How much torque is honestly to much?

[RICK LAKE]

Pman1961 P there are alot of things that you have not thought out. Cobras have had everything from twin turbo SBF to Blown BBC with 1,000+ HP. Alot also depends on how the Frame is engineered. Weather the body is a control member on the chassic for twist and bend. Drive train, unless you are looking at a Quickchange or Franklin rear assembly which will handle 750+ hp and torque and want IRS, Only choices are Jag rearend which stock is good for 450/450 torque and HP. This is with street tires, no slicks, autocross gumballs. A 200 wear number or higher. On the Jag reaend the only way to make it better is to go to a 30 spline carrier, chromemoly stub shafts, a girdle for the carrier caps, Jack plate to support the bottom A-arm mounts, Tie bar from one side to other. and have it setup by a PRO. This will get you into the 600/600 club. IMO this is about the limit that the main case will live with. The traction issue is next with having the car plant and take off and not get tire shake and have the rearend start banging. Transmission also has it's limits with HP and torque. Right now the TKO 600 is the choice here. It's about 500-750 dollars cheaper than a Superstreet Richmond. I have raced my 6 spd richmond on and off for the last 8 years, still works fine. It ratings are only 450/450 HP and torque. My 452 was 448 on torque. The new 482 is 550+ of torque and a little over 500 on HP. I have gone to a G-Force clutchless for racing. Ratings on 800+ on HP and torque. Plan down the road is to build a 498 with a little bigger cam and push the 600+ of torque and 560HP limit and still be very streetable to drive. 500/500 is what some of the orginial drivers said about the SC cobra and it's limit for power. It has been pushed up another 100 on each side. A PRO driver adjusts quickly to the car, 90% of the guys here are in the middle of the driving ability chart. This includes myself. I have not found the new limits yet on the 482, I am not really looking either. With better components for our cobras, wheels, tires, and driving schools, I think that 600 is about the limit. The side note is to treat a cobra like a loaded gun, with RESCEPT and you will get along fine. Start messing around and you will find out how fast this car can turn on you. Ask some of the guys on the forum that have totaled there cars from being foolish I am advancing my cam 2 degrees to kill some of the torque in my 482 motor. Live within your LIMITS and DON'T WORRY about how much you have under the hood. Some guys are very happy with 250HP and 300ft of torque. The funny thing is we will all arrive at the same place within 5 minutes of each other. This is not BULL RUN. There are no winners, just enjoyer of the trip. Rick L.

[Bryan Wilson]

Like the statement in my signature when it doesn't matter what gear your in you have enough torque
cheers,
Bryan

[Wayne Maybury]

I have a 351W, .030" over for 357 cu. in. It was dynoed at 472 hp and 442 lbs of torque. The torque was basically over 400 lbs across the full rpm range so this engine is always ready to go. Having said that, with this amount of hp and torque with only 357 cu in, it is a little bit of a beast to drive in traffic. A 500" motor with the same hp and torque will probably be easier to drive on the street. I have to watch my rpm because it will buck if I let the revs drop too far. Of course it will immediately break the tires loose in 1st or 2nd if I stomp on it.

Will I change the engine? Probably not. Would I prefer a 351 stroked to 392, 408, or 427? Sure I would but I am not willing to spend the money just so that I can say that I have a bigger engine. As it is, on the street I cannot use what I already have 99.9% of the time.

Wayne

[JAM1775]

Pman...you can bump up your power pretty good with heads and a bit more squeeze. here are some of my 351W combos the past ten years.
Here's a dyno sheet with my 351W comparing both a Stealth and V-jr intake.
This set up is a rebuilt FMS 385/351W with 11:1 forged Ross pistons, .576L roller cam, TEA ported Brodix 58cc milled , 190 cc runner heads. With the old flat tappet cam and GT40X heads ported, milled to 11.25:1 the motor made 376rwhp. After the rebuild and roller cam it made 386rwhp. A budget route for you might be AFR 185's milled to 58cc's for 11:1 and I bet you'd make 400 to the tire. www.totalengineairflow.com makes the ported 190cc Brodix ST5.0 heads with 2.02 vales that flows 300 @ .6L for which I paid around $1900 minus rockers. The gain going to the Brodix heads from fully ported GT40X heads despite lessening compression .25 (58cc vs. 56cc's) was 419-386 or
a gain of 33RWHP. Just porting the GT40X heads on the stock 385/351W netted a 43rwhp gain from stock 334rw to 376RWHP . The TQ factor is not as high as the HP with these milder set ups which still does allow for foot control in 1st/2nd gears. Again...these were my preferences and experinces. I hope this helps as you consider mods to your 385/351W.

Except for my required rebuild due to a faulty BG carb, much of this can be done leaning over your hood. Figure 385-400 to the tire with good heads and 2 more points of squeeze (93 octane all that is required). If you want to run with the bigger dogs add a 100 shot for 3rd/4th gears. A couple of us did these 351W mods and have dynoed 485-500 RW spraying on the dyno. You're talking about 4 grand for all but it's only a few days of work in the garage.

[lovehamr]

Originally Posted by RICK LAKE

The side note is to treat a cobra like a loaded gun

Right! Never point it at anything that you don't want to destroy!

Steve