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Bigger throttle body/ fuel mileage modifications

M

mncontour

CEG'er
Joined
Jun 11, 2012
Messages
31
Location
North Minneapolis
We have a Ford Contour with a 2.0L Zetec engine and a 5 speed. What is the size of the stock throttle body on the 2.0L Zetec engine? Can anyone tell me if there is a bigger one I can put on our Contour? Is there a throttle body from another car that will work on our car? If there is another throttle body for our cars, will it require tune to work or will it work without a tune? Can anyone suggest any other modifications I could do to increase fuel mileage? Thanks for any help or suggestions.
 
What year is your 'tour? I had a 95 Mystique with a gutted cat, straight piped exhaust with a glasspack in place of the resonator, and no muffler, and a short ram intake. Had a recent tuneup, and underdrive pully and was able to get 38+mpg while hauling an engine block in the back of the car.

as for a TB, you could see about getting a bigger aftermarket one from a Zetec Focus, or optimize your stock one. No tuning necessary.
 
The CAI i did on my car and 2.5" exhaust seemed to increase the fuel economy as long as i'm staying out of the gas. I'm not sure on the exact mileage on my car but i got roughly 300-320 per tank.
 
Our Contour is a 1999. Will an underdrive pulley make a difference? What is the difference if the cat was gutted vs cutting it out and replacing it with a straight piece of pipe? Im just trying to squeeze every mile per gallon out out of the car. Will it make the fuel mileage go down if I go from 15in rims to 16in rims? Thanks again for any help and/or tips.
 
mncontour said:
Will an underdrive pulley make a difference?
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Probably. Will it be noticeable? Barely if at all.
mncontour said:
What is the difference if the cat was gutted vs cutting it out and replacing it with a straight piece of pipe?
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Straight pipe would flow better and theoretically be best
mncontour said:
Will it make the fuel mileage go down if I go from 15in rims to 16in rims?
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Depends on weight and overall diameter more then wheel size. Lighter wheels/tires will improve fuel economy if tire width/diameter/tread stays the same.
 
with the cat issue if you live in an area that does emissions testing I wouldn't remove the cat unless you replace it with a high flow cat, it's not worth the trouble in my opinion, and if you just gut the cat it will just create a big expansion chamber for the exhaust to slow down which isn't good. With the wheels if you increase the overall diameter it will increase highway economy but it will throw off the speedo.
 
Replacing wheels and tires probably isnt a cost effective way of experimenting with mileage. It would take you a LOT of miles to make up that investment.
When its time to get new tires, there are lots of good LRR tires available that can get you a couple more MPG's though.
 
Well this brings me to my next question. Will 1999+ Mercury Cougar rims fit on a Contour? A friend of ours has a Mercury Cougar V6 with the 6 spoke rims that isn't running. And we might be able to swap rims for free. Im not sure of the rim size though but they are the factory rims. Its my understanding that the '99+ Cougars are basically the same as the Contours/Mystiques. Right now the car has the 12 spoke 15in rims that I don't car for. As far as the cat goes, whether I gut it or replace it with a straight pipe, won't it set off a engine code? Thanks again for any help.
 
wider tires will reduce gas mileage. You'll want to go with a narrower tire to increase gas mileage. The more tire you have touching the ground, the more rolling resistence you'll have and the worse gas mileage you'll get. Same with rim and tire weight. Go with the lightest tires and lightest rims you can find. Also, make sure your car is proporly tuned up. Plugs, wires, PCV valve, air cleaner, do a good top end cleaning, etc. All of that will help. Also, gap the plugs a little wider than the book says. It'll give you a slightly bigger spark for a more complete fuel burn, but dont go overboard with the gap. I think i had my Mystique's gap at .055" and the stock gap is .050.
 
How would I go about optimizing my throttle body? Is there a how to someplace? As far as rims, Right now the car has the 12 spoke 15 inch rims on it. Are all of the factory rims pretty even in weight? If some are lighter than others, can someone give me a few examples of factory rims that are lighter? Or examples of lighter rims found on other cars besides the Contour's/Mystique's will work too. Again, thank you all for the help/tips.
 
what is the tire size that is currently on it. remember if you increase the width of the tire it increases the amount of force required to move it due to static friction. and any time that is drilled to 4x108 will work as long as the offset is proper, sorry don't remember the right offset.
 
mncontour said:
Will optimizing the throttle body make a noticeable difference in fuel mileage? Thanks.
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Probably not, but its a fun project. I've done 2 of them so far and i'm working on my 3rd.

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95_Mystique said:
Probably not, but its a fun project. I've done 2 of them so far and i'm working on my 3rd.
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that's really nice polishing .... I like the way you have flattened the bar too.

can I ask about the step in front of the blade ... do you keep it for a reason ? ....G.
 
No reason other than i wasnt sure about how to machine it down. That was all done by hand with sand paper, and finished off with a Dremel polishing pad. I've recently upgraded to an optimized Mustang 65mm throttle body.
 
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