[siragan]

Hey guys,
I drive a 95 ford escort 5sp wagon, and I wanted to know what you guys do to keep your car running like a well-oiled machine. I´m not interested in putting in a huge engine or getting gains in POWER, but I´d like to tune for a smoother running engine with better efficiency.
ANY simple, "do-it-yourself with limited tools" tips and tricks are greatly appreciated.

thx.

 

[Infini_IV]

The first thing I did was put an intake on my wagon.

Other than that, I´m looking into RX-7 parts that go onto the escorts that help power. I heard injectors from RX-7s will fit into our escorts, but I´m not sure.

 

[Pimp_scort_89_GT]

Mustang Fuel injectors will work

 

[TheBlade]

when you go to a bigger injector be wary though. Escorts use a high impedance saturated type injector. (usually refered to as a Bosch type injector).
89-92 RX7 Injectors will work, however other years use a low impedance injector. So its a quick way to toast your motor. Some Toyota Supra injectors will work too.

Another thing to remember is bigger injector will need more fuel. So you´ll need a bigger fuel pump and even a different fuel management unit. If you just throw in bigger injectors you could actually flood your motor with fuel at idle.

Unless your going with forced induction, a better pump and a fuel computer should be enough.

 

[TheBlade]

Here´s what I´ve found.
*Get a K&N filter...despite the fact you actually get a little better throttle response, they´re good for more miles then your car will last, so you dont have to waste your time on new paper ones.

*Cat-Back exhaust. Not very expensive if you get aluminized piping and a not super "ricey" muffler. Adds a few horses and actually can help you improve your gas mileage.

*Keep your maintanence regular. Keep up with oil changes and tire rotations. This prevents repairs, and saves money in the long run. Did you know that checking your air pressure once a week and filling when needed can save you up to 15k miles on your tires over the life of your tires, and depending on what tires you have. Likewise, when buying tires dont cheap out. You get what you pay for in scale. Dont go to sears and get Guardsman tires (They SUCK). I´m not a fan of Goodyears, but get something with a name. They will save you things you can prepare for like blow-outs and irregular wear. Sorry this really isn´t a mod but it does save money and alot of people over look it.

*I´d say dont drive like a complete idiot and mess up your car...but I´d be a hypocrit, but trust me, having your front end suspension rebuilt because you knew you could out run a new Eclipse isn´t worth all the mods in the world.

 

[siragan]

Lol blade

Thanks for the suggestions, guys.
I just took my air filter out this afternoon and it looks pretty good, but there was a bunch of crap in the resonator box.
I´m not sure if the filter is "good" though. It looks like a kindof beige white, and I took my vacuum cleaner and put it on "blow" instead of suck, and I blew everything out of the filter- dust, sand, everything. I put it back together and it seems to be running smoothly with pretty good throttle response.

I was wondering if advancing or retarding the cam would do anything for my escort, and if I can do this myself and what steps I would need to take to perform this.

I had a friend who advanced his cams a bit, and he said that even though it idles rough, at high rpms when he´s crusing at like 110mph it runs like a ferarri.

Ideally I´d like sortof an "optional" performance increase. What I mean is I´d like it to first of all run better and more efficiently so for long car trips, I can get like 43mpg, but I ALSO want the kickass power if I CHOOSE to floor it, dig?

And can you suggest a cat-back exhaut I could get used for fairly cheap? thx.

_________________

[ Edited by siragan On Date 09-21-2002 ]