buddy nor I have had much trouble with that car as far as hooking up goes, it could just be the track surface, but even on street tires, I can't recall us ever having had any trouble with it.

The point I was trying to make is that in real-world situations...i.e. out on the street the independent rear end is going to be a much more friendly thing to drive than the live-axle. If you're going to go drag racing, fine, that's something different, but even then it is NOT NECESSARILY the case that wheel hop is going to ruin your day.

[hanes]

My Mach 1 hooks way better then his cobra did, Period. And On everyday streets, I'll bet you can't tell the difference! Bottom line, my point is, the independant rear in the cobra, isn't worth the extra money, it blows big time! Its a Ford what do you expect.

My last post on this matter!

[Vansquish]

You'll bet I can't tell the difference about what exactly? Believe it or not I'm not some prepubescent know-it-all...I've got a fairly analytical mnd and a sensible right foot. My seat-of-the-pants intuition has never proven me wrong as far as cars go. In 1994 when my dad brought home a Probe GT he was working on, he asked me what if anything had changed mechanically from its introductory year to it's second year in production. I wasn't reading any car magazines which had any information on the changes, nor was I privy to any special information from my dad. I knew the answer all the same....can YOU do that?

[blah]

Yea the live axle is a bitch to run drag races in, but when you go rear axle you arent gonna be doing much turning. Although the F-Bodies handled well for what they were.

[Anile8er]

the fastes of the cars is the ss by like .2 heh but the ws6 in black looks soooo sick

[JiggaStyles09]

yea i do really like those f-bodys but you guys are right i was looking at the aftermarket parts for them and they are more expensive. im kinda leaning in favor of the cobra now just because of price. i had also considered those old 5.0L i dont mind the styling of them at all, i like it (particularly the notchbacks, those look mean :twisted: ) , and they would really be easy to modify, but i really would perfer the newer car, less miles and probably more reliable if i can find one that is mostly stock. nowadays it is hard to find an unmodified 5.0L. but anyways thanks a lot for all your input, i do appreciate it!! 8)

[FoxFour]

It depends what you are after, the 96-98 Cobras are turds, Takes a lot of mods to make any power out of them too. They need heads etc to make any real power.
If you want any power go to the newer models(they rock).
Good luck finding a Decent WS6/ss for that kind of money!

Just what he needs, information that is quite useless. First off, the '96-'98 Cobra's were equipped with the B series heads flowed quite well. Too well, in fact, that's why Ford chose to put IMRC's to slow down the intake velocity so it could make some usable torque. And slow? Compared to what? Yes these model year Cobra's are a little slower than the LS1 F-Bodies, but absolute speed is not everything, that's why the F body went bye-bye. I would say test drive both models and come to your own conclusion. Around where I live, there is a '96-'97 Cobra convertible sitting on a dealer lot with $12.500 on the window and it looks quite nice.

[nthfinity]

well, the cobra is a higher tech motor in that its DOHC and all aluminum... it can take higher revs under tuning...

i havent driven a N/A cobra, but have driven a WS/6... i prefer the supercharged cobra... but for road racing, the F-body is way better. and with borla exhaust, the T/A sounds incredible.

test drive both, they are both gobs of fun in straights, and in corners :)

[JiggaStyles09]

well, the cobra is a higher tech motor in that its DOHC and all aluminum... it can take higher revs under tuning...

i havent driven a N/A cobra, but have driven a WS/6... i prefer the supercharged cobra... but for road racing, the F-body is way better. and with borla exhaust, the T/A sounds incredible.

test drive both, they are both gobs of fun in straights, and in corners :)haha nice, yea i dont plan on doing any road racing i dont think, but i will definitly have to test drive both when the time comes :)