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3L injector question

svtkev

CEG'er
Joined
Nov 1, 2002
Messages
321
Location
Mishawaka,In
over the winter i am going to be installing an 04 escape 3L in my returnless 98 SVT EO, mods will be full 3.0 ,svt cams,pnp heads,headers,SVT uim,fidanza flywheel and spec clutch,i have a couple questions really,(1) will the stock svt injectors be sufficient for this set-up,(2)which cams would i benifit from the most 3.0 or svt,(not sure if it matters on the cams but i will be using the secondaries) ive been searching for days on all my questions and ive answered most of them by searching but there seems to be varied opions on these topics,any input would be much appreciated,oh yeah someone sell me their headers too...
 
Hey Kevin, glad to see you're going 3.0L!!

The 19# injectors will be fine, as long as you plan on staying N/A. If you are going N/A, I'd definitely stick with the SVT cams. Heck, I'd go SVT cams either way, personally! The 3.0L cams will give you more mid-range torque, and less top end, where the SVT cams will let you rev to 7200rpms and still making power.

As for headers, MSDS sells a bare set for $200. You can have them coat them for an additional cost, or have someone local coat them.

Mark
 
hey mark,

thanks for the reply,yeah i will probably end up going with the svt cams then,as far as the headers where would i be able to pick those up from? ive looked around online and they are ridiculous prices,should i get a msds y-pipe or just optimize the svt y-pipe? thanks again
 
Your 98 SVT Contour can't have a returnless system on it. They didn't switch to returnless until late 99 or early 00. Stock 19lb injectors seem to be able to flow just fine for anything short of FI. If you want all out power go with SVT Cams. For more drivabilty (power down low) stick with the 3L cams and save yourself some money. (sell the SVT ones) Personally I've noticed the 3L cams are much more fun to drive daily.
 
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There is a lot wrapped up in those statements the two of you make.

For one, going from the 2.5L SVT to a 3L with SVT cams and intakes is more of a logical progression. There is more than enough improvement from the increase in displacement in low end torque to move the car quite nicely. Then the topend that the SVT cams really stretches the powerband. The 3L with SVT cams and a set of headers has one of the broadest, flattest torque curves I've seen in a NA motor, or even a boosted motor.

Now comparing that to the escape/taurus cams. You get more lower end torque and a bit more midrange. If you don't open up the intake and exhaust enough to take advantage of the SVT cams then you may also be better off with the ovalport cams.

But after driving a 3l with BOTH cams, I think the ovalports are more likely to be less driveable with a manual transmission due to the rapid surge of torque and of course the faster dropoff of torque above 6500rpm. The gearing of the contour suggests that excess torque below 4500rpm is NOT going to make you any faster either. The extra 500-1000rpm capability in topend that the SVT cams can give you when you shift at redline or even an increased redline means you could potentially have more area under the curve. This of course depends on many factors. Very open breathing intake and exhaust may stretch out the escape cams as well and

Now when you go forced induction the game changes again.

With a turbo the SVT cams have less low-end traction but since there is so much power this is a benefit and makes the car more driveable.
With the escape cams the car can make huge torque and have it available early on in the powerband and would be ideal if traction was not an issue.

I think with a supercharger the escape cams would be a better match because they have more low end and the linear increase in boost will make up for their lack of breathing at the very top end.

So to me it is very hard to tell which setup is ultimately better or more driveable and would depend mostly on the full range of modifications and driver preference.
 
So basically with CAT Stage4 Cams my driveabilty should be interesting lol :crazy:. Oh I'm looking forward to that in the spring :D. With my last SVT I never got a chance to throw in teh CAT cams and I just left the Escape cams in and the car was awesome for driving around town and had plenty of torque.

Aaron
 
as far as the headers where would i be able to pick those up from? ive looked around online and they are ridiculous prices,should i get a msds y-pipe or just optimize the svt y-pipe? thanks again

Not sure if you saw that part of my post, but I mentioned going straight to www.MSDSinc.com. Give Marty a call. He's a great guy to work with, and the cost of an uncoated set of headers is down to $200. Obviously, coating is optional. You could have a nice cheap exhaust setup with a set of headers, and an optimized y-pipe.

Mark
 
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