Places to Go

My previous car was a 1997 Ford Contour SE. This car received great reviews, specifically for its wonderful 170 H.P. 24-valve DOHC V-6 engine and its incredible handling. It was on Car & Driver's "Ten Best" list for the first three model years (1995 through 1997). I got it with a 5-speed manual transmission (as I'm not fond of automatics), and every option except power antenna. The quickest 0-60 M.P.H. time I've seen was in one of the early reviews in Car & Driver at 7.4s. From the factory, the car has a computer-governed top speed of 112 M.P.H. According to Ford, the car will do 138 M.P.H. without the artificial limit. This did not sit well with me. I, therefore, did some Internet research, and discovered Superchips, a company that makes computer chips to enhance the performance of many cars.

The chip has to be custom-made for your exact car, which is done by taking the car to an authorized Superchips installer, where they read the identifying data from your car's computer, send this information to Superchips, and get the program code back that must be burned into the new chip. This chip then plugs into the port on the car's computer. Fortunately for me, the Contour's computer is very easy to get at, and I can easily install or remove the chip myself. The Superchip not only enhances the car's performance, but it also eliminates the artificial top speed. Unfortunately, the Superchip gets these increases by altering the software so that the engine requires higher octane gas (at least 91 octane). The increase in performance is rather modest, and varies with the R.P.M. I have, of course, verified that the 112 M.P.H. artificial top speed has been eliminated. I've had the car up to 125 M.P.H., and it gets there quite rapidly!

I also added an after-market stereo system to this car, but I didn't go quite as nuts with it as I did with my previous car. I only replaced the head unit with a nice Clarion in-dash CD-player, and I replaced the factory 6x8" door speakers with Polk Audio 5x7" coaxial speakers. It sounds much improved over the Ford Premium Sound System that came in the car, but is not serious enough to warrant a car alarm, which was a goal of mine.

I was very fond of this car. I traded it in mainly because of the mediocre highway gas mileage (typically 25 to 26 mpg). Granted, this is partially due to my lead foot. I did have some pet peeves. First, the fuel-filler sometimes would not accept gas at the full speed of the pump. I had to slow the pump down to get it to fill. This seemed to happen at about 20% of the pumps I used. Second, the car absolutely HATED really cold weather, which is not uncommon here in Michigan. The car was largely designed by Ford of Europe, which accounts for its exceptional handling, but also may account for it's poor cold performance. In cold weather (below about 40 degrees F) the engine ran very rough for a few minutes, and everything was stiff. It would also occasionally stall within a minute of first starting it. After that, it would not stall again. I usually tried not to push the car too hard until it had a chance to warm up, which, fortunately, didn't take too long. An interesting point, though, is that I expected these things. Before I bought the car, I did a great deal of Internet searching on the Contour, and I found quite a few personal web sites about the Contour SE. The points I mentioned above were also mentioned in some of these other sites.

On the other hand, there are things I really loved about the car. Obviously, I loved the engine, handling, and speed. I really liked the nice, thick, leather steering wheel. I was very fond of the front seats. People either seem to love or hate them, and I loved them. They were very comfortable for me, even on long drives, and they had excellent support. My particular car had the optional power seat adjustments, and had the inflatable lower back support, which is wonderfully positioned. The car also had a great deal of front leg room for a car in its class. In addition, it had a good size trunk. The common complaint of cramped back seats didn't affect me much, as I rarely had rear-seat passengers.

Check out the Contour Enthusiasts Group (CEG) at www.contour.org. They've got all sorts of cool information for the Contour/Mystique/Mondeo, and some about the Mercury Cougar, which is based on the Contour.

After I discovered this site, I decided to make other performance modifications to my Contour. Here's the list:

Mods

• Installed a Superchip (see above). This was done early in the year of 1997.
• Removed the resonator from the exhaust system. I did this on March 13, 1999. I love the way it makes the car sound. It gives the car a subdued, low-pitch rumble, especially in the lower half of the RPM bandwidth, that makes the car sound more aggressive. It should also add a little power and torque (and help free up the exhaust in preparation for the later KKM install).
• Replaced the stock 15" rims with 16" rims (American Racing Spyders), and replaced the P205/60R15 Firestone SH30's with P205/55R16 SH30's to keep the total wheel diameter the same. (The OEM tires were Firestone Firehawk GTA's, which were awful in wet weather.) I did this on April 11, 1999. They look good on my car, and give it more of a performance car look (due both to the cool rims and the lower profile rubber).
• Replaced the front brake pads with carbon-fiber pads, and the front rotors with Raybestos rotors. The carbon-fiber pads perform OK, and produce less brake dust than normal metallic and semi-metallic pads. They also last a ridiculously long time. They also don't grab well initially in really wet weather. For the rotors, I just want something that will not warp as easily as the stock Ford rotors. I replaced the front pads and rotors on June 26, 1999. However, the Raybestos rotors warped and had to be turned already in October of 1999. They were turned a second, and last time, in October of 2000. I'll be going with different rotors in the future (see below).
• Replaced the stock muffler with a Flow-Pro high-flow, high-performance muffler on January 7, 2000. Adds a few horsepower and sounds great (and helps free up the exhaust in preparation for the later KKM install). This muffler is an angled, straight pipe design for very high exhaust flow. It sounds very aggressive outside the car, but is only slightly noticeable on the inside. I had a cool, but not too silly, tip installed on the muffler which is not in the above, slightly old pictures.
• Replaced the stock induction system with the Kurtz Kustomz True-Rev Sport Induction Kit on January 12, 2000. One site claims a decrease of 0.5 seconds in the 0-60 M.P.H. time with the True-Rev (probably including exhaust modifications). I installed this one myself with just a little difficulty getting one hose disconnected, and getting the mounting bracket bent to the right shape to get the S&B Powerstack air filter in the right position. The air filter lasts forever, requiring only re-oiling every 10,000 miles and cleaning every 50,000. I bought the kit to do these things at the same time as the KKM, all for only $100. The KKM made a very noticeable difference in power From what I've heard, this is due not only to the KKM, but also to the freer flowing exhaust. Only increasing one or the other does not make a huge difference. I definitely didn't notice this large a difference just freeing up my exhaust. The engine also sounds very different now. There's a cool rumble at wide open throttle, and it screams at high RPM. Some people experienced a slight increase in gas mileage with this mod. I haven't measured the mileage, but it didn't seem to make a difference for me. For some good pictures and info, see (in addition to the CEG site) Kurtz Kustomz Motorsports Contour Page.
• I replaced the stock (pathetic) low beam headlight bulbs with BAT 80 W krypton bulbs on July 30, 2000. They're much brighter and whiter, and greatly improve the '95 - '97 Contours' sad low beam headlights.
• The stock rear rubber sway bar bushings were replaced on the weekend of August 19, 2000 with BAT urethane bushings. These were very inexpensive, and give the car quicker and more direct steering, in addition to improved overall handling. I installed the rears myself, and had a local shop do the fronts at a later date.
• Replaced my failed catalytic converter with a DynoMax Super Converter. I didn't do this for a performance gain, because the word among Contour owners is that it doesn't make a significant improvement. I did it because it was less expensive than having Ford replace it, and I'm hoping that it will last longer.
• On February 13, 2001, I received my Momo shift knob. Eventually, I'm going to update the pictures of my car to include this and other changes. To see a picture of the shift knob, though, go to either SP Motorsports or Kurtz Kustomz Contour Page.
• My "Big Brake Kit" from BAT was installed February 19. This kit includes the necessary hardware to use the stock non-SVT Contour front calipers with the larger front rotors from the SVT Contour and Mercury Cougar (280 mm vs. 260 mm). The kit includes premium German (ATE) rotors, Mintex A/F high-performance street pads, and the caliper mounting hardware. Larger diameter rotors provide better stopping (due to increased leverage), and also cool better, making them less likely to warp (which is also a function of the higher quality, more expensive metal of which good rotors are made). I also purchased Aeroquip teflon and stainless steel brake hoses for the front brakes. I'll replace the rear brake hoses later, probably when I replace the rear pads or rotors next. Unfortunately, the rotors came warped, and had to be turned (cut) to make them true. This is not a good thing, as they will now be more likely to warp, and I will get less life out of them since rotors can only be cut so thin. BAT does not offer any warranty coverage on their rotors, so I'm basically stuck with the situation. I will likely not be buying anything significant for my car from BAT again. As of April 29, 2001, I have now had the rotors cut three times. They seem to finally be OK, but it's only been a couple of weeks since I last had a Ford dealer turn them (with the machine that turns them while mounted on the car, as Ford recommends). Next time, I'll be getting OEM SVT rotors for the font (and standard Fords for the rears).
• On February 23, 2001, I replaced my stock rubber and plastic pedal covers with Steeda aluminum pedal covers I purchased from SP Motorsports. They look awesome and grip better in both dry and wet weather (they're embossed).

I purchased my first car brand new after graduating from college, before moving away from home to go to graduate school. That car was a 1991 Ford Escort GT. This was the model year when Ford gave the car it's first redesign, and it was based on the 1991 Mazda Protege. It received great reviews from the reputable automobile enthusiast magazines, and was one of the quickest and fastest "econo-GT's" on the market. I had the 5-speed manual version, fully-loaded with options, and it did 0-60 M.P.H. in 8.0s, and had a top speed of about 120 M.P.H., according to Car & Driver. I topped it out once, with 3 friends in the car, totaling an extra 475 lbs., at 114 M.P.H.

I added a very nice car stereo and alarm, and absolutely loved the car. I had good luck with it (except for constant car alarm problems, which lead me to decide to avoid after-market car alarms in the future). It had few problems, and got good gas mileage (typically about 25 M.P.G. in the city, and between 31 and 35 M.P.G. on the expressway).