[Chump Stang]

Im new to the mustangs, ive usually only worked with GM because thats what my family likes. i am goin to buy a mustang when a deal pops up. i was lookin into the 99-04 models. i was just hopin to get some feed back on what you guys think. also if any of you know of a mustang GT on sale let me know, it would be appreciated..

lucas

[drgnracin72]

03-04 cobra and i bet 99% will say the same they come with a forged motor and can handle nearly 1000 ho reliably

[stangliter04]

03-04 cobra... but if you dont have the cash for a cobra you can pick up a Mach 1 for around the same price you would pay for a GT.

[White99stang]

well if you are just looking for a GT then i will say either a 2001 bullit or a 99 or 2000 gt cause they have a 8 bolt crank, and to me with windsor motor is stronger

[Casper98GT]

Which 4.6 is the best. I couldnt tell you. It would be a war to come in here and say which is the BEST. haha.

I like the 4.6's in the Cobras. weather its a non-s/c or a s/c. They kick ass due to the DOHC design and they really shine up top.

Cobras and MAch's have a 4.6 but its a DOHC.

GT's have a 4.6 but its a SOHC. The 96-98 GT's were POS's in my mind ( even though i own one ) The 99-01 are different motors than the 01 1/2 - 04. Intake design were different and like White said, they have different assembly plants.

So i guess it all boils down to:
1. How much you wanna spend.
2. Which body style you like the best.
3. What kinda power you want and want to put into them.

[lemon]

ps: vins with the 8th digit of x is a windsor, i dont know about other digits..

[drgnracin72]

or you can look at the valve covers and if it has 13 bolts that bolt the valve cover down, that s also a winore engine, and the other one has 11 bolts!!!!

[fallstar01]

Some argue that the 96-98 cobra block is the best since it's both strong AND light however the heads don't flow as well as later cobras. For straight up power potential, the 03-04 Cobra wins. It's forged rods and already lowered compression make it much more durable.

[JRuckas]

i'm with white99stang on this one. 03-04 cobra's are THE best 99-04 4.6. but if you are looking for a GT, 99-00-mid 01 windsor built 4.6 is, in my opinion, alot stronger.

shit, white99stang had a p1sc procharger pushing somewhere around 12lbs(can't remember exactly) of boost at times, on a stock bottom end. he and i beat the living shit out that motor and it still ran its ass off without any internal problems. the only problem he ever ran into with it was when it started to blow a spark plug out of the head.

just do some research and you will find that owners of a windsor built 4.6 have less issues than owners of the romeo built 4.6. though its not a written fact, word of mouth from fellow stangers means more to me than something ford has said.

[JRuckas]

even my 4.6 windsor built motor is pushing 87k miles and i just now have an issue. i spun a rod bearing. but thats from approx 60k miles of rough driving. thats going to the track every weekend and doing a 4k, 5k, and even a few 6k rpm launches. plus the daily abuse i put it through. i would NOT trade my baby in for anything else. she has never failed me yet. just a few stiches and she will be back to her old self...

**waiting for all the non windsor 4.6 owners to come in and start a war about how there is no difference between the windsor and romeo motor.**

[Casper98GT]

white i had to fix youre post... i put it in bold. haha.

And there is NO difference between the durability between the 2 motors. Thats just an opinion of youres... How can you say somerthing like that.

[JRuckas]

Originally Posted by Casper98GT white i had to fix youre post... i put it in bold. haha. And there is NO difference between the durability between the 2 motors. Thats just an opinion of youres... How can you say somerthing like that.

i posted this on another site one time, and it started a war...

[ReverendDexter]

Originally Posted by fallstar01 Some argue that the 96-98 cobra block is the best since it's both strong AND light however the heads don't flow as well as later cobras. For straight up power potential, the 03-04 Cobra wins. It's forged rods and already lowered compression make it much more durable.

Urm, you have that backwards. The early 4V heads actually flow too well, which translates to poor port velocity at low rpm, which means no bottom end torque.

Also, the reason that the Terminator motors are more durable is due to the fact it uses an iron block; both engines used forged internals. Plus, the lower compression only helps if you're going to boost the motor. Even then, you could just run a methanol injection kit instead of dropping your compression ratio, and make even more power.

In answer to the original question, it all depends on what your goal for the car is, and your budget for the project. Were it my money, I'd take any 4V car over any 2V car, and if a deal came up on a 3V car, I'd give it some serious consideration. It sucks that the 3V cars have to be reflashed after *every* mod (or so I hear), but the suspension is much better.

Good luck with the hunt!

[Garhfer]

Originally Posted by ReverendDexter Urm, you have that backwards. The early 4V heads actually flow too well, which translates to poor port velocity at low rpm, which means no bottom end torque. Also, the reason that the Terminator motors are more durable is due to the fact it uses an iron block; both engines used forged internals. Plus, the lower compression only helps if you're going to boost the motor. Even then, you could just run a methanol injection kit instead of dropping your compression ratio, and make even more power. In answer to the original question, it all depends on what your goal for the car is, and your budget for the project. Were it my money, I'd take any 4V car over any 2V car, and if a deal came up on a 3V car, I'd give it some serious consideration. It sucks that the 3V cars have to be reflashed after *every* mod (or so I hear), but the suspension is much better. Good luck with the hunt!

Both engines used forged internals? What other engine besides the Terminator engines had forged internals from the factory?

[beheivjer]

what ever has the most valves would be a better base to start with but any 4 valve is going to be better than a 2 valve for most applications. the blocks each have their issues and why are all the old topics being brought up again?

[Thewolfman456]

03-04 Cobra, definitely, no doubt about it.

[StangAddiction]

That question is bound to recieve biased answers and opinions. Honestly, the 2v us just as good as the 4v. They have thier advantages and disadvantages. The 4v heads flow better and are often used more in race applications but they're considerably more expensive to modify....ESPECIALLY race pieces. Both have a huge aftermarket so you can get the job done with both. And the 03-04 cobra engine isn't anything you cant make out of any other 4v engine. ie: all the other 4v engines have the same potential as the terminator providing you're willing to put forth the time, effort, and money.

[Eagle2000GT]

I think you will find a general consensus that the '03/04 Cobra has the best motor because of the forged crank, rods and pistons. It comes with 4v heads and a supercharger. With mods it will make awesome power.

After that it depends on what you intend to do to the car. If its just a few mods like headers, x-pipe, etc. the 4v's like the Mach 1 or the '99/01 Cobra's are best. The heads allow them to breathe better.

If you intend to get a supercharger than it really doesn't matter if its a 2v motor or a 4v motor. The supercharger forces the motor to breathe and the upper limit is approximately 420-450 rwhp (rear wheel horse power). The limiting factor is the rods and pistons. They can't take much more for a sustained period of time.

I have heard that the Mach 1 with a manual transmission has a forged crank but the Mach 1 with an automatic does not. I do not know if that is true or not, but it is extremely illogical. Why put a 1000 crank with 450 hp rods and pistons?

I have also heard that all Cobra motors have forged cranks and that the eight-bolt Windson 2v has a forged crank. Most disagree and this is also illogical. But, It might be that eight bolt cranks are forged. With an 8-bolt crank you can run an 11" clutch and pressure plate.

I'm not a mechanic, but... For some reason that I do not understand I believe the '99/00 GT motors are stronger. Maybe its the eight-bolt crank that is similar to the Cobra motors. I don't know. But, Procharger, in its current catalog, says that the '99-00 GT can run 12 lbs boost. They also footnote that they recommend '01-04 be limited to 8 lbs boost. They have thousands of superchargers on thousands of Mustangs. I believe they probably know how much boost a motor can stand.

[tlr96]

manual machs do have a forged crank.

...kinda brought this thread back from the dead didnt we?

[Thewolfman456]

Yup, we sure did.