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SouLRioT
03-14-2005, 11:08 AM
I'm sure I've seen the info here befor but I can't recall seeing a thread dedicated to it. Will a stock Marauder with just a Trilogy on it beat a stock 04' Mustang Cobra in the 1/4 mile? If it will, end of story 'nuff said. But if it wont, what would you suggest to get it there. Please keep this thread nice and neat.

Tallboy
03-14-2005, 11:19 AM
A stock 03 or 04 Cobra is a sub 13 second car. Right around 12.9 in the 1/4 mile. There are "stock" Trilogy Marauders that have run that number. Putting a Trilogy in the Marauder pretty much levels the playing field.

MarauderMark
03-14-2005, 11:19 AM
I'm sure I've seen the info here befor but I can't recall seeing a thread dedicated to it. Will a stock Marauder with just a Trilogy on it beat a stock 04' Mustang Cobra in the 1/4 mile? If it will, end of story 'nuff said. But if it wont, what would you suggest to get it there. Please keep this thread nice and neat.


An MM with just a blower (trilogy) not exhaust or anything else right?
Well i have seen some cobras stock with some high reving(6200 rpm) they can make a 12.6 pass..i have also read some trilogy MM's with a 13.1 or 13.4 pass...just what i have read...i really don't know..

SouLRioT
03-14-2005, 11:25 AM
A stock 03 or 04 Cobra is a sub 13 second car. Right around 12.9 in the 1/4 mile. There are "stock" Trilogy Marauders that have run that number. Putting a Trilogy in the Marauder pretty much levels the playing field.

Thanks Chuck for answering my question. :banana2:

BillyGman
03-14-2005, 12:05 PM
Yeah, but if a Cobra ran a 12.6 ET in "stock" form, then it must have atleast had drag radials on the back. Because I don't think that a Cobra would hook up well enough off the line to tun mid 12's with standard radial tires. And I think it was Five0 who ran a 12.5 second ET on stndard radial tires with his Trilogized Marauder. I cannot remember if he had anything else on his car at the time though. But I believe that with a good launch technique, and drag radials, both the Cobra and the Trilogized Marauders that are otherwise stock, will be in the high 12's( usually 12.9's). So in most cases, it will be a very close race I believe. Spend another few hundred bucks and install a set of 4.10 gears in the Trilogized Marauder, and that will put it well into the 12 second bracket consistently (usually mid 12's).


So I agree with Chuck on this one. Besides that, if you see a Cobra running a 12.6 ET, then there's no real way to tell if the car is "stock" or not unless the driver is your brother, or a real close friend who you know for certain is telling you the truth when he says that his car is "stock" because it seems like that's what everybody wants to tell you on and off the track abouth their cars whether it's true or not.:rolleyes: There are so many guys out there who are just too immature and insincere to just come clean with the real scoop when you ask them what they did to their car. That Cobra guy who turned a 12.6 ET could've easily had a smaller blower pulley for more boost pressure, or 410 gears in the rear, and you would've never known it. You just don't have any way of knowing.

I remember that a guy with a Dodge Magnum R/T truck beat me in a race before my car was S/Ced. And when I congratulated the guy, and also complimented him on his truck being so fast, I then asked him what he did to his truck, he said "It's stock"......and then when I doubted him, and asked him why he wasn't telling me the truth, he then said, "It's supercharged, but it's factory stock that way".....so because I knew nothing about Dodge trucks at the time, I believed the guy. I later found out from people on this board, and from the dealers that I called, that those trucks never came with superchargers. :rolleyes: Unfortunately you'll find these types of characters all over the place in this hobby of ours. They just cannot be straight with you to save their life.

sailsmen
03-14-2005, 12:53 PM
With drag radials, a tune and a cold air intake on a cool nite I have seen Cobras run high 11.

On a cool nite a stock Cobra will run low 12. Alot has to do with the driver due to manual shift.

The 3 Cobras I have seen run these times had very experienced drivers.

Per MM&FF "When the first GTs were hitting the streets around Christmas of 1993 with a whopping 215 hp, who would have envisioned that a decade later you'd be able to stroll into your local SVT dealer and buy a new Cobra (with a supercharger, no less) and run 12.40s at 113 right off the showroom floor without so much as a tire-pressure adjustment?"

Tallboy
03-14-2005, 06:32 PM
A stock 03 or 04 Cobra is a sub 13 second car. Right around 12.9 in the 1/4 mile. There are "stock" Trilogy Marauders that have run that number. Putting a Trilogy in the Marauder pretty much levels the playing field.
The Cobras I have seen running at test-n-tune nights in Bradenton run right at 12.9-13.1 seconds. Drag radials, cooler air, expirienced driver, etc. will vary these times. I was referring to stock 03-04 Cobras with stock tires, etc. running at the track here in south Florida. Your local cars and track conditions may be different than mine.

MikesMerc
03-14-2005, 06:43 PM
I've seen some pretty experienced drivers flogging thier Cobras and the best I've seen is high 12s. This was in cool autumn michigan air.

BTW, I personally hammered an 04 Cobra at milan last fall as well:) Was great fun indeed. Of course I was running one pulley size smaller (making 11 psi) with exhaust and 4.10s. But it was a blast smoking him anyway and killing him by more than a second:D

Bottom line, a Marauder w. Trilogy is a pretty good match for the Cobra. The Cobra is a bit quicker in theory, but the Marauder launches better and doesn't miss shifts.

BlackHole
03-14-2005, 07:03 PM
Bottom line, a Marauder w. Trilogy is a pretty good match for the Cobra. The Cobra is a bit quicker in theory, but the Marauder launches better and doesn't miss shifts.

Your all also forgetting we have a solid axel vs. the Cobras less than ideal IRS rear and so they also have to contend with wheel hop.

The best stock time I have personally witnessed was a 12.75 @ 115.63 MPH out side temp was around 68/69 degrees with just a slight breeze

MI2QWK4U
03-14-2005, 07:13 PM
Last sping at a private event at Milan I attended with Lidio I met a guy with a brand new 04 Cobra. Someone was there with a camera and I may have a copy of a few of the runs, but we ended up going head to head 4 or 5 times, and I won every time, i want to say it was 3 to 4 tenths of a second margin. My car wasnt heavily modded at that point, no race gas, just the trilogy blower, nittos and magnaflow mufflers.

I almost forgot, on the way down to MVI in Texas, I ran a red 03 Cobra on the freeway in Ohio or Illinois from a 45 mph roll, he gave up at about 130 mph and probably 4 or 5 carlengths behind! Here is the post about it!

MM beat 03 Cobra (http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=4969)

CRUZTAKER
03-14-2005, 07:38 PM
Stock.....somebody say.....stock?:D

Nathan
03-15-2005, 03:27 PM
On a cool nite a stock Cobra will run low 12. Alot has to do with the driver due to manual shift.

I've met quite a few 03/04 Cobra owners on cool nights at local drag strips. Even with a few basic mods and the trusty bag of ice on the intake between runs, getting below 13 is a maybe.

I can't say as to whether or not they were shifting properly? But the IRWS causes some real wheel hop problems out of the gate.

BillyGman
03-16-2005, 01:48 AM
I've met quite a few 03/04 Cobra owners on cool nights at local drag strips. Even with a few basic mods and the trusty bag of ice on the intake between runs, getting below 13 is a maybe.

I can't say as to whether or not they were shifting properly? But the IRWS causes some real wheel hop problems out of the gate.Yes, thankyou.

sailsmen
03-16-2005, 08:01 AM
From my thread http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=9441


"A Cobra ran a 11.83 w/ pulley, exhuast, Nittos and Predator tune!

I put all my time slips in excel and record my runs on a microcasstte for analysis. The temp was 73* and 45%."

Check out this for some 1/4 mile times;
http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=42

MikesMerc
03-16-2005, 05:48 PM
From my thread http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=9441


"A Cobra ran a 11.83 w/ pulley, exhuast, Nittos and Predator tune!

I put all my time slips in excel and record my runs on a microcasstte for analysis. The temp was 73* and 45%."
[/url]
So what you're saying is that this Cobra was far from stock. With those mods and some luck I could see a Cobra running that time.

As far as what the boys at SVT are posting...well I dunno. In the end I place much more reliance in what I've witnessed myself versus what I see on message boards. Who knows what those guys are really running. All I know is that I've personally seen a few Cobras not be able to break much below the low 13s to high 12s.

And yes, the axle hop is a serious issue on these cars. Most guys have to yank out the IRS to be competitive at the track.

Constable
03-16-2005, 06:34 PM
"Even with a few basic mods and the trusty bag of ice on the intake between runs, getting below 13 is a maybe."

"But the IRWS causes some real wheel hop problems out of the gate."


I don't know what drag strip you guys have been going to, but 'round here at Englishtown stock '03s were putting out mid 12's all night long back in the summer of '03. I'd sit and drool at the cars while I was waiting for my Marauder parts to come in the mail.

If they can't break 13's (EVEN on stock tires) then the driver has some serious issues he has to deal with. And as far as IRS goes, it doesn't matter. Last month's issue of MM&FF had Terminators running 9's and 10's all day long with the IRS retained... just a brace and heavy half-shafts.

Use this as a guideline: MM&FF pushed a BONE stock Mach 1 to 13.13... on street tires. An experienced driver in a bone stock s/c cobra will blow the door off a bone stock trilogy MM... gotta compare apples to apples.

BillyGman
03-17-2005, 01:49 AM
An experienced driver in a bone stock s/c cobra will blow the door off a bone stock trilogy MM... gotta compare apples to apples.Sorry, I just don't believe that. But hey, I cannot even claim to have ever raced a Cobra before. But until anyone who owns an otherwise stock Trilogy equipped Marauder DOES race a Cobra or two, we can all debate this til the end of the century, and it doesn't mean didley. ;)

Constable
03-17-2005, 11:49 AM
Sorry, I just don't believe that.

Don't get me wrong, but it doesn't really matter what we "believe" or "think". what matters is the facts. I trust MM&FF because they test cars to an insane degree. When they FIRST got their hands on an '03 Cobra, they ran at Englishtown on STOCK TIRES and pushed a bone stock Cobra (even the air filter) to 12.76@110.11. They did that not once, but twice on the same day. FACT.

Now, since that was only one day, look at the SVTPerformance forums. There we see 12.62@111.16 and 12.87@112.86 (there are plenty more, but these are just for example). They were performed by SERIOUS drivers who know how to make their Stangs haul butt. We also see a bunch of low 13 slips by people who can't powershift and have terrible 60' times.

Now for the Trilogy Marauder. We'll use our very own MikesMerc and Tallboy as examples. Mike put down consistent 13.20's with JUST the Trilogy kit. He also mentioned that "there may have been a high 12 in there". We'll let him chime in on that. When he switched over to widened wheels and DR's, he posted consistent 12.80's and 12.90's. Tallboy posted consistent 13.10's with a stock Trilogy car. Refer to THIS THREAD (http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=15030&highlight=trilogy+stock+times) for any further information.

So... what is the answer to the original questions asked? On the track, with experienced drivers, the Cobra will take the Trilogy car. On the street it will all depend on the driver of the Cobra.

None of this has been opinion, belief, or fairy tale... it's true people. As much as I love Marauders, Cobra's are inherently quicker and faster. Good Day.

MarauderMark
03-17-2005, 01:19 PM
'03 "B"... EVERYTHING except an S/C. SOLD!! Wtg Ryan!!i know someone got a nice car there..:up:

Constable
03-17-2005, 03:10 PM
Yea, he's gonna have fun with her. The truck should be here Saturday afternoon to pick it up. Exotic Auto Transporters is handling the task. Here's the thread: http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=16745

Todd
03-17-2005, 05:10 PM
'03 "B"... EVERYTHING except an S/C. SOLD!! Wtg Ryan!!i know someone got a nice car there..:up:

I bought Ryans car. I hope he doesnt mind me chiming in.

Not only is it a great car with lots of great mods, Ryan is a great guy and has been MORE than helpful in my trials and tribulations of me getting the financing paperwork completed quickly, payments made to appropriate parties, and to line up a shipper that I trust and can do it in my time lines.

Anyways, Just wanted to give Ryan some kudos for being a great guy!!! He deserves it...!


And as to the Cobra versus Marauder thing... Ryans facts above say it all.

Lighter car with almost the same HP and TQ as a stock Trilogied marauder and manual trans = faster car all the way around.

Nathan
03-17-2005, 07:35 PM
An experienced driver in a bone stock s/c cobra will blow the door off a bone stock trilogy MM... gotta compare apples to apples.

If we're going to compare apples to apples, why are we comparing "Average Joe" Trilogy-equiped Marauder owners to experieced drivers? I know darned well that a more experienced racer can get better ET's out of my car than I can myself.

Jerry Barnes was posting times in the 12's with #1 before he started additional mods. With my stock tires I was lucky to break 13.2. But then again, I only had like 5k miles on the car at the time.

So.. with that being said, I agree that a stock 03/04 Cobra has a leg up on a Marauder with just the Trilogy installed. The following factors could easily negate that leg up:

1. Driver Experience (or lack thereof)
2. Miles on the clock (of either car)
3. Hot lapping (as opposed to having a cool down period w/ice?)

I guess the next time I see an 03/04 Cobra post a 13+ ET this spring at one of the local tracks, I'll tell him what a crappy driver he is.

sailsmen
03-17-2005, 07:42 PM
Because a Cobra is a manual shift which requires a lot more skill than an automatic!

Constable
03-17-2005, 09:27 PM
... deleted ...

Todd
03-18-2005, 05:17 AM
I guess if Trilogy ever goes out of business there will be alot of Marauders for sale...

Everyone that blindly thinks a eaton is the best thing since sliced bread and can compensate for about 1kpounds overweight (like happens around here) will probably commit suicide or sell your cars....


Some of your thought processes are amazing. The facts have been laid out for you. It isnt even a fair comparison for the Marauder. I like Marauders also and I dont even have mine yet. AND I like the Trilogy kit. I got the instructions today just to see how detailed they are. Looks like an awesome kit and very detailed.

But basically same motor, same supercharger, with about 1000 more pounds and an automatic. What dont you guys get???????

MarauderMark
03-18-2005, 05:36 AM
Anyways, Just wanted to give Ryan some kudos for being a great guy!!! He deserves it...!


Yes he is and yes he does..Can't wait to see his latest exit myself !:burn: Allways a sight to see..:up:

Jerry Barnes
03-18-2005, 03:11 PM
Guys,

I agree. A Cobra should beat a Stock Trilogy Marauder easily, unless the driver is a sleep at the wheel. But, I have witnessed Marauder's beating Cobra's. Don't know why, but it happened. Probably for all of the same reasons everyone has pointed out already.

But, the facts should speak for themselves:

1,000 lighter
Same Blower, a little less boost
Someone who knows how to effectively work a stick shift

But, when a Marauder(anybody's Marauder) beats a Cobra, it's a beautiful sight!

Jerry

Constable
03-18-2005, 03:22 PM
Thanks Jerry... BTW, I love your kits and Marauders. I was just stating the facts :D

Lidio
03-19-2005, 10:58 AM
Last month's issue of MM&FF had Terminators running 9's and 10's all day long with the IRS retained... just a brace and heavy half-shafts.


Just wanted to point some thing out…

The top five Cobra’s your referring to in the MM&FF 03-04 Cobra shoot out had C-4’s or 4R70W automatics. This is much less shock to the IRS, which I can not stand by the way. The 6th place and slowest car had a stick still, only ran 11’s and ditched the IRS according to the article.

I’ve said it before (Not here) the IRS would probably never break if it was behind the softer less shocking hit of a converter rather then a stick shift.

The wheel hop is what kills them but either way it’s a piece of ***** and should have never plagued the ’99 and up Cobras.

This is why its gone for 05 and rumored to not be in any up coming Cobra’s as well.
Thank God.

MARAUDER S/C #5
03-19-2005, 01:07 PM
Hey Lidio, did you check out page 50 of the May issue. (MM&FF)
They put a Kenne Bell twin-screw sc on the 05 GT. They also added a MagnaFlow X-pipe low-restriction dual-exhaust. They dynoed at 442.6 rwhp and ran 11.7 at 117 mph. (0-60/4.5 sec.) They call it a rolling menace.
How do you think the Trilogy kit on the GT would match up with similar exhaust mods?

BillyGman
03-19-2005, 01:15 PM
0-60 MPH in 4.5 seconds? That must have been on the standard radials, because my car does that on the street in 4.25 seconds.....oh, wait a minute......I fogot about my 4.56 gears. :D


BTW, isn't it a factor that we have automatic transmissions and the Cobras have sticks? What I mean is, that automatics are quicker in the quartermile, right? Nobody can shift a stick as fast as an automatic shifts.

MARAUDER S/C #5
03-19-2005, 01:40 PM
Also in the May issue of FFMM pg. 118 they have an article on the Ford GT, and they put a beating on it. With only a pulley change and some stickier tires they ran a 10.92 at 128.07 mph. YOWZAA.....:eek: (still not worth the $ imo)

The interesting thing I noticed in this article that relates to this thread are these comments:

" When Mr.Coletti (director of Ford SVT Programs) taunted us and said we couldn't run 12's in a 95 Cobra R, we did. When he dared us to go better than 12.90 in a stock 03 Cobra, we went 12.43 at 113- then we hopped it up and went 11.6's while the other magazines struggled to run 13.0."

That being said, the fastest times I have heard for a stock Trilogy are in the 12.9's, unless someone has heard of a faster time. :dunno:

BillyGman
03-19-2005, 01:46 PM
Also in the May issue of FFMM pg. 118 they have an article on the Ford GT, and they put a beating on it. With only a pulley change and some stickier tires they ran a 10.92 at 128.07 mph. YOWZAA.....:eek: (still not worth the $ imo) OH, yes it is worth the $$..yes it is!!!! I rode in one!!! The only problem for me is how do I get the $$?????

The interesting thing I noticed in this article that relates to this thread are these comments:

" When Mr.Coletti (director of Ford SVT Programs) taunted us and said we couldn't run 12's in a 95 Cobra R, we did. When he dared us to go better than 12.90 in a stock 03 Cobra, we went 12.43 at 113- then we hopped it up and went 11.6's while the other magazines struggled to run 13.0."

That being said, the fastest times I have heard for a stock Trilogy are in the 12.9's, unless someone has heard of a faster time. :dunno:my question is, that hos is it that 'other" magazines were getting low 13's out of those cars, and that magazine was the only one getting mid 12's out of the same car? Sounds fishy to me. Who was paid off?

MARAUDER S/C #5
03-19-2005, 02:02 PM
Your right Billy, even though I say its not worth the $, If I had the $ I would probably buy one and use it for a winter beater. :P

BillyGman
03-19-2005, 02:10 PM
Your right Billy, even though I say its not worth the $, If I had the $ I would probably buy one and use it for a winter beater. :PLOL.........yeah, we wouldn't want to expose our precious Marauders to the elements of the New England winter for the sake of a mere Ford GT. :D

sailsmen
03-19-2005, 02:16 PM
MM & FF are Hot Rod guys :D and know how to run the 1/4, these other mags are reporters.

Do you ever read about C&D, R&T or MT turning a wrench on a car for the magazine? Answer is no, because they never have!

BillyGman
03-19-2005, 03:31 PM
MM & FF are Hot Rod guys :D and know how to run the 1/4, these other mags are reporters.

Do you ever read about C&D, R&T or MT turning a wrench on a car for the magazine? Answer is no, because they never have!But I'm sure that al, or atleast most of those other magazines hire professional drivers for their quartermile flogs. Right? And I'm sure that the writers of any magazine aren't the ones turning the wenches (oooops, I meant wrenches :D )....... they must hire mechanics for that.....so is there really any difference?

Constable
03-19-2005, 04:21 PM
Actually, a lot of MM&FF writers ARE mechanics and tuners. Take Rich Holdener, for example. That guy builds some of the baddest Ford pushrod motors around. Coast High Performance even uses his dyno test data to build some of their crate motor long blocks.

Evan Smith, I believe, is the guy pushing all the test cars to their absolute fastest times. Look at GM High Performance or Super Chevy and you'll find the same kind of writers... guys who are racers as a hobby, and writers by trade. It's their passion, and they'll always belt out better reviews and better track times than MT, R&T, or C&D.

sailsmen
03-19-2005, 04:37 PM
It was Logan that pointed out to me that some of the magazines times were being done by reporters and were slow.

That's when I sub to MM&FF and Hot Rod. It's just a different style, one is by reporters who like cars the other is by hot rodders who live cars.

black99lightnin
03-19-2005, 10:22 PM
Don't get me wrong, but it doesn't really matter what we "believe" or "think". what matters is the facts. I trust MM&FF because they test cars to an insane degree. When they FIRST got their hands on an '03 Cobra, they ran at Englishtown on STOCK TIRES and pushed a bone stock Cobra (even the air filter) to 12.76@110.11. They did that not once, but twice on the same day. FACT.

Now, since that was only one day, look at the SVTPerformance forums. There we see 12.62@111.16 and 12.87@112.86 (there are plenty more, but these are just for example). They were performed by SERIOUS drivers who know how to make their Stangs haul butt. We also see a bunch of low 13 slips by people who can't powershift and have terrible 60' times.

Now for the Trilogy Marauder. We'll use our very own MikesMerc and Tallboy as examples. Mike put down consistent 13.20's with JUST the Trilogy kit. He also mentioned that "there may have been a high 12 in there". We'll let him chime in on that. When he switched over to widened wheels and DR's, he posted consistent 12.80's and 12.90's. Tallboy posted consistent 13.10's with a stock Trilogy car. Refer to THIS THREAD (http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=15030&highlight=trilogy+stock+times) for any further information.

So... what is the answer to the original questions asked? On the track, with experienced drivers, the Cobra will take the Trilogy car. On the street it will all depend on the driver of the Cobra.

None of this has been opinion, belief, or fairy tale... it's true people. As much as I love Marauders, Cobra's are inherently quicker and faster. Good Day.
The 12.62 @ 111.16 is my 04 Cobra that he is quoting. I have no reason to lie about my time, and don't you think I'd add some mph if I were? Now with the additions of a 2.8" upper pulley, Cool Blue airfilter, and a custom Predator tune, I've run as quick as 12.02 @ 116.8. $500 in mods. This is all being accomplished with the stock Goodyears, complete stock exhaust, and 0 weight reduction. I went Friday night to the track. My runs were a 12.14, 12.14, 12.06, 12.14, 12.02, and a 12.13. All 60fts were in the 1.8 range. This is on the stock IRS suspension that noone but me seems to like. I stage it at 3000rpms, let the clutch out, once it bites I nail it. Not real difficult. My goal is 11.9999 on the above mentioned mods. I want to keep the car quiet.

Now before you guys start flaming away, I like Marauders. I'd get one tommorrow if my wife liked them. She doesn't, says they're too big. She's also turned down a GTO, and a 02 Harley Davidson F150.......to keep her Escape.

black99lightnin
03-19-2005, 10:30 PM
Just wanted to point some thing out…

The top five Cobra’s your referring to in the MM&FF 03-04 Cobra shoot out had C-4’s or 4R70W automatics. This is much less shock to the IRS, which I can not stand by the way. The 6th place and slowest car had a stick still, only ran 11’s and ditched the IRS according to the article.

I’ve said it before (Not here) the IRS would probably never break if it was behind the softer less shocking hit of a converter rather then a stick shift.

The wheel hop is what kills them but either way it’s a piece of ***** and should have never plagued the ’99 and up Cobras.

This is why its gone for 05 and rumored to not be in any up coming Cobra’s as well.
Thank God.
Actually that was the one before that had C4's and solid axles. The last Cobra shootout was all 6speed, IRS cars. The quickest was a 9.85 @ 140ish, down to low 11's for James from RWTD. He is the one whom tuned my Cobra.:bandit:

sailsmen
03-19-2005, 11:18 PM
The 12.62 @ 111.16 is my 04 Cobra that he is quoting. I have no reason to lie about my time, and don't you think I'd add some mph if I were? Now with the additions of a 2.8" upper pulley, Cool Blue airfilter, and a custom Predator tune, I've run as quick as 12.02 @ 116.8. $500 in mods. This is all being accomplished with the stock Goodyears, complete stock exhaust, and 0 weight reduction. I went Friday night to the track. My runs were a 12.14, 12.14, 12.06, 12.14, 12.02, and a 12.13. All 60fts were in the 1.8 range. This is on the stock IRS suspension that noone but me seems to like. I stage it at 3000rpms, let the clutch out, once it bites I nail it. Not real difficult. My goal is 11.9999 on the above mentioned mods. I want to keep the car quiet.

Now before you guys start flaming away, I like Marauders. I'd get one tommorrow if my wife liked them. She doesn't, says they're too big. She's also turned down a GTO, and a 02 Harley Davidson F150.......to keep her Escape.

Hey, aren't you from New Orleans and used to run a S/C Pontiac at No Problem?

black99lightnin
03-20-2005, 08:06 AM
Hey, aren't you from New Orleans and used to run a S/C Pontiac at No Problem?
That's me. How's the Marauder running? Friday night was pretty good weather, a little humid though.

Nathan
03-20-2005, 08:38 AM
The 12.62 @ 111.16 is my 04 Cobra that he is quoting. I have no reason to lie about my time, and don't you think I'd add some mph if I were?

I think it's completely awesome that you can nail a time like that without mods or a tune. I know a guy that rented Muncie Dragway for the day and broke a half shaft (wheel hop?) trying to get into the 12's with his 03 convertible. He has since dumped quite a bit of money into the car and posts some awesome dyno numbers. On the other hand, he won't drag race the car again after having to tow it home from the day where he broke the half shaft. If IRS and wheel hop is a non-issue, I don't understand why that's all I hear about when I talk to 03/04 owners in person?

I'd love for you to detail your launch and shift technique so that I could print it and give it to these Cobra owners that I meet that can't break 13 consistently. I'm a Ford enthusiast first, and a Marauder owner second. If I can help out fellow local Ford enthusiasts, I'm all for it.

sailsmen
03-20-2005, 08:50 AM
That's me. How's the Marauder running? Friday night was pretty good weather, a little humid though.

Marauder is running great. Hope to see you a Fun Ford weekend, 4-1 thru 4-3.

Thanks for chimming in and hope you keep posting.

black99lightnin
03-20-2005, 09:50 AM
I think it's completely awesome that you can nail a time like that without mods or a tune. I know a guy that rented Muncie Dragway for the day and broke a half shaft (wheel hop?) trying to get into the 12's with his 03 convertible. He has since dumped quite a bit of money into the car and posts some awesome dyno numbers. On the other hand, he won't drag race the car again after having to tow it home from the day where he broke the half shaft. If IRS and wheel hop is a non-issue, I don't understand why that's all I hear about when I talk to 03/04 owners in person?

I'd love for you to detail your launch and shift technique so that I could print it and give it to these Cobra owners that I meet that can't break 13 consistently. I'm a Ford enthusiast first, and a Marauder owner second. If I can help out fellow local Ford enthusiasts, I'm all for it.
Wheel hop is an issue with any IRS car. I used to have a 90 SC 35th, and a 89 XR7sc. The Xr7 had horrible wheelhop at the track, especially on the 1/2 shift(5spd). What I've learned with the Cobra is to back out if it starts to hop, let it settle down and nail it again. I also don't powershift the 1/2 as it tends to hop.

The technique I use is as follows: I drive around the water box. Back up to within a foot or so of the waterbox and try to line myself up with the tracks from the slick cars. I spin the tires by riding the clutch, not dumping it. I've actually seen someone break a halfshaft doing a burnout in an 03 Cobra. These cars are all about finese. I don't do a "John Force" burnout, its unnecessary. Just a little spin to the line. Prestage and stage the car. Bring the revs up to 3000rpms by holding the pedal steady. Once the last yellow lights up I slip the clutch, don't ride it or dump it, while holding the rpms steady. Once the car is rolling and hooked, then lay into the gas. If the track is prepped the car should stay planted. On a couple of my passes last Friday it started to hop after the 60ft mark, just back out the throttle until it settles down then let the hammer down. Those two passes were the 12.14 after I ran a 12.06, and the 12.13 after I ran the 12.02. I fast shift the 1/2, not powershift. I let off the gas but I shift as fast as I can. The couple of times I tried powershifting 1/2 it hopped on me. I do powershift the 2/3 and 3/4. I try to make all my shifts around 6500.

Hope this helps.

I'm a Ford Enthusiast myself. I've had 2 Cobras, 1 Lightning, a 90sc, 89XR7, 8 GT mustangs(85-01), SVT Contour, SE Contour, and the Escape. My only departures have been shortlived, a 90 300zx, and a 00 GTP sedan. I'd love a Marauder and I appreciate what they are, just can't convince the wife to rid herself of the Escape.:(

black99lightnin
03-20-2005, 09:55 AM
Marauder is running great. Hope to see you a Fun Ford weekend, 4-1 thru 4-3.

Thanks for chimming in and hope you keep posting.
Yes I'll definitely keep posting. Guys are pretty cool in this site. I still post on clubgp.com, and I don't have my GTP anymore. Just like to talk with people whom are into cars as much as me.

I've already bought my TT membership for FFW. So I'll be there. I'll be hanging with a bunch of Lightnings so stop by and say hi.:beer:

BillyGman
03-21-2005, 01:26 AM
And as to the Cobra versus Marauder thing... Ryans facts above say it all.

Lighter car with almost the same HP and TQ as a stock Trilogied marauder and manual trans = faster car all the way around.That isn't my understanding at all......from what I've read on the SVT board, the Cobra owners there are claiming ET #'s of factory stock Cobras of 13.1 on the average. Click on the link below, and look at the three Cobra owners who have recently gone to the track. One of them pulled a 12.5 ET out of his hat, but that was an isolated run by his own admittence, and was certainly not anywhere close to his average runs of low 13's. And these guy's cars aren't even completely stock either.

And this is why I believe that with your average joe enthusiast performance buff at the wheel, a factory cobra, and an otherwise stock Trilogized Marauder will be a very close race, and can go either way on any given day. The big diference is in the extra 1.5 LBs of boost that the Trilogy kit offers, as well as the slightly more aggressive engine tune. Everyone knows that the factory tunes (including those of the Cobras) are over and above being on the safe side, and are downright wimpy. And add to that the fact that Marauder engines have higher compression ratios than the 03/04 Cobra engines do. The Cobras came from the factory with 8.5:1 compression ratios, versus the 10.0: compression ratio of the Marauder engines. That will give the Marauder engines more power given the same amount of supercharged boost pressure, particualrly in the lower RPM ranges of the powerband.

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?t=168418

and here's another thread where a guy with a completely stock cobra ran a 13.3 ET. Granted, he might not be a very experienced drag racer, but neither are most of the Marauder owners who have the stock Triogy set-up who ran 13.1's, and 12.9's.

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?t=168706


and here's another cobra owner who ran a 12.7 ET with exhaust mods, as well as an intake mod, and a PC reflash......

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167702

.....and still plenty more, most of whom ran in the 13's...there are more threads too where the majority of cobra owners claim low 13's, but I think I've made my point.....

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167892

Bottom line is, Constable is now a Mustang owner, and no longer a marauder owner, and he was talking about a magazine who has professional quartermile drivers to test their cars, and/or a race track that they've rented out, and therefore have all to theirselves to practice, practice, and practice again, until the ultimate ET is acheived with any given car. Give these guys an otherwise stock Trilogized Marauder, and I'm quite sure that they'll get it into the 12.6's. But none of that matters, because we're talking about amateur drivers running Cobras, and Marauders here, who usually would have the opportunity to only make three or four passes at their local dragstrip, and not a pro, or someone who has the track all to himself. So let's be realistic here, huh? I met Constable at the track, and I think he's a great guy, but I wonder if his new choice of car is causing him to be a bit biased toward the Mustang/cobra crowd simply because he no longer owns a Marauder.

Chuck (aka "Tallboy") was over my house two days ago, and he told me the following......"Billy, I ran a 13.1 ET with my Marauder down in Florida on stock tires after I had the Trilogy kit installed, but I didn't even know what I was doing out there! I'm no drag racer.....I just wanted to see what the car would do"