Nerawkas
CEG'er
Okay okay... so i have some money left over to mod my car.... ummm.. any suggestions on the first thing to modify?
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First Mod...
- Thread starter Nerawkas
- Start date
cobrawannabe
Addicted CEG'er
i'd say coilovers if you have the money...
Is your routine maintenance done? I suppose you could mod if the car was already tight, running great, and squeak and rattle free. My car, for example, is beautiful -- and bone ass stock, so I'd spend the extra money on a pack of cigarettes and a six pack of beer. But that's just me.
Redlineracer12
Addicted CEG'er
That's terrible advice in my opinion.
Nerawkas
CEG'er
lol? yea my car is OK, i mean it has a oil leak? But i think not.... i mean when i turn the ac on full blast sometimes and drive very fast and brake quickly, when im at park smoke comes from the engine. I know where its coming from, underneith the car. theres something dripping on the exhaust thats burning. problem is... i dont know wht it is. i check oil every now and then, oil level is good.
btw, coilovers? how much and where? want a pic of Carmella (my car)?
btw, coilovers? how much and where? want a pic of Carmella (my car)?
cobrawannabe
Addicted CEG'er
Why? Good impact for a first mod. What would you say?
Lord Stanley
Hard-core CEG'er
Has that been washed since the picture? Get rid of all that brake dust on the front rims 
cnewton44
Hard-core CEG'er
Its only an SE maybe thats why?:shrug:
If it were me I would give it some tinted windows. But thats my opinion.
95pgt-t
Hard-core CEG'er
svt catback or svt rims if you want a good cheap mod.
i agree
Brent372
Official SE Event Coordinator
Intake... inexpensive and easy.
kscontourkid
Veteran CEG'er
Power steering pump! thats probably what is leaking. mine leaks too and just leaves an awful smell when it drips on the exhaust.
i think some sexy exhaust is in order for this beasty!
Check it out!
i think some sexy exhaust is in order for this beasty!
Check it out!
Question comes down to:
How much you have left over...
Mileage and Type of motor/trans in your contour.
How much experience you have working on cars...
Are you doing the work yourself?
Have access to garage and tools?
I you don't have garage or tools, first mod is tools! :laugh:
Second is make sure you've done some maintenance. Amount depends on mileage. If its above 70K probably a tranny flush. Other things that are no motor/trans basis are fuel filter, plugs, wires. Some thing you wont get until you have the Cel or search the forums is to clean the EGR passageways on your intake manifold. Search and you will find out what I mean.
Since I don't know what motor/trans you have...safest bet would probably be an intake. Really not a huge gain, but it gives more life to car. Cost ~60-100 with adaptor and filter.
After intake, exhaust would be fine. OEM SVT dual or Trubendz setup are easily done if you have garage. You may want to consider what exhaust you get by the amount of noise you want to put up with. :laugh: Loud exhaust + daily driver = UGH. Price if you do it in a garage 300-500 for trubendz. SVT exhaust depends on what you pay from someone with an SVT but probably around 150 if you pick up the exhaust in a truck.
After that probably wheels are tires unless the suspension is due. Getting off the 15s and onto SVT 16's or an After market set of 17's would make a difference in handling. You also need to put a decent tire on the rims, cheap does not mean quality. The 15's have alot of noticeable sidewall flex on a crappy set of tires. I would know. :laugh: This can run you anywhere from 350-1000 depending on condition of rims and tires (lower end being used rims with used tires).
Another consideration that easily done are the rear sway bar bushings and end links (pretty cheap @ ~40 bucks) At higher milage mine were worn out.
Realitively free is to debadge your trunk lid. Remove teh gay auto store license plate cover.
Cosmetically: Paint your oval grill, clear corner head lights, high tower head lights (search on these). There are audi side markers that can be swapped with your badges on your fenders. Swap your 98+ sail panels on the rear doors to plain pre98 panels (basically same thing w/o Contour on the panel). Pre-98 Antenna base (was chrome over black base). You can also paint the middle red reflector to match your car. Swap to a bullit aluminium gas door. Buy the "bright white" or "cool blue" headlights. Also install Fogs if you don't have them.
Other things include: Radio, speakers, dash warp repair kit, Contour.org logos
laugh: ) and window tint (which is generally illegal but alot of people do it). Underdrive pulleys if you find a set (~160-200 Duratec, ?zetec).
big step: Full suspension rebuild ~800-1000 bucks which would include struts, springs, ball joints, bushings, wheel alignment etc. Or Headers if you have a duratec Block (700 for all kit from MSDS, search). There are many Zetec heads, not sure which one(s) fit a Contour.
Advanced projects: SE into SVT via body SVT body parts (alot there were no "goldish tan" SVT's so all panels would need to painted) or a 3L swap (~3k)
So if you need anything else after that list to decide upon one of use may need to slap you with a rookie stick. :laugh:
If I forgot anything, let me know!
How much you have left over...
Mileage and Type of motor/trans in your contour.
How much experience you have working on cars...
Are you doing the work yourself?
Have access to garage and tools?
I you don't have garage or tools, first mod is tools! :laugh:
Second is make sure you've done some maintenance. Amount depends on mileage. If its above 70K probably a tranny flush. Other things that are no motor/trans basis are fuel filter, plugs, wires. Some thing you wont get until you have the Cel or search the forums is to clean the EGR passageways on your intake manifold. Search and you will find out what I mean.
Since I don't know what motor/trans you have...safest bet would probably be an intake. Really not a huge gain, but it gives more life to car. Cost ~60-100 with adaptor and filter.
After intake, exhaust would be fine. OEM SVT dual or Trubendz setup are easily done if you have garage. You may want to consider what exhaust you get by the amount of noise you want to put up with. :laugh: Loud exhaust + daily driver = UGH. Price if you do it in a garage 300-500 for trubendz. SVT exhaust depends on what you pay from someone with an SVT but probably around 150 if you pick up the exhaust in a truck.
After that probably wheels are tires unless the suspension is due. Getting off the 15s and onto SVT 16's or an After market set of 17's would make a difference in handling. You also need to put a decent tire on the rims, cheap does not mean quality. The 15's have alot of noticeable sidewall flex on a crappy set of tires. I would know. :laugh: This can run you anywhere from 350-1000 depending on condition of rims and tires (lower end being used rims with used tires).
Another consideration that easily done are the rear sway bar bushings and end links (pretty cheap @ ~40 bucks) At higher milage mine were worn out.
Realitively free is to debadge your trunk lid. Remove teh gay auto store license plate cover.
Cosmetically: Paint your oval grill, clear corner head lights, high tower head lights (search on these). There are audi side markers that can be swapped with your badges on your fenders. Swap your 98+ sail panels on the rear doors to plain pre98 panels (basically same thing w/o Contour on the panel). Pre-98 Antenna base (was chrome over black base). You can also paint the middle red reflector to match your car. Swap to a bullit aluminium gas door. Buy the "bright white" or "cool blue" headlights. Also install Fogs if you don't have them.
Other things include: Radio, speakers, dash warp repair kit, Contour.org logos
laugh: ) and window tint (which is generally illegal but alot of people do it). Underdrive pulleys if you find a set (~160-200 Duratec, ?zetec).big step: Full suspension rebuild ~800-1000 bucks which would include struts, springs, ball joints, bushings, wheel alignment etc. Or Headers if you have a duratec Block (700 for all kit from MSDS, search). There are many Zetec heads, not sure which one(s) fit a Contour.
Advanced projects: SE into SVT via body SVT body parts (alot there were no "goldish tan" SVT's so all panels would need to painted) or a 3L swap (~3k)
So if you need anything else after that list to decide upon one of use may need to slap you with a rookie stick. :laugh:
If I forgot anything, let me know!
gdub520
Veteran CEG'er
first mechanical mod i did was intake (2.5 v6)...went overboard before i knew what i was doing and purchased a system from sca motorsports(something like that, used to be down in o.c., ca) got it home and realized when ready to install it that it was made for mtx equipped tour :blackeye:
made lemonade by sticking the filter onto the doohicky and hooking up the whatchamacallit to the thingamabob...just had to cut a hole in the sleeve for the sensor...worked like a charm
definitely felt a difference, wasn't tremendous but i had better breathing in high rpm, but off the line suffered slightly which allowed opponents...errr other drivers to get the jump during exuberant driving
made lemonade by sticking the filter onto the doohicky and hooking up the whatchamacallit to the thingamabob...just had to cut a hole in the sleeve for the sensor...worked like a charm
definitely felt a difference, wasn't tremendous but i had better breathing in high rpm, but off the line suffered slightly which allowed opponents...errr other drivers to get the jump during exuberant driving
Usually by the time one squeak/rattle/broken thing is fixed, another one has started up. Something always is wearing out if the car is consistently being used.
That's why you've gotta go nucking futs at some point in time and bang out everything. I spent a lot of money last year doing the entire suspension (control arms, struts, mounts, bar bushings, etc.), water pump, tires, (brakes had been done recently), coolant temp sensor, mass air flow sensor, etc. The car is tight and rattle / squeak free, and I have a great time cruising around.
98SVTC
Hard-core CEG'er
From reading your second post describing the oil leak, I'm not convinced you're ready to do any mods. 
There's an oil leak of some sort that needs to be fixed first at any rate. After that, IMHO, leave it stock until you understand more about how the car works. In other words, don't make it any more confusing or difficult than it already appears to be. Of course, esthetic changes are another story and should be okay for now.
Karl
There's an oil leak of some sort that needs to be fixed first at any rate. After that, IMHO, leave it stock until you understand more about how the car works. In other words, don't make it any more confusing or difficult than it already appears to be. Of course, esthetic changes are another story and should be okay for now.
Karl
Nerawkas
CEG'er
From reading your second post describing the oil leak, I'm not convinced you're ready to do any mods.
There's an oil leak of some sort that needs to be fixed first at any rate. After that, IMHO, leave it stock until you understand more about how the car works. In other words, don't make it any more confusing or difficult than it already appears to be. Of course, esthetic changes are another story and should be okay for now.
Karl
Actually Karl the oil leak has been fixed ages ago, and the leak is coming from the passenger side. It could just be condensation, but why the smell? I will get it checked tomorrow, hopefully its nothing big. I have 154K miles, so i should do a tune up. as for learning more about cars..... i wish i had some mentors.
D
devanmc
Guest
Power steering pump! thats probably what is leaking. mine leaks too and just leaves an awful smell when it drips on the exhaust.
i think some sexy exhaust is in order for this beasty!
Check it out!
what color green is that? looks like spruce but way better then ive ever seen
excel4600c
CEG'er
I would say it depends on what you want looks or power. But i would say get some 17s or 18s.
you can get a wheel and tire package for less than a grand at wheelmaxx and wheelnext.
you can get a wheel and tire package for less than a grand at wheelmaxx and wheelnext.