www.laspeedgarage.com

When were they introduced and which one is faster and how fast? Were do they rank with other cars as for speed?

Well, the most obvious difference is that Steve Saleen is an independent tuner and Cobras are made/engineered by the factory. For more detailed differences, you'd need to give more information on the specific model.

+1 on the Steve Saleen although Steve Saleen is no Longer CEO of the company with his name funny as that sounds. Cobra are made by Ford by the special vehicle team "SVT" for the years 96-98 cobras have the 4.6 Dohc motors with a T45 manual trans while saleens cam with 351's with T5 manuals. 99,01 cobras were still 4.6dohc cams with tumble port heads and a better intake manifold and a t45 trans, 99-04 Saleens cam with 4.6 sohc engines with different options depending on buyer anywhere from close to stock two supercharged with wheels and suspension, 03-04 Cobras have the supercharged DOHC 4.6 with a T56 transmission with and IRS rearend and wheels and big brakes.
05-08 Saleens have a 4.6 3v motor with same thing as mods depending on buyer, from the new Twin screw supercharger and full suspension and 20in wheels and alcon big brakes. 05-08 Shelby cobras came with an upgrade in engine size to 5.4 with a roots style blower solid rear and oother shelby options. The faster one depends on which mods you order but IMO if the prices are equal the Cobra is probably going to be faster.

steve&emma wrote: 01 cobras were still 4.6dohc cams with tumble port heads and a better intake manifold and a t45 trans.

My '01 Cobra had a T3650 transmission. As if anyone still cares from this old thread.

Brakelate wrote:

steve&emma wrote: 01 cobras were still 4.6dohc cams with tumble port heads and a better intake manifold and a t45 trans.

My '01 Cobra had a T3650 transmission. As if anyone still cares from this old thread.

Yeah some of the later 2001's switched over to the TR3650.

I had a 2002 with that trans and I hated it. Grinded into second all the time regardless of temp/fluid capacity. Lots of people had that problem.

Sold it on Ebay and bought the 2004 Cobra which was an awesome vehicle.

Funny, after some dragstrip passes on sticky tires and banging gears with the 4:30's I had put in it, I wasted the 2nd gear Syncro in mine too and had to put in a whole new trans, as no one would rebuild it. Ten years later, I still have the original core as a door prop at my buddies place.

Brakelate wrote:Funny, after some dragstrip passes on sticky tires and banging gears with the 4:30's I had put in it, I wasted the 2nd gear Syncro in mine too and had to put in a whole new trans, as no one would rebuild it. Ten years later, I still have the original core as a door prop at my buddies place.

I loved the T-56 in the Cobra (with aftermarket shifter and gasket) and Viper I had, and then later the TR-6060 in the GT500.

The TR6060 wasn't as nice as the previous shifts because in the GT500 the shifter was not directly connected on top of the trans like the Terminator and Viper.

It had some arrangement that was complicated and wasn't as nice as the others in terms of feel. Felt rubbery.

So far the T-56 has been subjected to some serious abuse and continues to simply shrug it off. The aftermarket shifter with lack of rubber isolators and gasket is either a piece of crudeness or source of wonderful direct mechanical interaction with the machine. The raw vibrations, firm throws and even transfer of heat into the shifter knob to me is just another great thing about the Cobra, along with the blower howl and sketchy foundation when saddled with this much horsepower and torque.

How did I miss this beauty? Don't even ask how I found it...

jhwalker wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 06, 2015 6:23 am

How did I miss this beauty? Don't even ask how I found it...

I missed it too.