Superformance & ERA owners I need your help!

[Excaliber]

That's a decent setup. I found the timing on my 12.5 compression motor to be similiar in that I could retard it, loose horse power but run on pump gas. Or, advance it, run race gas and WOW!

In your case, even with retarded timing it is STILL in "wow" country. Exceptionally nice price, by the way.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by lloyds1

Something tells me 677hp will be adaquate

Quite. But you know how with motorcycles the "danger period" for the rider is that window that occurs after the new rider is comfortable with the bike and starts to think that he knows what he's doing? Same thing with a Cobra. With that kind of horsepower you're just a toe-poke away from swapping ends. And the difference between really fast, controlled acceleration and having the rear bust loose on you is the width of an angel's stand of hair. You need to take a specialized driving course with your car, and if you don't want to do that, at a minimum take your Cobra out to somewhere where there is absolutely nothing to hit (I usually recommend the ball park lots that have no light poles). There you can safely experiment with "accidental loss of control," poorly timed braking, show-off stunts gone terribly awry, etc. A 90" wheel base car is just asking to come out from under you, even with 300 horsepower. You should take this advice sooner rather than later. BTW, this is one of only a handful of posts of mine where every single member on this forum will agree with me.

[Bob In Ct]

I concur!

Bob

[lloyds1]

i agree. i have been racing cars and motorcyles for 15 years though, so i am pretty experienced. i have also owned a few other street cars with similar power (2 Porsche 930s, RUF RCT, T1 Z06) etc. That being said all of my race cars and street cars were better set up to handle the power. I will probably take it to VIR and mess around at a few track days to get a feel for how it handles (or doesn't). I also look forward to trying out bias ply vintage race tires for the first time too! I have to admit, it does intimidate me a little.

Originally Posted by patrickt

Quite. But you know how with motorcycles the "danger period" for the rider is that window that occurs after the new rider is comfortable with the bike and starts to think that he knows what he's doing? Same thing with a Cobra. With that kind of horsepower you're just a toe-poke away from swapping ends. And the difference between really fast, controlled acceleration and having the rear bust loose on you is the width of an angel's stand of hair. You need to take a specialized driving course with your car, and if you don't want to do that, at a minimum take your Cobra out to somewhere where there is absolutely nothing to hit (I usually recommend the ball park lots that have no light poles). There you can safely experiment with "accidental loss of control," poorly timed braking, show-off stunts gone terribly awry, etc. A 90" wheel base car is just asking to come out from under you, even with 300 horsepower. You should take this advice sooner rather than later. BTW, this is one of only a handful of posts of mine where every single member on this forum will agree with me.

[Excaliber]

Training is certainly warranted, BUT, in my experience what "gets you" is the completely unexpected. Like an apparently good looking patch of pavement. That should offer decent traction, but you don't see the fine layer of dust, sand or dampness that's been blown onto it. I'm more cautious these days of pavement that APPEARS to offer decent traction, maybe it does, maybe not.

Or shifting into second in the middle of an intersection and the sudden loss of traction when completing the shift. I've heard several times from folks who swore they were NOT getting on it. Just a casual shift, no big deal, next thing you know they've crunched the curb from the spin out. The RULE for that one is, DON'T shift or get on it unless your pointed straight ahead.

To often the schools tend to deal with what to do when you DO get sideways, how to avoid that on a race track. It's tough to bring it home to real world and highly variable conditions on the street.

[lloyds1]

yeah, i think experimenting in an empty parking lot is a good idea too. Anyone have any experience running the vintage bias ply tires on the street? I would imagine they never get up to temperature on the street so the traction would be very limited. Obviously not the best choice from a safety or performance stand point, but i LOVE how they look.

Originally Posted by Excaliber

Training is certainly warranted, BUT, in my experience what "gets you" is the completely unexpected. Like an apparently good looking patch of pavement. That should offer decent traction, but you don't see the fine layer of dust, sand or dampness that's been blown onto it. I'm more cautious these days of pavement that APPEARS to offer decent traction, maybe it does, maybe not.

Or shifting into second in the middle of an intersection and the sudden loss of traction when completing the shift. I've heard several times from folks who swore they were NOT getting on it. Just a casual shift, no big deal, next thing you know they've crunched the curb from the spin out. The RULE for that one is, DON'T shift or get on it unless your pointed straight ahead.

To often the schools tend to deal with what to do when you DO get sideways, how to avoid that on a race track. It's tough to bring it home to real world and highly variable conditions on the street.

[Excaliber]

Actually there the best tires for traction I've ever had on my car, hot or cold! They do a darn good job in the wet as well. And yeah, they LOOK terrific!

[lloyds1]

And they are cheap too I was told. So is there a downside to using them on the street?

Originally Posted by Excaliber

Actually there the best tires for traction I've ever had on my car, hot or cold! They do a darn good job in the wet as well. And yeah, they LOOK terrific!

[Excaliber]

Well I don't know about "cheap", compared to what?

Goodyear Bill Board, or sometimes called Cobra, tires available from Shelby and a few other limited sources, are generally about $200 per tire. Price and availability seem to vary quite a lot though. Compared to Avon radials, which the Kirkhams seem to favor, they are "cheap". I think the Avon's run about $400 per tire or so.

Looks like one set of your wheels/tires have Hoosiers? I don't know anything about them, interesting choice. One thing for sure, DO NOT skimp on the tires, traction should be your first priority. You see some really nice high dollar rides with $1.98 Goodrich TA's on them, that always leaves me baffled. Like wearing a tuxedo with tennis shoes.

[raclaims]

Congrats LLoyd! I have seen that car for sale a few times on some other forums I frequent and it always seemed like a lot of car for the money.

Make sure you check that the rear shock mounts were upgraded and definitely be sure to sign up for SCOF...

Would love to see the car some time...bring it to NJ next time you are coming and we can go for a ride.

[lloyds1]

How do I find out if the rear shock mount was upgraded? It is car #2345 I think it was built in 2006.

Before I go to NJ in the car I want to put some miles on it closer to home, but next spring for sure.

Originally Posted by raclaims

Congrats LLoyd! I have seen that car for sale a few times on some other forums I frequent and it always seemed like a lot of car for the money.

Make sure you check that the rear shock mounts were upgraded and definitely be sure to sign up for SCOF...

Would love to see the car some time...bring it to NJ next time you are coming and we can go for a ride.

[*13*]

The car looks great! I'm running Hoosier Bias on mine. I like them.

[lloyds1]

Ok, I found it on SCOF, definitly seems like a good upgrade to do. Thanks for the heads up!

Originally Posted by lloyds1

How do I find out if the rear shock mount was upgraded? It is car #2345 I think it was built in 2006.

Before I go to NJ in the car I want to put some miles on it closer to home, but next spring for sure.

[lloyds1]

The car arrived last night. I drove it for about 4 hours today mostly on the Merritt Parkway. Wow, what a blast, I'm hooked! Look forward to meeting all of you............I think I'm going to take off work tomorrow too

[Excaliber]

YE HAW!!!! Man I remember my first drive, from the dock (came in on a ship) back to my place. I was SO nervous and it was SO fun all at the same time. It wasn't until the next day I settled down enough to "get on it". Promptly swapped ends with it, dang lucky I didn't nail a curb.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by lloyds1

The car arrived last night. I drove it for about 4 hours today mostly on the Merritt Parkway. Wow, what a blast, I'm hooked! Look forward to meeting all of you............I think I'm going to take off work tomorrow too

Uhh, plates, registration & insurance in place?

[lloyds1]

Yup, I registered it in VT via mail. Shes totally legit.

Originally Posted by patrickt

Uhh, plates, registration & insurance in place?

[Bob In Ct]

Lloyd:
If the weather is dry I'll be going to Lime Rock on Saturday October 10th (Skip Barber Weekend). Can I expect you to join us for lunch at the track?

Bob

[lloyds1]

I would love to, but i cant stray too far from home, my wife is due with twin boys any day.

Originally Posted by Bob In Ct

Lloyd:
If the weather is dry I'll be going to Lime Rock on Saturday October 10th (Skip Barber Weekend). Can I expect you to join us for lunch at the track?

Bob

[*13*]

It's required that you take a few minutes to post some pics of the car now & post them in your gallery! Get the wife a Lawn chair, camera & have her snap shots as you go back & forth in front of the house. She probably wont get much time with you for a few days anyway.