2001 Camaro SS/TRans Am WS6 vs 03 Mustang Cobra

Hey whats up everybody. I am new to this forumn and this is in fact the first forumn i have joined. I saw that you previously had mentioned this comparo and i wanted to add my perspective and see what you guys all think. Just for altitude and climate info, i live in the California Bay Area and most of my numbers where obtained at Sacramento Raceway.

The question was which car is a better car. Well i have heard a lot of praise for the cobra and not much said for F-Bodies. Keep in mind i own an F-Body so some of what i say may sound biased, but i have it all on tape.

My car is a 2001 TRans Am WS6, all the mods i have are a lid and filter. Oh and a new set of back tires.
My car dynoed 321hp and 335tq.
My friend recently bought a 04 Cobra and bone stock his car dynoed 345hp and i cannot remember the torque(sorry).
We raced many times on the freeway and i would edge him out in third and fourth gear, not by more than a few feet. Not until i shift into fifth does he beat me, and we did runs starting from first, starting from second, and starting in third. I run a 13.1@109mph at the track. And have about $100 into the car. So basically nothing.

So i say that the cobra isnt really as great as it is made out to be. 24 more hp and still barely edges out a two year older car. Not looking good for the cobra. The upside is that the cobra has two massive fuel pumps and forged internals, so you can safely turn the supercharger boost way up on it and still be safe.

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Hey whats up everybody. I am new to this forumn and this is in fact the first forumn i have joined. I saw that you previously had mentioned this comparo and i wanted to add my perspective and see what you guys all think. Just for altitude and climate info, i live in the California Bay Area and most of my numbers where obtained at Sacramento Raceway.

The question was which car is a better car. Well i have heard a lot of praise for the cobra and not much said for F-Bodies. Keep in mind i own an F-Body so some of what i say may sound biased, but i have it all on tape.

My car is a 2001 TRans Am WS6, all the mods i have are a lid and filter. Oh and a new set of back tires.
My car dynoed 321hp and 335tq.
My friend recently bought a 04 Cobra and bone stock his car dynoed 345hp and i cannot remember the torque(sorry).
We raced many times on the freeway and i would edge him out in third and fourth gear, not by more than a few feet. Not until i shift into fifth does he beat me, and we did runs starting from first, starting from second, and starting in third. I run a 13.1@109mph at the track. And have about $100 into the car. So basically nothing.

So i say that the cobra isnt really as great as it is made out to be. 24 more hp and still barely edges out a two year older car. Not looking good for the cobra. The upside is that the cobra has two massive fuel pumps and forged internals, so you can safely turn the supercharger boost way up on it and still be safe.

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In your expirence you have seen some of the worst dyno numbers I have seen for a stock 03-04 Cobra and gotten some very good times for you mods unless your new rear tires are DR's or slicks.

So it's like cause I see one stock LS1 run high 13's they all do or one stock LS1 dyno at 298 they all do.

lid,filter,tires=$100?

those are indeed very weak numbers for an 04 cobra, and very good numbers for ur ws6... most cobras that ive seen dynod (03-04) dyno at around 365-370 and some people have dynod at 380 at the wheels (but since i have not personally witnessed that well just call it hear say) stock for stock ur friend should have had u right off the line unless a. he cant drive or b. u have more mods than ur claiming you do (if u got 320 hp and are runnin a 13.1 u must have more than ur claiming or your a little off on ur numbers) but if u did get that much more hp from those mods lemme know what company they are cause damn ur onto something.

Part of the reason for the good times was because i do have Nitto Drag Radials. And the Cobra my friend owns was really rich from the factory, since it has been leaned out and that with the cold air got it up to about 365hp. So he obviously beats me pretty badly now. He is actually a really good driver. He is now currently running a 12.8 at the track. I jsut finished my clutch install, and cant wait to get back to the track, im guessing ill hit a 12.9, if i get a 1.9 or maybe 2.0 60ft. He is a better driver than i am though, he got a 02 Firehawk with just a lid and filter to hit 12.9's, on stock tires. But the point i was really going to make is that my car cost $21K and his was $33K out the door. So i paid $12K less than he did and was a close match. Ofcourse he was bought brand new and mine was bought used. But as far as i am concerned, the price is the price. And with the $12k difference, i am putting on 4.10 gears and a turbocharger.

Cost is not cost when comparing old to new. It's like take what I paid for my 87 Mustang GT $1500 but say $3000 for an average. Now give me $17,000 on mods and ya T/A couldn't hold the Stang's jock strap same difference if you used a 3rd Gen F-body and ya T/A. So price is not price.


Ya nitto's cost more than $100 alone so you have more than a $100 into your car.

Your friend is running 12.8's on stock tires let's throw some DR's on his car and see how he runs. He should be able to be in the low 12's with DR's so he is/or almost a full second faster than you.

Well i wasnt counting the DR's. But if i was then i have $470 into the car. And as far as you making an old Fox body fast. I wouldn't be impressed. I am impressed by nice cars that look good and are fast. You know, power everything, leather, 6-speed, comfortable, just plain nice cars.
Now dont get me wrong, the 03+ Cobra is a really nice car. I should know, two of my friends have them and i know another two guys that have them. And they do have a pretty sweet setup. I just think that stock, they are a bit weak for being Supercharged and dont really outperform an F-Body. They are almost the equivilant of a Vette. But an F-Body is also almost the equivilant of a Vette. On the Freeway, I can beat my friends Vette.
Bottom line is that the 03+ Cobra just doesnt impress me.

Well i wasnt counting the DR's. But if i was then i have $470 into the car. And as far as you making an old Fox body fast. I wouldn't be impressed. I am impressed by nice cars that look good and are fast. You know, power everything, leather, 6-speed, comfortable, just plain nice cars.
Now dont get me wrong, the 03+ Cobra is a really nice car. I should know, two of my friends have them and i know another two guys that have them. And they do have a pretty sweet setup. I just think that stock, they are a bit weak for being Supercharged and dont really outperform an F-Body. They are almost the equivilant of a Vette. But an F-Body is also almost the equivilant of a Vette. On the Freeway, I can beat my friends Vette.
Bottom line is that the 03+ Cobra just doesnt impress me.

Well not counting DR's is like me saying I ran 12 flats with an 03 Cobra with just an CAI even though it's sitting on $300 worth of slicks. But I understand what your saying

I could put a 6-speed, have a custom interior built and still be faster than your LS1 with the $17,000 saved and same if I took a 3rd Gen F-body so I don't see the relivance.

And a LS1 is a bit weak for only making 320ish hp with 346cu while a MACH1 makes 305-ish with only 281cu.(Saracaism)

I won't bash F-bodies cause they have are good cars and always have been. The 03-04 Cobra stock is faster than your LS1, handles better, brakes better etc.., if that doesn't impress you... then nothing will, so that's how it goes.

Do you ever race?
What State do you live in?
I live in California and do a lot of racing. Go to Sacramento Raceway sometime and tell me how many Mustaqngs you see compared to F-Bodies. But thats not really the point. And you gotta remember that the Mach1's numbers arent to the wheels. But often times GM's numbers on the F-Bodies are pretty close to being at the wheels. GM underrated the hell outof the F-Bodies to keep Vette owners from being pissed off. And another thing, in the end the Mach1 and Mustangs are still Mustangs, which are in no way considered nice cars.

the mach 1's were underrated to, it ran off of the cobra engine (320 hp) and had a functional hood scoop. ive seen these things dyno at close to 300 (at the wheels) stock... and as far as not being nice cars that arguement doesnt work when being comopared to f bodys. and the 05 mustang happens to be a very nice car.

Well if you dont race, then nothing you say really has any relevance. Because you can spout out Car and Driver or Road and Track numbers all day. But until you see them in action personally you dont really know. And i have seen almost every sports, muscle, or performance car in action. And besides the track isnt the only place to race. The track is actually the least popular place to race. Let me know when you get a car and if you live in northern california we can setup a race.

Comparison CLOSED

Comparison CLOSED

It's an online message board, not a courtroom. These things usually keep going until a flame-war breaks out and burns the thread to the ground, and then a mod locks it.

Do you ever race?
What State do you live in?
I live in California and do a lot of racing. Go to Sacramento Raceway sometime and tell me how many Mustaqngs you see compared to F-Bodies. But thats not really the point. And you gotta remember that the Mach1's numbers arent to the wheels. But often times GM's numbers on the F-Bodies are pretty close to being at the wheels. GM underrated the hell outof the F-Bodies to keep Vette owners from being pissed off. And another thing, in the end the Mach1 and Mustangs are still Mustangs, which are in no way considered nice cars.

Yes I do race and fairly often at New England Dragway, I live in Mass. There are usually more Mustangs than F-bodies but like you said it's not even the point.

MACH1's numbers aren't to the wheels but you still get the point if if you did the MACH1's 320 fly with 281cu. vs the LS1's 360hp with 346cu. a 1.1L difference it's weak. The truth is I don't think it's weak but it shows how guys should quit complaining about the S/C and what's weak and what isn't.

Also stock stick MACH1's can beat stock stick LS1's with less horsepower cause it has better gearing and stock suspension really planned for a good 60' for stock. If you do a search there is a video floating around of a guy in a stock stick MACH1 on slicks running 12.8's @ NED.

And no a Mustang doesn't have BMW/Benz like interiors but it sure as hell can compete with the F-bodies and most magazines like C&D, R&T actually say the Mustang interior is better. I think they all equal personally.

while the track might not be the most popular place its where ull find the most skilled drivers (not always but generally) and the races are always even, no advanatages... and i do race and i have yet to see a stock trans am or z28/ss beat a stock 03/04 cobra you can say whatever u want doesnt mean everyone else has to buy it.

Well we could argue about this forever. But both are really good vehicles and thats why i wanted to compare them. But it all comes down to your personal expirience and preferences.