Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications General Mods general and possibly "stupid" questions

ok ok ..what is the reason for switching to aftermarket springs and struts on an SVT, and also, what's an underdrive pulley?

thanks

jim

p.s. they need to publish a book on this stuff for beginners or something

SVT's do handle good stock but there is much room for improvement. Thats is why SVT owners as well as other Contour owners go with aftermarket springs and struts, better performance. Most aftermarket springs lower your car also which improves the looks and gets rid of that nasty wheelgap.

-neal

An underdrive pulley is a pulley that simply replaces your "larger" crank pulley. Since an aftermarket pulley is so much smaller and lighter, it takes the power that is wasted in your alternator, amps, subs, and A/C; and allows the engine to produce power much quicker, and directs it to the wheels instead of your excessories.

this might sound a little childish, but play gran turismo and fool around with the suspension tuning aspects of any car. they explain some of the more basic aspects of each component. you can actually learn alot of basic stuff from that game.

I was once a newbee like you (ok, im still a newbee) and i learned a ton from reading through these boards. Basically just read and read and read and when you come across something that you dont understand, do a seach for it and it should become a little more clear. good luck and welcome to the love of cars.

Gran turismo taught me everything i know a bout cars

Originally posted by dubkatz:

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Gran turismo taught me everything i know a bout cars

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LOL! Gran Turismo only fueled my fire for cars!
Some people get sick of "newbie" questions...I say fire away. Heck, we were all newbies at one point. BUT, the search feature is very helpful.

in that case, i have a question too. what is a dmd?

another question, what do you guys think about strut tower braces? worh the money?

Ok, well first off, a DMD is a dual mass damper or I think I've also heard it called a dual mode damper. It's a crank pulley that has two different vibration dampers on it. (sorry for the semi poor explanation) one set dampens low end vibrations and the other dampens the high end vibrations. Basically it makes the engine run smoother and can go a long way towards saving the engine form the crank whip the V6 is prone to.
As for the strut tower braces, some say that they're not really needed on the front of our cars due to the relative closeness of the towers to the firewall. That being said, i have an OMP brace in front and noticed a slight difference in handling, key word slight. As for the rear, many people, including myself, have put in rear braces and had a pretty noticeable change in handling. I have the HPP brace, but since Hightower closed shop I don't think you can get them anymore, I'm sure others offer rear braces, but I'm not sure who. Hope that helps, and if any of my information is inaccurate someone more knowledgable can feel free to correct me.....like you need permission right?