Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Duratec Performance Rookie Questions

I have a 96 SE with 70,000 miles. It has been faithfully maintained, and uses a quart of dino oil every 2,200 miles or so. To see a nearly perfect copy of the car (I have the Pumice interior), check out CTA Motorsport's project Contour SE http://www.ctamotorsports.com/. Viewing this ?Tour gave me an itch to do some simple mods. Here are my questions:

• Would a KKM intake and custom exhaust stress this high mileage motor to the point of failure? That is, will a freed-up intake and exhaust make it impossible not to bang off the rev limiter? My goal is to get 100,000 miles out of the stock motor; however, are the gorgeous engine sounds too much to resist?
• Is a Dynomax Ultra Flo muffler a drop in replacement? Would I see any benefit with the use of this muffler, without installation of dual exhausts? I don't see much point of dual exhausts on a car with a single main cat.
• What?s the best low cost head unit? I gotta replace the CD player, as it has a weird habit of not ejecting older CDs.

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M. Man
Midnight [red] Rambler
(stock '96 SE 2.5 MTX with just about everything replaced)

[This message has been edited by monkey man (edited April 24, 2001).]

1 quart of oil every 2,200 miles? I would seriously look at getting a new engine soon, like a 3L. That is, if you are serious about modding this thing. I would start off with a good, powerful base to start modding.

-Other than that, the KKM gives you pretty good power over the stock airbox. I would recommend a Miks heat shield as summer is fast approaching.

-Replacing the muffler is a good way to get sound, but if you want performance, replace the resonator with something with a higher flow.

-CD players are everywhere for just about any price. I wouldn't go lower than $150 for a good CD player. Stick to that number and try the Audio section of the forums.

Seriously consider the 3L before having the old 2.5L rebuilt. Mine is at 64k miles and no oil burn.

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Chris Hightower
CEG Mod-Squad
CEG Keychainer
Contour WebChat
98.5 Contour GL Sport
Some mods... More to come.
Silver, V6, ATX, Moonroof

2001 Lincoln LS8 Fully loaded.
http://crush7.dyndns.org/

Wow, that's a lot of oil. You're sure no leakage? Could just be a blown gasket, maybe?

My 96 has 45k, and no problems. Intake and exhaust won't stress the engine too much, but your right foot may. I have intake, waiting on exhaust to arrive.

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"My other car is a minivan..."

'96 Contour SE

Geesh... regarding oil consumption, I thought that I was gettin' away with something. RogerB -- what are you doing with the exhaust?

Anyway, thanks Chris for all of the advice! This forum is an absolutely unbelievable source of free and darn near infallible info.

[This message has been edited by monkey man (edited April 24, 2001).]

Is this an option for a non SVT car? Would using the top end of a non SVT be worth it? (just to waylay costs of having to purchase heads etc.) Or would you have to stick with the stock 3.0 stuff? I have seen posts on upgrading the SVT to a 3.0 but none on a non-svt car.

Thanks for the info

I have never added oil to my car between 5k oil changes, and the level has never dropped.

I ordered the Borla exhaust from BAT back in March. Still backordered from Borla, who, I think, doesn't see the Contour crowd as a priority--but that's a whole different subject. Ordered the hanger, insulator, and bracket for the right side from Bill Jenkins. Bracket is same one seen in the "how to" page, and he wants $5 for it. Probably saved me a bundle in time, money, and busted knuckles.

Waiting anxiously to get it and install.

Infallible? Be careful with that one.

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"My other car is a minivan..."

'96 Contour SE

"Would a KKM intake and custom exhaust stress this high mileage motor to the point of failure? That is, will a freed-up intake and exhaust make it impossible not to bang off the rev limiter? My goal is to get 100,000 miles out of the stock motor; however, are the gorgeous engine sounds too much to resist?"

Yes, the sound will be impossible to resist! With the KKM & Bassini, the sound is glorious @ 7000RPMs. But this should not hurt the motor. The Duratec is built to rev with a trick lightweight, low friction valvetrain (hollow cams, roller figer followers - just now showing up on the new M3). Fuel cutoff @ 7000 RPM is conservative, engine longevity OK @ 7500RPM and the racers have run stock valvetrain (except big valves) to 8000RPMs reliably. Beyond that is looking for trouble without valvetrain work +/- forged rods. I think intake filters and exhaust mods are all ok longevity wise Chips, UDPs - thats another story..

Let her REV!

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Dan
99SVT - Tropic Green
#554/2760
Stock - except minor intake, exhaust, & motor mount enhancements