Anyone know the weight split of our cars?

[contrapaul]

I have a 99 v6 w/sport package, but I can't find this info anywhere, so anything would help.

[DutchCat]

Maybe this will answer your question: http://www.newcartestdrive.com/review-drive.cfm?Vehicle=2000_Mercury_Cougar&ReviewID=683

[ND4SPD]

weird.... i could have sworn the cougar was more front-end heavy.

[B3NN3TT]

It is; that article is wrong.

[B3NN3TT]

This article says it's 64% front-heavy. (http://www.theautochannel.com/vehicles/new/reviews/1999/solo9934.html) This one alsy says 50/50, (http://www.automallusa.net/1999/mercury/cougar/reviews.html) but it sounds like this is the source the earlier one was quoting from.

[ND4SPD]

yeah, thats MUCH more like it... I thought I was going crazy...........MORE so :tongue:

[contrapaul]

thanks, all I could find was the 50/50 split, and that was obviously wrong. 64% sounds more like it, unfortunately.

[B3NN3TT]

thanks, all I could find was the 50/50 split, and that was obviously wrong. 64% sounds more like it, unfortunately.

Yeah; that's why it likes to get all tail-happy on a quick cornering maneuver. It's actually kinda fun... :)

[cougarblack]

Hells yea!!

[contrapaul]

that's good, but my brothers 300zx with a 51/49 also likes to get "happy tail" in corners, or parking lots, heck, anywhere he wants it too. Not fair

[wanderingmind]

That was a great review it makes me happy to own a Cougar (even though I already love the Cougar.)

[contrapaul]

yeah, I know, the kind that you read and say "man, I'd love that car", then you say, "I do have that car!"

[cougarblack]

We have passive rear wheel steering. I saw that somewhere else before in a different review.

[seven]

I work at a ford dealership and we have a machine that tests alignment and brakes..


It also does weight on each wheel.. center of gravity.. etc.. etc.. badass machine.. if I can remember Ill run it on the machine and print out the results.

[azbobbybooshay10]

Yes, Cougar's do get tail-happy when pushed hard. I present exhibit A!

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b15/azbobbybooshay10/Nov%2026th%20SCCA%20Autocross/Autocross7.jpg

Wheeeeee!

[Vyk]

that's good, but my brothers 300zx with a 51/49 also likes to get "happy tail" in corners, or parking lots, heck, anywhere he wants it too. Not fair
There's a big difference between sliding a FWD car and sliding a RWD car. You can slide the back end around on almost any RWD car (barring maybe something absurdly underpowered). Most stock FWD cars are very tight at their limits. On our Cougars, it's not that hard to bring the back end around compared to most other FWD cars. Compared to my T-Bird, though...

yeah, I know, the kind that you read and say "man, I'd love that car", then you say, "I do have that car!"
I keep walking outside, thinking, "Wow, that's a pretty car... Oh, wait, that's mine!"

[contrapaul]

I have kicked the back end out, especially at autox, I just meant that at any given light, give it some excess gas and flick the wheel and you my friend, have just powerslid through and intersection.

Still proud of the coug, moreso when she gets her rear strut bar and CAI

[Alkatraz]

i would more times than any the front will dig before the back will break loose, but i will say on ocasion the back will come loose and it is a thing of beauty

[EricF]

Yes, Cougar's do get tail-happy when pushed hard. I present exhibit A!
/SNIP IMAGE/
Wheeeeee!

No cougars get tail happy when the driver goes to hot into a corner and brakes too late mid turn. (or has improperly set up suspension and/or tires)
Cougars get loose in the rear, with DRIVER ERROR(or a combination of factors) but mostly DRIVER ERROR
Yes you can force it, but thats different.
http://www.snowmobilefanatics.com/gallery/_Images/Member%20Images/Miscellaneous/2007589440_7452.jpg

[J-Man]

:rofl: Nice pano Eric.

[EricF]

Hehe, thanks...
Driver error for sure, cold tires, dirty lot... = lots of smiles.. especially from the guys in front of me... :)

[contrapaul]

haha, very nice pics. I'll bet you were more mad at yourself than anything, not celebrating in the car. Auto-x is nice

[BigBalledOX]

No cougars get tail happy when the driver goes to hot into a corner and brakes too late mid turn.

Yes, as I believe Mario Andretti once said . . . you can go in to a corner hot, or you can come out of a corner hot, but you can't do both.

[contrapaul]

Yes, as I believe Mario Andretti once said . . . you can go in to a corner hot, or you can come out of a corner hot, but you can't do both.


Haha, I learned that at auto-x too.

[jaged]

the back end only slid out on me once this weekend, accidentally that is. there was a long sweeper that it worked out rather well on and i wish it had done it more

[contrapaul]

I hope I learn how to get it to do that more- I'm going to auto-x school this month

[99mcougar]

auto-x school?? sounds fun dude, yeah I bought some new tires up front last summer and had some old worn down tires up front wow I could drive that thing like a rwd car. very fun, but like everyone says not to quickest way around a corner.

[contrapaul]

that will be my set up this summer, worn out ecsta supras in the rear, new firehawks in the front. I'm kind of scared, I get like 50 runs at auto-x school, and my Falkens took a beating last time with just 5!. Taking them off after the event and saving them til winter, I think. I could use a tire sponsorship... bad:biggrin:

[Alkatraz]

I could use a tire sponsorship... bad:biggrin:


we all could :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[azbobbybooshay10]

For the record, when I ran that Auto-X that my pic was taken at, I was rocking the original suspension that was attached to the car in April 1999, over 140,000 miles ago. :rofl: I'm hoping to compete in an event this coming Sunday with my new suspension and see how much different it feels (and looks).

[contrapaul]

stock FTW

[azbobbybooshay10]

Yeah, alot of my problem is driver error, too. I've developed this nasty habit from 14 years of kart racing to "trail brake" to help me around corners (slightly using the brakes while turning the corner to help the car 'rotate' around the apex). I've only done one auto-x, so its something that I'm gonna have to break myself from doing. It works great in karting, not so great in a full-sized car (especially a FWD one).

[sonza68]

Trail braking has its place, but it is easy to do it wrong and make things worse.

I can't count how many times I've spun the Cougar and there have been countless more where I've been able to catch the back end when it started coming out. Neither is what you would call fast. A stiff rear swaybar helps, so does overinflated rear tires and, of course, driving too aggressively doesn't exactly help the back end stay in line either.

[jaged]

i have 2 of the 3 tom. i was down to 23 lbs in the back tires. I started at 28 and it was waaaaay too much.

and for the record im on Kuhmo v710 (autox slicks) roush rear sway, konis, GC's, full cage

[sonza68]

For me, around 35 is good for the rear with 40-41 up front.

V710s on stock wheels, Aussie rear bar, an additional -0.5° camber up front, 0° toe front and rear, and 9/7 D2s set in the middle on the rear and 2/3 stiffness on the front.

[Vyk]

40 pounds? Geez, that seems insanely high...

[sonza68]

I run that for autocross. I'm closer to 36-37 for the street.

[contrapaul]

40 pounds? Geez, that seems insanely high...

For normal driving, but like jaged said, you want that for Auto-x, helps with handling. (only the front that is, if you want to lose the back end on corners, go ahead and put the rear at 42-45, good luck with that :rolleyes: )

[jaged]

sonza is a very smooth driver and knows what hes doing. he got me into it. Im a lot more agressive

[contrapaul]

out of curiosity, how often do you burn a set of tires in auto-x? I hope I learn how not to at the school, cause I caused some serious damage to my tires last time. (took off like 5k miles in 5 60 sec runs, it is way too much fun sliding)

[Goldie]

moving to the autox section since this thread seems to have gone that direction ;)

[contrapaul]

ok, that works

[J-Man]

My first time will be this weekend and I am stuck running on my 18's, I have a feeling this is going to suck.

[contrapaul]

depends more on your tires, what are you running? and a tip- start slow, then get faster, and the last run of the day should be you fastest- or else you end up like me, nearly ripping my tires to shreds by 3rd run, putting in the fastest then, and taking it slow the afternoon, no fun at all! :(

You will come away a slower driver, because you realize that street driving has no thrill whatsoever compared to track of any kind, it is much more challenging and taxing.

[J-Man]

Kumho 711, 225/40/18. Stickier than the stockers but not by much.

[contrapaul]

I never had stockers, they were firehawks, right? I have one sitting around, and I need another for a full set of summer tires. Were those any good?

[J-Man]

Tires on the stock wheels are bfgoodrich traction t/a's for the front and goodyear eagles out back so I dunno, lol

[sonza68]

Stock, they came with either the Firestone Firehawk something or other (don't know the exact model) or the BF Goodrich Comp TA VR4.

[Vyk]

Firestone Firehawk GTA 02s are the OEM 215/50VR16 from 2001. (Or at least, one of the OEM tires.) I put new ones on about 20,000 miles ago, and so far I'm not a huge fan. I think they're less grippy on dry pavement than my Mystique's Yoko Avid H4s 195/65HR14s (or my 'Bird's Avid T4 205/70TR14s, for that matter), and we won't even discuss snow or gravel performance. I was in a rush to get tires (I was doing a lot of long-distance driving at the time, and the tires on the car when I bought it were almost bald), and they were easy to find and OEM. On the other hand, that's an uncommon size, so you'd be better looking for a more common size with similar diameter. I think I've seen Avid V4ses available in around the right size, so that's probably what I'd get if I were buying now.

[contrapaul]

I have one firehawk from the previous owner, and I was going to mix two ecsta supras with one more firehawk for a cheap set- only temporarily, and if I destroy my Falkens at auto-x school (50 runs, yikes!)

[sonza68]

Which Falkens?

[contrapaul]

Which Falkens?

ZIEX Ze-329 205/55/R16 V

These have the same tread as 512s, but are bidirectional. They looked good for winter/rain, when I bought them last october, but they squeal way to easily...

[EricF]

I wouldn't run the ZIEX Ze-329 autocrossing
the tire has really soft sidewalls, its an All Season tire.
The rubber is ok but they would more than likely get
trashed(no matter how much air you put in them)

I just put a set of these on my coug(good price)
but I wouldn't push them too hard.. nice tire
but not made to be super aggressive

[contrapaul]

yeah, I learned that after 3 runs. They looked like they had gone 5000 miles in 5 minutes. They recovered though, and ride well, just not as grippy as my last set, or as sleek looking. I ran 45 in front 35 in back, but I think I'll bump it to 47 and 37-40 for the auto-x school. I don't plan on running them too hard at the school, just learning alot. I think I'll pick up a set of Kumho MXs or ASXs, maybe Dunlop Direzzas. I don't know, I may just forget about it- I won't be seriously competing until next season anyway

[jaged]

if you are going to autox for a long while youd be better off getting an extra set of rims and some V710's. competive or not it will be worth it in the end since itll save your street tires. and if you treat them well you can get 2 seasons out of the slicks easy. Ive started my 3rd season on 2 of my slicks, ill kill them at the evo school, but thats not till july

[contrapaul]

if you are going to autox for a long while youd be better off getting an extra set of rims and some V710's. competive or not it will be worth it in the end since itll save your street tires. and if you treat them well you can get 2 seasons out of the slicks easy. Ive started my 3rd season on 2 of my slicks, ill kill them at the evo school, but thats not till july

That's what I'm planning to do, I would just use my stock rims as auto-x wheels, and mount something like kumhos or falken azenis on them, and buy new rims and tires for daily life. I'm not competing until next year though, (even though its may I've got a busy schedule and can't hit more than 2 or three more this year). I'll get my stuff next spring or winter.

[kemartin57]

that's good, but my brothers 300zx with a 51/49 also likes to get "happy tail" in corners, or parking lots, heck, anywhere he wants it too. Not fair

Ummm, I am guessing that the 300ZX has something that a Cougar doesn't. It would explain why the two cars handle differently. See, the 300ZX has something called "HorsePower" and "Rear Wheel Drive". I know it's odd, but a little 3.0 300ZX has about 220 - 600 HP. Cougar's don't deal with that "huge" number in a stock form, yet that is what a 300ZX "starts" with.

"Happy Tail" with a Cougar??? Well, I guess a hand brake might do it.....

[jaged]

no, i do it all the time and i never touch the e brake. and i do it with both the atx and the 3L. so :gtfo:

[Goldie]

300ZX has... 600 HP
ummm... what?

[sonza68]

Obviously, not stock at 600 hp.

[BigBalledOX]

Obviously, not stock at 600 hp.

I know it's odd, but a little 3.0 300ZX has about 220 - 600 HP. Cougar's don't deal with that "huge" number in a stock form, yet that is what a 300ZX "starts" with.


'Twould appear thats what is being implied with here Mr. Sonza.

[Goldie]

which is why I pointed it out as bs

[tnkgurl]

I love resurrected threads. :rofl:

I think it's been pretty well established by many of us, myself included, that the Cougar indeed can have a happy tail whether on purpose or a "happy accident". :rofl:

Let's try to keep this related to autocross and not turn it into a car slam fest please. :)

[Vyk]

Ummm, I am guessing that the 300ZX has something that a Cougar doesn't. It would explain why the two cars handle differently. See, the 300ZX has something called "HorsePower" and "Rear Wheel Drive".

Weird, I seem to remember somebody saying almost the same thing 41 posts earlier. :biggrin: Also, I could be mistaken, but I think torque is more important than horsepower for breaking the rear end free with RWD. (I'm just splitting hairs there, though.)

I know it's odd, but a little 3.0 300ZX has about 220 - 600 HP. Cougar's don't deal with that "huge" number in a stock form, yet that is what a 300ZX "starts" with.

I have to assume that kemartin57 was typing with the number pad and hit "6" instead of "3".

"Happy Tail" with a Cougar??? Well, I guess a hand brake might do it.....
I'm with Jaged here. For a FWD car, the Cougar and it's CDW27 cousins can kick the back end out surprisingly easily (but not unpredictably). About the only time I used the handbrake on the Mystique was during winter where I was (stupidly, and with no good excuse) running the more-worn tires on the front and needed to make >90-degree turns in snow. Generally, I find that a quick stab of the brakes is all it needs.

edit: Agreed, tnkgurl, on all points. :)

[EternalOne]

About the only time I used the handbrake on the Mystique was during winter where I was (stupidly, and with no good excuse) running the more-worn tires on the front and needed to make >90-degree turns in snow.

I had my car out in the snow and ice on the 19's a few times -- the ebrake is your friend when turning the steering wheel does nothing. :D

E1

[Drewmanfu0]

I had my car out in the snow and ice on the 19's a few times -- the ebrake is your friend when turning the steering wheel does nothing. :D

E1

That is the only way to drive a FWD car in the winter. One hand on the wheel one on the handbrake.

[sonza68]

I had my car out in the snow and ice on the 19's a few times -- the ebrake is your friend when turning the steering wheel does nothing. :D

E1

A quick stab on the brake pedal can work as well. I've never needed to use the ebrake to initiate rotation.

[jaged]

spoken like a true rocket scientist. most normal folk would say, I hit the break and yank on the wheel and the arse end comes around, but not tom, hes too smart for that

[Terec]

mmm rotation