Well I’m looking to get another car. Right now I’m thinking about keeping the IS300 as a DD and getting a WS6, GTO, or maybe an 03-04 Cobra. My real questions are the WS6 vs the GTO. The GTO is an '05 with the LS2 and 6 speed. The WS6 is a '00 w/ the LS1 and 6-speed. I saw that the GTO is heavier and I’m assuming theres more aftermarket for the WS6 because its been out for longer. Any advantages of the GTO over the WS6? I was thinking maybe because of the Independant Rear that it may be a better handling car? I really want an '03-04 Cobra but then I’d def have to get rid of the IS300 because I want to pay cash for this next car and I can’t do that while having the IS still. Any problems to look for in any of these cars? Thanks guys
The 03-04 cobra has its share of problems, none of which are too major except for one, but it is covered if the car has a warranty on it.
The big issue is the dreaded “head tick”. All of the 03-04 cobras have the potential to get it since none of them came with the revised January `05 heads. Mine hasn’t gotten it yet, so I guess I am just lucky, while some got it really quick. Dealers will fix it if the car has it as long as the car is still under warranty, if not then you’d be on your own to get it fixed.
Another issue is the rear end pop. It occurs when you would go in reverse ~20feet and then put it in first and go forward the rear end would clunk or pop. Again, this is an issue only some have had while others don’t.
Thats about it for the major issues, the others are just weak links that people forget and end up breaking because they think the car is bullet proof.
-10 spline input shaft :tdown:, remedied with 26spline upgrade
-rear differential cover can blowup, remedied with billetflow differential brace
-halfshafts can snap due to excessive wheel hop, remedied for the most part with good tires
-tight piston to wall clearance, high speed runs into 5th gear are very bad for the car…the clearance is too tight and the piston will eventually graze the wall of the block due to the heat buildup
-driver side head has poor water routing and causes cylinders 7 and 8 to get very hot, goes in with the above piston to wall clearance, remedied with ldc head cooling mod
For the most part I think thats covers most of the bases, if I can remember anything else I’ll let you know. It’s a very fun car, easy to mod and make stupid fast ;).
Yep, the IRS handles and rides great. The problem is that you get wheel hop, especially in the rain. For < $750 you can generally cure it though with a set of pedders big bore rear shocks and rear cradle bushings.
The GTO is pretty much middle ground of your choices. It’s much less “raw” than a mustang or trans am, but it’s less refined than the Lexus. For me it was the perfect compromise of speed and practicality.
Yeah I heard about the wheel hop but like you said its an easily curable problem. Thats another thing about the GTO vs the WS6, the GTO seems to have a more comfortable and better designed interior. The WS6 looks more pissed off on the outside and is a proven performer but I’m not sure if paying for insurance on 3 cars is something I want to do right now haha.
“”"" I was thinking maybe because of the Independant Rear that it may be a better handling car? “”"""
It depends on what your plans are for the car. Daily driver then the irs is fine. You plan to drag race or put more power to it… the irs is going to break eventually… Take it from me. I broke mine 2 seperate times before swapping it out to a solid…
the fixed heads on the cobras have blue marks on them, I belive. When loooking at them used.
GTO anti wheel hop/squat, just get drag bags.
gto-WS6
GTO is more refined, better interior, and easier to work on for a noob. And some say more practical. Not the best for dragcar. GTO t56 have better drag gearing. LS2 have tons of little improvements over a LS1. 4.0 bore is nice, easier to have true dual so “beter” sounding. Better heads, valvetrain, 90mm TB (I had drive by wire thou). Quieter motor, less oil consumption. Con is hi rpm gen4 cam senor, signal pickup issues. tons of differences.
I vote WS6…it’ll be the cheapest by far, and potential to move pretty decent with just a few bolt on’s. I like straight axle better, just not the one that came in the car :lol:. As for f body problems, shitty rear end (supposedly, I’ve beaten the snot out of two stockers so far and neither one have given me problems), piston slap on cold startups (only some cars, usually 99+), nothing big really. It all depends on what your going to do with it…you say your keeping your other car for a daily, so I imagine you’re going to mod this one/race it?
Eh still on the fence here. The car is going to be mostly street driven just screwin around and once in a while at the strip. The strip is kind of a haul from where I live so it won’t be a frequent occurance. If I could find an '03-04 Cobra convertible that’d most likely be the car but all of them that I find remotely near me are Cali cars with like 8 cats on them and 50,000 miles. What does everyone think about the price of WS6’s and Camaro SS’s once the new Camaro comes out? I just think the old ones are going to look dated when the new one is around.
it all depends on what your looking for (like was already stated lol)
The WS6 is a head turner… looks mean and performs well. Fairly cheep to make faster aswell. Lots of parts around.
The GTO’s are nice. Outstanding interior and neat little subtle touches that really impressed me for a GM, you don’t see one on the road all that often and their fairly quick/handle well out of the box… a great drivers car IMO. Downside is that parts are pretty expensive all things considered.
The Cobra’s a just plain mean… honestly… It took me alot of weighing to go for my goat over a snake. You can beat the sound of the blower whine when you stab the throttle… plus they also can be made very fast fairly cheep. I remember when they first came out, I was in awe on how much power people were making with less than 1000.00 into the car. They also have a pretty nice interior IMO
They all have their problems… some cars seem to act better than others. For instance, I’ve had alot of problems with the GTO, but alot of people haven’t (same with any car I guess).
good luck with whatever ya choose… they’re all pretty badass IMO