Anybody Building a Contour SVT for ITR?

[spdmonkey]

As the title says....I have a 98 CSVT that we bought new with only 60K on the clock. Its been sitting in the garage for 2 years since my wife upgraded to a legacy turbo. It runs pretty well and with the weight its spec'ed at it looks very intruiging. I'm debating selling the spec miata and building the CSVT, but I really can't put the proper effort into developing this car. I'm looking for others to possibly share info and bounce ideas around.

dave brown

[JimLill]

well unlike some "oddballs", this model does have an advantage of sharing parts with Euro models. Thus, KW's Mondeo coilover package fits.... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/KW-COILOVER...1QQcmdZViewItem

[joeg]

Jim is correct. That's why I have hopes for the Focus--good Euro Car.

[Limey]

Dave,

I have been considering it. I too have a spec miata to sell, and a ITA honda in mid-build, however, was thinking of buying one as a road car and doing a gradual build-up. The weight is good, 2590 lb I think is achieveable, as the BTCC Mondeos were running at 2350 lb min wt. The Mondeos did pretty well in BTCC, they weren't the most powerful cars out there in that era, however, they did handle good (and looked good too!)

I have been looking into what HP figures are achieveable, and looks like around 185HP/165TQ at the wheels is the going rate with intake/exhaust/chip. Not too shabby. With the allowable IT mods, should see those numbers rise some........hopefully!

We can discuss further on or off-line.

Cheers, Mark

[spdmonkey]

Well I have a stable platform to start with in a 98 without a sunroof. It was one of the first built and the early ones did not come with a sunroof as standard. Its never been hit hard although it did take a slight hit to the passenger frt door and it required a new door. The pricey part is finding the correct shop to do the engine work. Hawk now has a pad for it supposedly and ground control coilovers are available. Getting the weight down will be a challenge as will having a cage built. If anybody has interior shots of the cages from the Mondeo BTCC cars that would really help. I figure if I sell my SM I will have enough to get the car mildly ready. I hesitate though as mild is not what this class is gonna be....

Dave

[R2 Racing]

Interesting. However, at 2590lbs, you're going to need quite a bit more than 185HP/165TQ at the wheels. Those numbers are maybe competitive ITS numbers, but not ITR. Get them up over 200 and you might have something.


Dave, I thought you sold the SM already.

[Andy Bettencourt]

Interesting. However, at 2590lbs, you're going to need quite a bit more than 185HP/165TQ at the wheels. Those numbers are maybe competitive ITS numbers, but not ITR. Get them up over 200 and you might have something.
[/b]

If you can get to 200WHP, you WILL have something. ITS RX-7's run 175/130 at 2680lbs. Even at your 'bolt-on' numbers, you have a potent package at 2590. Your challenge will be to get it to corner like the other cars in ITR. Your advantage will be weight.

[spdmonkey]

I'm not too worried about ultimate power. I think its probably a bit stronger than the numbers tossed out and there are a few other tricks according to a couple of people I spoke with. I think that 200hp is realistic although not cheap. Torque is not this motors strong suit. Getting the car to corner is my fear as from a street car perspective its great til things get moving quickly and then it does some wierd things. Its sprung pretty softly from the factory despite its SVT roots. Do I think its gonna be a winner? No--at least not right away, but Andy is right about the weight. Its one of the lighter cars in the class and it at least could look pretty cool. I remember an ITE Contour running around Cendiv about 8-9 years ago and it was pretty quick in places. As I remember it ran Leda suspension.

I still have the SM Kevin and as soon as the weather clears up I need to update the cage, replace the door, and strip some more weight out of it since its just taking up space in the garage. I really need to run it more than once a year.

Dave

[Limey]

Dave,

I agree, I think 200WHP is feasible. The numbers I originally posted were from stuff posted on the net for street cars which were not built to the hilt of the IT ruleset. However, an area where the Contour will have an advantage is in tire and brake wear....and it should handle pretty well at that weight compared to some of the heavier cars. Hey, I'm all for an underdog snapping at the heels of a more powerful car in the twisties, pushing them harder and harder until their tires go off....then move in for the kill!! That's what it's all about, right?!

Cheers, Mark

[trd77]

I thought the SVT looked good on paper too. Could be one of the cheapest ITR cars to race. My question would be getting the power and torque to be were it should be and to put it down with front wheel drive. How would it compare with some of the higher hp rear wheel drive cars?

[Ron Earp]

Hey, I'm all for an underdog snapping at the heels of a more powerful car in the twisties, pushing them harder and harder until their tires go off....then move in for the kill!! That's what it's all about, right?!
[/b]

Except with a high powered front wheel drive car I think *your* tires in the SVT are going to go off first - all that power, turning, and braking on two itsy bitsy tires.....

Bring it on Mark, I might have ITR car out there next year with the recent JH experience, let's get it on!

R

[Limey]

Hmmm....maybe Ron, however, the tires aren't small, and the car will be light by ITR stds.....I think a RWD ITR car at 3250 lbs is more likely to lose rubber early - but I could be wrong, usually am! My only experience with FWD is in a 2250 lb ITA civic......

Well, I have been doing some research - spoke to CTA Motorsports in Canada, and have had some conversations with people I know that run HPDE events in SVT Contours. The general consensous is that brakes will be fine. They are apparantly stout at 3000lbs. However, whether or not the car can get to 2590 lbs, with driver is another matter. I'd imagine a cage for that car would weigh somewhere between 100-150 lbs, and with me in the car (190 lbs), that would mean getting the car down to around 2300 lbs before cage and driver are installed. That is going to be tricky, so I've heard.

And regarding power potential, with a max'd out IT build we are looking at around 190 whp.....the people in the know think that 200 + WHP will not be achievable with stock cams in place.

Suspension choices are limited, even Demon Tweaks in the UK only have limited Ford Mondeo suspension.

A 17 x 8.5 wheel will be a squeeze. A 235/40 (Toyo T1-S's) on 17x7.5" wheels with a +35 offset will fit, however.

So, I think it would be a helluva fun car to build and race, they look good and sound excellent. Whether they can be made to run up front with the big dogs is another matter. I for one want to be in a competitive car this time around.

I will continue to do some more research, and keep you posted.

Cheers, Limey.

[Ron Earp]

I think they are cool cars and the lightness is a factor as you say. The tires might be fine for a good long time. But, how do your Civic tires do in 30 mins of hard driving with a lot less hp? Been more than a few ITA races at VIR we've both watched and you've been in where the top running A car, fast as heck, trails off toward the end and turns the race over. Seems likely to happen at a rough on brakes/tires track like CMP if it were a big problem.

Remember, not all the heavy hitters in R weigh 3200 lbs. 944 S2 is probably going to be a decent car and is 28XX something. That 300zx is heavy though, but a lot of the BMWs are not so heavy, the 325 is one of them that is a proven winner and is only maybe a 100lbs heavier than a SVT.

I like those cars though. How about a SHO?

R

[Kolin Aspegren]

Years ago a guy in florida ran one in SSB. The car was quick for about 2 laps then all of us SSC guys just
drove right by him under braking. This was back in 99 or 00. The guy also drove in World challenge or
whatever it was called back then so the driver was not the issue. My take is if a neon can beat it in a race
well then it's going to hard to make a pig fly.

I have video if someone wants to see it

Just my perspective

Kolin

[spdmonkey]

There were a few out and about as SSB cars back when and all of them were using stock brake pads or the mintex M1144 "race" pads. Those pads were such junk as i used them on my ssb gti vr6 before Hawk came out with pads. So yes braking was a big problem, but eventually these issues were solved--too late for the csvt in ssb though. I talked to Hawk and Carbotech and both can help me out on this.

I am worried a bit about making the weight though. We are gonna put it on the scales in a couple weeks and start coming up with a plan. Since my car did not come with the sunroof I start a little ahead of about 95% of the other cars on weight although once they gut they'll be right close to me.

I wonder how the grb came up with the weights. I think many are unobtainable.

db

[Karl Bocchieri]

I have a 98 with 140,00 miles, never been hit if anyone is interested? How about a trade and cash for that SM miata?

[Andy Bettencourt]

I wonder how the grb came up with the weights. I think many are unobtainable.

db [/b]

Like which ones?