[BigEag205]

Alright, I have an 01 cobra with a 302 forged stroker kit in it. I'm ready to boost her but am wanting to get rid of the infamous wheel hop the cobra IRS systems have on the strip as its adding valuable time to my 60ft. I'm wanting to keep the IRS; I know the straight axle swap is easier, cheaper, and more reasonable, but the IRS makes a cobra and I'd just like to beef it up and make it ready to put the power to the ground instead of having useless power at the track. Any suggestions or people that have been down this road that would have a list of parts and manufacturers to help me with this would be of great help. I'm not trying to buy useless parts and add more weight to the car by doing so so I'm wanting all the parts to count and be worth it! Thanks

[10sec89]

The Finest IRS Delrin Bushing Kit

[BigEag205]

I forgot to mention it already has poly bushings

[va boy]

Few ideas.....
Full tilt Boogie racing kit
DR's with as much sidewall as your wheel size will allow, good tires, I went form Nitto 555 to Nitto NT05's. Hooks much better. Maybe go with NT05R's for the track.
IRS brace for sure, more for damage control
FLSFC

More educated folks will chime in soon.

[stal94gt]

i would upgrade your half shafts up to stock 03-04 cobra shafts. this will also require you to upgrade your diff to 31 spline as well. with a diff, half shafts, full tilt bush kit, and a irs brase you will be ready to put down better traction when you run slicks, yes slicks, i would suggest a set of bias ply tires for the track over any drag radial or street tire.

[BigEag205]

I have dot approved hoosier radials on 15 inch weld racing rims but I've been too scared to run them due to the wheel hop :/. As for daily tires I run BFG KDW2's. I personally love that tire, it seems to hook pretty well once up to temp...they have been pretty bald lately though due to a hick-up in production but I see they've came back in stock finally! Would the low tread tires help play a part in it that much because prior to this season, I don't recall ever having much of a problem...then again I didn't run her at the track as much so I figured it was the prepped track

[BigEag205]

Found the "red pill" mod. I believe this is the route I will go with it. I found a nice write up on it at Svtperformance.com. Guy did a lengthy write up on his Experiences with each modded part and links.

LEVEL 5 IRS or THE RED PILL - SVTPerformance is the link if any one viewing this thread is interested.

[BigEag205]

Also I have heard it spoken of and recommended by quite a few members in the past.

[forcefedcobra]

talk to bruce at full tilt boogie racing! he is a wealth of knowledge. upgraded halfshafts seem to end up being more of a touble than they are worth. upgrade bushings, sticky tires and driver mod! If you are wanting to hit the strip go with a soft sidewall slick, absorbs the shock and will be fine with stock halfshafts. Instead of the bandaid diff brace just get yourself either the LPW or FRPP diff cover. much much better option!

My car has made numerous passes down the strip at 600 and 700+ rwhp and stock halfshafts. bruces ftbr full kit, 16x10 26" MT et streets and does just fine.

[BigEag205]

Do the diff covers really help that much? I've hear the factory ones allow more flex/movement but I don't really see how since there's no more bracing on the aftermarket ones; is it just because they're made of a more solid/firm material? Will this also help with leaky diffs cause for the life of me I still can't get mine to stay properly sealed for longer than a week :/. I'll def look up boogie racing, I'm up for any solution to fix this.

Also as for the slicks, I'd like to also stay in the real street class at my local drag strip along with mean street (only diff is you're allowed slicks) so I'd like to remedy it for when not using slicks as well. I've yet to run the slicks due to being too scared with the wheel hop but you're saying it should help so I'll try that next time around. Around what rpm is safe to launch at with stock half shafts and everything with slicks?

[forcefedcobra]

Originally Posted by BigEag205 Do the diff covers really help that much? I've hear the factory ones allow more flex/movement but I don't really see how since there's no more bracing on the aftermarket ones; is it just because they're made of a more solid/firm material? Will this also help with leaky diffs cause for the life of me I still can't get mine to stay properly sealed for longer than a week :/. I'll def look up boogie racing, I'm up for any solution to fix this. Also as for the slicks, I'd like to also stay in the real street class at my local drag strip along with mean street (only diff is you're allowed slicks) so I'd like to remedy it for when not using slicks as well. I've yet to run the slicks due to being too scared with the wheel hop but you're saying it should help so I'll try that next time around. Around what rpm is safe to launch at with stock half shafts and everything with slicks?

The updgraded cover should (key word should as I just installed mine) help in keeping the diff from leaking. As you can see with the LPW unit. it is much much more ridig and heavier duty. It also has main cap support bolts that will help tie everything together as one solid piece. Rather than using gray permitex this time around I went with the lube locker gasket. I've heard nothing but great reviews on it.

Not sure on what the class rules are but if you dont want to run a slick or cheater slick then I would for sure at minimum go with a tall sidewall drag radial on a 15 or 16" wheel. Sticky tires can go a long way toward stopping hop. Wheel hope is caused by a lack of traction and that lack of traction causing the soft suspension to deflect and in turn start bouncing up and down as the suspension and tires go searching for traction, losing traction, searching for traction in a very violent manner. As for what rpm you can launch at that will depend on your suspension/tire setup and track prep. I've launched my car at over 600 rwhp and 4k rpm dumps with no issues but the most important thing is if I were to encounter wheel hop LET OFF THE THROTTLE!

there are plenty of guys that have beat the snot out of their car with stock halfshafts. obviously failures can happen no matter what but 90% of the time it boils down to something that could have been prevented with a head on your shoulders.

[forcefedcobra]

just thought of something. I think the 03/04 cobra diff, halfshafts, etc are already a little heavier duty from the factory than your 99/01 stuff. I sent Bruce links to several threads on here. Hopefully he can come in and drop the irs wisdom on everyone.

Still though, sticky tires and upgrading bushings will get you headed in the right direction.

[BigEag205]

Thank you. Any info is appreciated and I'm always up to learn more from people that have already been there. Im also pretty sure atleast the diff's are a little beefier in the termi's compared to mine as I think they're factory 31 spline's as well

[BigEag205]

And to clear up the little tire misunderstanding with drag classes, we have an easy coast shoot out at the local drag strip where I'm from. I'd like to run the slicks for the mean street (able to run up to 7.5 with slicks) but was just too scared to with the wheel hop I was getting on street tires. I figured the more bite I got, the more hop I'd get, which I'm seeing is the exact opposite. I'd also like to run in the real street class (up to 7.5 with dot approved tires above I believe a 300 tread wear) as that's the class a bunch of buddies run in but are slowly working up to m/s class.
Now that I'm seeing the slicks will actually help in solving the wheel hop and not worsen it I will be running both classes come next season after purchasing some new street tires to help with grip on that as well!

[ac427cobra]

Originally Posted by BigEag205 Alright, I have an 01 cobra with a 302 forged stroker kit in it. I'm ready to boost her but am wanting to get rid of the infamous wheel hop the cobra IRS systems have on the strip as its adding valuable time to my 60ft. I'm wanting to keep the IRS; I know the straight axle swap is easier, cheaper, and more reasonable, but the IRS makes a cobra and I'd just like to beef it up and make it ready to put the power to the ground instead of having useless power at the track. Any suggestions or people that have been down this road that would have a list of parts and manufacturers to help me with this would be of great help. I'm not trying to buy useless parts and add more weight to the car by doing so so I'm wanting all the parts to count and be worth it! Thanks

If you have an '01 you already have a 31 spline differential so upgrading to a Terminator style halfshaft should be one of your priorities. Removing ALL factory rubber and or aftermarket poly should be another priority.

For more information regarding the IRS and how to cure the hop I suggest you check out the FAQ on our site:

IRS FAQ

Originally Posted by BigEag205 I forgot to mention it already has poly bushings

Which is why you have wheel hop.

Poly is a relatively soft material and it still allows for massive amounts of control arm deflection and that is one of the reasons why your car still wheel hops.

[BigEag205]

After reading one of your posts on another site I realize the poly is a problem. When trying to fix the leaky diff problem I've had for the past year I realized it had poly in it from the precious owner and was kind of happy, not anymore haha. Thanks for the reference as well. I'm sure replacing the poly and getting a new cover will greatly help the flex cause by launches and I'm guessing what's cracking the silicone seal within a few weeks each time.