New SPF owner, questions!

[tritoncobra]

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

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!!

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*)

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.

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.)

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...

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 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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.