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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 7,431
Hard-core CEG'er
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Hard-core CEG'er
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 7,431 |
Originally posted by rearden:
Steering feel. The tightness and road feel when driving near straight beat the Mazda 3, and everything else I test-drove too.
This is one of the main reasons I bought my Contour. IMO there's no excuse for every modern car to not have steering this good. But the only other car I've ever driven that had such good feel was a 2001 BMW 325i. My '93 Lincoln Mark VIII came close believe it or not, but it was a little bit twitchy and overboosted.
The other day I had to drive a friend's '90 fullsize Chevy truck. I was all over the road with the damn thing for the first several miles because it had over 2 inches of free play before the steering would do anything!
My Contour has about an inch of free play; it drives me nuts when people here talk about how they can drive really fast with no problems swaying on the road.
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,456
Hard-core CEG\'er
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Hard-core CEG\'er
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,456 |
I noticed my 98 Mystique LS (205/60 15 tires) is a touch less "tight" in the center than our other, 1995 Mystique GS with the tiny 195/65 14's. Your toe-in might need to be increased: from slight toe-out to very slight toe-in, check tire pressures too. I have no problem with confidence driving fast in "tight" road conditions either car, better than anything else I have driven (yet). I like the view out the windshield with the low dash. I sat in a new Hemi Charger, that was not a good view out. I am sure I could adapt... 
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 301
CEG\'er
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CEG\'er
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 301 |
Originally posted by 98 SE:
My Contour has about an inch of free play; it drives me nuts when people here talk about how they can drive really fast with no problems swaying on the road.
Something is very wrong, like an extremely loose tie rod. You should get that checked out. My '99 SE and the '96 Mystique I drove both had no play whatsoever.
'99 Contour Sport V6 MTX
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 7,431
Hard-core CEG'er
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Hard-core CEG'er
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 7,431 |
I've had tie rods replaced twice in its lifetime (once at ~32K miles, just past warranty, and again at ~68K), as well as a whole lot of suspension work (bushings, etc, forget what exactly and my files are not here). The steering has been better after the latest suspension work but still not quite as tight as other cars I've driven on the highway. I've given up spending tons of money "improving" and repairing the car, in favor of just flat-out replacing the thing when I graduate in 2006 with a decent car, or earlier with a semi-decent car if anything more breaks.
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,047
Hard-core CEG\'er
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Hard-core CEG\'er
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,047 |
That was a good writeup man! The Mazda is a sweet car too.
Hmm,I'm on my second Contique,so what do I miss about my old beloved '98 Mystique Zetec ATX?
-I miss my mint leather seats I picked up from a wreckers
-I miss the 60/40 folding rear seats
-I miss my old stereo. I had a sweet system in that thing
-I miss the colour black
-I miss the post98 Mystique styling. I think a post98 Mystique looks better than post98 Contour (exclude SVT),but a pre98 Contour(SE)looks the best
Things I don't miss:
-Zetec
-Automatic
-the terrible,terrible gas milage
-lack of power
-eating front brakes like mad
-rust
-tinted windows that were too dark to see out of at night
-my insurance premium. For some reason because it was a 98 I was paying rediculously high rates because my insurance company said it was still a fairly new car. yeah,7 years old with a 4 banger. I paid $500/mo if you can beleive it. Now I have a V6 and a '95 and I pay $230/mo. Go figure.
I traded my Mystique in for my Contour and I've never been happier. The Mystique was the car that got me hooked on the Contour family and now my Contour is a work in progress piece showing just what can be done to make an already good car even better.
Things I like about my Contour:
Everything,except for no 60/40 rear seats or usable cup holder. Best car I've ever had. Never selling it.
'95 CGL ZMTX - DOB: 8/94 - Daily Driver - 271k & counting - Ractive muffler,MSD ignition coil,KEM 8mm wires,Pre98 SE 7 spoke rims,KVR CF brake pads,Post98 sail panels,Sony Xplod HU,Pioneer 3-way 6x9's
'89 Mazda B2200 - Under Construction
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