Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General SVT not so great-Part II

I'm not making this post to beat a dead horse. I just didn't get a chance to say anything.

Since the CSVT came out I had wanted one. Pretty badly. I test drove them frequently and had mixed emotions. No torque for example.

One day a salesman suggested I drive a standard V6. I didn't want to but he was going to let me drive an SVT afterwards. So I said OK. Let me say I was stunned. The similar torque but lower in the rev range was impressive. It had that great duratec sound, just quieter. And it handled pretty darn well. I couldn't believe it. Even I started questioning the merits of the SVT. Was it really not that much better?

We come back and jump into a Silver Frost. The seats were squeaky and loud. Driving around town the SE simply had better pull. The torquey feeling from the standard V6 was missing. I wanted to like it but the car was just asleep.

We finally get a stretch of open road and the difference finally became apparent. You have to let this sucker rev. And rev it did. The tach spun way quicker and the car just came into its own. I started grinning and couldn't stop. I didn't want to take it back.

My feeling is that the SVT is not superior. If it had 40-50 more horses, an lsd, bigger brakes and stiffer suspension than maybe. But it doesn't. We basically got a watered down version of what it could have been.

But SVT must have done something right to make this car so coveted. Maybe its just the intangibles. Maybe just personal preference. If I had never driven the SE, maybe I would have the attitude. But I have, so I don't. Its a fun car. Just giving respect where it is due.

-R-

Who exactly are you trying to convince here? Those of us with SVT's are not goin to say 'ohh damn my svt sucks now, I think I am goin to sell it for a SE'....it isnt gonna happen.

ummmmm i'm just wondering what th hell this has to do with general mods??????

Not trying to convince anybody. Just stating my experience.

-R-

What ever floats your boat...but the SE will not take to mods nearly as well as the SVT (smaller TB/UIM/LIM and milder cam), nor will you stop as well, nor will you enjoy all the interior features. Nor will you enjoy the front air dam, side skirts, or rear.

Perhaps the SVT needed a good general tune-up? Perhaps it had some sh*tty gas?

But having owned both...I can tell you...when I jumped into the SVT..I was like..."Now here's the real McCoy..."

Do you really think your car is SUPERIOR ? Stand back and look at the cars objectively. I think my car is BETTER. Not SUPERIOR.
If you look at my 1st post I mentioned intangibles. Fact is, you can make a standard Contour look as good or make it as fast as an SVT. For less money at that. How are our SVTs superior?

E46 M3 - superior to E46 330. Significant difference.
CSVT vs Reg. V6. Show me the significant difference that makes it so superior.

-R-

Look at my post. Its obvious I preferred the SVT. I'm just wondering why people are making it sound like its a totally different car.

-R-

If you think the SE with a 5 speed is faster than a 2000 SVT, I think there is something wrong with your SVT. We have to be talking stock for stock though. I agree with you up to about 4,000 to 5,000 RPM but after that the SVT pulls harder. I own a 2000 SVT and in my experience the SVT is a little high strung. Meaning a small problem that would only slightly affect most cars performance, affects my SVT more. I know when I clean my fuel injectors in my SVT; it feels to be a bigger difference in performance than other cars I have owned. I have no time slips to prove this. I have raced a stock V-6 5 speed SE and I was faster. If we hard to shift at 4,000 to 5,000 RPM, the race would be very close. Of course I shifted close to red line, where the peak SVT horsepower is. My SVT is stock expect for the DMD.