Rich writes:
Sajeev,
My New vs. Used dilemma was posted on 2/4/10. Based on your advice, TTAC member feedback and other research, I have made my decision. Last month I purchased a 2007 Ford Five Hundred SEL 2WD from the local Ford dealer. The car is just off lease with 28K miles, mechanically excellent, interior almost cherry and exterior very good. The dealer was asking for $14K, I offered $12.5K and we agreed to the Edmunds price of $12.7K. It drives pretty much as the critics say, great handling for a large car though a bit short on power. The power deficit is not terrible for everyday driving, I just need to rev it a bit. The motor isn’t tuned for low speed torque; something like GM’s or Ford’s 3.8 would be a better match for this car than the Duratec. The car returned 21 MPG in suburban driving on my first tankful.
I’m putting the car on Steve Lang’s maintenance schedule, which is reasonably close to my usual routine. I would like to know if there are any inexpensive and practical ways to squeeze out a bit more power, or at least make it available at lower revs, without reducing the fuel economy. I’ve installed a K&N filter, otherwise the car is bone stock. What are the options?
Also am considering a replacement for the stock Continental ContiTouring tires. They are acceptable, but my experience is that tire upgrades do more to improve a car than almost anything else. I live in upstate NY, so I need an all season tread. I would be interested to hear your recommendations.
Sajeev Answers:
Sounds like TTAC’s advice was the right move, we’re patting ourselves on the back. The Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego is a great family sedan value with that modicum of suspension precision and reasonably elegant interior fittings. It’s no Aston Martin, but have you drove one back-to-back with a Chrysler 300? All this baby needs is a little more punch in them affordable, sensible shoes. One for the money, two for the show…
And since “modding” oddball Ford products is right up my alley, do yourself a solid and listen to me again.
- Tune up: and not the hokey Splitfire spark plug route, but with a computer re-flash. Faster transmission action, optimized air/fuel ratios and many other benefits are available at the push of a button. If you want to run premium fuel, ask for both a low and high octane tune on your computer programmer. If you get 93-octane in your part of the country, you can expect an honest 20+hp at the wheels with a “tune” on a late model Duratec. IIRC, this motor makes 240hp in the Ford Escape, maybe with slight exhaust and camshaft differences. Far and away the best source of Ford tuners comes from SCT, and you can email me for a recommendation on an SCT vendor. Just a recommendation, I receive no compensation.
- Tires: go to Tirerack.com and pick “High” or “Ultra High” Performance All Season rubber that fits your price range, floats your boat. Sadly, I only see one choice, but maybe you can fudge the system by selecting a 10mm wider tire (no appreciable difference in speedometer functionality) and see what else is available. Have fun with this; you’ll have a good story to tell your non-car guy friends when it’s done.
- Brakes: perhaps it is time to step up to a carbon metallic street brake pad, odds are the aftermarket (Performance Friction is one vendor) has better stuff than what’s normally used on Five Hundreds.
- Suck Harder: Via Google Image hunting, the Five Hundred has a fairly unrestrictive intake duct, free of resonators or massive kinks/bends. Odds are the lower half of the air filter box is your problem: the snorkel below is too small. Get epoxy, the biggest diameter PVC tube you can cram around the sheetmetal, a Dremel-like cutting tool, and semi-flat black paint to finish it off. Yes, this will take a little testicular fortitude to cut up a perfectly good part, but I’ve done this so many times now that people expect me to hack up the lower airbox in every car that parks in my garage.
The benefit? A little more kick from a standstill thanks to perkier throttle response, more growl, and a lot of pride. Ricer math indeed, but hey, a Ford Five Hundred deserves an intake tonal quality improvement. It’s just dying to be a sleeper.
While other items may increase power (hotter cams, re-tune to go with) it won’t be enough to justify the cost. The SCT tune alone will amaze you, as Ford is terrible about leaving plenty more “on the table” for the Tuner-Bois to extract.
Bonus! A Piston Slap Nugget of Wisdom:
Five to ten years from now, this Five Hundred will be worth more to you than anyone in their right mind would pay for it. And you will have a Frankenstein moment, courtesy of me. Never forget that wrecked Impala SS’s exist for a reason, and LS4-FTW is more than a feeling. It can be a way of life.
Send your queries to mehta@ttac.com. Spare no details and ask for a speedy resolution if you’re in a hurry.
The only thing I can add to this is: get some fishing line and/or dental floss, remove the “Five Hundred” stupid name off the trunk and buy yourself some chrome lettering that reads: “GALAXIE 500”. Put it on the front lower front doors, too. Now you have something you’ll really be proud of and you’ll make others envious!
+1!
Dang it, Zachman! Everytime you say something like that I come one step closer to doing it! (But I like you anyway. My friends wouldn’t get it and my fiance would just roll her eyes and giggle at me.)
“My friends wouldn’t get it and my fiance would just roll her eyes and giggle at me” Dan, my friend, maybe…but maybe not! Hope you’re having a safe trip!
On the subject of K&N’s: My mechanic advised to not use one on a FI motor, claiming the oil mist would clog up throttle body and other sensors. Anybody else heard of this?
On the subject of tires: Continental Extreme Contact DWS (Dry Wet Snow) tires. I have heard only good things about them. Excellent ratings on tirerack.com They were totally sold out when I needed tires at Christmas time. Went with a set of General Altimax HP (H rated) all seasons. They work much better than the factory Firestones on my wife’s G6. And they actually grip in the snow. A fair amount cheaper than the DWS’s. However, if I could have gotten the DWS’s I would have put them on the car.
Just my $0.02.
On the subject of K&N’s: My mechanic advised not to use them. He said something about the oil from the filter coating the throttle body and other sensors. Anyone else heard this?
On the subject of tires: Continental Extreme Contact DWS (Dry Wet Snow) I’ve heard only good things about them and are highly rated on tirerack.com. An alternate: General Altimax HP (H rated) all weather tires.
I have heard exactly that from the Ranger community, especially where the Ranger’s Duratec 2.3 four-cylinder mill is in the engine. Wouldn’t surprise me if the V-6 Duratec in the Five-Hundred suffers similarly from K&N oil issues.
Sajeev’s advice about the “snorkelectomy,” as I call it, is also something folks in the Ranger community have advised time and time again for folks looking at putting a K&N in their Duratec-powered Ranger pickups. Better to remove the snorkel and increase airflow at the bottom end of the box than to put in an K&N that will gunk up your MAF sensor. I’ve not done it on my Ranger, but I’ve been thinking pretty hard about it lately.
On tires: You get what you pay for. The stock Contitracs on my Ranger were noisy their entire life and offered little grip in any conditions. Switched with Michelin LTX M/S tires (which were fairly pricey @ $700 or so) recently, and the difference is night and day. Love the LTX. My previous experience with Michelins has been good, too. But I tend to value longevity more than performance, honestly. I can give up grip if it means my tires last 60,000+ miles instead of 30,000. And I’ve primarily driven small pickup trucks or economy cars in my lifetime. So yeah…
Congrats on the new (to you) car! May you enjoy it for many years to come!
You do need to be careful about oiled air filters. It doesn’t take much to mess up the mass air flow sensor – at least in my cars and I removed a K&N – couldn’t tell the difference with the butt dyno and didn’t need the potential aggravation. There are some dry filter alternatives but the one I’m familiar with – EVOMS – may not be available for a 500.
“snorkelectomy” FTW.
I agree with your mechanic. Adding a K & N fliter is an ill advised mod. A new MAF sensor is not cheap.
Sajeev Mehta:
“snorkelectomy” FTW.
Indeed. If only I can get my airbox to pop out of the Ranger next time I’m under the hood, I might do it. Last time I thought about doing this, I actually tried to pull the airbox out and have a look to see how difficult (or not) it might be, but I never could get the thing loose from whatever crazy system of attachment they put under there. I think it’s supposed to just pop loose from some clips.
Anyway, that’s pretty OT. Now back to our regularly scheduled program, already in progress…
Forget about the MAF and think about all the dust getting past that K&N and into the cylinders. Don’t believe me? Run a K&N filter and then take an oil sample and have it tested – the silicates will be off the scale.
The silicate level will be fine unless it’s driven in a dusty environment. But one needs only to hold the filter up to a light to see that there are visible holes which allow more and larger dirt particles than any paper filter. Probably not worth it for a couple horsepower gain near the rev limiter.
Wheeljack: Forget about the MAF and think about all the dust getting past that K&N and into the cylinders. Don’t believe me? Run a K&N filter and then take an oil sample and have it tested – the silicates will be off the scale.
I have run a few oil analyses (is that the proper plural?) on my engine and silicates were always well within spec.
Nice deal on a nice ride. Since you don’t seem to be afraid to spend a little on this rig, how about foregoing the all-seasons and getting some snows mounted on steelies for the winter, and a nice set of performance rubber for the snow-free months?
Doesn’t this model year have the CVT? If so, adding more power may not be the wisest choice.
The SE base cars and any AWD Five Hundred came with the CVT. The rest of em had the 6 speed auto.
It has the 6-speed manual. I’ve been warned to replace fluid at every 30K interval, and will do so. Ford dlr quotes $180.
Five to ten years from now, this Five Hundred will be worth more to you than anyone in their right mind would pay for it. And you will have a Frankenstein moment, courtesy of me. Never forget that wrecked Impala SS’s exist for a reason, and LS4-FTW is more than a feeling. It can be a way of life.
Yes, but the Impala, even with the LS4, is still a really bad car compared to the Five Hundred, and I say this as someone who works for a supplier of the plant at which they’re made. It’s a pity you can’t get the best of both cars (the Impala’s engine, everything else from the Ford because the whole rest of the Impala, well, sucks by comparison. Possibly the styling of the Intrepid/Concorde/300M if you must.
As for how to get more power? Geeze, not sure. I mean, you could do something ugly, like try to adapt extant mods for the Mazda6’s V6 to this car—these do exist—but while the transmission is pretty good (even if it’s a CVT) you’re in unknown territory boosting torque output. Again, even if it’s a CVT you’re probably ok, but you will want to watch the fluid health. Make sure your service person knows how to do this; the Ford CVT is pretty good, but some service shops, including Ford dealers, treat it like Panther’s automatic and use way too much of the wrong fluid.
A non-instrusive, if expensive, way to add some sprightliness might be to get the unsprung weight down. If you’re going to get new tires, consider some lightweight rims as well, and maybe lighter brake discs. You could go as far as to start replacing suspension components as well.
Nice car, by the way. I looked at several Freestyles a while back and liked them a lot: great packaging, good ride, handled better than they had a right to. The Five Hundred had a back seat that the Town Car wishes it had.
Gratuitous Panther Besmirchment Counter: 2
You knew it was coming, and hey, I managed to smack-talk the W-Body at the same time!
I was implying that exact powertrain swap, LS4-FTW should be just as meaningful as Panther Love to you by now.
MAILER-DAEMON: Message failure-
You knew it was coming, and hey, I managed to smack-talk the W-Body at the same time!
*This is an automatically generated message by Gratuitious Panther Besmirchment Counter ™*
Please do not respond to automatically generated messages by Gratuitous Panther Besmirchment Counter ™.
Thank you for your co-operation.
Actually, no, I have a lot of respect for the LSx.
The unspoken second sentence, though, should speak volumes.
On a serious note, the Grand Prix GXP was a pretty nifty car (the HUD was a great touch), and I could almost, almost, make a case for the Allure Super because it’s cognitive-dissonance-city, but the Impala SS never did it for me.
@psar: Yes, the Grand Prix GXP was a great ride. I got to take one home as a ‘rental’ car due to my friendship with dealership management. I didn’t abuse the car, but it was a sweet evening of adult fun with a 300 HP car.
Sorry, Psar, MY Impala rules! Ha ha!
Nice car for the money. But get rid of the K&N filter. What a waste of money. Nothing but a placebo effect. Don’t know how long you plan on keeping this car, but as a used car buyer I’d stay clear of any vehicle with a K&N filter or a Dremel tool-rigged air box. Speaks volumes about the previous owner’s boy racer mindset (abused car).
I’m surprised at the backlash to the K&N. I got one after finding out it cost $35 for a paper air filter (there weren’t any aftermarket paper conical air filters that fit my stock airbox when my car was new) – it was $50, plus $10 for the oil kit. With 140k, I have washed the filter three times – I’m a little over the top – and have saved myself hundreds of dollars in paper air filters. If you plan to keep the car, and especially if you ever have any dusty conditions, K&N is totally the way to go.
And yes, it is fairly easy to overoil the filter – the first time I washed the filter I definitely overoiled it and had to rewash and reoil the filter – but like anything else, once you learn you can be proficient at it. I have not had any MAF problems – my intake has been fairly clean (except carbon buildup, but the air filter has nothing to do with that).
Ditto sastexan. I’ve used K&N in 3 different vehicles, maintained them as instructed and never had a MAF problem. Plus I did find a little extra throttle response.
That said, the point about cutting up the air intake is valid. I’d find an identical intake from a boneyard and modify it. When you sell/trade, put the stock parts back in.
The K&N’s rightly or wrongly have a reputation for killing MAFs and oxygen sensors. Could be that folks over oil them or something, who knows? The gains just don’t seem to outweigh the risks to me.
@lectrobyte: I bought a car that had one installed by the previous owner, who did not maintain it properly. I bought the kit, cleaned it and reinstalled it. Using chuckR’s butt dyno (thanks dude!) I didn’t notice a difference in mileage or power. So when the service interval came due, I just bought a Fram air filter for $5.00 at the Auto Zone and put the K&N up on the shelf.
I appreciate the environmental aspect of the K&N, but the reality is I can blow out my paper air filter a couple of times if I’m being miserly. For my car, a 95 Sunfire GT with 2.3 Quad 4, the K&N filter is ~ $40 or so. Add the ~$10 cleaning kit, and for one service interval (let’s say 50K miles) I’m in for $50. I can buy a Fram for about $5.00, and over the same service interval buy 5 new Fram air filters and still only spend $25.
I think might be worth the money if you have an unusual size of filter that is hard to find, but for a common car like mine, I think I do better with the five buck Fram and an air hose after the service interval.
As somebody who works in a shop once a month and regularly interacts with mechanics, let me assure you that K&N filters do let more dirt through than normal paper filters do, as evidenced, by dirty, oily intake piping. Oil analysis will confirm this (silicate levels in the oil are a direct result of dirt ingested through the intake). Oil-coated MAF sensors can’t dissipate heat properly and this can lead to their premature failure (esp. on European foil-type sensors).
Your best bet is going with a stock high-quality OEM paper filter, and leaving it alone for a long time. Install an air filter restriction gauge which will let you know when you actually NEED to change the filter. I got well over 100K miles on the same air filter on my 1988 Buick and it was still flowing OK when I just had to change it for peace of mind – no change in performance or economy when the new filter went in.
You can get an air filter restriction gauge for around $40 online and it can be installed in a half hour. Nearly all heavy-trucks and off-highway equipment are equipped with one.
For tires – get a good set of all season performance tires that are good in the dry/wet, then buy a 2nd set of winter tires. Over the summer buy a set factory wheels (as a lot of people buy aftermarket wheels and sell the old ones) and mount the winter tires on them. Before the seasonal snows – switch out the wheels with the winter tires in your garage and then enjoy having a lot more traction in the snow than everyone else who drives on all seasons (you’ll be amazed at how a good set of winter tires handle in the snow over an “all season” tire).
As for a cheap way of adding power…well there’s always nitrous oxide. It gives you a quick jolt of power for a short period at the push of a button. If you have it installed properly and expertly and sized properly for your engine it should not hurt anything. Funny as the F&F crowd ruins the image of this technology…it’s the best bang for the buck power upgrade you can buy.
Nitrous? You can’t be serious. He’s looking to add more low-end torque, not go drag racing. Nitrous is only injected when you are at WOT.
Besides, in my neck of the woods it’s illegal to drive on the street with a nitrous bottle that is hooked-up.
Thanks for the suggestion. In the past I have run winter snows, mostly Blizzaks and some Dunlops. I am hoping to avoid them with the 500 for a couple of reasons. First, you cannot buy steel rims for the 500, I have looked everywhere. Factory rims are extremely costly new or used, if you can find them. I’d be stuck buying a set of aftermarket aluminum wheels or dismounting and remounting on my stock rims every fall and spring. Second, the winter weather in the Hudson Valley fluctuates between extremes. One day you love your snows, but then it warms up or rains and you wish the all seasons were back on. Plus in my current job I generally can work from home on heavy snow days. So, I think my best option is a really good set of all seasons that can handle light snow. If I lived farther upstate I definitely would run snows in the winter.
nova73: What I was suggesting is buying a used set of oem rims for the 500. I’m sure there are sets of used 500 rims on eBay or on Craigslist you can buy cheap as those owners swapped on aftermarket wheels. That would make it easy to swap on / off. I would not put on the winters until the first snows are coming then swap them off after the last snows. These will make the biggest difference in the heavy snow months. The all seasons can go back on even when it does still snow. It takes me 20 mins to swap wheels and that is taking my time. Nice electric impact wrench and a good aluminum jack make it quick work. To store the wheels – I made some 2×4 shelving above my garage door and the wheels aren’t that heavy so lift them up and pop them over top. They stay out of the way and off the floor the entire year (along with a bunch of other crap too).
Mike66Chryslers: I don’t know the laws even in my area but there are those running it. From my experience, being at WOT doesn’t mean you need to wring out the car to the top of its rev range – the system will only activate at WOT and will shut off as soon as the car shifts or the gas is released – regardless of what RPM you are at. Nitrous gives you a boost in torque even when you are low in the rpm band. Done smartly and installed correctly (and used correctly) it can give you brief punches of acceleration where needed and little liability elsewhere. There is no other bang for the buck modification you can do to your car than nitrous. A reflash may help but only a little as I’ve had several normally aspirated cars that have been reflashed and it doesn’t do much to increase power – only helps you flatten the torque curve and make throttle more crisp. Now – if he had a some kind of factory forced induction power plant in the car – this would be an entirely different story.
re: computer re-flash.
Would this work on a Grand Prix with similar effect? My friend said I could do it and it might be a good idea. If so how much does it cost and what kind of a hit/boost could I expect to take it terms of power (an already low-ish 200 — or is this a case of GM underrating cars for insurance purposes?). How much might it cost?
@ tankinbeans ……
Try these guys for your GM 3800 performance needs:
http://www.3800performance.com/
It’ll be a few hundred dollars….IMO, The General’s W-bodies are more generous in terms of transmission shifting and torque management, so I do not know if it’s worth the cost on your ride.
You have some choices to squeeze more power out of your L26 powered Grand Prix (I’m guessing by your 200 HP reference that it is the non-supercharged model).
The Grand Prix has a very large and active tuner following, and a number of companies making performance goodies for it. The engine is quite tuneable, but HP tuners is your only DIY options. As noted 3800performance is a great source. Many places will take your ECM as a core and provide you a programmed one.
The exhuast is somewhat restricted, if you change out the downpipe and get rid of the resonator there is horsepower to be found there.
There are a number of options for cold air intakes. The snorkel for the W-Body Grand Prix resides behind the driver side headlight. On the drag strip the removal of the headlight assembly creates a ram air effect, its good for 2/10 of a second (confirmed). A number of owners have relocated the cold air intake into the fender, down low – deep enough to prevent water ingestion unless you do something really stupid, but located where it can suck in much cooler air, and more of it. There is already a cut out in the sheet metal to allow the work and lots of instructions on the internet for DIY solutions.
The best thing you can do to improve handling is to install a strut tower brace. The W-Body is very flexible and you will notice a huge difference in the stiffening up of the front end. The fenders will happily take 18 X 8 rims with no spacers, and you can put 225/45R18 on the corners. Enough sidewall to not make the ride insanely rough, or worry about bent rims, but gives the Grand Prix the contact patch GM should have provided as an option in the first place. You can find AEs pretty easily for $500ish for all four corners. You will likely need hub centric rings to get all vibration out of the ghost.
Open up the air box, open up the exhaust, get a tune to take advantage of it, you might find 15 HP there – maybe. About 3/10 of a second in the quarter mile. One other trick I did when I dragged raced my Grand Prix. Take off the plastic engine cover, it just traps heat, and cover the cold air intake and the MAF with bags of ice. The cold fools the computers if you push your car through staging (don’t run it) and you get a better mix, faster and more consistent 1/4 mile times.
The L26 abhors, loathes, despises being hot lapped. You can loose 5/10 to 6/10 of a second in a hot lap situation – say go from 15.7X to 16.3X just like that.
Best times I’ve seen for bone stock Gen III L26 Grand Prix was in the low 15.7 range.
I think the General rated the HP accurately – what the 3800 does is bow at the altar of torque. If anything, the 240 lb. feet rating is conservative.
I don’t know if we’re allowed to or not; and apologies to the powers that be, but you can check out PFYC for Grand Prix upgrade goodies.
Not very likely. Airbox mods rarely do anything to the powerband, most applications only suffer from those problems with bigger mass-air meters, bigger throttlebodies, hotter cams, etc.
That’s great. Just last month (before the New vs Used) I bought an ’07 500 SEL – certified used, 78K miles, $9900. Absolutely love the car, though reflashing the computer does sound rather appealing. No tire changes though, it came with a brand new set of Goodyear Assurance ComforTreds and they’re too good to replace.
Seems to me all this power-adding talk is going in the wrong direction. Easiest way to get some more scoot around town is a shorter final drive gear, maybe combined with a taller 6th gear for the highway. IIRC the Ford 6-speed auto is basically the same as GM’s, so maybe there are some mix-and-match gear combinations over there that could work?
I don’t even want to know how many thousands of dollars that shall cost. Everything HP related above is right around $400. Maybe less.
Conti ExtremeContact DWS are the best all season tire i have ever used. And reasonably priced.
+1 I run these as my “winter” tires in the south and they were unstoppable on my Legacy GT during the snow/ice storm we had a couple weeks ago that had everyone in fits.
You go through all the trouble of researching and buying a car that fits your needs and budget, then you want to blow it on dubious “performance” add-ons??
And while were talking about add-ons, you’ll need the 5″diameter fart pipe to gain that last bit of extra uuuuummmph.
In the end there is no such thing as inexpensive and practical ways to gain power-only trade offs.
Save your mod money and trade it in on a ‘Hemi’
BD
I was hinting at that with my external adornment advice. If a car is your daily driver and your funds are limited, modding the car may cost you dearly in the end. Go for the looks, after all, according to “Fernando”, it’s all in “how you look”!
Along the same lines, is anyone seriously suggesting that a car this big and relatively soft riding honestly needs summer performance tires? Even the “high” performance A/S tires will cost him several hundred needlessly spent dollars, and snow performance would likely be worse.
It seems he got a great deal on a solid boulevard cruiser with tolerable mileage. Let’s not pretend that it’s a 535 or even a Maxima.
Summer tires make almost everything better. The Five Hundred’s suspension is tight enough to take advantage of that.
Michelin Pilot Sport all season, Y rated. If they can keep the AMG planted in the snow. they will work on anything.
Beware of Tire Rack’s installers however.
Congrats on the new car! Both this article and your original are very helpful because I’m also trying to shop for something safer to replace my xb. Coming from 100hp, I doubt the 500 could possibly feel slower than my current car. If I actually buy one of the 500/Montego siblings, I’ll probably keep it bone stock. It sounds like you got a great price on a lightly used model too. It’d be awesome if you write up a capsule review for it at some point!
I’ve seen a lot of really good deals posted on the Ford 500 forum recently. People are buying lightly used examples (50-75K) from new car dealerships for around $10K. It’s one of the best deals out there. Have to admit I also like the Fusion/Milan but these command a premium over the 500/Montego. The V-6 500 actually gets slightly better EPA ratings than the Fusion, as well.
“Sensible shoes” an under-rated album by David Lee Roth, as I recall.
FWIW, the K&N hate is fair, but not entirely true. Mine has paid for itself many times over (12 years, I don’t even know how many miles) and if you know how to oil them properly, they work fine and don’t mess with any sensor.
Sajeev,
It could be that different sensors have different tolerences for contamination. Everyone I know that had one has ditched it. Probably ok for a carbureted 4 wheeler, but on a modern car, I would not take the risk.
I have yet to clog a MAF with K&N oil on many a late model domestic and imported ride. This includes a ’96 BMW 750iL, one of the more finicky motors in my limited experience. The K&Ns were the same price as BMW paper replacements. It was a no brainer.
Its a risk worth taking, once you understand how to oil the filter media, let it sit for a few minutes on newspaper, make sure its done dripping (or never drips in the first place) and then install.
I agree about the high performance tires that are good to like 130 mph. No one can go that fast anywhere, inspite of testerone infused bar banter. Especailly in this car. I also wonder why the author chose to buy a notoriously sluggish family hauler and then wants to spend lots of money making it go faster? Makes no sense to me, but whatever.
I’d reflash the ‘puter, skip the air supply mod, get quieter, stickier tires. And probably the winter ones on seperate rims, haha how about small shiny moon hubcaps? That would be cool. To go all out, a set of repro kragers, tires with skinny red stripes and i second the suggestion of renaming it a “Galaxie 500!
This is Rich. Thanks Sajeev and the TTAC crew for all your advice.
I see a lot of comments on the K&N. I have run nothing but K&N air filters on several cars: ’90 Taurus, ’99 Altima, ’02 Ranger, ’08 Escape and ’95 200SX. Never once had a problem with the MAF sensor. My Taurus did have some oil fouling in the intake but it was from the PCV tube. It also is true that the performance improvement is rather slight and felt only at higher revs. Still, every bit counts and this is about the lowest fruit to pick after normal maintenance.
In the past I have run winter snows, mostly Blizzaks and some Dunlops. I am hoping to avoid them with the 500 for a couple of reasons. First, you cannot buy steel rims for the 500, I have looked everywhere. Factory rims are extremely costly new or used, if you can find them. I’d be stuck buying a set of aftermarket aluminum wheels or dismounting and remounting on my stock rims every fall and spring. Second, the winter weather in the Hudson Valley fluctuates between extremes. One day you love your snows, but then it warms up or rains and you wish the all seasons were back on. Plus in my current job I generally can work from home on heavy snow days. So, I think my best option is a really good set of all seasons that can handle light snow.
On my car the air snorkel actually comes out the side. It is rather narrow, perhaps I can just pull it out of the air box to leave a wider hole. I was surprised that the air box does not have a resonator as my Taurus did. This helps explain the intrusive engine noise. I don’t mind it.
The computer re-flash looks like the way to go. SCT has a neat feature that stores your original programming. That way if you don’t like the results you can go back to the original state of tune. They offer a few “stock” programs or you can have a dealer custom tune for you.
On my third tankful, the readout is 22.9 mpg. It’s about 1/2 MPG optimistic. Not to bad for such a large car.
I can attest to the wheel replacement costs. One of my friends has a 500, he pranged a wheel in the first snow of the season. $400 later, he had a shiny new factory replacement wheel on his car. My next door neighbor did something similar, after searching for a replacement, he just gave up and bought a nice set of aftermarket wheels for his.
Junkyard 4th gen Taurus wheels FTW.
@Sajeev: To be fair, my neighbor isn’t much for prowling the boneyards. I think he went with the path of least resistance, at least when you’re at Discount Tire and they tell you they can’t find a wheel (Or at least one for as little as he wanted to spend, I’m sure).
OTOH, the junkyards around here suck. They’re either thinking that all of those parts are made out of 24K gold, or they scrap them too quickly.
So has anyone dynoed a car with K&Ns without making any other change to the car?
Why would ALL car manufacturers purposely fit overly restrictive air filters?
I have…it netted all of 4hp to the wheels. After much digging on K&N’s site a few years ago, they admitted that 4hp was probably all you’ll get from filter alone.
Not bad considering how easy this is, but kinda irrelevant since that’s not the reason why you switch to K&N in the first place.
The manufacturers are more interested in protecting the engine from dust intrusion even if it sacrifices a few HP. K&N doesn’t have to worry about that since I’m sure somewhere in their documentation is says “for off-road use only” or something to that effect.
The website says they are 50-state legal. I know their high-flow intake kits (sometimes beneficial, sometimes not) are even CARB-approved.
Quite frankly, I’m surprised there’s still so much anger/misunderstanding about these filters. They’ve been around for such a long time!
Nice car BUT well done just in time for the next oil spike.
If you waited for summer you would have got it cheaper…
For the cost of the upgrades added to what was paid for the ’07, one could have bought an ’08 Taurus (or Sable) with some extra oomph.
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=294901885&dealer_id=780244&car_year=2008&doors=&systime=&model=TAURUS&search_lang=en&start_year=2008&keywordsrep=&keywordsfyc=&highlightFirstMakeModel=&search_type=both&distance=0&min_price=&drive=&rdm=1298520692590&marketZipError=false&advanced=y&fuel=&keywords_display=&sownerid=1362901&lastBeginningStartYear=1981&end_year=2008&showZipError=y&make2=&certified=&engine=&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&body_code=0&transmission=&default_sort=newsortbyprice_DESC&max_mileage=30000&address=28105&color=&sort_type=priceDESC&max_price=15000&awsp=false&make=FORD&seller_type=b&num_records=25&cardist=2108&standard=false
Limp steering, pillowy suspension with a ride that still isn’t that impressive. Overall, Five Hundred was a much, much better car.
You made a good buy. But mods? I would do nothing. First, you bought a 500… trying to turn it into something it isn’t is a fools errand, and no one will every pay you a dime for anything you add to it. Better to learn to live with your car, and love it for what it is. With any luck you will get +200K mostly trouble-free miles out of it, and remember it as one of your smartest, most practical purchases.
Yup, just as I said above! Totally agree! I adorned my ’04 Impala as shown – added “V6” badging to the front fenders, added custom-made “mirror chrome” script to the front doors, switched “Impala” on the trunk lid to the right side and added “Chevrolet” badging to the left side of the trunk lid. I got the badging from Chevy as used on 97-99 Cavaliers. Fits perfect. Just enough to make my car just a bit different from the others and I take pride in that and being merely a “cruiser”, not a Mr. Baruth-like “driver”.
“I take pride in that and being merely a “cruiser”, not a Mr. Baruth-like “driver”.
Exactly, I used to tear ass round like him. I’m nearly 40 now and now-days, more than anything, good driving means not spilling the coffee.