Newbie questions???

[seanrock27]

I'm in the market for a 2003 MM as a result of a totaled '96 cobra convertible and had a few questions:
First, i keep seeing the 300A/300B in several addresses here and was wondering what the difference is? Is one really better than the other, or are we talking options upgrades, such as a moonroof or spoiler, etc?
Next, are kook's and reinhart the only source for aftermarket exhaust upgrades out there (those are the two I keep seeing here)? I just wanna think there's some exhaust system out there that won't set me back close to $2K. Are the stock manifolds that restrictive, or would a new set of mufflers do the trick for tone and power?
Are stock MM owners happy with the performance out of the box? Any consistent problems marauders experience?
What do you guys recommend for chip upgrades, who is the bet for these and what kind of power increases can I expect?
Do performance upgrades such as chip, exhaust, gears void the warranty? Asked another way, what mods can be performed without effecting the warranty?
Can you turn the traction control off (I'm not sure if that's only available on the 2004's or not, though. Mine will be a 2003)? I sure would like to boil the tires now and again and TC really limits this.

I appreciate any assistance on this and I love the website. It's nice to know there's still a loyal following of things from the blue oval.

SMM

[MM03MOK]

Welcome to the best Marauder resource you'll find anywhere.

First, please put your location in your profile. This will allow others near you to better answer some of your questions as they pertain to local resources.

You've basically summed up many of the questions we all had at one point and most of them are addressed in threads.

Please to a bit of searching, for example 300A AND 300B will give you a list of at least 6 threads that answer your questions about the two 2003 "versions." 2003 300A has no traction control and yes, you can turn off traction control - switch is next to pedal adjuster. Also do a search on Warranty.

[RF Overlord]

are kook's and reinhart the only source for aftermarket exhaust upgrades out there (those are the two I keep seeing here)? Those are pretty much it for bolt-on, proven, performance. Remember, the MM is a very limited production automobile, so most of the "usual" vendors won't put the development time and money into aftermarket parts for it. The "niche" vendors, such as the ones you mention, and the ones below, are our best source.
Are stock MM owners happy with the performance out of the box? I was not happy with the launch compared to my Thunderbird SuperCoupe...but a few judicious mods took care of that issue... :)

What do you guys recommend for chip upgrades, who is the bet for these and what kind of power increases can I expect?There are currently 3 vendors that can meet your needs: Dennis Reinhart (www.reinhartautomotive.com), Wes Chain (www.innovativeinterceptors.co m), and Lidio Iacobelli (www.alternativeauto.com).
Do performance upgrades such as chip, exhaust, gears void the warranty? Asked another way, what mods can be performed without effecting the warranty?ANY mods you do to the car CAN void the warranty, at the dealer's discretion...

[BillyGman]

Welcome aboard. I agree that you should atleast list your homestate like I and many members have. That way one of us might be able to point you to a dealer who is "Mod" (modifications) friendly. I also want to suggest that you keep your posts down to one or two questions since that way you'll usually get more replies.


But I'll tackle atleast one of the many questions you've asked......

Bottom line is, don't expect to leave a whole lot of rubber if any at all w/a factory stock Marauder. They're great cars, and I've never regreted buying mine. But they lack low-end off-the-line grunt due to their small 281 cubic inch engines. So if you want to leave rubber, you'll have to use the brake pedal as well to do so. If you want to leave some good rubber from a dead punch, then you'll have to modify this car. Namely, a chip (or SCT tuner) 4.10 gears in the rear, and Precision Industries STALLION Torque converter w/a stall speed setting at 3,000 RPM.

As far as the exhaust goes, you won't gain anything noticeable in the way of an acceleration increase simply w/different mufflers alone. The sound will be better, but the exhaust manifolds as well as the 4 stock cats and the muffler pipes that get as narrow as a 2" diameter at one point are all just too restrictive. When it comes to a complete performance exhaust, there aren't a lot of options for Marauder owners. Especially for headers. You have to remember that while it's cool to own a Marauder, because they look great, have decent performance, and are rare, it's because their production #'s are low that there aren't as many hi-performance upgrade options as you'll find for cars like Mustangs. And that's because Mustangs are all over the place everywhere you look. So aftermarket companies will always concentrate their efforts on those cars since that's where most of the $$ is at because of their high production #'s.

Okay, that's all the questions I'm willing to answer at once. For the rest, either someone else will jump in, or you should do a search like it had been suggested.

[RoyLPita]

Welcome aboard, Seanrock27. I've posted the differences between the 300As and 300Bs on several occasions. 300As do not have traction control and only come in 1 color---BLACK (7094 made). The 300Bs have additional color choices of blue (328 made) and silver (417 made). Light Flint interior is also added. However, traction control is added at the expense of some small creature comforts. The following are deleted: locking gas door, automatic e-brake release, stand alone clock, front seat cushion map pockets, rear speaker grilles, underhood light, and the full size spare. There are some MMs that have traction control and all of the above with the exception of the full size spare. Traction control can be turned off (but not defaulted to off).

Just my .02 and then some.

[BillyGman]

Oh, BTW, the following 1/4 mile ET reductions are what I've obtained for most of the performance mods I've performed to my 2003 Marauder. I hope this helps you w/your decisions concerning a possible Marauder purchase:


Chip, & 4.10 gears together- .50 second ET reduction

Kooks headers, and COMPLETE exhaust package- .50 sec. reduction

Stallion Torque converter(single plate) w/3,000 stall- .70 reduction

Trilogy Supercharger kit w/standard stock pulley- 1.5 sec. Reduction

[cyclone03]

I'm in the market for a 2003 MM as a result of a totaled '96 cobra convertible and had a few questions:
First, i keep seeing the 300A/300B in several addresses here and was wondering what the difference is? Is one really better than the other, or are we talking options upgrades, such as a moonroof or spoiler, etc?
Next, are kook's and reinhart the only source for aftermarket exhaust upgrades out there (those are the two I keep seeing here)? I just wanna think there's some exhaust system out there that won't set me back close to $2K. Are the stock manifolds that restrictive, or would a new set of mufflers do the trick for tone and power?
Are stock MM owners happy with the performance out of the box? Any consistent problems marauders experience?
What do you guys recommend for chip upgrades, who is the bet for these and what kind of power increases can I expect?
Do performance upgrades such as chip, exhaust, gears void the warranty? Asked another way, what mods can be performed without effecting the warranty?
Can you turn the traction control off (I'm not sure if that's only available on the 2004's or not, though. Mine will be a 2003)? I sure would like to boil the tires now and again and TC really limits this.

I appreciate any assistance on this and I love the website. It's nice to know there's still a loyal following of things from the blue oval.

SMM


For all questions of N/A performance do a search on BillyGman's post.Of all the members here he has done the most to persue his dream of what the Marauder should feel like at all power settings.To become happy he ended up
suppercharged.

Coming out of a Cobra,even a convertable I think you will find the power soft,even slow.

The chip or CPU reflash firms up the power deliverly and adds about 25-30hp to the wheels.
Many have gone to 4.10's,4.30's or in Bills case 4.56's.Most have 4.10's I do not,my gearing is stock but I have all the N/A mods Kooks Headers (A #1 IMO),PI Stallion Converter(TRANSFORMS THE CAR OFF THE LINE!!!),Reinhart CPU reflash (a must because it resets the tuning peramiters to performance settings)

For me I wanted a Bullit Mustang,BAD,But with two kids the family don't fit.
Stock my MM ran 15.30's.Back in the day my 1985 Mustang LX ran,guess what? 15.30's! This car aint that bad.
After reflash,14.86.I t was hotter than my 15.30.
I haven't run my new setup yet but will at MMII at Indy.

So there you go.
The short and sweet on the A or B thing is early 2003,manufactored before November 2002 I think, do not have traction control I THINK evrything else including all 2004's do. Theres some other minor differences but nothing major.

I understand the 2004's may be more responsive with some transmission tweaks.

[seanrock27]

Thanks, guys. i certainly appreciate all of your insight and help.

sure would like some seat time in one of the blower cars i see lots of guys have. any thoughts on how much a trilogy 'charger would set me back?
at first glance, i woulda thought a 10.1 blower car may have been too much, but i haven't read anything on blown head gaskets yet.

[BillyGman]

Sean, you still haven't listed your homestate for us. There's a lot of great people on this board who are sometimes willing to go out of their way to help you out, and even give you a ride in their modified Marauder creations. But that will never happen if nobody even knows what state you live in.


Maybe none of that would apply to you right now since you haven't even purchased a Marauder yet, and after all, you can always simply go to a dealer that has atleast one Marauder left to take a test drive in a factory stock one for now. But there are also certain parts of the country where there are Mercury dealers that have over a dozen Marauders just sitting on their lots. And if you find a place like that, I'm sure they're more motivated to bend on the price than a dealer that has only one Marauder.

My point is that your secrecy might be limiting the amount of help or info that we can offer you on this issue. As far as the S/Ced Marauder issue, and engine durability, nothing is fool proof I guess when it comes to high performance applications, but there are three dozen Trilogy S/Cer equipped Marauders on the streets w/thousands of miles on them(my Marauder being one of them), atleast 20+ Kenny Brown S/Cer equipped Marauders on the streets as well, and atleast 20+ Dennis Reinhart S/Cer equipped Marauders around also, and the majority of the owners of these vehicles are members of this board, and I have yet to hear of any blown engines, melted pistons, or blown head gaskets as of yet. It's all in how the engine is tuned, and that's determined by the engine tuner who burns the chip that comes w/the S/Cer kit that's chosen.

There's a great article on Lidio's website about this called "My Rant". Lidio burns the chips for all the Trilogy S/Cer kits, and his website can be found by going to his forum here on this board (the "Alternative Auto" forum).

[Marauderman]

Gosh!! All I gotta say is all you guys have really gone out of your way to show this newbie how we treat newbies...and all of you have responded with such GREAT answers...WOW!...Man it's great knowing all of you --hope to some day put faces with names...you guys are guiding another in the right direction ---I can't add anything --you all have done it for me..gosh!! :coolman: :D

[seanrock27]

Sorry guys, I live in Austin , TX. Got word from my insurance yesterday that maybe they won't total my cobra (still not sure though), but I'm still seriously considering trading it in for a MM if they end up fixing it. Time (and funds) will dictate what happens on that.

[MICA Racing]

Sorry guys, I live in Austin , TX. Got word from my insurance yesterday that maybe they won't total my cobra (still not sure though), but I'm still seriously considering trading it in for a MM if they end up fixing it. Time (and funds) will dictate what happens on that.
Welcome aboard, fellow Texan! You've come to the right place to learn more about these cars. All I can say regarding your thoughts on buying one - I've had 28 different cars and trucks, all over the performance (or lack of it) spectrum, and although I've had slightly faster or better handling cars, the Marauder is not just a muscle car, but a true performance sedan. The chassis has amazed me even more than the powertrain, and both will just get better with a few well-chosen mods. I'm happier with the MM than any car I've ever owned, and would advise you to drive one at the dealer. If you can't fond one, there are dealers in Houston that have some, and you're more than welcome to look me up if you come down to Houston - I'd be glad to go for a ride with you in my stocker. Act fast - soon it will be too late!