A healthy respect is exactly correct and very wise, however the only peoply that should have been harsh to Nuke are those that drive beige volvo 6 cylinders,the rest of us build or drive 500 HP 2300 lb cars. We cannot cast any stones. chuck PS. I also run with scissors

The tone of my message might have been harsh, but I definitely wasn't trying to be.

So the moral of the story is tell your family you love them every time you go drive, and life insurance for cobra drivers is a very sound investment (albeit for our next of kin).

How often does a spin turn into a roll statistically?

No the moral is be responsible. Like you stated earlier about a cafe bike. I too owned several fast motorcycles, GSXR, FZR, all capable of killing you at any corner. You have to respect what you are driving. Have a good time with your car and be cautious. Don't want you to end up like the guy from Iowa who went road racing!

,,,,maybe he went road racing, maybe he recognized he was having a "bad moment" and was tying to back out before it got out of hand.

It only takes a second to make a bad call, realize it and back off. It only takes a second for it to be "to late".

Ernie

Tritoncobra

Welcome to the SPF family. One thing that you might want to think about is to go with 17” wheels. You just can’t get good hi-performance tires (and I mean real hi-performance tires) in the 15” size. Not only will your cobra handle better, it will also brake better. (It all has to do with traction). Then, just go out and drive it. But drive it moderately. After about a thousand or so miles, sign up for a Hi-Performance driving school. There you will be provided with in car instruction in a safe environment. At least all the cars will be going in the same direction.

Hope! I know! You’ll enjoy your cobra.

Lew

Thanks for the suggestion, I think I will exercise that option. So how does the 17" wheel upgrade affect my rims? Are there 17" knock offs or am I stuck with more of a modern look?

Triton........
 

.....you generated an excellent thread here!:cool: I have yet to sign up for a driving school, and am exploring area for one. Bondurant would be my choice, BUTT..distaces being what they are......I have found that these cars generate lots of caution in me. I have located two HUGE parking lots in which to experiment with limits of adhesion, etc. I am ecstatic, since Butlers are almost mid-engined, but not so much as to generate the old Cheetah's "frisbee effect"! One local racer is teaching me drifting (rather than sliding) techniques. He also told me that Cobras (and the like) are "rear-wheel steerers" when driven "right" (hard). The guy's 76 and is a true smoothie--and a LEADFOOT at the same time! I ain't to that stage yet, neither the season, the roads, nor the local federales will permit too much exuberance! These cars DO give audible warning of their approach or mannner of operation, don't they? :LOL:

Put the widest rubber you can tolerate on board, eliminate as much body roll as possible and get a few of the following books: "Sports Car and Competition Driving" (Paul Frere), "Drive to Win" (Carrol Smith), "Winning, A Race Driver's Handbook" (George Anderson) and "Bondurant on High Performance Driving: (Bob B.) Just don't have them on the passenger seat, should the local cops wish to conduct an interview....:LOL: :LOL: You don't have to be an aspiring racer to get a lot out of these pubs.

PS: Since the best form of humor is inadvertent---before your seat-time and resulting skills start changing your hat-size--practice heel-and-toe downshifting! (Do it on that monster parking lot!) Way funny! Good luck:D

Tritoncobra,

Twenty four years old - gee... When I bought my SPF I was told I was the youngest guy to ever buy one from that importer and I was 33 at the time!! Good for you.

I also came out of an M3 (and an S4) before I bought my Cobra so I thought I had high performance car experience. I was wrong. Driving a modern sports car at or near it's limit is a cake walk compared to a Cobra. Respect the car and it will reward you. Driving it like a worked lowered Harley with no brakes is my best anaolgy. It's not that it can't handle, it just take a more delicate touch than a sport bike. And on the whole bike subject - will this 'crotch-rocket' be your first bike? I hope not. As an ex-racer, I can tell you that starting small is the best way to stay alive. Leave your ego and you penis at the door and buy something smaller, lighter and less powerful for your first two wheeler and you will be around to get the newest Gixxer/R1/CBR/RC etc...

Trust me, riding is the best experience in power control and moderation - but most of all respect - for a machine that can spit you off in a second if you don't know what you are doing. One of my favorite bikes was a 250cc two-stroke Aprilia that had more cornering speed than any other bike at the track. I would routinely embarass R1s into turn one at Loudon - you don't need a big bike to have fun. So be safe and we hope to see you around...

Tritoncobra

If you haven't taken delivery of your SPF, you should be able to order the 17's from Dynamic. They will prorate the difference in costs. The wheels are from PS Engineering. They’re identical to the SPF wheels that come standard. The ideal setup for tires is 275x40x17 up front and 315(or 335) x35x17’s on the rear. Although I think 315’s are large enough.

Lew

Triton..

lots of replies to your queries. to echo some :

1. brake stopping stats. who cares about the stats, the brakes work and yours should be Willwoods. leave the proper distance between you and what is ahead and you will be fine. I have not heard of anyone getting hurt or punting their car due to lack of brakes vs too much throttle instead.
2. badges...no big deal, as stated already, grind down the pins and epoxy them on if ya even want em. I put A/C badges on my cars nose and now wish it was badgeless.
3. R clutch ? can't help ya but if that is what Eric recommends ,then go4it ! Eric has done many installs and builds and stays tuned in for what is the best combo. He is smarter than you, more experienced than most folks , so let Dr Eric prescribe what your medicine should be.
4. There are many drivers schools available, Bondurant, Russell, Panoz and many many more. Get a copy of Autoweek magazine (weekly publication) and check their ads in the back section, you will find many advertised there weekly .
5. Maintenance ? hey, someone in Chicago can help ya out with who to see for what ya need. Join their local Cobra club and stay tuned to their suggestions. Also, there is (or was) a Ford dealer who is /was also a SVT and SPF sub dealer north of Chicago. He too would be a good source for mechanical/parts needs . Someone from Chi will have to tell you the dealers name.
6. Heat shields ? i added them this year after several years without.They ain't the prettiest things but neither are snake bite burns. Neither myself or passengers got burned on my car but i always had the nervous feeling about the first time and concerns for liability ....they are a couple hundred bucks, chump change in your total cost. your choice, put em on / take em off..easy to do. if ya dont like em, sell em. the DO WORK though, i gotta tell ya.
7. not on your list...17' wheels/tires being considered. a different look but provides different usage possiblities and improved high performance tire choices vs 15"....your call, adds cost and if you are not going to do track time then ask yourself if you really want them . one side says yes, one side says no...cheaper to do now though vs later when you try to find a home for used 15" take off tires and wheels and take a depreciation hit.
8. not on your list. impressive buy at age 24, be sure you have found insurance coverage ! NOW ! many collector co's will not allow anyone under 25 to drive one of these, so they in turn will not also insure anyone under 25. ya better get it locked up now and be prepared to pay a high premium due to age...
9. implied in your list : HAVE FUN! and DO get involved with a local cobra club, best source of local resources you can find as well as folks to do cobra things with.

good luck, bill , spf #156 ( an old one by comparison to yours )

Tritoncobra,

Welcome. You made a great choice with your Cobra and from your thoughtful questions, it seems like you're making good decisions on how to drive it.

I'm working on my second Superformance and would offer this advice; Most new Cobra owners never experience a problem-at least not at first. They're usually wary of the car's power and treat it somewhat gingerly as they learn how it handles. That's the good news. The bad news is that once you gain more confidence in your ability to drive your snake, you push the envelope a little more each time. Faster accelerations from a dead stop, more aggressive downshifting, cornering harder, etc. While the car will readily comply with each of those maneuvers the trick is to know when to back off. Guys who experience problems often keep pushing their car until they get themselves into a situation that their driving skills can't handle. Use common sense and remember that just like driving a motorcycle, you don't want to get too comfortable.

I believe the dealer north of chicago is Victor Ford in Wauconda. I too am in the market for a slightly used or new spf. Where do you live Triton?

chris/ triton..

that is the dealer i was thinking of. a friend bought a new spf there a couple of years ago. bill.

Congratulations on your new SPF!

I am also a fairly new SPF owner and just recently got my car out on a track for the first time to play with it.

I do have the 17" wheels on the car and yes they do look just like the 15"'s that come with it - just bigger and shinier... I'll echo the others advice here and say that it is definitely a good idea to move up to them...

First off - let me tell you I do love my car - and overall I am extremely happy with it.

But since my recent little jaunt around Willow Springs this past week has resulted in about $2500 worth of damage to my car - I think I just qualified to pass on a few warnings.

Let me also add - I have been to driving school - more than one actually and I recently got my SCCA competition license.

I should also mention that other than that I am a total novice and have a very bad habit of driving way past my meager abilities. (how else am I going to learn though - right?)

So as to my warnings - and maybe some of these are just specific to my car (SPF 1526) - but maybe they will help.

The first one is that no matter what you may think about your SPF - it is not a race car and does not handle like one. It is a grossly overpowered street car. Respect it for what it is.

As to some specifics - my car understeers quite a bit and if you are on the throttle - the effect will be much more pronounced. So watch your throttle use in turns cause if you are on it - you may not have as much room as you think.

Next thing - IMHO - the pedal setup sucks. The car is a real ***** to heel-toe downshift - especially at the higher RPMS.
When you miss your downshift - you will chirp/lock the rear tires and you will spin out - going from 4th to 3rd on the back straight at Willow is how I managed to damage my car. Ended up in the dirt pretty hard - but the damage was mostly through my own stupidity in that I forgot to re-latch the hood between sessions and in the spin, my hood came up and tore off. Screwed the fiberglass up by the nose pretty well too.

Next thing - yours is probably newer than mine and hopefully has the new drive shaft-locking parking brake. Find out becuase if it doesn't - don't ever depend on the parking brake - they don't work.

Next thing I will tell you is that if you can afford it - upgrade to the 13" wilwood brakes. One of my other little adventures in the dirt that day came about as I overheated my brakes. (Stock 10"& 12" wilwoods) Since my car was under-steering I was trailbraking a bit as well and for the first time I found out what happens when your brakes overheat. Again - IMHO - the car needs more brakes.

Next - with the 17" I was rubbing the fenders against the rear tires a bit as well and we had to raise the rear a bit (which by the way also helped with some of the understeer)

My biggest headache though is the suspension. To me the car is unstable and I learned a new term this week (more so what it actually meant) "Bump-Steer" - my car (at speed) with the 17's does not sit well at all and probaly requires more work to drive than any other car I have ever been in.

Granted - some of my issues with my car may only apply to being on the track - but let's face it at 24 yrs old - we all know damn well what we were like at that age. So please be careful and be around to enjoy your car for a long time to come.

I'll also repeat what everyone else has said - take a few days and spend the money on a good driving school.


Other than that - Enjoy!!!

Mike

PS - SierraMadre - you mentioned that you are on your second SPF build - any suggestions for a different pedal box or alterations and I could also use some suggestions for some changes to the suspension.

Thanks a lot you guys, I woke up to a lot of great posts this morning!

Not that I bought it for this purpose, but it will be interesting to see if girls in my age range will be able to appreciate this car... Or will this be a pure MILF roadster? (music playing in the background *here's to you, Mrs. Robinson*)
:LOL:


How does the overall ride quality suffer with the 17's? Are we talking about a 5% gain in traction, or better? To me the larger sidewalls fit the cobra's classic look better, but if the car will hug the road that much better on 17's I would gladly sacrifice that aspect of originality. I'm already getting a Stereo put in this thing (I know, I know.)

At the worst I guess I may have to wait until next spring then to drive it, hopefully State Farm (my current insurer) will insure this for me. Or perhaps I can have my parents insure it as their vehicle with me as a secondary driver.

Actually I believe my current vehicle (M3) is insured under my corporation, so maybe that helps me escape the age issue..?

I'm in Lincoln Park. Thanks for the heads up, I will check out that dealer when I get the chance. Dean at Dynamic M-sports also had a suggested mechanic here in Chitown that works on SPF's regularly.


Is this true for a car that probably won't be raced? Thanks for your candid commentary on the SPF, it's good to know what negatives to expect when I learn about the car and it's limitations. BTW my SPF does indeed have the new e-brake.

To me understeer seems like it would be a godsend on the cobra. So is it safe to say that Cobra's are not drift-type racers? I suppose that depends on suspension set up mostly.

I was drifting my Excalibur! Note the pic of the car in a JAPANESE magazine taken during a "Drift Session" here in Hawaii. The fans LOVE to see an "old school" American car out on the track mixing it up with the imports.

Throttle over steer to break the back end loose or snap the e-brake handle on, or the "clutch kick" method. Clutch in, rev up and "dump" the clutch. Best to get it in a sideways drift and make a nice smooth arc through the corner.

I may be an old fart, but I can hang with the Fast and Furious too. It's fun and we MUTUALLY respect each other.

I use "skinny" tires on narrow rims when I drift. I've gone through three sets of tires in a single day! Smoke'm if you got 'em!

If you aint "racing" on a road track, standard brakes will be fine!

Ernie

Drifting v.s. sliding (aka skidding)...
 

..the older gent (a former racer) who is helping me learn the ropes says: "If you are entering a corner and want to drift, use the gears and throttle to get to a state where the limit of adhesion is reached at the rear tires before the fronts. Then the throttle (and torque) should be used to set up the yaw angle so that the car is aligned with the straight following the corner..." He also says that "drifting" cars usually show the front tires pointed in the direction of the bend to be taken---"tracking the radius". The drift becomes a "slide" or a "skid" (more often used to scrub off speed than to enhance the exit speed) when corrections appear, the front tires steering to counter the slide, in other words.. The transition between the two ("slide" and "skid" being roughly synonymous) types of out-of-track cornering is one of degrees of counter-steer. The stuff you see in "drifting" events is really more "power sliding"---less leegant looking but certainly more spectacular. It is, unfortunately, somewhat slower than a proper high-speed drift.

My instructor used to race Corvettes and Jaguars in club-racing events and in more competitive SCCA events at the 'Glen and Limerock, etc. He therefore knows about overpowering the adhesion fo the tires. And his analyses and definitions seem to match the ones in Paul Frere's book. He also said the best way to test your adhesion limits is in tight circles (make sure you have good back-up oil-accumulator for your lube system!).:D :D Drifting (which I'm still learning) really makes you feel like Stirling Moss. Power sliding makes you feel like Godzilla! (It's more fun, besides).

I'm still going to go to either Barbour's or Bondurant's drah-veen skew!!! :JEKYLHYDE

Treat it with utmost RESPECT--there is no shame in initially being afraid of the car and it's power--and if you do nothing else take a performance driving school before hand--you'll soon realize you are not the driver you think you are--and you'll appreciate the car and your limitations -- and just use common sense -- don't get the little pin-head, big dick 'tude--it may hurt you big time in the long run

The SCCA techs cringe when they see me pull up to the line. They remind me, "This is a TIMED event, not a dam "Drifting" event. Try not to kill any cones."

...sometimes I forget which event I'm running on any given day, LOL

Ernie

Assistance....
 

tritoncobra

I'm in the burbs near Woodfield. I'd be happy to assist you when your car arrives. A few things to carry in the trunk, like a can of "fix-a-flat", a lead hammer, spinners should be safety wired, and most important...a "bond card" just in case.....
Blas #760