V6 Engine Modifications

V6 Engine Modifications

Bolt on Performance for Your Duratec V6

Soon after purchasing my '99 Mondeo 2.5 V6 Ghia X Auto, I started to think about trying to increase its performance above factory spec. Spending ages trawling through the performance magazines, I quickly came to the conclusion that there was very little on offer other than the typical mods such as different air filter and large rear exhaust system. The Mondeo however, has a cousin in the USA called the Contour (or Mercury Mystique) and I soon found that more is on offer the other side of the pond!

Induction

Having got the modification bug, I quickly purchased a K&N 57i-induction system. Cost £91. Upon installation I soon found out that the assembly was for the V6 manual variant, although nowhere did it say that it was not designed for the automatic. After some slight modifications to the mounting plate, the filter was successfully installed. The results were a gorgeous roar when you floor it and a bit sharper acceleration.

At around this time, I spied a ST200? in my local Ford Garage. I popped the bonnet and had a look around, seeing what was different to mine. I quickly realised that the ST200? engine was in fact, from a SVT Contour, the limited addition sports model in the USA. There was even a SVT badge on the enlarged throttle body!

I quickly popped into the parts department and asked them how much the ST200? throttle body was. £250 plus, was the reply (you also need the rubber accordion type hose brackets etc.). Undeterred, I made contact with a parts supplier States side, who was able to supply the SVT throttle body for £70! (Talk about rip off Britain).

With all the bits required, hose, throttle bracket, gaskets and shipping to the UK, the entire package came to £192, and even with the customs charge of £50 it was less than my local garage was quoting for just the throttle body. Fitting was all very easy, with only two minor complications. I had to replace one of the throttle body bolts with a longer one and a 10mm spacer was needed between the throttle body and the new throttle cable bracket.

Initially, I made one out of an 8mm nut and a few washers, which worked perfectly until I replaced it with a more professional piece of turned steel, made by an engineer from work. For further fitting instructions can be found on this site: Contour Enthusiasts Group One little problem I did run into was that my cruise control cable would not fit the new throttle bracket. After a few emails, I found out that the end of the USA cruise cable is different (shorter).

A quick email and another £15 had the correct cable sent over from the USA. Earlier cars may also need a new throttle cable, but mine matched perfectly. Once again there was a noticeable increase in the performance of the car, especially when the secondaries open at 3500 RPM. Now the breathing side of the car had been improved, it was time to look at exhaust.

Exhaust

There are plenty of after market exhausts available both for Zetec and Duratec powered Mondeos. However, I was upset that all offered were dual outlet, which would require cutting an arch section out of my bumper to accommodate new outlet.

I was also disappointed that all the exhausts offered used the factory cat and Y pipe, which from an examination, look like they offer a restrictive path to the escaping exhaust gases. A trawl through the webstes found that once again, our USA cousins have more choice. SHO, a company located in Southern California, offer a Hi flow Y pipe and Catalytic converter for the Contour.

This I purchased for £430, including three day delivery and Custom charges. This fitted to the factory front manifolds and rear section of the exhaust with no problems, although did have to get my trusted engineer at work to weld up the third O2 sensor hole, located in the short downpipe, as the UK Mondeo has only two O2 sensors. With the Y pipe fitted, the car's performance above 3500 RPM was again improved, with an additional deep roar when the throttle is floored.

Brakes

From the moment I drove my car, I hated the brakes. Although the V6 Mondeo has larger 278mm front discs than the 260mm fitted to the Zetec models, the brakes always felt hard and unresponsive.

Therefore, one of the first things I did was replace them with Black Diamond cross-drilled and grooved front discs, working with Mintex M1144 grade pads. Fitting them was straightforward, the discs cost £150, with another £60 for the pads. A couple of points to watch is that late V6’s have a different pad shape to the earlier models. The late pad is essentially a Zetec pad, whereas earlier models have a Cosworth Escort pad.

Ford changed the callipers on the V6 Mondeo around 1999 to save money! Also, Mintex pads have no wear indicator, so remember to cut off the sensor from your old pad and solder the wires together, otherwise you will have a pad wear warning light on for ever more. With the brakes upgraded and bedded in, they have been transformed. The brakes bite really hard, without any of the horrible brake fade I used to experience with the original set-up.

That’s all the performance mods I have done for now. For the future, I want to replace the rear section of the exhaust and get a Superchip fitted. Finally, they have just marketed a Supercharger kit for the Contour / Mondeo in the USA... Now there’s a thought!!!