Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Poor response

Is it normal for these vehicles to have poor response? My old '92 subaru legacy jumped every time you touched the gas pedal, but my mystique needs to be given more effort to get it going. I purchased the vehicle with 12,000 miles from carmax, so I changed the fuel filter, air filter, oil, but none of those helped. Just wondering, because the day I test drove the vehicle, I got the same reaction from a contour that was also at carmax. Both of the cars have a duratec engine. If its normal, then what would give it a quicker response? BTW, the original plugs and wires have not been changed.

New plugs and wires shouldn't be needed at the low mileage you're showing, but an intake cleaning is probably needed. There was a thread the other day that covered this subject. The cats also plug up on these cars which kills performance.

Yup, I was thinking of replacing the converter with that off-road, sho-shop Y pipe. Would that give it noticable power?

You didn't mention what year you have. (And you did mention the engine once I read the post a little better. ) The cat plugging is only a problem on 95s (well, at least Ford only has a recall for the 95s).

A Y pipe is a great upgrade from the restrictive stock unit. Keep in mind that there are drawbacks to it - most important the lack of a heatshield for the oil pan that the stock unit has.