I would say go w/the Evo,don't get me wrong the cobras a kick *** car,but your getting the same performance more technology,MORE ROOM,better resale value,better warrenty,world renouned reputation,and the biggest factor the lowest cost and the most powerful I-4 in the US,hows that

 

I've never liked any American cars but hey whatever floats your boat. Overall, I think that the Evo 8 is going to be the better car. It's got good straight line acceleration, handles better than anything under and some cars over $100Ks on the street and the shortest braking distances I've ever seen. The Evo 8 is aslo great when the road and weather turns nasty because of the All Wheel Drive. The SVT Cobra is just basically going haul *** in a straight line and I don't know about the handling. If you're in to magazine racing here's some numbers from Sport Compact Car.

Evo 8
Price: $28, 987 (small wing)
Price: $29,467(big carbon fiber wing)
Crank Horsepower: 271hp @ 6500rpm
Crank Torque: 273lb-ft @ 3500rpm
Wheel Horsepower: 233hp @ 5800rpm
Wheel Torque: 252lb-ft @ 3800rpm
Curbo Wieght: 3263lb
Weight Distribution: 60/40
0-30mph: 1.7s
0-60mph: 5.3s
30-50mph: 2.1s
50-70mph: 2.9s
Quarter Mile: 13.4 @ 103mph
Slalom Speed(700-ft): 73.1mph
Skidpad(200-ft): .95g
60 - 0 Stopping: 106ft

SVT Cobra
Price: $34,750
Crank Horsepower: 390hp @ ????rpm
Crank Torque: ???lb-ft @ ????rpm
Wheel Horsepower: 357hp @ ????rpm
Wheel Torque: 347lb-ft @ ????rpm
Curbo Wieght: 3640lb
Weight Distribution: ??/??
0-30mph: ??s
0-60mph: ??s
30-50mph: ??s
50-70mph: ??s
Quarter Mile: 13.4 @ 109.2mph (the car felt sick)
Slalom Speed(700-ft): 67.2mph
Skidpad(200-ft): .92g
60 - 0 Stopping: 126ft

Hope that helps a bit. In Sport Compact Cars test, the SVT Cobra won in all the acceleration test but lost in all the handling tests. If you buy the Evo 8, you should have about $5000 left to do mods with it. Get a turbo back exhaust, intake, intercooler piping, boost controller and a fuel computer and you should be able to hit mid to high 12s. There are already two Evo 8s on the board with over 400hp and 400lb-ft of torque on the board and car capable of hitting 11.8s on the STOCK turbo, internals, tranny, clutch and some other stuff: Alfriedesq and ferrarokid.

O yea......get the Evo 8 .... j/k....just both out for a test drive and see for yourself.

 

My friend was dead set on buying a Mustang MACH1 until he test drove a used S4, which is somewhat comparable to an EVO (AWD, Turbo, etc). He bought the S4 and said if he could get all the money back for the S4 that he would take the EVO over the S4 and the Mustang any day. Like people said though, take them both out for a test drive if you can.

 

Sorry, I am very biased here. Not so much in favor of the EVO, but against the Cobra or any other US made car. Sorry, they just don't get me excited in any way. Plain boring, with no style.

 

stick to imports buddy, you have no clue what youre talking about

 

How do you figure that? How is 16/22 for a Cobra a wash with 18/26 for an EVO, or in the Cobra's favor?

I checked insurance on myself for an EVO and a Cobra Coupe. I am 27 and single with no at fault accidents or speeding tickets and I use State Farm and the Cobra was $300 more per year.

 

I have always been a Ford person. I own a 69 Mach 1 428CJ and a street driven 92 5.0 that runs 10.2's. I considered an '03 Cobra but test drove the Evo and bought it I liked the fact it was awd, 4drs.....much more practical. I already have plenty of impractical toys.
Great all around car. I'm having a blast driving it to work through the week and racing it on the weekends

 

whats up with a boost gauge on the EVO??
Does it have a blow off valve??

what can the stock internals take as far as power??

 

doesn't come with a boost gauge, it has a recirculating valve

there is a thread on how much stock internals can take, please search, it's not that hard

 

Yes it does have a blow off valve,it does not have a boost gauge stock,*** far as internals can take as far as power,350-400 hp befor having to do so mods both cars you can't go wrong with but,the evolution is much more advanced though than the cobra

 

I can relate to you better than most on this board - I had a Vortech supercharged '02 Mustang GT (which I totalled) and then purchased an '01 Camaro SS. I had it for about 6 months, then decided I wanted either the Evo or '03 Cobra. I test drove both, I ended up with the Evo. it's more fun to drive, I don't know how to explain it. Here's a pic of me trading in the red '01 SS for my black Evo, and another couple shots of it Zainoed up.

You can't go wrong either way. Good luck bro.

 

NICE!!!!! Is that a boost controller you got?? Exactly how do those things work?? I mean if you upped the boost wouldnt you have to increase, fuel and does the controller do that?? Just wondering how those things worked

 

Thanks for the compliment.

Nah, the blue screen you see mounted in the dash is an Apexi Super-AFC. It piggy-backs on the signal sent from the computer to alter the amount of fuel being used per each 500rpm (fuel map). Think of it as a Diablo chip that you actually have control over, has some cool electronic readouts, record mode, and costs about the same Overall, it's a pretty cool device.

I have a manual boost controller mounted off my valve cover under the hood - it's not as flashy as some of the electronic ones you can buy, but it was very affordable and really - I only need to set it once, then it's good for life

In all seriousness, it took some big bucks to make my old '02 4.6 fast... the Vortech kit was a complete package from Dennis Reinhart in FL, and costed me about $4200 after dyno tuning. I just spent $1300 on full turbo back 3" exhuast, the AFC computer AND the boost controller - I've still got plenty left over for the 264 cams, clutch, window tint and Alpine headunit I'm planning to get.

Get the Evo man, it's more exclusive and handles WAY better. All you have to do is sit in one and you'll know.

 

If you're looking for a drag car the cobra is it. It is crazy fast trapping 109+ mph in the 1/4 mile while the EVO traps about 100 mph.

If you're looking for an all around sports car then the EVO is it. It will always outhandle the cobra because of the lighter weight. It will fit 4 adults easy and has a bigger trunk. The AWD puts the power to the ground better and it takes to mods really well.

But it will never be the 1/4 mile monster that the Cobra is. So it depends on what you're looking for...me I needed a car for everyday use that can fit my future kids. The EVO fit the bill nicely.

Ohhh and don't let the 1/4 mile times fool you because of the AWD launch. From a roll, the stock EVO is about as fast as a S2000 or 350z. But here's the nice part:

ECU flash (~$500) = 30whp
Turbo back exhaust (~$900) = 20-30whp
S-AFC (~$300) = 30whp
Boost Controler ($50-200) = 20+ whp

So you can see it's relatively cheap to upgrade this engine to around 300-350whp from the 220 whp stock.

 

the gears in this thing say final ratio is 4.529
Thats the # that would be like 3.27s for the stangs right??
So this thing must be able to cut some pretty low 60ft times (STOCK).