My feeble collection of kills (I'm a Noob) [Archive]

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Brian Mattingly

11-15-2006, 05:32 AM

Hi guys! I’m new here. (both on the site and as a Cobra owner.) I’ve been reading your Kill stories over the past month or so in preparation for when I got my own Cobra and could start tacking on my own kills to share with you guys. Well finally got my Cobra, and what do you know I couldn’t hardly find any body to challange me. See I don’t like provoking people, I like to be provoked. So I have to ride around and wait for someone to try me out. With that being said it’s been very slim pickings. But I’ll tell what I’ve got under my belt so far.

Mustang-

I just got this new car so of course I love to cruise around in it. Well I was heading to a friends house who lives in the City and I remembered this stretch of road that was always hot and heavy with punks trying to run their cars. So I decided to take the Cobra for a stroll through that neck of the woods. And sure enough as soon as I pull on to that road I see a Green (must have been like a 98) Mustang pull out behind me. I must have like a sixth sense or something because I knew he was going to try to run me. (Alright guys I have to admit it was a V6 Mustang, but I take what I get) We get down the road a piece where it splits off into two lanes and the guy in the Stang pulls up close to my bumper, I think to myself the guy surly must see the word Cobra on my bumper and will now come to his senses... Nope! He swerves over into the other lane and proceeds to make a pass. I’m in 5th going about 55mph and I don’t even worry about droping down a gear. I let him pass me then I droped the hammer, it took it a second or two to get up to speed, but I started to pull back on him. I was getting ready make a pass when bam down the road I see a Cop pulling out (the cop was going the other way) so I let off and slowed down. But that idiot just kept going. The cop must not have seen him beacuse he just went on his mary way. I thought to myself "Mustang today is your lucky day. You get to tell all your friends that you took a Cobra." Or maybe not. There’s a red light up the road and wouldn’t you know it just so happened to be red, and wouldn’t you know it just happened to be clear all the way up the road, and wouldn’t you know the Green Mustang happened to be the only car stopped at the red light. This time he doesn’t get off so easy. I see him, he’s a little punk kid (of course I say this but in retrospect I guess I’m a little punk kid too) and he’s with his girlfriend. I know his ego wont let him back down. We take off easy, once again I wait for him to make a move. I give him a whole car link head start (who says I aint charitable) sure enough there he goes. From third gear I proceed to pass with extreme predigest. I don’t know if he gave up trying or what because I passed him so fast. The only indication that he was trying was that he swerved to get behind me to pass another car and then swerved to get back in the other lane. Other then that he looked like he was standing still. At the next red light he wouldn’t even look at me. Funny!

F-150

Once again nothing to brag about, but you know how it is. And once again I was pretty much on the same stretch of road just a little further down. This red F-150 (probably a 2000) was riding pretty close on my tail, but I did’t think much about it until we pulled up to a red light, he's turning and I’m going straight. He decides to rev her up a little bit (he thinks that he’s going to challenge and get away because he’s turning and I’m not... Wrong.) Well he turns and goes and since there was no one else behind him I duck out and pull in behind him. He must not have realized his mistake because he gunned it (I think his truck was slightly modified, It was fairly quick and it sounded good) I let him go because I knew he wouldn’t get far and he’d run into some traffic. But two red lights later we’re in the clear. He takes off strong and I’m right behind him at this point. There were two lanes so I got over in the other one and shifted to second gear. By the the time I had hit third I was already past him. My lane merged back over so I slowed down to let him back in front but he had slowed down at this point, so I got over. Another victory is mine.

That all I got for right now but I’m looking forward to posting some more kills and reading some more of your all’s.

But until then have a safe one.

ausie

11-21-2006, 07:45 AM

:thumbsup:

Once you get familiar with your Cobra, take it to the track :D you would be surprised how many kills you can get. Once you make your presence known at the track others tend not to want to be in the lane next to you since they already know what the outcome would be. Sometimes you will get a challenge worthy of the fuel spent. Best to get the throttle pedal recall fix done first before you hammer it to the floor so it will not stick on you at the end of the track since that is not a good thing to find when you need to come to a stop.

Brian Mattingly

11-24-2006, 05:15 AM

ausie

11-25-2006, 01:04 PM

Yeah, some very helpfull tips. Thank you!

How can one tell if the throttle pedal recall has or hasn't already been taken care of? I've had the pedal to the floor a couple time and... Nothing has happened. I don't know if I just got lucky or if one of the previous owners have taken care of it. Can you tell by looking at it?

Thanks for the kind words. And Happy Thanksgiving
You can tell if it has been done or not..... Move the dirver seat back and look in at the throttle pedal. The recall part is a plastic or metal shield or plate that is mounted underneath the throttle pedal bolts and should extend down to the floor. This plate should be positioned over the carpet. If you do not see any plastic or metal plate behind the throttle pedal then you do not have the recall fixed.

If all you see is carpet behind the throttle pedal, you will need to have it done to reduce or eliminate the chance of a sticking throttle.

I would agree that 1/8 mile is not much fun but practice on that would help you in the quarter mile as well if you ever have a chance to get to a longer track.

If you are having issues with traction, is your car modified or stock? Considering that the stock set up is capable of burning off the tires due to the high amount of torque provided by the eaton (it would be more if you have a smaller pully or whipple or Kenne Bell). Some traction issues can be cured with different tires. I have yet to try Nittos but have become fond of the Toyo T1-R which grip really good on the street and not so bad at the track. They top my list over all of the other brand and type of tires I have used. Many have opted for street legal drag radials to increase the grip on the launch. BFG, MT, Nitto.

I would also have the alignment checked. If the rear toe is out just a bit it would cause some problems. I can tell there is some toe in on my 04 which may account for the lack of wheel hop that many experience. I would need to have the alignment checked to verify the amount of toe in on the rear and if it is out I would not want it changed. It almost looks like 1.5 degrees or more. Tire wear is great and traction is almost perfect except in the cold rain. No wheel hop on dry pavement or at the track. What is nice about the IRS is that it can be adjusted where as the live axle cannot. There is also bumb steer on the rear end too. If your vehicle has been lowered the geometry may have been altered that would throw out the alignment. Changing the bushings on the rear suspension will alter the bump steer geometry so that is one other thing to consider.

I live about 1 hour away from the closest track. Either Maple Grove or Island Dragway. Englishtown Raceway Park is about 3-4 hours (due to traffic).