I live! My first (800 mile) day in a Cobra

[tritoncobra]

Well, I'm back at home, and in one piece after a 800 mile trip from Cincinnati to Western Iowa. I left Cinci at 10:00 AM and arrived here at 12:30PM Wednesday night - I believe I stopped for gas 6 times in total, though I only used about 75% of the tank's capacity most of the time.

My unorganized impressions of the Cobra vs. my expectations:

The SPF drives very well. I love how the suspension/coilovers handle road bumps - very comfortably while retaining a good measure of confidence. Overall the car feels every bit as solid as the best cars I've ever driven, and IMHO the suspension compares favorably with my 2003 M3.

Power wise 485 HP is good enough for me.. I managed to briefly lose the tires in mid-2nd with pretty heavy throttle but it was pretty easy to let off the throttle slightly to get the traction back. On on-ramps I hit 3rd pretty hard from about 40 mph - and dear God that is exciting.. On my best run I looked into the mirror and saw a bunch of smoke or dust behind me, followed by a semi flashing his brights in appreciation.

My trip started in 45 degree weather and ended up at night in 0 degree weather. In the former temperature, the car was pretty cold with no top (which I tried for about a half hour) and too hot with the soft top on and the heater on full blast. At the end of my trip, even with the heat at maximum, I was freezing.. lol. Even dressed like a skiier there was enough air coming through the soft top to turn my car into a veritable icebox. No worries though; I expected as much and this is a one of a kind trip that WILL NOT be repeated. In fact it's about 20 right now and I though I so strongly want to go fire her up my still persistent memories of numb fingers prevent me from doing so.

The wooden steering wheel SUCKS - whoever invented these didn't imagine people like me with sweaty hands.. I actually ordered the leather steering wheel, but they forgot to put that on. Needless to say I'm making the switch ASAP. (Some leather gloves would solve the problem.. but it seems to me even they would be slippery on the wood compared to a hand on a leather wheel.

This car is LOUD. Let me say first that there is no greater feeling that turning that key and hearing the sheer power blasting from those sidepipes. Every time I stopped for gas, it's almost as if I forgot that feeling temporarily.. but without exception, upon starting her back up I could feel a renewed sense of panic coming over me.. "Oh ****, what am I getting myself into... I'm going to die!" That sense of panic permeated into everyone else at the gas station, especially the oft disapproving old ladies. The scene of the Cobra with its aggresive looking body shaking vigorously and struggling to contain the 485 HP working to justify that styling is amazing.. and only after driving it can I say I now relate to Wiley Cayote riding on a Acme rocket.

Those are the short term drive benefits. For long term drives, I think the dB level is a bit too much for me. Sadly, the soft top doesn't curb that noise one bit. I stopped to pick up earplugs at a Target after about one hour of driving. Though they all but alleviated the issue, even with the earplugs in for the rest of my trip I had some pretty major ear ringing going on. Call me a ***** if you will but I'm definitely going to look into getting some extra baffling for those sidepipes, or some alternate measure of quieting the exhaust. I cringed driving the car through residential neighborhoods last night, knowing that even coasting in 2nd at 2200 RPM I was waking up every house I drove by.. but most of the time I will able to take the car out during the daytime, which solves that problem.

Everywhere I stopped, and I mean everywhere, people were coming over to me and asking about the car. Most people's jaws dropped at the mention of 485 HP.. I'd say about half knew it was a Cobra of some time, and asked whether it was a replica or not. It was a great feeling.. a lot of the older guys I talked to made it clear that seeing the car had made their day.

Mechanically the car worked almost perfectly for the entire trip. When first starting out the car died after a minute.. and I was pretty worried until I switched the fuel pump on.. My only problems were pretty small: One of the windshield wipers flaps a bit in the wind, and my blinker stalk kept getting stuck.

Okay, well you get the idea - I had a great trip despite the hardship of the temperatures.. now to put the emblems on and wait for Spring when the true enjoyment can begin! This will be the longest winter EVER.