Hello everyone, how are ya? Man I miss the truck some days. I miss the 25 gallon gas tank, I miss sitting up high. I miss all the compliments on the truck. But I must say I love the 6 speed. I'm having so much fun in the Cobra. I'm just starting to do some work to it, and I'm curious. What's the difference with a built short block in a Lightning and the factory Cobra motor?
I know they both would have manley rods, and forged pistons. What about the crank, what else is different? I know the Cobra has dual overhead cams, but as for the block...
I'm just curious to know how much horse the Lightning built blocks will handle. And what's the difference in the end between a Lightning with a built motor and a Cobra from the factory?
Any differences other than the Cobra comes with a warranty from ford?
Thanks, Shane

 

Isn't your Cobra a 4.6 verses the Lightning 5.4 ?


The 4.6 is the small block and the 5.4 is the Ford big block.

The modular design is common and allows some parts to interchange. Which was the idea for mass production.

That 4.6 is a great little engine.

I bet that 6 speed is a lot of fun to.

Nice of you to stop in and say HI. We miss your posts.

 

Cobra has a forged crank from the factory & 6 bolt mains. Along with the Manley rods and forged pistons.

The Lightning's short block would have 4 bolt mains and the crank should be a forged piece ( on a built bottom end ). Some stock cranks were cast.

A few stock Cobra short block's are making close to 1,000 hp and they're surviving. Strictly Performance's mid 9 second yellow car is one example. There's others in the 700+ hp at the wheels club that are fine and dandy....the rear ends and transmissions on the other hand are another story. The only other car that I can think of that had that strong of a motor from the factory is a turbo Toyota Supra.

 

Seems like the tranny technology is lagging behind straight across the board. Dosen't matter what brand or weight group, cars or trucks. The tranny's just haven't kept up.

Thats a lot of good info on the 4.6 I didn't know that. I bet the new Gen 3 lightning will take advantage of some of that....

 

Yeah great info. Thanks for the replies. I know that I had the 4.6 and my truck was a 5.4 I was just curious if I was any behind or ahead with the Cobra than having a built motor in the L. My friend has a kb and a built motor in his L and he loves it. I would have loved to do that, but I just didnt think it was a good investment. My motor isn't bulletproof is it? Or is it just like having a built motor in the Lightning?

Why didnt SVT start giving the Lightnings a built bottom end (like the Cobras) in 03 and 04? Why did they go all out for the Cobra, but wait till 05 for the L? We had forged pistons, and a crank, but no rods right? Why did cobra have rods but the Lightning doesnt?

Rob that yellow mustang was in 5.0 mustang a few months ago right? I was looking at that car and I was amazed the power it was making on the stock block. That in a way answers some of my questions. Nitrous pete I think ran a 9 on stock block didnt he? A few guys on here have ran 11's on their stock block (in the L's), how close to a 10 have you guys came with a Lightning's stock bottom end?

Anyone know a little more about the Cobra/Lightning engine have time to tell me some more info.
Thanks, Shane

 

Who makes the forged pistons in the Cobra? Are they similar to the Lightning's forged pistons?

 

Shane,
The last I heard, 11.37 was the stock block record

FF

 

I talked to Richard at Strictly Performance about the engine in the Yellow Cobra. The engine is not stock, it has a built motor!

 

the 5.4 IS NOT a big block. It is the same size block as the 4.6, it is just a stroked version, a very, very stroked version. The blocks in the lightnings are strong, I'm sure the stock block is good for 7 to 8 hundred HP, as is the crank. The weak point as you know is the rods, then the pistons as you increase HP. The 03's and 04's had minor updates done to the block to improve the strength a little bit.

 

My question to you is what is the difference with that Yellow Cobra's "built motor" and my "bulletproof motor" ???
Shane

 

Shane, all you need to know is that with the proper supporting hardware you can run 10's in your car without ever needing to remove a valve cover

In 2003 the Strictly car supposedly had a stock long block when it ran that 9.5 pass at World Ford Challange but it did break on Sunday though. The only upgrade I can see doing is putting in even stronger pistons and possibly some very expensive billet rods but the stock Manleys should be plenty strong for any street driven application.

Noteworthy notes on a STOCK '03/'04 Cobra motor...

Cast iron block. Previous Cobras had aluminum blocks.

Manley H-Beam connecting rods secured by ARP rod bolts.

Forged steel crankshaft.

Forged aluminum pistons.

The heads are also optimized for the extra flow of the supercharger so they are slightly different than other 4.6 DOHC head that Ford produces like a Mach 1 or Maurader for example.

 

Nice ride....

Best modular motor info on the net

www.modulardepot.com



Let the mods begin.

 

That is awesome to hear. That is one of the things that sold me on the car. No Im not going to go 10's in the car, it's just nice to know that the motor will hold that much horse power.
I cant wait to see the new Gen 3 Lightning. My question is why didnt the Gen 2 Lightning come with a built motor like the Cobra did?
Shane