Sluggish 95 Cobra
 

All stock except for a K&N air filter. Only 63000 miles. It will get up and move, but it is not as quick and or as fast as I think a 240 H.P. car should be. It is a convertible, which are supposedly slower. If you mash the gas, there is a slight hesitation. I have the timing set at 16, with no ping. Is the 3.08 gear the biggest culpret of the slowness. I was spoiled awhile back, I had the opportunity to drive an 02 vette, now that would launch. I'm sorry I mentioned a chevy on this forum. A friend of mine has a 3.55 gear that we are going to put in, but it still seams like the H.P. is not where it should be. How can I check performance without spending a lot of money?
thanks and God Bless
jeff

Welcome to the world of stock 94/95 Cobras. My 94 is stock with a K&N filter but I have some plans for some light mods for the 94. First thing will be an OR pipe to get a few extra ponies to the rear wheels and that kick a$$ sound.

Second on the list are some 373:1 gears. 355's are nice but I need a gear set that will be a big difference for me. So 373's it will be...

Third, a cold air kit, and I just read that if you change the computer and wiring to an earlier fox body then you can take that dang shift retard out of the 94/95's. My plans are to get rid of the shift retard so it won't feel like it is bogging.

Stock on stock tires, my 94 ran 14.3 @92 mph. I hit a best of 95 mph but at a slower speed at the strip.

Take your car to a dyno and see how much hp it has then go to the dragstrip.

My goal is to hit 13.5's with a set of drag radials and some bolt ons.... ;)

Good luck!

By an OR pipe are talking about an H pipe or X pipe, or whatever everybody calls them. When you figure out that computer thing and the wiring, let me know. Thanks for the help, it is probably just the car and the way it was set up. I had a 94 GT and it ran just as good with 120K miles. I also had a new 1990 LX w/5.0, and it was like a rabbit compared to my cobra, and it only had 215 H.P.
thanks and God Bless
jeff

Who makes the best cold air intake that will add the most H.P.?
thanks and God Bless
jeff

One additional question, someone suggested that I put headers on, do the shorty ones hook right up, or do you have to modify the pipes. What I would like to do is just bust the guts out of the cadalytic converters then put them back on, less money this way, but will I need new pipes to go from the headers to the converters?
Thanks and God Bless
jeff
:)

The two biggest factors making your car feel sluggish are the weight and the 3.08 gear. SN-95 convertibles are heavy...so are the hardtops for that matter...and the 3.08 is a highway gear that doesn't pull nearly as well as a 3.55 or 3.73. You'll feel the biggest difference with the gear swap...the OR pipe is nice for sound but you won't notice as much as a performance gain with that piece compared to the gear.

Many companies make CAI's...I personally have the MAC fenderwell mount version and have had no issues with it. It's pretty much personal choice and price that determines what you should get. As for the headers, most of them just bolt right up. When you get into long tubes you'll need to modify your h/x-pipe since the headers are longer. :)

Thanks for the advice Don. I just contacted someone tonight that lives in my town, he has some MAC Shorty Headers, current bid is less than 50 dollars, do you think if I do the Shorty's, CAI, knock out the converter guts and do the 3.55 gear I will notice a huge difference. Also, was the the new body style just alot heavier than the older fox body, or is it in the Cobra itself?
Thanks and God Bless
jeff

Don't fear the gear.. I have 3.73 in my 94 Cobra vert & they are great. I would shy away from Mac headers as they have the seperate flanges for each pipe. Get headers that have the 1 piece flange, BBK, FRPP. The equal length headers are a pain to install & have a tendancy to burn plug wires and plug changes are a biatch. For the best performance get long tubes. I have heard good things about the new mid lenght headers. When using shorty headers, they have the stock location for every thing. The mid pipe can be X or H. Not much difference in HP between the 2. If emissions is not a problem, then get the off road. A good cat back will make the car sound better & add a few HP. A larger MAF can help add a few hp.
When was the last time the car had a tune up, plugs, cap, rotor, wires & fuel filter? The MAF meter has 2 wires inside of it that can get dirty & cause the car to not run up to it's potential.
There will be difference with 3.55's, but the 3.73 will get more kick. The newer SN95's are a couple hundred pounds heavier.
I got 255 rwhp & 310 rwtq with bolt ons. Locate a dyno in your town or close and see when they have a dyno day. The price is not too bad to get it dynoed on a dyno day, app $40.00 for 2 pulls.

You will definitely notice a difference with all the changes you mentioned. The SN-95 cars (GT's and Cobra's) weigh 300 to 400lbs. more than the fox chassis cars. I had a 93 GT that weighed 3100lbs. and my current 95 weights about 3400lbs. I put a 3.73 in my 93 and loved every minute of it. I'd suggest doing one mod at a time so you can really see what each one does for the car...but that is just my personal preference.

Thanks for your help, I think I'll try the gear first and a CAI, that will probably satisfy me for now.
thanks and God Bless
jeff