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2003 Mustang Cobra convertible getting e-level setup!

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  • 2003 Mustang Cobra convertible getting e-level setup!

    Hey All,

    Well, it's official, I just put in my order with Mike over at Accuair for an e-level setup for my 2003 Cobra convertible. I ordered the 5-gallon tank with dual Viair 400C compressors and the touchpad, and the bags are coming from RideTech. In this thread I'll try to keep you posted on the work as it progresses, as well as my thoughts as the project advances. For now, all I can give you is some background.

    The car is a 2003 Ford Mustang Cobra convertible, which I bought bone stock in 2007. Since then, I've added a few mods, including the following:

    CCW Classic 18x9 and 18x11 fully polished with Michelin Pilot Sports (275/35) up front and Nitto INVOs (295/35) out back
    Kenny Brown Performance Extreme Matrix subframe connector system
    Maximum Motorsports front Strut Tower Brace
    JLT Carbon Fiber CAI
    BilletFlow 2.76" blower pulley with 100mm idler
    Stock throttle body and inlet plenum ported by Stiegemeier
    SCT Xcalibrator2 with custom tune
    LFP Dual Pass Heat Exchanger
    Innovate LC-1 Wideband Oxygen Sensor
    LFP Supertank intercooler reservoir
    Bassani full-stainless catted X-pipe
    Borla full-stainless catback
    MGW short shifter
    Cut stock springs from a Cobra coupe
    Custom paint-matched CDC Lightbar
    Bullitt side scoops

    I've probably forgotten a couple of things, but that's the important stuff. The car makes an estimated 480 crank hp. I have had it dynoed but I never trusted the numbers it showed. I plan to get it dynoed again, but it's a good way down on my list of priorities. I've run it on the 1/4 mile, my best time so far is a 12.82 without abusing it, as it's my only car.

    So this spring I started seriously thinking about going with an air suspension setup. I had toyed with the idea in the past, but couldn't justify the price. After a couple weeks of research, I had determined that Accuair had the most interesting air management setup, and that RideTech had the only Cobra-specific listing for bags and plates that I could find. When I got in touch with Mike at Accuair, we were able to price a system that would meet my needs that was within my budget of $3000. Barring any unforeseen obstacles, we will have met this target. Mike has been very forthcoming in answering all my questions (and I had lots), and so far I can say that Accuair is a top-notch company.

    A big part of making this project financially feasible was that I would tackle the install with the help of my friend Michel. We both have a history of casual wrenching on cars (I did almost all the work on my car myself, and Michel has a big-block C3 Corvette that he tinkers with), lots of tools, and a garage to do the work in, so we figure we should be OK to install the air suspension setup on our own. As Jeremy Clarkson is known to say, "How hard could it be?" There, now I've gone and done it.

    There are a couple of challenges in this build. Among others:

    We will need to re-roll the fenders to clear the tires once it's on air (it already rubs occasionally)
    Limited trunk space due to the space the convertible top takes up
    Cobras have IRS, and as far as I can tell, there isn't any info to be found on bagging one of these (although it shouldn't be any more complicated)

    So that's about all I can say for the moment. Mike says 7-10 days to build the system I've ordered, so all I can do in the meantime is impatiently wait for it to arrive. I am excited to finally get to do this project, and I am also excited to be able to share it with anyone who is interested in reading about it, so please don't hesitate to post up any comments or questions you might have in this thread.

    Later,

    Phil









    Last edited by Fastphil; 06-10-2011, 12:37 PM.

  • #2
    Looking forward to seeing this bad boy sitting a bit lower Thanks again Phil for the support!
    Mike Alexander
    Director of Marketing
    Mike@AccuAirCS.com
    (877) 247-3696


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    • #3
      this will be good if i can go low enough
      Insta Mintyhinrichs

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      • #4
        Looks mean as hell, love the shoes.

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        • #5
          Cool idea! Not loving the fact that it's a Cobra, at least it's a convertible though
          1988 Toyota MR2 Supercharged
          Stance:Nation Feature | Build Thread

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          • #6
            Originally posted by kramerbuccs24 View Post
            Cool idea! Not loving the fact that it's a Cobra, at least it's a convertible though
            Just wondering, why not? Sure, Cobras are made to go fast and so on and so forth, but they're not that rare. Besides drilling a few holes, none of the work I've done on the car is irreversible. It goes plenty fast already. My only gripe with the car is that it is a touch too low and rides too rough for my tastes (although it looks great). This is obviously something I can only blame on myself, and it's the main reason I'm going with air suspension.

            Originally posted by ChrisVRsix View Post
            Looks mean as hell, love the shoes.
            Thanks bro, I searched for a long time before finding what I wanted! I love the look of them, but they're a bitch to clean.

            Originally posted by hinrichs View Post
            this will be good if i can go low enough
            Strangely, that's one thing I didn't feel the need to measure. It will be a crapshoot whether the tires hit the inner fenders, or the front K-member brace hits the ground first. I figure it will drop another 1.5 to 2 inches lower than what you see in the pics above. Either way, it won't go any lower without modifications that would be more intense than I am willing to make.

            Originally posted by AccuMike View Post
            Looking forward to seeing this bad boy sitting a bit lower Thanks again Phil for the support!
            You bet Mike!

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            • #7
              Thread is relevant to many of my interests!

              I like em dropped.

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              • #8
                looks awesome. Post some vids of it destroying other cars

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                • #9
                  1.) Install Air
                  2.) Install Kenne Bell S/C
                  3.) ????
                  4.) Profit

                  I'm a ford guy at heart, so this is really tickling my fancy.




                  The Kia has been parted.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Dave_The_BMXER View Post
                    Thread is relevant to many of my interests!
                    Dave, progress will be slow, but I'll try to make it worth your while. I hope to make it into your "Bunch of hard-working Canadians" series, if not as a featured ride!

                    Originally posted by MikeG View Post
                    looks awesome. Post some vids of it destroying other cars
                    Ask and ye shall receive! First one is my previous best time of 12.86, the only difference between then and now on the car is the CCW's. (Current best is 12.82) Second one is with the CCW's but a much slower time because the track wasn't prepped.

                    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BCHwE-G-3Q"]Another 2003 Ford SVT Mustang Cobra 1/4 mile run - YouTube[/ame]
                    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k78mZ9_MbY"]2003 Mustang SVT Cobra convertible 1/4 mile - YouTube[/ame]
                    Last edited by Fastphil; 09-17-2011, 09:00 PM.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by andybob View Post
                      1.) Install Air
                      2.) Install Kenne Bell S/C
                      3.) ????
                      4.) Profit

                      I'm a ford guy at heart, so this is really tickling my fancy.
                      I don't plan to upgrade the power any more unless I strike it rich. But if I strike it rich, I'd probably trade up to a 2011 GT500.
                      Last edited by Fastphil; 07-07-2011, 09:37 PM.

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                      • #12
                        this can only lead to awesome.

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                        • #13
                          Can wait to see what comes out of this,beautiful machine as is...

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                          • #14
                            Thanks for the compliments, guys. I got a couple of pics from Mike over at Accuair, he went down to snap these pics for me. Looks like my order is coming along nicely!





                            I know it's just a couple of pics of boxes on a shelf, but they're MY boxes on a shelf! Damn, I can't wait to start installing this stuff!

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                            • #15
                              I got some tracking numbers today, my air suspension is en route! There was a delay because Accuair was waiting for the parts from RideTech so they could test them before shipping it all out together. I'll be picking it up next week.
                              Last edited by Fastphil; 06-29-2011, 10:05 PM.

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