x_raiderx_x

I'm in the process of upgrading my 99 cobra and am curious what bolt on parts minus a supercharger do you guys think would be most effective? Right now I'm running a rebuilt stock engine. I've got a bassanni x-pipe with cats and steeda side exit exhaust. I've also got a short throw shifter. Pretty sure the gears are stock 3.27's.
What is going to be most effective to increase low end torque?
cold air intake? underdrive pulleys? diablochip or xcalibrator? long tube headers, off road xpipe? bigger throttle body and spacer? bigger cams?

I've got about 1200 bucks to modify with and am curious what is going to be the best bang for my buck.

Can someone give me some good advice on this?

Thanks.

cobra925

First things first GEARS GEARS GEARS!!! CAI, a custom Dyno tune,UDP's,Cams, Long tubes if your not worried about smog in your state. Throttle body is like pissin in the wind for your car, a waste of 300 bucks IMO. I would do them in that order too

italia18

+1 to what cobra925 said about the TB.


Gears will give you the most notable low end torque. If you have a 5 speed transmission I suggest 3.73's.

Cams will also give you great low end, but I wouldnt buy them unless you are sure your keeping your car N/A (not supercharged or turboes), otherwise youll be wasting your money. If you plan on a supercharger/turbo upgrade sometime in the future, then wit off on cams til you buy your forced induction system. They make forced inducion cams, so no sense in getting
NA cams to throw them off later.

You should throw some headers on her also. Headers are always a good idea, especially because they allow your engine to "breathe" properly. As for the chips, some people are gung ho on them.. I like to avoid them completely, due to witnessing too many horror stories with friends cars that were chipped.

MuscleOwnzRice

not so much on the TB, if will help down the road but not now. I went with exhaust, then cai, pullies, tune, shifter, and now im going with tires and gears...4.10s all the way.

x_raiderx_x

Thanks for the help guys.

So I'm thinking some Hooker Long Tube Headers and a matching off road x-pipe, or is there another brand that is better? Or are they all pretty much the same?

For cold air intake, I'm looking at the Anderson Power Pype and the JLT CAI. Which do you guys think is better? The Power Pype says it can add up to 40 hp!

What about a new intake? I've seen some place called sullivan performance that offers an aftermarket intake for the DOHC 4.6. Any thoughts on this product?

3.73 gears will probably be my best bet too, but is there a real difference between brands? I've seen the ford racing ones, motive ones, and some other company.

Thanks.

midnightsnake83

I'd go with gears, intake tube, air filter, maf, ported throttle body, LT headers, and whatever mufflers you like. A electric water pump would help too.

Lit

I can tell you my brother did on his 99 cobra to start and his sounded and did great on teh dyno for what he had.

Mac Off Road 2 piece H pipe $150 off ebay
4.10 ford racing gears $250
Mac CIA 150 off the net I forget where
Flowmaster super 40's ( I know for sure they're flowmasters ) got them from summit racing $300 and change from summit
X-cal tuner and professionally tuned. $350 for the xcal


The dyno tune, and gears were all done at the same time. For gears, x-cal, tune, installation of everything came to $1100 I beleive..

He was at 298 HP at the wheels and it sounded awesome. DO NOT get an xpipe with the flowmasters. Xpipes suck all around IMO anyways, stick with the H pipes.

BTW if you aren't getting a SC'r get 4.10's you'll be happier.

midnightsnake83

All headers are NOT created equal. Hooker makes the best headers, I think. I've got a C&L Trueflow intake pipe, K&N filter, 80mm maf, and a tornado fuel saver (non spinning turbine) w/ Hooker headers, custom 3" piping, custom h-pipe, and Flowmaster Super 40's. And 4.10 gears! Gear manufacturer doesnt matter til u get like 900 HP (FRPP makes a qieter gear, but you wont notice between FRPP and Motive til that really high HP) Dont know about sullivan performance, as long as the intake tube doesnt ruffle like the stock plastic tube, manufacturer wont matter. The only real difference between 3.73 and 4.10 is the power you get. The gas milage difference is like 1mpg in the city.

Lit

I'm personally going with the bassani headers. Expensive but I heard they're worth it.

italia18

Raider, I've heard nothing but good things about hooker headers, I personally havent heard them myself though so I'm not too sure about the tone of them. I run mac longtubes on my cobra, but some people seem to think mac isnt the best.. I've never had a problem though.