I have a question for the general population of Contour performance enthusiasts. My '96 SE ATX seems to be a bit quicker, even in stock trim, than at least two other newer 2.5 ATX Contours I have ran against. My best friend currently has a 2000 SE and had a 1997 SE, both ATX's. On more than one occasion, in a heads up side by side 1/8 mile pass I consistently have beaten his rides by about 1 1/2 car lenghths. We both put the cars into drive and simply floorboarded our throttles. He even weighs about 40-50 pounds less than I do. Again, none of these cars had any modifications at the time.
What might possibly be different between the cars? Was there an equipment or component change in the 1996 to 1997 and up models that would explain this? The only thing I can come up with is the fact that I had 195/65-14 tires at that time (I've since gone to 225/50-15's, the same O.D. as the 14's) while he had 215/60-15 tires. Do you think this could be the entire difference? I have had my car since new and have always driven the dog snot out of it, while my buddy bought both of his with 30-40K on them each. The old addage used to be that if you want a car to run hard, break it in hard. I don't believe this is as significant as it used to be, what with the improved dimensional QC in the new cars built in the last few years.
I'm looking for empirical feedback on this as opposed to pure conjecture, but educated guesses are welcome!
