Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Duratec Performance 2.5L with 200FWHP??

With the discussions about the 3L & supercharged SVTs, I think alot of us now want more power. Going to a 3L is a big proposition, esp if you have to pay for it. The ususal bolt ons- headers, exhaust, intake typically gets us no better than about 180-185 FWHP. Like to see some ways to get us up to say 200FWHP (about 240 crank HP) with the N/A 2.5L. I think the key(s) is..
1) hotter cams
2) increased compression (ideally using stock pistons - milling heads, thinner head gaskets, filling/reshaping combustion chambers?? if possible.
3) A good ECU upgrade, custom tuned and/or programmable.

I think this is personally doable. Would like to see SHO-Shop or somebody pave the way. Any interest or thoughts on this (or does everybody just want a 3L)?

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Dan
99SVT - Tropic Green
#554/2760
Stock - except minor intake, exhaust, & motor mount enhancements

hey Dan

That sounds good to me. I my opinion that would be nice increase in horses without ripping out the engine or worrying about the longevity of the S/C. I could be wrong but I think this route would also be cheaper and therefore more accessible to a larger base of contour owners. My one question would be how would new cams change the drivability of the car?


Andy



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2000 SVT
#615 (11/30/99)
Silver Frost

what about a stroker kit??

Remember, though, to acheive the 240 crank, you're still gonna need the headers, cat back, intake, etc. Still lots of money going into/onto that engine! Yeah, this is certainly an awesome alternative to those of us who don't want to or can't rip our engines appart.

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2000 Silver SVT
K&N, TH fix, ES Motor Mount (installing soon),
SHO Shop Y-Pipe, 2.5" Exhaust,
Fogs w/Parking, 50w/65w/65w Fog/Low/High Beams

Over here in England we have cams available for the Zetec and Duratec from Piper and Kent. Weve had Mondeos since 93 so have had longer for stuff to come out

I had one of the early Piper Hot cams when they were still working out the best cut and it adds about 15% more power. Takes a bit from below 4k rpm and adds it on top. Now revs to 8k and is pretty on/off like with the switch at 4200rpm. But I grew up on 2 strokes so I like that sort of delivery

I had the engine completely balanced to help the lumpy idle I was expecting, (But didn't get, cost for the 2 cams was £400 (approx $600) dread to think what it would be for the Duratec. Definately worth doing

Have a look at my website for more details



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Mad Mole
Visit http://www.btinternet.com/~madmole

I meant 200hp crank.
BTW, I think a hotter cam profile will affect drivability...it's a give and take kind of thing.

I really think that 200hp to the wheels is possibe. The broblem is the contour is a pain in the ass to work on. The reason I did the 3.0L was because to replace a rod bearing and rod from a sun bearing I was basically going to have to remove the motor to get the back side head off. It was more cost effective to just yank the motor. just my $.02

Roger

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98 SVT E0, Black
97 GTI VR6, Green
88 Mazda 323 GT Turbo, Faded

Has anyone looked into whether or not a hot set of cams from the Mondeo would work on a Contour?

I would love to see some cam upgrades. However you will need to have the PCM reprogrammed (custom PCM or tunable chip)

From what I have seen the SVT cams are pretty kick ass to start with. The car has a factory idle, and it runs all the way to 7000RPM with no problem. My theroy is that the intake port flows so well at low valve lifts that the camshaft profile isn't the problem. The huge gains in the exhaust from headers backs up my theroy. If the cams were the limiting factor in this motor it still wouldn't breathe the way it does at high rpm after the exhaust and intake mods. I agree with the first statement that hotter cams and more compression will make the motor stronger, but I don't think the cams are going to be as helpful as you might think. Compression bumps I am 100% behind. The SVT head works well at higher compression ratios. I belive that 11:1 is no problem at all. The 3.0L conversion with the 2.5L heads bumps compression to near 11.3 or 11.5:1!! I have NEVER NEVER heard a ping out of the 3.0L in my car with this compression. I always use 92 octane gas. I'm not using octane booster or anything special. The one problem is the labor involved in removing the rear cylinder head. Is it going to be worth the 10 to 15 horses you MAY get from the compression mods? And will you be able to take advantage of it without headers? The stock manifolds suck. THe extra efficency you are going to gain from the higher compression is going to increase the amount of air going in and coming out. you may just end up pressurising the manifold before the cat. THen you have exhaust fighting to get back into the cylinder. I doubt that will be much of a problem. The specific output of the SVT motor is pretty good for an engine it's size. I belive that right now the limit of power to the wheels is around 185 or so with headers and all the boltons. You are going to be near 90BHP per liter if you figure a 15% driveline loss.. I don't know of many motors the same size as the 2.5L that have that kind of specific output. Just remember that is is a SMALL V6 in a BIG car. I am sure you could easily make 100 or even 110 HP per liter if you were willing to sacrafice alot of drivability. The best thing to do may just be what the Honda crowd does, Swap to a bigger motor, or put in some BOOST!!!! Now we're talking!! Maybe I can open up the chambers in my 2.5L heads to bring down the compression and put a Vortech on to the 3.0L......... Wishful thinking.

Roger

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98 SVT E0, Black
97 GTI VR6, Green
88 Mazda 323 GT Turbo, Faded