The Chronicles of 95riosnake's OCD Machine

[95riosnake]

tired of waiting for pulled fenders and bags though man!! i'll give you 2 weeks....2 fn weeks then i am....doing nothing i guess but you have 2 weeks!! :biggrin:

The bags are on hold because they aren't available yet lol. I'm gonna mess with the fenders once the car is bagged so I can air the car out and check for fender clearance when pulling them.

[Tony]

The bags are on hold because they aren't available yet lol. I'm gonna mess with the fenders once the car is bagged so I can air the car out and check for fender clearance when pulling them.

so no 2 weeks then?












lol, j/k man i know you are patiently waiting your ass off right now.


i'm excited about the bags no doubt. i also happen to love the way your rears sit now with them poking a tad. prolly my favorite thing about your car and what i hope to achieve too. i remember seeing a pic of your cobra on google when i first bought my gt and knew right then i wanted to space out some 20's aasap lol. at that time i thought you were running a 20 on there cause i hadn't spoke to you or seen anything else about your car.

so yea man...bags will be awesome but i dont hate the stance ya have now by no means lolol.

[95riosnake]

i'm excited about the bags no doubt. i also happen to love the way your rears sit now with them poking a tad. prolly my favorite thing about your car and what i hope to achieve too. i remember seeing a pic of your cobra on google when i first bought my gt and knew right then i wanted to space out some 20's aasap lol. at that time i thought you were running a 20 on there cause i hadn't spoke to you or seen anything else about your car.

so yea man...bags will be awesome but i dont hate the stance ya have now by no means lolol.

The car sits nice as-is but it's miserable to drive around here. The air ride will let me get it even lower (which I want lol) and also be able to go anywhere. Right now I can probably get my car into <30% of the parking lots in the city lol. I've had enough of dragging the bottom of the car on the pavement all the time lol.

As far as the stance out back, it won't end up sunken in like you see on some pro-touring muscle car builds. They will be as close to the quarter lips as possible, I'm talking like thickness of a credit card-close lol.

Edited November 12, 2013 by 95riosnake

[Tony]

The car sits nice as-is but it's miserable to drive around here. The air ride will let me get it even lower (which I want lol) and also be able to go anywhere. Right now I can probably get my car into <30% of the parking lots in the city lol. I've had enough of dragging the bottom of the car on the pavement all the time lol.

As far as the stance out back, it won't end up sunken in like you see on some pro-touring muscle car builds. They will be as close to the quarter lips as possible, I'm talking like thickness of a credit card-close lol.

kinda how mine was. they were pretty much as close as possible w/o touching and destroying my sidewall. fenders pulled tucking tire takes n a whole new look though. so s far as that goes i can't imagine them looking sunken in at all. geeez the visual i get is sick lol. the rear of an sn already kinda swoops out it seems when ya have a staggered wheel it really shows. this seems loike it will give the rear an even wider more aggressive look then what it has already. make sense?

i use to stare at my car from the front and see this curve that swooped out towards the rear. never even noticed it till i spaced out my rear wheels then all the sudden it took on a whole new body shape haha.

[WildWillyWalker]

The car sits nice as-is but it's miserable to drive around here. The air ride will let me get it even lower (which I want lol) and also be able to go anywhere. Right now I can probably get my car into <30% of the parking lots in the city lol. I've had enough of dragging the bottom of the car on the pavement all the time lol.

As far as the stance out back, it won't end up sunken in like you see on some pro-touring muscle car builds. They will be as close to the quarter lips as possible, I'm talking like thickness of a credit card-close lol.

Flush! I would love to remove my wheel houses and flatten the lip so I could push my wheels out further. I had 1/2" spacers on for a few days but ripped up my tire the first day leaving work. It looked sooooo much better with the spacers too

[1997cobra]

oh my lord! brake porn is the master race of porn

[ttocs]

have you not driven it on the bags at all yet? Let me know when the shockwaves do come in maybe we can get a discount on more then one. I wanted them originally as well...

[95riosnake]

have you not driven it on the bags at all yet? Let me know when the shockwaves do come in maybe we can get a discount on more then one. I wanted them originally as well...

No I haven't, I just have the rear bags. Still waiting to be able to buy the adjustable rear shocks and the new front shockwaves. It's seeming more and more like there's no end in sight

[Whiplash473]

It's seeming more and more like there's no end in sight

Hey I know how that goes.

[ttocs]

As much as I am a techno geek that loves the newest/best/latest I have too say I like the idea of having the separate shock. Allows for more tunability and the bags are tried and true design. You already have the separate sensors I thought?

[Sleeperstang1994]

Yea the back is going to get a 13" 4 pot kit with a secondary spot parking brake caliper. Nobody makes such a kit for the IRS though, MM makes one that has no parking brake (F that). I sent out one of my old knuckles to a guy that builds kits for FFR cobra kit cars. He already makes a 12.2" rear kit that uses a 4 piston Wilwood caliper and spot parking brake caliper for FFR cars running a cobra IRS, but they use FFR-designed knuckles and cradles instead of the Ford pieces, so his kit wouldn't work for me. He is redesigning the brackets for me to use on my knuckles. He already finished the 12.2" version and is currently working on my 13" version :thumb:

I have been thinking about doing something similar on my car. i actually had my 13" front rotors and my brembos on the back the other day to see what i would have to do to make that work!

let me know how the dual mount works out, depending on price i might be interested!!

[Tony]

he's holding out for good reason. the new shockwaves up front a new adj. rear shocks will prolly help the ride quality quite a bit i'd say. cant blame the dude there as riding on low pro tires even bagged is still a tad rough.

[Musturd]

Great work as usual dan .... That exhaust fits like a glove under there .. The new will wood brakes are so sick and reaLly fill up the wheels perfectly .... Can't wait to see it with the shockwave kit

[95riosnake]

As much as I am a techno geek that loves the newest/best/latest I have too say I like the idea of having the separate shock. Allows for more tunability and the bags are tried and true design. You already have the separate sensors I thought?

Out back I will have a separate bag and an adjustable shock because a shockwave wont fit with the IRS where the shock sits, its just too close to everything. Up front will be the adjustable shockwaves. Previously, their front shockwaves were non adjustable and the design of the upper mount to the strut tower replaced the caster camber plate, and offered very limited adjustment. The new ones have a redesigned upper mount that will solve the adjustment limitations of the older ones.

And yea I have the levelpro sensors already, haven't started mounting them yet but between the idea up front from yours and a few times staring at the IRS I have a pretty good idea how I'm gonna do it.

I have been thinking about doing something similar on my car. i actually had my 13" front rotors and my brembos on the back the other day to see what i would have to do to make that work!

let me know how the dual mount works out, depending on price i might be interested!!

Will do man :thumb:

he's holding out for good reason. the new shockwaves up front a new adj. rear shocks will prolly help the ride quality quite a bit i'd say. cant blame the dude there as riding on low pro tires even bagged is still a tad rough.

I can't even explain how excited I am for a better ride quality! Not to say it rides terrible right now but combining 350lb front and 550lb rear springs with 30 series tires sometimes makes for a rough ride down our potholed/patched garbage roads here lol.

Edited November 13, 2013 by 95riosnake

[95riosnake]

Great work as usual dan .... That exhaust fits like a glove under there .. The new will wood brakes are so sick and reaLly fill up the wheels perfectly .... Can't wait to see it with the shockwave kit

Thanks! I'm really taking my time and making the exhaust exactly what I want this time. This will be the 4th side exhaust setup I've had on the car counting the old school Borla setup from way back. I think I finally will be happy with it lol.

[Tony]

i had shockwaves on this truck:

and while others would complain about their ride quality on bags i was always thinking to myself that mine rides pretty fn good lol. compared to the other air ride vehicles i've had with conventional bags and separate strut the shockwave rides awesome!!!! you're a smart man holding out for the schockwaves

i think where you will experience any kind of rough/stiff ride will be in the rear. now i cant say for sure with you having an irs but to me its simply because of the lack of weight in the rear. so a shock with a compression adjustment set to the softest setting should def take care of allot of that. then when ya need a stiffer ride...loose some air and adj the compression. all kinds of tunabillity lol

Edited November 13, 2013 by tony

[95riosnake]

I don't really have much choice up front, I don't think they are still making the older version of the front shockwaves now, and running a separate bag and strut up front is a no-go because my front control arms don't have spring cups. I definitely wouldn't go back to stock control arms in the front instead of the MM ones I have now.

Just sucks playing the waiting game. I could understand a month or two extra, but it's been 4 months since they were supposed to hit the market.

[Tony]

I don't really have much choice up front, I don't think they are still making the older version of the front shockwaves now, and running a separate bag and strut up front is a no-go because my front control arms don't have spring cups. I definitely wouldn't go back to stock control arms in the front instead of the MM ones I have now.

Just sucks playing the waiting game. I could understand a month or two extra, but it's been 4 months since they were supposed to hit the market.

not to run ya away from ridetech....have you looked into any other co's? airlift maybe?

[Steve@CJPP]

i had shockwaves on this truck:

and while others would complain about their ride quality on bags i was always thinking to myself that mine rides pretty fn good lol. compared to the other air ride vehicles i've had with conventional bags and separate strut the shockwave rides awesome!!!! you're a smart man holding out for the schockwaves

i think where you will experience any kind of rough/stiff ride will be in the rear. now i cant say for sure with you having an irs but to me its simply because of the lack of weight in the rear. so a shock with a compression adjustment set to the softest setting should def take care of allot of that. then when ya need a stiffer ride...loose some air and adj the compression. all kinds of tunabillity lol

totally off topic.. damn I totally forgot about dropjawmag.com I use to be on that site religiously lol.

[95opal]

lookin good dan..I knew you couldn't resist those 14s after you started to ask about the safety wire it was a dead giveaway loo.. How did ya make out with the wire..pita like I said.

[95riosnake]

not to run ya away from ridetech....have you looked into any other co's? airlift maybe?

AirLift was supposed to be making their TrackPak bags for the sn95/new edge, but a year later they haven't done anything. Nobody else makes shit for these cars. If you don't have an 05+ you're out of luck it seems.

lookin good dan..I knew you couldn't resist those 14s after you started to ask about the safety wire it was a dead giveaway loo.. How did ya make out with the wire..pita like I said.

Haha yep, thinly veiled I suppose lol. I did ok with the wire, it takes some getting used to the first few you do but once you get the hang of it, it's more tedious than anything really.

[Tony]

If you don't have an 05+ you're out of luck it seems.

seems true.

[mavisky]

Flush! I would love to remove my wheel houses and flatten the lip so I could push my wheels out further. I had 1/2" spacers on for a few days but ripped up my tire the first day leaving work. It looked sooooo much better with the spacers too

3/8" spacer then maybe? I still feel like I want to put a 1/4" spacer or so on my rear 10.5's just to bring them that much closer to the edge, but I need to get a roller first to make room.

[WildWillyWalker]

[MENTION=121]mavisky[/MENTION] nah. That would still rub. I actually rubbed the quarter in front of the wheel when it happened. I almost always rub above the tire when I leave work without spacers. However, not as much lately because I took my subs/sub box out and the rear end raised up a little.

[95riosnake]

Really put the new band saw through its paces today and finished up the passenger's side of the exhaust...today's theme was most definitely pie cuts, lol.

The JD Squared tubing notcher was also cristened with its first use since buying it a few weeks ago. This thing is awesome and money well spent. I'm going to make a removable mount for my workbench eventually, but for today I just put it in my vise and clamped the vise to the work bench.

Here's the result of today's work. I originally planned to have the cutouts' flow tubes cross over each other in an X behind the mufflers before they tied into the side pipes, but when I was laying it all out I realized there simply wasn't enough room for this without sacrificing ground clearance. Since ground clearance is the driving force behind rebuilding this exhaust again, I simplified the design and eliminated the X. The exhaust will still flow through the existing X and mufflers even when the cutouts are open since they aren't a "diverter", so it should sound just fine. The flow tubes will connect to the cutouts using band clamps.

^ That last pic reminds me I need to make new side skirt brackets. Back when I was 19 and didn't know any better, I made them out of galvanized steel...they'll be aluminum this time around.

I also decided to order one of Stiffler's redesigned transmission cross members and ditch the factory piece. Brian at Stifflers recently redesigned it with the help of [MENTION=146]Prokiller[/MENTION] to fit Tremec 3550's and a couple other applications it previously didn't support. It showed up this week and I am once again very impressed with the quality. Once I get the exhaust off the car to finish weld it, I'll put this piece on then get crackin on the FIT braces.

[Musturd]

Nice work on the exhaust , the cross members nice I like the stifflers stuff

[Tony]

awesome big dan!! everything nice and flat for more clearance i assume. to help with scraping?

[95riosnake]

Nice work on the exhaust , the cross members nice I like the stifflers stuff

Thanks man, and yea the quality and finish on the parts from them is very impressive. Great prices also, I can't wait to finally get around to getting the stuff I have from them installed. One thing at a time though lol.

awesome big dan!! everything nice and flat for more clearance i assume. to help with scraping?

Thanks Tony, yea the old setup hung about 2.5" lower where the pipes passed under the subframe connectors so they very frequently met the ground, which I had enough of. Even though once the car is bagged I will be able to just raise it up when needed, I don't want to have to raise it up, I still plan on rolling pretty low most of the time. :thumb:

[Tony]

I still plan on rolling pretty low most of the time. :thumb:

my name is tony...and i approve this message

[WildWillyWalker]

That exhaust is a work of art. I've honestly never seen cutouts flow back into the exhaust tubing like that. I can't wait to hear it!

[Musturd]

Yea I really like how he did the cut outs that way like boss

[95riosnake]

That exhaust is a work of art. I've honestly never seen cutouts flow back into the exhaust tubing like that. I can't wait to hear it!

Yea I really like how he did the cut outs that way like boss

Thank you sirs! I'm definitely putting more work into it than necessary, but I'm shooting for something over the top so it doesn't bother me. It's a hobby so there's no reason to rush. I'm glad you guys like it!

Oh and Sean I think ttocs did something similar but he has a totally different exhaust setup so his is laid out pretty different from mine.

[Steve@CJPP]

[Prokiller]

exhaust turned out great Dan. that crazy cross over stuff you were talking about just seemed overly complicated for no gain. I like this design a lot better.

[95riosnake]

exhaust turned out great Dan. that crazy cross over stuff you were talking about just seemed overly complicated for no gain. I like this design a lot better.

It would have been cool and might have changed the exhaust note slightly for the better but in the end, ground clearance was the name of the game. This way was also a TON less work, which was an added bonus lol. If it would have fit ground clearance-wise I would have still done the second X design but sometimes I have to force myself to modify and scale back my plans lol.

[95riosnake]

Finished up the driver's side. The OCD in me is irritated that the driver/passenger sides aren't symmetrical, but there's not much I can do about it. The shape of the trans/driveshaft tunnel isn't symmetrical so when the mufflers are tucked up into it for maximum ground clearance, they end up off center under the car. It wasn't very noticeable until I added the flow tube for the driver's side cut out but it is what it is. Everything fits tight and clears really nicely. I need to add two more hangers right after the mufflers so the whole weight of the exhaust isn't suspended from the two hangers bolted to the pinch weld. I'm going to fab up a couple brackets to weld to the rear of the back seat bulkhead under the car to give me somewhere to bolt the hangers to. I spent about an hour trying to figure out where I could locate them and this seems to be the only option (the real estate under the car is just about maxed out lol). I made a cardboard template of the brackets that I'll transfer to Autocad this week and cut them on the plasma table. Once I get the hangers in place I can FINALLY take the whole thing off and take it to work to tig weld all the seams...something I've been eagerly waiting to do .

One thing I needed to do that I forgot to take a picture of when I was doing the other side was cutting down the flanges I got from Spintech. They added too much on top and bottom of the pipe for what I'm doing... for most it wouldn't be a big deal but when you're going for max clearance every little bit counts. I cut 3/8" off the top and bottom. The flanges are 1/4" thick so they will still be plenty strong :thumb:

( ^ I'll need to make a little filler panel to close up that gap by the tip)

Edited December 2, 2013 by 95riosnake

[95riosnake]

The product of my lunch break: 1 hanger bracket done. I'll slide under the car with my camera tonight and get a pic of where it's going. I haven't drilled the hole for the hanger bolt to go through yet because I need to make sure it's located in EXACTLY the right spot once I check fitment on the car.

[Steve-Oh]

Probably the most elaborate exhaust ever created by man lol! It's very well done Dan, you should have most the pieces (where possible) jet-hot/ceramic coated, that would just drive it home!

[OnyxCobra]

I must say that's one insane looking exhaust setup.

[Psychorugby]

How much to rent you and your welder when the time comes?