"All show, no go". "Sleeper". "Looks stock."
People have different tastes and desires for what they want out of a car.
As always, discussion is welcome and encouraged!
All polls I conduct are added to the Sticky: Archive: Polls of the week
With my SE I went with aesthetics first. Looking back I would have rather spent more on performance. Good thing I have the SVT to do performance mods to! Next week its getting darker tint and painted reflector though!
My Contour was stock for the most part throughout its years. I liked it that way. I would need a new audio head unit - that was the only thing that truly dissatisfied me about the car in its stock form. The only other thing I changed about that car was adding an alarm system and doing a few recontents.
My current car is remaining stock for the most part, much to the dismay of others here trying to get me to add even simple mods. The only thing I want to add really is an auxiliary input to the stock audio so I can connect my iPod.
suspension
I like a smooth ride.
I bought my 'tour as more of a commuter vehicle, so I don't care much about how it looks, and the radio suits me well enough. It doesn't need to go very fast either, as long as it gets me there.
i went with suspension. ive realized that the car will never be fast, and i already know that it handles like a champ now, so suspension is my best bet...imo
I went with Audio mods. Simply because the stock set up is really horrible. Even though my first mod was tint and wheels I would have to go with the audio first if I had to do it all over again. I like the stock look of cars.
how can you make us
choose between "performance" and "suspension"?!
i chose suspension. while i found the svt's stock power (and suspension) to be rather impressive, you can only have so much power to get you to the twisties before youre lack of suspension will keep you from going around it quickly....
besides... i have both now!
come to think of it, i dont think i could
live with the stock POS audio on this car..
so maybe
that should have come first!
Originally posted by frenchblueC2:
suspension
I like a smooth ride.
I bought my 'tour as more of a commuter vehicle, so I don't care much about how it looks, and the radio suits me well enough. It doesn't need to go very fast either, as long as it gets me there.
Would you say the same of the Cougar?
You could spend thousands on HP mods and still not have any fun wallowing around an autocross course.
I'd love an extra 30hp, but I think there's a lot more bang for the buck in improving the suspension and getting the power I have to the ground. Some simple brake mods help, too, but they are a separate category. Come to think of it, I don't need big-money brake kits for what I do, but a few things like better pads and SS lines would be a help.
Originally posted by 98 SE:
Would you say the same of the Cougar?
at first I was going to say "heck no, that'd be performance".
but on second thought, my answer would still be Suspension, especially since that's where most of the mods on the Coug are (struts, springs, front & rear stb).
i am not participating in this post. it is impossible to do only one area of modification.
Mike, I voted 'All Show No Go' for you.
I like the poll but there's no point in making a super modded engine if the suspension can't handle it. So I think the suspension mods should be directly tied to the engine mods.
Originally posted by Davo:
Mike, I voted 'All Show No Go' for you.
i am slow.
Originally posted by ctmystique:
I like the poll but there's no point in making a super modded engine if the suspension can't handle it. So I think the suspension mods should be directly tied to the engine mods.
+1, plus, i dont know many people that do all show no go cause our cars (at least the SVT) already looks great.
Originally posted by Tourige:
Originally posted by ctmystique:
I like the poll but there's no point in making a super modded engine if the suspension can't handle it. So I think the suspension mods should be directly tied to the engine mods.
+1, plus, i dont know many people that do all show no go cause our cars (at least the SVT) already looks great.
Yeah... I picked performance, but that's not realistic. It'd be senseless to mod performance and not mod the suspension. However, those are certainly the two most important categories. The SVT already looks pretty good, and the stock audio is well, not great, but far better than most stock audio systems.
I go with what I can afford. And the first one is always audio because I just transplant most of what I had in previous cars over to my new one. Then I drool over what type of performance options I have, then realize most are too expensive.
Suspension.
It's a contour, not a drag car.
Originally posted by Kremithefrog:
Suspension.
It's a contour, not a drag car.
Completely agree. i'd rather put money into suspension over serious engine mods (CAI and exhaust not included... i'd do those... but suspension first)
Edit: i dont think it's fair calling the engine mods "performance" because suspension (handling) is performance too. just a different type of performance
Originally posted by guitarman19853:
Originally posted by Kremithefrog:
Suspension.
It's a contour, not a drag car.
Completely agree. i'd rather put money into suspension over serious engine mods (CAI and exhaust not included... i'd do those... but suspension first)
Edit: i dont think it's fair calling the engine mods "performance" because suspension (handling) is performance too. just a different type of performance
I third the motion, even though I want to do everything eventually. Performance would come second, and aesthetics third.... As I already love the look of our cars, quickness can only be improved so much, and so far I've been more than happy with her performance but would love to totally revamp the suspension 
maybe I'll stumble across a huge bag o cash soon.....
Originally posted by Kremithefrog:
Suspension.
It's a contour, not a drag car.
so only drag cars get more hp?? 
Originally posted by svt4stv:
Originally posted by Kremithefrog:
Suspension.
It's a contour, not a drag car.
so only drag cars get more hp??
Damn, someone better go warn all the Civic owners. 
Originally posted by svt4stv:
Originally posted by Kremithefrog:
Suspension.
It's a contour, not a drag car.
so only drag cars get more hp??
Only drag cars go really fast.
What does a 250whp contour have in common with a 400whp contour? They both run 13s.
Remember, the poll option was choose ONE, that's the ONE I would chose.
yes...to choose one mod only hurts. For me it would have to be performance mods as I want a commuter car that will give better mileage and yet have some balls when needed.
I think most would agree that engine and suspension really should be wrapped up into one choice, but life is not always fair.
Originally posted by CSVT1214:
Originally posted by svt4stv:
Originally posted by Kremithefrog:
Suspension.
It's a contour, not a drag car.
so only drag cars get more hp??
Damn, someone better go warn all the Civic owners.
If there was a MPG war they would still lose..
The stock audio is adequate for old codgers like me, I can't hear squat anymore anyway. The SVT handled pretty well when stock. The prior owner put on ugly wheels (chromed, fer chrissakes!) but nice new wheels are too expensive, so screw asthetics, I kept them on. HP is overrated and trying to run an NA 2.5L in the 14s: why bother? I say go pure stock. Like my exhaust tips.
I think everyone knows mine, which isn't on the list...
Lap times. Mostly handling, some engine, a little brakes, a lot of weight loss/tweaking. I just ran through the rules again and wrote down everything I haven't done yet in STS: I'm going to go for A/C and T/C removal this weekend, after I get my intake manifolds rebuilt (it's in pieces right now).
And now that I've thought about it some more, "seat time" should have been a choice.
If I have to choose between modding my car and driving it, I'll pick driving it. (And that's a choice I may be making this year.)
It's not like I'm going to go win an SCCA championship. As long as the car is fun to toss around, it's good to go. If it's not fun, or not safe, then I'll have to spend money on it.
Performance....this was easy!
I chose suspension because imo (and this is ONLY my opinion) Contours were meant to take corners, so upgrading the suspension would benefit the car more.
Originally posted by 99contourdriver:
I chose suspension because imo (and this is ONLY my opinion) Contours were meant to take corners, so upgrading the suspension would benefit the car more.
You could, by that logic, also argue that handling was already strong from the factory, while the engine was the weak spot (esp low-end torque).
Still, I voted the same as you.
I voted suspension also. That way I wouldn't have to upgrade other stuff to handle the mods.
With performance stuff like a 3L or turbo, you have to mod the tranny to handle the power, for the audio, you might need to get a 200 amp alternator & beefier electrical supply lines, etc., etc.,
My car right now has a BAT kit on it, & only an intake thus far. I'm likin' it...
I'll go with suspension because in reality it includes wheels. Nothing changes the car better and gives you pride of ownership than making the beast better, and usually the ride height and wheels are the first/best things to do. Go fast is fun but it needs control, so first things first. Personally I put brakes in this area too......You guys go ahead and make them fast via the engine, but at the end of the day, we'll see who reaches the horizon first, fastest. And in real terms the horizon's a lot further than a 1/4 mile away......
humm.......
I just got my 97 SE....
So i would go with just aesthetics...get a dark tint for the windows and covers for the seats...