New Cobra owner, a few questions (seat adjustment, octane, etc)

[GoogleWasMyIdea]

Just bought a 2017-finished Cobra MK4, love love love this thing!!! Like driving a street-legal deluxe go-kart! I sold my 2023 Vette for the money to get it, so I went from high-tech to in-your-face-Death-Mobile.

This build is actually from a member here - srobinsonx2.....looks like he hasn't posted for several years

A few questions....
Seat adjustment - I'm somewhat vertically challenged (5'7") so I'd like to adjust the seat forward a little bit.....I noticed there are knobs on each side of the seat.....I assume you unscrew these, lift the seat out, and reseat into a forward-peg? Or does it work some other way? I looked at FFR parts but it shows the seat slider adjustment as discontinued. If I modded it to put in a sliding adjustment, any recommendations for that?

I am not the most car-savvy person in the world, so please excuse my ignorance....but there is a bar from rear-to-rear that has a downward slant to it.....something to get checked or normal?
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It's running a little rough.....the guy at the dealership said it had been sitting up for a little while.....it had a 1/4 tank of gas when I got it....I thought about draining it, but instead I put a little Sta-Bil in it and filled it with 93 octane. What do you guys run in your Cobra's? The previous owner printed out all his documentation (thanks Shannon if you are reading this!) and I thought he mentioned something about 91 octane.

A few specs:
347 Stage 4 Levy Racing engine
T5Z tranny
3.55 Ford rear end
Holley 750SS carb, electric choke
MSD6AL ignition



Thanks for any help that can be provided.....

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[Presdough]

You are correct with the seat adjustment. I have the opposite problem (6'4") and had to remove the seat adjuster as my head was above the windshield. There are 4 sets of holes in the seat base. The bar in the rear is a Panhard rod. it keeps the axle housing located from side to side. It should be as horizontal as possible with the car on the ground.

[GoogleWasMyIdea]

Thanks for the advice about the seat!!! I'll be working on that this weekend.

The Panhard rod has a slant-down from left to right but not terrible.....I just wanted to make sure there was no issue that would cause concern.

Thanks!

[egchewy79]

Panhard bar centers the rear end side to side. Don’t worry about it unless your tires aren’t centered to the body.
Re octane, that depends on the compression ratio of the engine. Higher the compression ratio, higher the octane requirements. Higher octane resists premature detonation which can damage an engine.

[rich grsc]

Yes,93 octane, that is a high compression engine

[GoogleWasMyIdea]

Thanks for the replies.....the compression is 10:1.....the chart I looked at said minimum 92, max 96........guess I'll stick with 93

[Avalanche325]

93 octane.

The panhard bar should be very close to level. If it is not, you should correct it. Yes it centers the rear suspension. When the suspension moves up and down it will move left or right. That is defined by the arc of the panhard bar. If it is level, you get the least amount of left / right.

[GoogleWasMyIdea]

Another question: the fan toggle.....do you turn it on every time, or just if the engine is getting hot?

[edwardb]

Another question: the fan toggle.....do you turn it on every time, or just if the engine is getting hot?

Depends on how the car is wired. Typically, there's a sensor on the engine that switches the fan on automatically when needed. In that case the switch on the dash is an override switch, e.g. turn on the fan continuously regardless of what the sensor on the engine is reading. If that's what you have, typically you don't need the switch unless the sensor fails or maybe you're in stop and go traffic and just want to keep the fan running. I suspect this is what you have. Otherwise, yes, would need to watch the temp gauge and switch the fan on when needed. Most cars aren't wired that way, and by the looks of that build, I doubt yours is.

[GoogleWasMyIdea]

Are there just two points at which the seat is fastened down (left and right side of seat), or is there one in the back as well?

[egchewy79]

Usually secured at 4 points. Flip up the seat base to access the rear ones

[GoogleWasMyIdea]

Thanks.....got the seat adjusted forward a couple of pegs.....thanks to all for the advice!