400 to 500 HP is all you can use in one of these cars. If you want bragging rights go all out for HP. If you want to have fun in a driveable car 400 or so will do it.

Computers can drive cars with huge HP numbers with traction control and launch control, but I don't believe most Cobra drivers can. I would also love to know how many of the guys with 500+ HP cars really make the HP they believe they make.

Your horsepower definitely should not exceed the number of miles you have driven one of these monsters...%/

ac andy said...
 

"Thats spot on Turk. None of us NEED a Cobra at all but we all want one. Half the reason we want one is coz of the fantasy of such a big motor stuffed into such a small car. Everyone wants what they havent got."

Andy.


Andy, mate, are you intimating that cobra owners are somewhat understaffed in the "manhood" department? :3DSMILE:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As to the comment above that you cannot use over 500 horsepower.. you certainly can in my snake as soon as you hit 3rd or 4th and are rolling along.. in a higher speed roll-on you can easily use my 600 to 650 horsepower, and I bet even more could be applied with my setup. (9 inch posi rear, almost foot wide Pirelli P-Zeros)

Isn't stuffing large things into small things a common male fantasy:LOL: ;)

Rick

Turk's got it right again; 700 bhp +/- 300. If it's close enough for govt. work; it's good enough for me.

If it were all about measuring horsepower with a micrometer; we'd be driving rice rockets and watching reruns of the "Fast and the Furious"

What gearing and transmission would you recommend for a street driven--with some track, strip, autocross time--mostly street--Cobra replica with a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine--somewhere around 2000 + hp, haven't dynoed it yet--:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

HP is all about bragging rights--in street cars--if it trips your trigger good on ya-go for it--looks impressive as hell--but if you can't run and control the beast at the same time,you only have bragging rights about how awesome it looks--if most of us were honest with ourselves we'd realize that we can't drive our cars to their limit with the HP we have now--track or street--some of you can--but if you can afford it and want it --why the hell not-- "life's too short to drink cheap beer":LOL:

What's so hard? When the tires start spinning you get out of it a bit until they stop - then you give it a little more until they start spinning again...etc.

When you are going around a turn you don't jump on the gas - even if you are running a Formula Ford you squeeze the power on...same with a Cobra.

Bad power is "light switch" power and turbo power....it comes when you don't want it and makes you look bad.

We own Cobras. As such, there is no such thing as too much power. There is, however, a limit as to how much of it should be used in a given situation.

I have a carby powered 347 with 370 rwhp .
Its not really usefull on the street(its really a waste of time)and i can honestly say i have never been able to use its full potential on the street

On the track is the only place i can let it do whats its meant to do !

Allways respect your car....it can hurt you

Ahhhh, like a breath of fresh air - thanks for stating the painfully obvious.

I can't use all the power I have all the time, but every time I attempt to use full throttle I have a mile wide grin and the troubles of the world are temporarily replaced by an intense high that only my shifter kart goes close to matching. Yeah - it's nice to have a little too much rather than not quite enough ;)

Actually - come to think of it, remembering back a year or so to the (in)famous VICE trip, I don't think Turk, U2 or Jamo would agree that Pat could ever be called a breath of fresh air.... %/

I always thought thaat.....
 

...torque was as important, of not moreso, than hp---in producing acceleration. The other aspects of gearing, tire-diameter, fragility of components, etc. Insights I gained from having a 1952 Ford F-100 pick-up with a 396(?)ci "Police Interceptor" engine from the Wareham (Mass.) Police chief's cruiser---wh/ was "outpointed" by a phone-pole. I ended up flipping the step-and-tow, melting my skin-diving belt-weights, pouring them in and STILL having problems hooking up the
massive biased-ply fiberglas-belted (13" wide) "Tigerpaws". The truck also displayed gargantuan understeer, followed by INSTANT rear-first "parking".:LOL: :LOL:

Having thus acquired some experience with overpowered vehicles, I decided to build up the power of the 351C. By going out to 408, I am trying to get 450+ ft/lbs. and similar hp. I added the inches (stroking) so that the motor could make these numbers without being hugely overstressed. I was taught that if your cubic inches are roughly equal to your generated hp (and ft/lbs) then your motor will last longer(?) because it's less highly "stressed". I may be wrong. That's exactly why I threw this "ci=hp.-ft/lbs" formula into the mix. I would appreciate comments and corrections on the latter.:confused: :JEKYLHYDE That's why I love this forum----I learn a lot from each of yuz.:D :D Good thread Hal.

I went out for a little cruise last night, light rain, slick roads. Occasional "tire slip" in 3rd and 4th with a little tail wiggle. Just enough to remind me you CAN get in trouble in a hurry with these things!

Seems like under the wet road conditions it would be extremely risky to have more than 400 hp. One little slip up with the throttle and the car WOULD spin.

Ernie

Hey Ernie,

Try driving in snow sometime. :eek: Even more fun!

The thing about wet weather is that the humidity gives the engine more power when you have less tire grip. I will never forget getting caught in the rain coming back from San Diego. The car was so much fun! Instant wheel spin, anytime, anywhere. If that's what more power does, I want some!

Paul

Sometimes it's not 'bragging rights', but the technical challenge. It is a common Cobra symptom that what starts out as too much very quickly becomes 'not enough' as we grow accustomed to the cars. What once was brutally fast now seems tame....THAT is when the danger begins. It is very easy to let your guard down in these cars, become cavalier with all the power and torque and have a very, very bad happening. This is why I think so many accidents happen in the first part of the season when the cars break out of hibernation. There is NEVER enough power to keep us satisfied. Personally, I like to be a bit unique, and also to build the biggest hammer I can build, then go have fun. I enjoy the cars for their purpose, driving! But I see a lot of folks build 500 hp
motors, and use 300. If they are happy, GREAT! I feel it's better to have an excess of power available, as long as your ball$ don't
get bigger than your brain.
Excalibur: I sympathize with you rain story...I love wet driving, and the feel of the 'knifes edge' of traction. Sometimes, 30 mph can be a lot more fun that 130.

Horse power
 

You need enough to whip the tar out of the Naysayers.

The cobra non-believers if you will.

"Bout 400-450 or so............:D

When I was ready to purchase the cam for my s/o, I drove over to reeds cams and told them I wanted to build a weapon, gimmie tons of torque and don't sweat the horsepower and they did, never had this s/o dynoed and never will, it's brutal.
Torque keeps you from slamming gears.

Until you cannot control it. Each car is different and each owner seeks different things from their Cobra. We have all seen 400HP Cobras that cannot hold 1st or 2nd gear. Some cars slip straight away, others go out to the side. That makes a big differencein driver peace of mind . Then we have seen Cobras with 450+HP that can come out on the street from a 15mph roll and hold first and second gear at WOT. How much HP is too much ? It's very relative to the car's chassis, suspension and driver seat time.

how much HP really is necessary?

Just 1 more HP than the next guy or gal.. ;-)