Disappointing ET 96 Cobra + Dyno Results

[dustinv]

I made my first trip to the track this past weekend with the 96 cobra. I was hoping for high 13's but was only able to get a 14.25 on my third run. Time slip was:

R/T: .665
60: 2.116
330: 6.012
1/8: 9.191
MPH: 76.42
1000: 11.955
1/4: 14.255
MPH: 99.84

Does anything stand out to you guys as far as areas for improvement. For reference...mostly stock with 105,XXX miles and 295/18 street tires. Discovered the passenger side midpipe had separated from the manifold flange after last pass. Would this effect my time? Thanks for any help!

 

[duff daddy]

Re: Disappointing ET 96 Cobra

Nothing real real bad stands out, your 60ft shoudl be close to 2.0 so that would drop you to a 14.0 flat. Just try to lose some weight. Dont forget your car is on the heavy side, and has over 100k, its not as strong as it once was oh 15 years ago. Do some small bolt ons, lose some weight and youll see 13.8's in the future

 

[reduceallpain]

Re: Disappointing ET 96 Cobra

Well i just ran my 96 cobra for the first time.. IDK if you saw my thread but my first run was a 14.14 and second was 13.95.. Thats with my heavy as convertible but I shifted the PISS outta the car.... .. Your times arent bad but if you cut a 2.0 60ft i think you can break into the 13s.. As long as you drive the car and arent scared of something breaking lol

 

[KWClutch]

Re: Disappointing ET 96 Cobra

GEARS

 

[sneakypete_ftw!]

Re: Disappointing ET 96 Cobra

lower 60' and some good shifting will get you 13's

 

[dustinv]

Re: Disappointing ET 96 Cobra

Thanks for the input guys. I believe my next investment will be a set of DRs to get the 60 lower...my worn out street tires were suffering at the track. At what RPM are you guys (96-98 4Vs) shifting at?
As for the gears, as much as I would love to, I do a fair amount of commuting about 2 hours between school and home, so for now they are out of the picture.
I took some time to reconnect the midpipe back to the passenger side manifold this evening...the nuts had backed all the way off. After a quick test drive, I'm convinced that was robbing a decent amount of power. I'm confident with that fixed coupled with some DRs and a good cool morning, 13s should be in the near future.

 

[KWClutch]

Re: Disappointing ET 96 Cobra

Gears aren't going to effect MPG that much. Anything is better than you 3.23's

 

[sneakypete_ftw!]

Re: Disappointing ET 96 Cobra

i have 3.73's and there excellent on the i-state. some dr's would be a wise investment and i shift mine at 6800-7000. with no supporting mods on your car i'd stick with 6500-6800.

 

[justinschmidt1]

Re: Disappointing ET 96 Cobra

Seems like a set of 4.10 gears and sticky tires makes a huge differance in the cobras

 

[CanaryGT]

Re: Disappointing ET 96 Cobra

I know my 4.10s woke my 5.0 up

 

[LI98GT]

Re: Disappointing ET 96 Cobra

Weight of those 18" tires and rims might be hurting your performance in addition to the stock tires not getting you good grip. Between my first and 2nd trips to the track, I threw on my old set of stock split spoke 17" wheels/tires and mounted DRs to the the rears. Below are the weights I took (using a bathroom scale) and you can see the difference from what I ran the 1st time, it saved quite a bit of weight that is unsprung. I believe that typically 18 wheels and tires can weigh quite a bit more. If you have your stockers, it could be worth a try.

Mounted on 2nd run on front: Stock 17x8" (5 spoke) rims with street goodyear eagles 245/45/17s=42.5 lbs
Mounted on 2nd run on rear: Stock 17x8" rims with Nitto DRs in 275/40/17s=47.5 lbs
Mounted on 1st run front and rear: Chrome 03 Cobra rims in 17x9" size with street Goodyear F1s in 275/40/17s=53.5 lbs

Saved 22 lbs off the front and 12lbs off the rear for total of 34lbs, which I'm sure helped along with better grip from the DRs.

 

[dustinv]

Re: Disappointing ET 96 Cobra

I was thinking along those same lines as far as the weight of the 18" wheels. Would the rear diameter of 10.5" (295/35 tire) make up for the added weight in terms of traction?..or should I just throw on my 17x9" stockers at the track. Simply, which is the greater advantage...lighter wheels or wider diameter rears? Thanks again for all the input guys!

 

[Venom351R]

Re: Disappointing ET 96 Cobra

I was thinking along those same lines as far as the weight of the 18" wheels. Would the rear diameter of 10.5" (295/35 tire) make up for the added weight in terms of traction?..or should I just throw on my 17x9" stockers at the track. Simply, which is the greater advantage...lighter wheels or wider diameter rears? Thanks again for all the input guys!

Lighter rims b/c street tires/nittos will not give you enough added traction to make up the weight difference. Plus the 18" wheels have more rolling resistance which hurts you as well.

 

[KWClutch]

Re: Disappointing ET 96 Cobra

34 lbs is not going to make that big a difference. Maybe .02. MAYBE. I'd go with sticker tires. Start worrying about hundredths of a second when you're faster.

 

[justinschmidt1]

Re: Disappointing ET 96 Cobra

34 lbs is not going to make that big a difference. Maybe .02. MAYBE. I'd go with sticker tires. Start worrying about hundredths of a second when you're faster.

When its rotating mass from the wheels its supposed to be more effective.


But 35 pound might only be enough to knock off .1 at the most

 

[LI98GT]

Re: Disappointing ET 96 Cobra

34 lbs is not going to make that big a difference. Maybe .02. MAYBE. I'd go with sticker tires. Start worrying about hundredths of a second when you're faster.

When its rotating mass from the wheels its supposed to be more effective.


But 35 pound might only be enough to knock off .1 at the most

Agreed about where the weight is compared to sprung weight, but 34lbs was my wheel/tire weight loss, his weight loss should be a decent amount more since he has 18" wheels and tires.

 

[dustinv]

Re: Disappointing ET 96 Cobra

So once I replace the 18's with 17" stockers, take out the spare/jack, and not fill the tank up this time, I should be looking at around 100 lb reduction. Is that enough to take a tenth off?
Also after doing some reading, it seems I should put the rear Tokico shocks on a softer setting (on 3 instead of 5) and remove the front sway bar. If I do all this and run a little lower pressure in the rears, what would be a good goal for 60ft time?

 

[dustinv]

Re: Disappointing ET 96 Cobra

Got a video of my fastest pass at the track. Any suggestions based on what you see here would be greatly appreciated!

00049.mpg

 

[CanaryGT]

Re: Disappointing ET 96 Cobra

That guy slapped your peepee.... lol... I didnt know they were that quick.

Anyway, what kind of tires are you running? 60ft time on regular tires vs slicks ect will be different.

 

[duff daddy]

Re: Disappointing ET 96 Cobra

So once I replace the 18's with 17" stockers, take out the spare/jack, and not fill the tank up this time, I should be looking at around 100 lb reduction. Is that enough to take a tenth off?
Also after doing some reading, it seems I should put the rear Tokico shocks on a softer setting (on 3 instead of 5) and remove the front sway bar. If I do all this and run a little lower pressure in the rears, what would be a good goal for 60ft time?

not all weight is BAD, your fuel tank is soooo far back, and sooooooo low ill almost help you transfer some weight. so 1/2 tank is ok. Also I ran my Tokic's on 5 and tried 4 once but found better results with the rear on a firm rebound.
If you want I have a set of 4cyl front springs which will help ALOT.

Drop the tire pressure slightly and youll be fine. Also get the pass seat out, spare tire jack, and get some real tires on there and youll be fine.

60' goal for you should be 2.0 and you should work on your shifts *hard to tell exactly how you were doing* but just try and be smooth.


and ps yo ugot beat by a car that weighs 4,000 lbs to your 3400 lol.... just thought id let ya know