An Accura would kick a Cobra's Asp

[vettestr]

At the car show last night I learned how quick an Accura must be. Probably a dad and son were checking out my car and dad said = "I drove a friend of mines Cobra quite a bit back in the early 70's. It had a big engine and used a lot of gas. From driving your Accura I can tell you it would out run and out handle that old Cobra any day. You get a lot better milage and is a much faster car. I guess they just did not understand how to build good cars like they do now but the american cars are getting better" !!!!
I started to speak up and ask Dad what he was smokin but just giggled and watched. Think that is the best car show wisdom I have heard, can you beat that with a better story?

[blykins]

I just don't understand how ignorant some people are. That's where you and I are different......while you were more calm and serene, I would have been laughing hysterically....loud enough so the guy could hear me. Then when he would open his mouth again, I would offer him pink slips for pink slips on a 1/4 mile run......on a drag strip of course....hehehe

[Hotfingrs]

I had the same situation at a car show a summer or so ago. There was a guy with a Mallett Corvette, and all the people standing around in awe of the car. This guy is telling the people how fast the car will run in the 1/4...I tell him he's crazy, Mallett doesn't make anything that will run that fast. This guys mentallity was that because I spent more money for my car, it has to be faster. So this guy tells me ...let's take em to the strip and run for money....I said let's go. Then he says we have to run within 15 mins of getting there...again no problem. Then he says, no changing tires....again no problem. Then he tells me, he can't cause the car is new and there aren't any miles on the engine....I gave him my number and said call me...I also memorized his serial number and went home and got on Mallett's website and car registry....guess what, that car was over a year old.

[mikiec]

Jeff,

You should have sent that guy over to me.

Mike

[Fitz]

Let's go beat him up! At least he has a car.....hehehehee

[rms427]

He could have been talking about a 1974 Cobra II Mustang. If so he would be correct.

[vettestr]

Mike you would not have gotten anywhere with him as it appears the porch light is on but nobody is home.
, besides the fact you are pretty kick back or PC until pushed or fully wound up (then look out).
I did start to follow him down the line but stopped short figuring it was hopeless. And he did have his kid with him???

[misfit41]

I notice no one ask if his Acura was an NSX,if it were the guy is likely correct about it being quiker and faster than most cobras,I hate to say that,,but tis true,,Tim

[Turk]

We have Cobras, with FEs, 351s, 302s, 289s. Some have toploaders, TKOs.. Are they ALL really THAT fast?

Which ones? All of them?

I think sometimes we become slave to our own folklore. We talk about Cobras vs. Acuras, Corvettes as if ALL Cobras are capable of Land Speed Record.

Hate to be the beare of bad new, but contrary to what we like to think, we are fast but not THAT fast.. Also I haven't seen too many Cobras that burn rubber on all gears like often claimed in here.

TURK
I don't know about an Acura, unless it has some funny gas mixed with fuel.

[vettestr]

I looked up posted times at this address http://www.stealth316.com/misc/performance2.xls and on line 40 it claims average NSX 1/4 mile ET to be in low 13's. Like Turk said maybe running on a little juice or maybe dad was on the juice.

[Mulv]

Interesting...

There is a lot of talk about 1/4 mile drag racing etc....

My only comment is that I have a 135HP Honda Civic and in three separate Endurance races at Thunderhill last year my co-driver and I were able to easily lap the track about 10 seconds a lap quicker than the two Factory Five spec racers that were running... In fact our best lap was 14 seconds better than their best.... Those unfamiliar might like to know that Thunderhill has very long straights and a pretty steep, long hill in the back section and is known as a horsepower track...

On the other hand, on the freeway the Honda would be no contest for a while.. it tops out at 130 but is not difficult to drive at that speed. My Superformance car requires a lot more attention at anything over 120 than the humble Civic, so given the Autobahn , it would still travel 200 miles much more quickly because I would become exhausted from keeping the Cobra on the road.....

The Honda gets 15mpg while racing as well... my Cobra gets maybe 10 cruising...

The father with the Acura was on the right track... he was just talking to the wrong audience. Depending upon which Acura it is that they are speaking of, there is no way any Cobra will lap a race track as quickly - particularily a track without long straights...

Certainly, I expect that there will be some debate over this.. check the world challenge lap times at your favorite track and then look at Cobra times..
At Laguna Seca, the fastest real Cobra I can find is 1:46.863, this on the modern track.. it was a lot shorter in the old days
Acura? 1:33.918 for Peter Cunningham in an NSX
A TSX did 1:38.261 with Klienubing

8 seconds is a lifetime in a race car...

There is more to racing than straight lines....

On the other hand I doubt that the Hondas will elicit the nostalgia of the Cobra and that is what we all own them for...

Steve

[Madik]

I just read these posts and I was annoyed by the subject.
Can a Acura beat a Cobra?? Who cares? We own these cars because they're BAD ASS.

Everywhere I go with my car is an adventure. I've had people jump out of their car at the stop light to take my picture, I've had people wait for me to come out of the store so they can look under the hood, I can't go anywhere without someone giving me a thumbs up. Just this weekend I had a guy in a 7'series BMW follow me home to admire my ride (even took him for a quick spin to give him something to dream about before he went to bed that night).

If an Antelope could run faster than the Cheetah I would still rather be a Cheetah.

My point is... Your Cobra has already beaten every Acura in the city without ever leaving the parking lot.

-Madik

[vettestr]

Mulv, Madik,
This is starting to be a bucket of worms and it was also my immediate response. Mulv, said "he was talking to the wrong audience." We all insert our own images of the Cobra and Accura in this mental race image. The statement does allow you to insert any car and configuration. The Spec racer is limited to 302 inches I think, and do not have a clue what limits would be on your 135 HP Honda but guess the HP to weight in this case is a little lopsided, am I right? You said your laps were 10 + seconds better than the cobras. As a known HP track how would your Honda do agianst the average big inch small block stroker to close that gap? Think this is a fair question unless your Honda is STOCK configuration as the spec racer would be clost to a stock SB cobra.
Madik, I feel the same way but have had a couple of rice grinders surprise me with how quick they are and you never know if running tons of boost and on the bottle too. I have not been embarrassed yet but scared a few times for sure. What is the bumper sticker.... I would rather push my Ford than drive a Chevy. I run a vette suspension and Dart gen 6 here but do offer Ford engine adapters and appreciate the loyalties we all have. Remember even Mulv said
" On the other hand I doubt that the Hondas will elicit the nostalgia of the Cobra and that is what we all own them for... "

[Mulv]

Jeff

My Honda is stock as far as drivetrain goes... the size of the engine is immaterial - it is all in cornering speeds...
The Laguna numbers I gave were for a real 427 Shelby Cobra- a 65 - not a Kirkham/Shelby... these things are antiques and by the way they only weigh about 200 pounds more than the Acura , have more tire by far and have way more horsepower, the Acura probably has under 350....
My Honda is a VX... the Si is much faster....and has closer gears....
and the spec racer certainly is quicker on the straights which works right up to corner 1 or 2....

I really do have a Cobra because I wanted one as a kid, not because I wanted a track car.
I went to Firebird a few weeks ago and drove around in the Cobra to remind myself how useless and slow these things are on the track. They fly down the straights but are hopeless in the corners... Either of my Mustangs would be quicker and certainly the Honda would be...
By the way , you probably know that Shelby went to Chevrolet first when he did the Cobra because he liked the compact package that the small block offered. He was shown the door, they were not in PT Barnum mode at the time. You should be proud! - you are realizing Shelby's dream!
I follow the motto of the BACC - I never met a Cobra I didn't like.....

As it happens I have no love for the Honda in particular, it is just a tool like any race car and also completely expendable like any race car. I just like to choose the most competitive package if I am going to race.... I used to race Porsches, Nissans and Mazdas as well as Camaros and Mustangs among others... The Honda is cheap and reliable... what can I say - the team is Scatola Volante - "Flying Box".. that says it all....

Steve

[blykins]

I've driven NSX's.....an't nothin like a Cobra.

[Mulv]

Blykins

What?

Mulv

[blykins]

What do you mean, what?

I have driven several Acura NSX's....and they just don't compare to a Cobra. Never raced one down Willow Springs or nothing, but light to light.....dead stop to 1/4 mile.....there isn't nothing like the raw unbridled torque of a Cobra.

[RedBarchetta]

We can beat our collective chests all we want about our beloved Cobras, but the truth of the matter is that much of the late 90's technology that envelopes most of today's newer cars (case in point - Corvette Z06) just flat out stomps a 60's era Cobra in several aspects (handling and driver comfort, to name just two).

Now a Cobra with the right driver will give any newer car a run for its money, regardless of whether the road is straight or twisted. It's not always whether or not you have the right tool....it's how you use it that matters.

-Deano

[RACER X #99]

Great responses Turk, Steve
As usual the Cobras are the fastest according to the bench racers, but when you get them on the track and I mean road course we soon find out the true story. Don't want to hear about 1/4 mile times, Cobras were never built to be drag cars, besides most of the serious ricers will kick the crap out of most Cobras in the 1/4.

I say enjoy Cobras for what they once were, not what you think they might be.

Generally the fastest Open Trackers in stock form are, in no particular order ZO6, Mustang SVT "R", Porsche Turbo, Former Cup or Bush cars, Vipers, M3's with none being driven by pro drivers.

$5,000 worth of chrome and aluminum will get you a trophy at the show but will get laughs at the track.

[grumpy]

Vettstr,
Am I supposed to look at a situation that "freezes" in time, the 60's COBRA427 on vintage tires and compare it to a $300,000 ACCURA NSX like Alexanders on the West Coast SCCA Division, and say that that would be a fair race.
IF so, WHY CAN'T the ACCURA beat the West Coast Z06 Corvettes or Vipers, similar cars to the old boy!
A PANOZ LMP is a similar front engined car to the COBRA of the old days, WOULD a 427 alum block Hewland 6 speed PANOZ be a fair comparison to the ricer? You would cry foul.
The COBRA427 with 8840 suspension was only hundredths off of the A/SR Lolas and McLarens lap times in the early 70's and it was a B-P car.
Ask Bob Nagel (former COBRA drive) why he was only 6/100ths ahead of an old 427 in the early 70's everwhere he went with his SCCA Lola Factory Team car.
Not putting down the NSX, but a F1 McLaren IT IS NOT, unless you're standing for too a long time in the local NOPI tire burnout contest smoke.
grumpy