[bob3000]

I have my cobra pipe out of my 2000 AERO to provide easier access to do a water pump swap, while its out I've been reading a ton about the King Cobra and Genuine Saab's fancy stainless steel $310 model and the post '06 factory number and the more I read the more confused I get.

Since I am putting on a shiny new 3" cat back exhaust (money and thanks go to GS...it's REALLY pretty!) but I'm leaving everything else stock for now, what would the recommended cobra pipe be for a daily driver that is going to occasionally get pushed for a bit of fun (nothing near the red line) but is going to spend the majority of it's time being driven quickly/enthusiastically but never beaten upon or raced?

I hope the question makes sense.

.

 

[Agalax12]

the gs cobra is definately an increase but not NEEDED per say.

if you have an aero model, you should already have the "king cobra" stock pipe which is wsswntially a higher flow stock version of the cobra pipe. i lucked out and ended up actually having one on my 2001 base model due to the year.

it is highly reccomended for any stage 3+ tune to my knowlege... simply for the fact that it allows the engine to breathe easier.

personally i would say just stick with that unless you hav 300$ floating around lol

type in the part number tht is on the side of your cobra pipe and see what comes up... it should be the "king cobra"

 

[jpgroth]

Search it up, plenty of discussion about it. As stated above, not worth it unless you're throwing some power down

 

[rabbit]

The Krona Cobra is out there too. At a great price point.

It's going to be most beneficial starting at stage 3.

 

[TankTak]

you should already have the "king cobra" stock pipe which is wsswntially a higher flow stock version of the cobra pipe. i lucked out and ended up actually having one on my 2001 base model due to the year.

The KING Cobra pipe was only available on the newer 2006 and up cars, the cobra pipe you and the op have is the standard Aero cobra pipe which is still larger than the previous stock units. On the 99-2001 cars the cobra pipe was smaller and thus changing to the aero pipe provided more breathing room. As others have said it doesnt really matter unless you start getting into a stage 3 tune and above

 

[bob3000]

Thanks for the replies, as per Agalax12's suggestion I checked the number on the pipe I have and it is as you guys have indicated the larger AERO pipe which appears to be what I will stick with until I look into performance mods in the (hopefully not too far away) future.

Thanks again.

.

 

[Cark]

The 06+ "king cobra" is by far the best cobra pipe out there, it is HUGE in comparison to the earlier pipes, and still much larger than the aftermarket pipes where it counts, the elbow going into the compressor housing.

I upgraded mine a couple of years ago on my 03 Aero, BUT ONLY because I was doing the turbo at the time and the turbo builder did the machine work on the compressor housing free of charge. The extra $98 for the king cobra was a no brainer.

I think for anyone replacing/upgrading their turbo the king cobra should be on the list of parts to do while you're in there (just make sure you get a TD04 for an 06+, or have the housing machined back 15mm). But to do the king cobra pipe all on its own, I don't really think is justifiable.

 

[finding41]

What do you meen machine the housing back 15mm? The compressor housing? inside? or out?
Or is the cobra so much bigger that it takes up more room? (IE; won't fit between the compressor and the AC compressor..?)

 

[gregk]

What do you meen machine the housing back 15mm? The compressor housing? inside? or out?
Or is the cobra so much bigger that it takes up more room? (IE; won't fit between the compressor and the AC compressor..?)

The compressor housing where the cobra pipe attaches sticks out too far to allow installation of a king cobra. So you either machine 15mm off or get compressor housing off a 2006+ which came with the king cobra.

 

[finding41]

That makes sense. Thanks!

 

[Cark]

Or is the cobra so much bigger that it takes up more room? (IE; won't fit between the compressor and the AC compressor..?)

Exactly. I had to remove my KC today to check on the turbo, and was reminded of just how huge the king cobra pipe is. It's an EXTREMELY tight fit in there. I had to take one of the bolts out for the WG actuator when I installed it. Today when removing the KC pipe I had to rotate the WG actuator out of the way to get the pipe out. It is really tight in there, even with the proper compressor housing.

 

[Finish]

Wanted to bring this up again as it's sparked my interest.
Have seen the intakes at GS. The $310 one does need the housing machined. The other one priced at around $160 is a straight fit but doesn't have the turbo return pipe, so you'll have exhaust the BOV to the outside air.
So the in between would be the aero cobra, and you can feed the BOV back into it like the factory setup.
I presume, but would like confirmation, that the aero cobra fits a B204 TD04 conversion?
What's written here is correct about the tight fit between turbo and A/C, and I think the aero cobra will fit, but can't confirm, as I'm not willing to make that call until I've attempted to slide it in for myself.
I'm running a standard one off a 9-5 that was attached to the lpt Garrett. That fits fine. Looking to upgrade though and the aero version should be a bit cheaper and easier to find second hand right?
I should actually google the part number on it and double check I've not already got the aero version already. Doubt it, but sourced it from a junkyard for my conversion and just rolled with it to get the car back on road. Haven't really thought to check that. Just knew I needed one as I had the old original Garrett with the mini cobra, with the 2 bolts going into the turbo (9-3 1999).
So anything was better than nothing at the time just to complete the conversion.