It's official: My sister's car is faster than mine.

[Aaron]

She has a 1995 Contour with the 2.5l DOHC V6.

I changed the spark plugs in it today, and wow what a difference. The dual stage intake allows it to not only leave rubber off the line, but pull strong to 6500, I can't feel any hints of a dropoff in power.

Around 3800rpm you feel the secondary runners open, and the motor changes its sound completely, and starts pulling.

Even with the auto it will beat my car off the line and from a roll. It isn't fast by any means, the Lummmmina will still spank it, but it runs pretty good. Now who was it that sold those turbo kits...

[The Dark Side of Will]

I don't know about the normal ones, but an SVT Contour is definitely faster than a V6 Fiero. I raced one when I was in school.

[Aaron]

I don't know about the normal ones, but an SVT Contour is definitely faster than a V6 Fiero. I raced one when I was in school.

Yah the SVTs have different intake manifolds and larger ports. THey also look pretty cool IMO. But I've heard they are bigtime pieces of junk...

[ITSA6]

and where did you hear they are a peice of junk? i did alot of research before buying my svt and i have had no problems with it except an O2 sensor (pita to replace). i like both cars for different reasons. both are fun to drive. and the csvt handles awesome out of the box. :thumbleft:

[crzyone]

The 2.7dohc in my Intrepid also has a variable runner length intake. I also noice a difference when it switches from long runner to short runners.

Intrepid is 200/180, so not alot of torque but it pulls hard until its 6500rpm shift point.

It used to spank my fiero with the 2.8. Quite embarassing when your wife kicks your ass with a family car....

[Aaron]

and where did you hear they are a peice of junk? i did alot of research before buying my svt and i have had no problems with it except an O2 sensor (pita to replace). i like both cars for different reasons. both are fun to drive. and the csvt handles awesome out of the box. :thumbleft:

I've just heard it a lot, I think a lot of the problems stemmed from the tranny.

Sounds like you got a good one though :thumbleft:

My sister's car makes a surprising amount of low end. I'd be willing to bet it could stay side by side with Teh Z34orz from a 2000rpm roll.

[The Dark Side of Will]

I've just heard it a lot, I think a lot of the problems stemmed from the tranny.

I've heard bad things about the high power durability of the MTX IV (or V? III?) used in those cars...

[AntiCooter]

My wife had a 95 Mystique she bought new- also known as our "Mystake" and it was a complete turd. As soon as it was driven off the lot, it started to self destruct and no matter what it was, it was not covered under warranty-anything from the radio launching buttons into the back seat, exterior trim falling off, wheel bearings with terrible noise, engine knocking, tranny slipping, seat belts that did not always fasten, mysterious electrical gremlins that would come and go. The worst thing about it was when my wife had to stab the brakes hard and the pedal bent allowing her foot to slide off, resulting in the front of the Mystake finding the back of another car. The airbag broke her left arm and it has never been 'right'. The car could have been fixed easily with a hood, bumper cover and headlights, but I let the insurance company pay it off so we could get rid of that POS.

[ITSA6]

alot of any car has to do with the owners and how they maintain/drive/treat their car in my opinion. my friend has a 99 contour as well and she has had problems with the vents falling out, and my ex will get a car, drive it, then if the CEL comes on she doesnt do anything about it and wonders why it is running like crap. if you maintain any car it should last quite some time.

as for problems, yeah, the MTX has its problems, and one rule is never to powershift them. you have to treat them kind of nice and not beat the hell out of them. i do get worried about mine, and one of the first places that it will start giving problems is with the 3rd gear syncro. so when i do pull the tranny to do the clutch i am going to have the tranny gone over.

the autos are waaay waaaay worse with a ton of problems from what ive read.

as for the motor, i guess some poeple have had problems with the water pump around 100,000 miles, but i havent had any problems with it at all. its a timing chain car, so it doesnt need the adjustment as much tht a belt does. the duretec v6 is a good engine, and there are guys running boost on the csvt's.

definatly a sleeper though :thumbleft: and it really wakes up when it switches the runners. kickass! :afrocool: too bad mine is in storage now till spring, and im stuck driving a chevy van around in the mountains instead. oh well. the contour would be much more fun in the mountains, granted that there wasnt snow on the ground.

[Aaron]

We have the auto, mileage is 156k, and the shifts are so hard it worries me. Even our 68 Camaro with a shift kit was softer. This thing SLAMS gears, at any RPM. Even part throttle it will chirp them into 2nd :scratch:

But it is kinda fun WOT, but it worries me everywhere else. The water pumps were bad because their impeller is plastic, but you can buy a certain brand that does it in metal, of which I've already done.

If my sister fronts the money and I can find the parts cheap, I plan to swap the SVT intakes on. They are said to be good for 30hp! Each secondary plate is like 2 or 4mm bigger, and the runners are larger, as is the throttle body. I'll also need to reprogram it to shift at 7k WOT instead of between 6-6.5.

[Blue Shift]

We have the auto, mileage is 156k, and the shifts are so hard it worries me. Even our 68 Camaro with a shift kit was softer. This thing SLAMS gears, at any RPM. Even part throttle it will chirp them into 2nd :scratch:

But it is kinda fun WOT, but it worries me everywhere else. The water pumps were bad because their impeller is plastic, but you can buy a certain brand that does it in metal, of which I've already done.

If my sister fronts the money and I can find the parts cheap, I plan to swap the SVT intakes on. They are said to be good for 30hp! Each secondary plate is like 2 or 4mm bigger, and the runners are larger, as is the throttle body. I'll also need to reprogram it to shift at 7k WOT instead of between 6-6.5.

What's actually really funny, is that my E-150 work van with a V6 shifts really firm too. I used to joke that it's fitted with a shift kit. But then again, when hauling as much weight as it does, I guess a long slip time = toasty tranny.

[ITSA6]

I don't know about the normal ones, but an SVT Contour is definitely faster than a V6 Fiero. I raced one when I was in school.

Yah the SVTs have different intake manifolds and larger ports. THey also look pretty cool IMO. But I've heard they are bigtime pieces of junk...

dont forget that they also bumped the compression up with domed pistons, worked over the heads, and a highflow exhaust. and then they softened the springs, put larger antiroll bars on it, put in different struts after tuning them, put much better rubber on it, and a bunch of other stuff to it as well.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Typical SVT treatment...

[Aaron]

dont forget that they also bumped the compression up with domed pistons, worked over the heads, and a highflow exhaust. and then they softened the springs, put larger antiroll bars on it, put in different struts after tuning them, put much better rubber on it, and a bunch of other stuff to it as well.

Yah, I read about a little of that. How much power did they have, like 200? Not great for all the changes considering my sis' car is at like 175.

It's funny, the most desirable mods on the contour forum are like the SVT intakes, the SVT exhaust, the SVT air cleaner (WTF?), etc. It'd be cheaper and better IMHO just to build your own CAI, build your own exhaust, etc. Maybe they just want their Ford 4-door to look stock under the hood though...

[ITSA6]

the svt exhaust is basically an aftermarket exhaust. it flows as well as the after market exhaust systems.... cause it is an aftermarket exhaust system. the intakes are extrude honed the intake. the most popular intake that i know of is a CAI built by the SHO company. they make aftermarket parts for the SHO and contour. they also make a cross pipe that flows A LOT better.

when you hit up the suspension, the SVT rides VERY european. one of the reasons why i like it so much. the brakes are also lifted straight off the mondeo so it stops better.

i'd like to ad some coil overs, strut bars, and 17's to mine, but college cost money so that'll have to wait.

ive driven stock contours and the svt is a whole nother vehicle. it rides and drives so much different, and once you hit 3800 rpms, it switches over to the other runners, and the car sounds awesome

i guess though guys have only been able to break into the 13's with them. there are guys putting down upwards of 400 hp with turbos and 3.0 litres. but the tranny and axles can only hold so much before giving way. that and you cant fit a super wide tire on the front. the car is much better for going fast around a corner than in a straight line.

i like the sublty that SVT does with their vehicles.

[Aaron]

I'd like to drive one sometime, i never have. Maybe I'll find one locally for sale and decide I'm interested...lol

[The Dark Side of Will]

...the svt is a whole nother vehicle.

Or even a half nother?

[ITSA6]

....but never a mother