Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Zetec Performance New Member: What should I do?

I'll have to disagree with a couple of your points/concepts.

I think the better way to go about this is to figure out your end state/goal you wish to attain.

Will it be raced? Is fuel economy/daily drivability a concern? Do you need stock type durabilty/reliabilty?

When it comes to cost (depending on the answers to the above questions) you can spend equal amounts of money on any of the power adders. If you want to just add a quick 50 hp that you can turn on and off for weekend/racing use then by all means go with nitrous, and you'll more than likely still see 150K+ mile. If you want a bigger shot and you want the car to last more than say 50k mi post-modification; you might wanna consider beefing up the internals, or at least a tear down/inspect/rebuild.

For SC vs TC there really is no contest the turbo smacks down the SC every time with better reliability/power, yet many people think an SC is "cheaper". You can turbo/sc a stock engine just don't expect to run over 250fwhp and see 100K + miles. You'll need to beef up the bottom end to keep it reliable.

For bang for the buck power NA really does have nod. You can get a full-bore-fully-built-race cylinder head for less than $2000 including cams! dial it back a little bit we're takling less than $1500 for KILLER street cyl head. For NA power its all about the "special sauce" in the cyl head/intake mani combo. FYI you can totaly drop an SC on a full tilt NA motor it's just all about the tune.

OK done rambling

That's funn because my last name is Davis... Thanks for all the input guys, helped alot. I'd like to have a quick car but also a reliable daily driver, so at this point prolly N/A would be my option. If i had the money tho, I think I may go with the turbo later on. My dad has experience with working with turbos actually so that helps and I'd like tackling a job like that and then later being able to say 'I made this'. Anyways thanks for the help guys. Any other ideas are appreciated. Also, I can't find a good website for the diferent parts in particular that I'm looking for. For example, headers. I'd like to put a new exhaust on and along with that have some new headers, but I can't find any for a contour? Can find them for a focus no problem but again I worry about the Focus/Contour compatibility even if it is the same motor.

Search! Search! Search! And when you search and discover that you need a shorty header for a focus and an O2 bung, then send me a PM cause I have a helluvadeal for you.

Actually you can also use either the ZXtuner 4-2-1 long header or a WeaponR Cougar header.

Ed6407, because you have a '97, you would have to have it modified for your EGR system (or remove your EGR and disable it with a chip).

HTH,
BP

Look, if you want power go N/A. Order a nice carbureted or fuel injection setup from the UK, and with the proper tuning, you can easily see around 200 hp. That's just with FUEL MANAGEMENT alone. add a head, a hot cam, and/or a blower and you've got one helluva engine.

look, I'll say it again, the parts for a killer N/A setup are within easy reach, here, in the US even. The secret is in the head: big valves, port, polished, shaved for higher CR(although lighter pistons that yield higher CR is a better route), and some performance coatings. If you wanna go all out get titanium spring retainers and get the cams diamond micropolished like me and contact Anatech Ltd.

I'm not one to make big sweeping statements, but there is no one who has even begun to explore the outer reaches of the Zetec cylinder head's potential to make big power. Myself and some professional race teams and Focus Sport have probably gone the farthest, I could have gone farther, but I'm confident of reaching my HP goals.

As long and you keep the CR sane you can always add a power adder on after you completed your Cylinder Head work.

Turbo is more cost effective than all motors on our cars. Sure you can squeze more power out of our cars all motor vs. stock but what car can you not do that? Zetecs are pretty well suited for FI, it'd be pretty stupid and a waste of money to try to go all motor on a zetec. Of course getting a good head, valves, and cams is gonna add power, all motor or FI.

The fact is, most zetec contour owners don't have lots of money. Hence why they own a car that can be had in good condition for $1k. They're not looking to spend $4k+ for a 70hp gain.

The best thing to do for a moderately quick zetec contour is what sleeperz did. He's ran the fastest verifiable zetec contour 1/4 mile times and probably put less money into his car than I did into my rice-mobile.

Now if you got the money for a modified head, cams, pistons, etc., go for it.

Ok, so far I've come up with this. Pull out the motor of the 95 and do a complete tear down and rebuild. Do some work to the head, larger valves, port & polish, and coatings. Also some hotter cams as well as a new exhaust. I was looking at the shorty header but any better suggestions maybe as far as a header? And what else would be a good idea to do to the motor while its apart besides work to the head? I wasn't sure exactly how much new pistons would cost, rods if I would need them? And where could I order some nice injectors? I would assume with larger injectors would need a better fuel pump but I hear fuel pumps can be pricy. Also, what kind of difference does the block really make in the performance other than the weight of the engine? Other than all of that I'm pretty much out of ideas besides an intake and a turbo system that I doubt I would get into just yet.