Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications General Mods Best 1st mod

Hello all, this is my 1st post. Last week I purchased a '98 Contour SE (auto) with a messed up nose. Anyways, the repairs will be complete sometime next week, and after hearing about the potentials of the duratec v6, I'm thinking about what my 1st performance mod should be. I have $400 budget for this but I am definetly a novice to car mechanics (but have common sense and am mechanically inclined). I ask all of you to give me your opinions on what you think the best 1st performance mod is...thanx in advance!

i'd go with the exhaust first,and then a cai....

SVT exhaust

What kind of gain can I expect out of an SVT exhaust, and will I loose torque?

just remove your resonator and replace muffler with a performance muffler (svt exhaust is more for looks and maybe a little top end, though with a duratec it wouldn't hurt you too much), then get a CAI, you should have money left over, so save that money and get a little more, check with diablo and superchips see if they have a chip made for your car, then buy a chip. then throw some svt parts on there (intake manifolds).

Originally posted by Kremithefrog:

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just remove your resonator and replace muffler with a performance muffler (svt exhaust is more for looks and maybe a little top end, though with a duratec it wouldn't hurt you too much), then get a CAI, you should have money left over, so save that money and get a little more, check with diablo and superchips see if they have a chip made for your car, then buy a chip. then throw some svt parts on there (intake manifolds).

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I heard removing the resonator makes the car sound awful...is there something i can replace the resonator with other than straight pipe and still get some performance boost?

Originally posted by Kobalt:

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Originally posted by Kremithefrog:

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just remove your resonator and replace muffler with a performance muffler (svt exhaust is more for looks and maybe a little top end, though with a duratec it wouldn't hurt you too much), then get a CAI, you should have money left over, so save that money and get a little more, check with diablo and superchips see if they have a chip made for your car, then buy a chip. then throw some svt parts on there (intake manifolds).

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I heard removing the resonator makes the car sound awful...is there something i can replace the resonator with other than straight pipe and still get some performance boost?

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mine doesn't sound "awful"in fact it sounds quite good...very deep and throaty...no rasp either,it goes away after about 2 min...i like the way it sounds...

if you don't like it, you can replace it with a glass pack, i have mine removed on my zetec and like it.

In reply to:

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is there something i can replace the resonator with other than straight pipe and still get some performance boost?

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Use a Magnaflow or some other high flow muffler in place of the res if you dont like how it sounds with straight pipe.

there are also a few mods you can do for free. one is to remove the intake resonator. There is a post on here how to do this, it is a little tough, (will only take you about 15 minutes though) but I really love the way it sounds. I don't think any performance gains though.