Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General What should I do???

Argh!! This has been troubling me for a LONG time now, and I need your help!

I have a 98 se zetec...with a 3 year extended warranty on it (if it matters)...(and if it matters i'm most likely going to go into racing cuz i love twisty roads...i hate straight lanes...i like some turns to them)...but I don't know if I should keep the zetec, drop in a turbo, or if I should get a different car (trade-in). should i get a 98+ se duratec? or should i just get a different car altogether? don't get me wrong, i have fallen in love with my tour. i originally didn't think i was gonig to keep it, but i have fallen for it. yet at the same time, i didn't know about the mod-availability issues and stuff like that (like i've said in the past...the only car i know well is the eclipse). so what do you guys recommend i do? i want to have at least 300hp under the hood so i don't have to worry so much if some fool pulls up next to me...but also a car that's a bit of a road hugger...

so what do you guys recommend? i know i could trade my car in for an integra, yet there seem to be so many of them out there....

HELP!

Keep the Tour, put turbo and you will smoke Integras.

tours a bigger project than pretty much most other options, however when your done your sittin pretty with THE ONLY ONE! and that counts for a lot, plus the tours so under rated people get so iritated when beat by a 4 door grocery getter, boost the *******!

i personally think it would not be worth it. a turbo would prob be at least 3 grand, and when u sell the car your not going to get anything close to that, plus you must upgrade the whole engine when putting in a turbo and the reliability will not be good, just look at everyone else's cars.id sell it and depending on what you want, get a car that would handle more power naturally, like a v8.

anyone else?

Well, given the fact that you love your car and the poor used car market now (very limited trade in value) I would say go for the turbo. The basic kit from Terry H I think makes around 220HP, lots of tourque and may not stress the motor as bad as higher boost setups. FWD is not optimal for drag racing and you will not have a muscle car, so this is not the way to go if you are thinking only 1/4 mile at a time. But for another 3K or so you will have a car that will outrun 99% of stock/modded 4-door sedans under 30K, good handling, fun. Plus, the guy in the other lane will NEVER know what hit him, especially if you keep the stock look.

I think that you should just keep it and get the Turbo as well. In the end you'll have a much more unique car and will definetly get props for it. Though it's all about what You want and not us. Are you comfortable with having on of the fastest Contours around?

All this talk of slappin' a turbo on a Zetec makes me think.... hmmm

First thing I would do is decide if you want to keep your slush-box ATX. I know that I would never buy a car with ATX, not fun enough for me.

Second, if you get a Duratec, it will be more expensive to get more power out of it. I am currently having this problem with the no-money thing. Makes me want to turbo my own zetec now... hmmm

KEEEP IT!!! The Zetec has lots mo mods than the Duratec.....HOWEVER, you could get closer to your goal of 300hp with a Duratec than with the Zetec off the shelf (you have two extra cylinders to play with). BUT DO NOT think less of the zetecs. I have one with the MTX tranny and mine will put the hurt on many many cars that are out there with a few mods.

Remember, the Focus uses that (or a form close to it) zetec engine and the new SVT Focus with the Z engine in it is putting out 170 hp and according to Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords it got their attention! Amazing! They liked how it was beating the VW GTi's and I believe they said an integra.....so hey chin up...time to clean up the engine bay and the tools so you can start spinning wrenches. Best thing about our cars, it is more challenging to make them fast due to the lack of parts or support BUT IT CAN BE DONE!!!!! Spend more time in the forums and get to know other CEG'ers and you will be well on your way to making your car what you want....my thought process, if other 4 cyl cars can make gobs of HP and torque, it will only be a short matter of time and money before mine does too.

Cya on the road
Rich