Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Zetec Maintenance Question for ATX owners...

How about Mr. Ayres' Fisher Fury? He's got quite a bit more horsepower per pound than that Lincoln land yacht has.


Actually, I was pretty impressed that they managed to keep the Mark VIII under two tons. Hell, a Taurus is scarcely lighter. There are so many cars that are way heavier than they should be for their size, including some of the most popular Japanese midsize models, and including ours too.

Level 10 is very well known among the import scene (dropping 6 speeds in Supras) but that is very expensive. I love my car but I like to think I have a firm grip on reality

I think the ATX complicates things only because it is difficult for the home mechanic to work on. I think there could be some positive gains found in an aluminum intake manifold (after the TB) from UK companies like Dunnell...

Any thoughts?

BTW- I smoked Billy Badass in his V8 F150 coming home from work. Let's just say he was a little surprised.

Car-stats.com has a 98 MarkVIII with the following numbers:
0-60 = 7.2
1/4 Mile = 15.3@94mph

You have a zetec that runs better than 15.3?s? I had an SVT that never saw a 15.3? do you have any slips? I think that makes you the fastest State-side zetec contour on the board?does it not?

What are your mods? I had no idea we had a zetec contour running in the low 15?s.

I really hate to say this, but no, no time slips and no dyno plots either...I know, I know: it makes me look like a poser-wanna-be Blah blah Blah. I actually hate drag racing, (like I said the car is actully setup for hardcore twisting and turning), But yes I would say I PROBABLY have the fastest stateside Zetec contour(at least the most heavily modded, it takes me about half an hour just to write down my mod list) Madmole and a few other UK modeos are more modded than i but the gap is quickly narrowing as far as beating a 15.3 1/4 those times are done at dragways w/ proffesional drivers, real world, w/ a normal person behind the wheel, I have all the confidence in my contour.

ohsigma- how hard is it to get an automatic run a perfect 1/4?

like i said, you would need your head examined. ever heard of torque? how 'bout 32 valves and a burnout if you want to last nearly a block? ever driven a Mark VIII? im not saying they're as agile as a contique, (cuz i have a very cool zetec mystique as well, and even though the Mark VIII handles well for a larger car, it won't swing with my contique) but they will flat out bury *I DONT CAR HOW MANY MODS YOU HAVE* your little 4-banger in roll-on, take-off, top-end, etc. i encourage you to go drive a Mark VIII, preferably a '93, those are the ones that i've read are more powerful and better honed engine wise. dont know, but the numbers do prove this. check car and driver in '93 if you don't believe.

so let's say i had a Haines turbo on there....we'd be at roughly the same horse power.....give or take....

so you're telling me...your heavier car with a heavier engine producing as much HP as my lighter car with lighter engine is going to get smoked???

Can you please rationalize this one for me???

I'm just really curious why you have no faith or respect for the Zetec engine? If it sucked so bad...would SVT use it? Would the focus zx3 have such a huge aftermarket?? List goes on forever mang....

teflon, a heavily modded (turbo or s/c) may smoke a Mark VIII, i dunno. but stock for stock, or any "bolt on" mod on any zetec will not be enough for the scaldingly fast Mark VIII, or Cobra engine. sure, making the same power and being lighter, the smaller car wins. but also, the smaller car will be spinning since it is so light and has so much power. it all comes down to how the power is put down. with the traction control on in the Mark, it probably would have the advantage.

Isn't a turbo a bolt on mod?

I think Teflon is saying that your previuos post about "no matter how many mods" is a bit ambitious...

Yes i was

Daayyyuummmm

You guys are really slinging mud in here. Burgman told me about this post so I thought I'd set a few things straight since I have first hand experience with a '95 ZETEC MTX equipped Contour GL (best friend has had one for a few years) a 99 Zetec ATX SE (Redhawk) AND a 1994 Lincoln Mark VIII (my Dad owned one for three years I got to flog it regularly).

1. First and foremost, you all are underestimating the Lincoln Mark VIII. That car is equipped with the same 4.6L mod motor as the same generation cobra. Ford detuned it a little for compatability with the 4r70w auto tranny and to make the car quiet while at cruise. Mods were basically altered fuel maps, different intake plenum/upper intake, and quiet exhaust. That car is definately a hot rod. When I turned the traction control off, it would smoke both rear hides through the automatic's first and second gears...about 50 yds with both tires hummin.

Also, the car is equipped with air suspension and an independent rear end suspension. Yes, the car is heavy, but the car's suspension computer would lower the air suspension by 1 inch (remember the commercial?) at speed to lower the center of gravity and actually firm up bound/rebound for tighter at speed handling. It also had speed sensitive steering that would become more responsive (less power boost) at speed. With this technology and the car's long wheel base, it had suprisingly good handling that really defied its heft. Remember though, the car is a luxury car first and a sports coupe second.

Finally, the lincoln's 4r70w had a special torque converter and gearset that would constantly change the final drive ratio depending on engine load. That's what gives the car decent performance and yes, near 30 mpg highway economy. My Dad got darn near 30 mpg on every long trip we took the car on.

2. The ZETEC contour is a fun car. It is light, nimble, and spacious. But there is no way (sorry redhawk) that it can hang with a mark VIII. Two totally different classes of vehicle. The ZETEC contour (and duratec contour) is a sporty alternative to the honda accord, chevy malibu, old altima, toyota camary, etc. In stock or near stock form, a demon it is not. I have driven an MTX, ridden in a few ATX and driven the Mark VIII. THERE IS NO FRIGGIN WAY a zetec would hang in a straight line, or probably on a road course either because of the HUGE torque difference between the cars.

That said, there's no one denying the fact that with some significant cam/head/intake work, possibly a turbo, and a beefed up tranny the ZETEC contour would trounce a stock Mark VIII. But, hey, for that matter, if you put the same money into a Mark VIII, you will have a 500 hp luxo rocket that is capable of 12's despite a full factory heft of 3800 LBS.

So what's all the fussing about anyway? This forum isn't about how fast you can go or who can beat up a mark VIII....that's a really poor comparison...like comparing the CSVT to the 850ci or something. This forum is about sharing experiences and knowledge to help our cars be more fun for us, whether that involves high tech one off turbo setups or an intake, chip, and exhaust, or a new stereo system or underbody neon. I think redhawk's car performs great with the mods he's done, and I think there's more there with the help of constructive advice about tuning, bolt-ons, fuel management, and other enhancements.....isn't that what we're really trying to do here? Jeez!


oh yeah...and I'm "In BEFO DA LOK"