cobra exhaust vs kooks

[jawz101]

maybe a dumb question but how much performance diff. would I see comparing the two setups

[SergntMac]

maybe a dumb question but how much performance diff. would I see comparing the two setups A "side by side", or, a "before and after" comparasion of the DR/Cobra exhaust kit vs. Kook's exhaust kit, has not been done...Yet.

I got close to doing this. Having tested the DR/Cobra exhaust kit "before and after" on a dyno against the stock exhaust system, I picked up 30 RWHP and 30 RWTQ. Just about a year later, I bought a Kook's exhaust kit for further testing, but I later backed off.

When I found out how much the Kook's install would cost me, I could not find any justification to spend that money, just to have the Kook's kit installed just for this test. I felt that this money would not get repaid in performance gains, so, I abandoned my project, and sold my Kook's exhaust kit to a friend in need of something better than OEM.

Today, I am still driving on the DR/Cobra exhaust kit that I bought from DR in Sep. of '03. When I installed this kit, I picked up another 30 RWHP and 30 RWTQ, and I do not expect to gain all that much more from replacing it with a Kook's exhaust kit.

I probably didn't answer your question, but I have a few real world words on the topic. Hope I have helped...

[DEFYANT]

There has been dyno tests done that answer your question at mm.net. Search around or call Kooks directly. I have them and am very happy.

Frankly, I liked the sound differnce. I heard both, did my reasearch (thanks again Mac) and made my choice. There was also a group buy going on. That helped too. I was already S/Ced w/ the Trilogy and noticed a SOTP gain right away.

[jawz101]

I guess Defyant brought a few more questions to the table for me that I wanted to mention;
One being- what part of the exhaust gives the most gain? The kook's kit becomes modular once you look at kooks's site. Am I going to get a big gain with a few of the items? I see stuff about 50 rwhp gains with a full kook's setup. Also, it probably makes a difference if your N/A vs. S/C. I'm staying n/a so I didn't know what kind of justifications that would make. Basically seeing what kind of bang for the buck I'd get. I'm hoping DR can comment otherwise I'll be-a-callin'. Thanks :)

[Blackened300a]

Having tested the DR/Cobra exhaust kit "before and after" on a dyno against the stock exhaust system, I picked up 30 RWHP and 30 RWTQ.

Looks like another item on my wish list and that should most definitly put me in the 300 RWHP Club.

Does this Kit include mufflers???

[Smokie]

maybe a dumb question but how much performance diff. would I see comparing the two setups

Sarge gave you his "before and after"
Compare to this (http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=5053&highlight=kooks+dyno)

[jawz101]

I guess Defyant brought a few more questions to the table for me that I wanted to mention;
One being- what part of the exhaust gives the most gain? The kook's kit becomes modular once you look at kooks's site. Am I going to get a big gain with a few of the items? I see stuff about 50 rwhp gains with a full kook's setup. Also, it probably makes a difference if your N/A vs. S/C. I'm staying n/a so I didn't know what kind of justifications that would make. Basically seeing what kind of bang for the buck I'd get. I'm hoping DR can comment otherwise I'll be-a-callin'. Thanks :)

I guess I am asking what the best parts of the exhaust are the ones I should upgrade and are the rest of the parts just for noise or completing an exhaust setup... Pinching my pennies here

[Rick-n-Miami]

The first mod I performed on my car was the Trilogy kit. From stock, there was a night and day difference. The second mod I performed was the complete Kooks setup. Likewise, the difference was just as significant.

In my opinion, this exhaust setup is the perfect compliment for a supercharged Marauder. The headers, highflow Magnaflow cats, X-pipe, Magnaflow mufflers, true 2.5" flow tailpipes and res-delete tips, allow this monster to breathe. The power increase was amazing, as was the sound. Not only does it gain gobs of power, but the lack of backpressure allows the engine to rev up extremely fast (just tapping the gas in neutral/park brings me into boost now!). You'll be in the high RPM's and high boost in practically no time at all!

Be warned though, the kit as described above is very loud! I hear the Ford Dual Mode mufflers quiet it down some, so if noise is a concern, you might want to go this route instead.

[SergntMac]

Does this Kit include mufflers? Both kits are complete, from the manifold/header, back to the tailpipes. This includes 2.5" OD exhaust pipe, with four 02 sensor bungs mounted in place, no extensions required. Two high flow cats, X-Pipe, and two Magnaflow high performance mufflers, as well as all necessary clamps and so on. You should retain your OEM hangers and gaskets for reuse.

Other things to consider along with performance, are cost of the kits, and cost of install labor. The Cobra kit installs in 2-3 hours depending on talent. Zack and I did mine in 2 hours, with the car still strapped to the dyno. Zack installed his Kook's kit in about 6 hours, but others have reported longer times, so, 6-8 hours, depending on talent. BTW, the only thing not mentioned here, are the resonator delete Meg's tips from Wes Chain. All they will do is make the exhaust louder, there's no performance gain in the delete tips.

The difference in cost is significant, the Kook's kit is about 500 bucks more than the Cobra kit in recent group buys. Call Dennis for his seasonal prices at 904.276.5003, he sells both kits. You can get the Kook's from other vendors, but the Cobra kit is strictly a Reinhart product.

When I mentiond ^ there that no testing had yet to occur, I should have worded it differently.

There are plenty of before and after exhaust system tests available here, and each will report different yeilds. However, the two kits have not been tested on the same Marauder, or, the same dyno, so any comparasion needs to be made carefully, and with consideration of the installed mods and test conditions.

I did this as deliberate as I could, and I was hoping to do an actual "before" with the Cobra and "after" with the Kook's on my MM, and it just never came to be as I previously explained. My best educated guess says you will find no more than 10 RWHP and 10 RWTQ difference between the two kits, with the Kook's in the lead.

Zack's MM and mine are very similar on the dyno, at one time seperated only by 2 RWHP and 5 RWTQ with my MM in the lead, and this is as close as we got to a fair "side by side" comparasion on a dyno. Zack is consistently .6 to .8 faster in the quarter mile, but I would not credit that to different exhaust bits.

BTW, John (TooManyFords) correctly tested open pipes. With the Kook's headers in place, he did back to back dyno pulls, and lost low end power with his cut-outs open...F.Y.I.

[MarauderTJA]

DR installed his Cobra Exhaust on my car and I have been extremely happy with it. His shop installed the complete exhaust system as well as a PI Stallion on my car in 4 hours. Great job. Later I ended getting the delete tips and had parts of the exhaust converted to complete 2.5". I also have Flowmaster Delta 50's. Car sounds great, but is still a little loud around town. But I like it. On the highway it is nice and quiet until you step on it. Consideration for the reduce cost of DR Cobra exhaust compared to the Kooks is up to you. Both are great exhaust systems.

However, I do plan on getting Kooks ceramic coated headers later on once I get my forged motor built.

[rayjay]

I recently had my DR Cobra exhaust installed on my 04 MM. The install cost me $190. The kit replaced everything from the heads back to the stock pipes forward of the mufflers. At this point I have elected to stay with the stock exhaust components south of the DR Cobra parts. I did this for performance gains, not sound or bling. There is no dyno in my immediate area so I do not have before/after results. My butt dyno says a definate increase in usable power. The sound is louder, a nice growl. I would say its only slightly louder than my friend's 05 Mustang GT. Cost and durability were factors for me also. My MM is a daily driver here in the upstate NY snowbelt. Heavy salt use. IMHO the DR Cobra exhaust "should" last longer than a Kooks setup that is not ceramic coated. I can't remember the price, but the Kooks ceramic coated system was considerably more exspensive than the DR Cobra exhaust. I just couldn't justify the extra money to performance gains over the DR Cobra.

[merc6]

I heard of some people having issues with rusting under the ceramic coating. Has that happened to anyone here?

[merc]

I heard of some people having issues with rusting under the ceramic coating. Has that happened to anyone here?

Yes I was one of the people that posted pictures of the rust under the ceramic coating.

The Kooks vs. DR cobra system has been covered several times. Mac has been a long-standing advocate of the DR cobra exhaust. I have seen all the available exhaust systems made for the Marauder and I am most impressed with the Stainless Works headers from Ohio. The DR cobra system does increase performance but stops sort of being a stellar. Last year I was running the DR exhaust and my best time under cool air at the same track was 13.848. With my current Ford racing headers I was able to achieve 13.68. That’s an amazing different, but with the Kook headers my times could have lowered by another .10th or better. This logic my not transport the same way when talking about supercharging a Marauder. Take a close look at your performance needs and future desires, and don’t sell yourself short.

[MarauderMarc]

Both kits are complete, from the manifold/header, back to the tailpipes. This includes 2.5" OD exhaust pipe, with four 02 sensor bungs mounted in place, no extensions required. Two high flow cats, X-Pipe, and two Magnaflow high performance mufflers, as well as all necessary clamps and so on. You should retain your OEM hangers and gaskets for reuse.

Other things to consider along with performance, are cost of the kits, and cost of install labor. The Cobra kit installs in 2-3 hours depending on talent. Zack and I did mine in 2 hours, with the car still strapped to the dyno. Zack installed his Kook's kit in about 6 hours, but others have reported longer times, so, 6-8 hours, depending on talent. BTW, the only thing not mentioned here, are the resonator delete Meg's tips from Wes Chain. All they will do is make the exhaust louder, there's no performance gain in the delete tips.

The difference in cost is significant, the Kook's kit is about 500 bucks more than the Cobra kit in recent group buys. Call Dennis for his seasonal prices at 904.276.5003, he sells both kits. You can get the Kook's from other vendors, but the Cobra kit is strictly a Reinhart product.

When I mentiond ^ there that no testing had yet to occur, I should have worded it differently.

There are plenty of before and after exhaust system tests available here, and each will report different yeilds. However, the two kits have not been tested on the same Marauder, or, the same dyno, so any comparasion needs to be made carefully, and with consideration of the installed mods and test conditions.

I did this as deliberate as I could, and I was hoping to do an actual "before" with the Cobra and "after" with the Kook's on my MM, and it just never came to be as I previously explained. My best educated guess says you will find no more than 10 RWHP and 10 RWTQ difference between the two kits, with the Kook's in the lead.

Zack's MM and mine are very similar on the dyno, at one time seperated only by 2 RWHP and 5 RWTQ with my MM in the lead, and this is as close as we got to a fair "side by side" comparasion on a dyno. Zack is consistently .6 to .8 faster in the quarter mile, but I would not credit that to different exhaust bits.

BTW, John (TooManyFords) correctly tested open pipes. With the Kook's headers in place, he did back to back dyno pulls, and lost low end power with his cut-outs open...F.Y.I.

Mac, correct me if Im wrong, but the Kooks kit comes with everything to the mufflers, but nothing more. you have to do your own work past the mufflers.......again, correct me if Im wrong

[Rick-n-Miami]

You are correct Marc. If you want true 2.5" exhaust, you'll need to get a muffler shop to build a set of custom flow pipes after the mufflers to a new set of delete-tips and weld it all together.



Mac, correct me if Im wrong, but the Kooks kit comes with everything to the mufflers, but nothing more. you have to do your own work past the mufflers.......again, correct me if Im wrong

[SergntMac]

Mac, correct me if Im wrong, but the Kooks kit comes with everything to the mufflers, but nothing more. you have to do your own work past the mufflers.......again, correct me if Im wrong As I recall it now, the Cobra kit is intended to connect to OEM mufflers, a reducer pipe is included. Thank you for correcting me, it was two years ago, sorry for any confusion.

The Kook's kit includes Magnaflow mufflers, and the stock tail pipes are more than sufficient for the task, you can weld them up, or, clamp them in place.

Tips are your decision, but if you change them, I suggest you consider adding a 2" section of pipe between the tail pipe and tip. This will push the tip out past the bumper ever so slightly, and address the cabin drone possible once the well insulated OEM mufflers are removed.

[TAF]

You are correct Marc. If you want true 2.5" exhaust, you'll need to get a muffler shop to build a set of custom flow pipes after the mufflers to a new set of delete-tips and weld it all together.

Interesting...I didn't know anyone else was doing this. We have mandrel, 2.5", T-304 Stainless tailpipes custom designed for the Marauder. (NOTE: not for sale over this site) Who are you getting yours from? Are they mandrel or compression bent?

Thanks....

[Rick-n-Miami]

I had my pipes made at Miami Mufflers. They are mandrel bent.




Interesting...I didn't know anyone else was doing this. We have mandrel, 2.5", T-304 Stainless tailpipes custom designed for the Marauder. (NOTE: not for sale over this site) Who are you getting yours from? Are they mandrel or compression bent?

Thanks....

[TAF]

I had my pipes made at Miami Mufflers. They are mandrel bent.

I've (think) heard of them...I think they also go by "V-something" exhaust...

I've heard they do pretty good work, too.