brucelinc

I ran my 3.0 Continental last night in terrible muggy air - over 3000 DA. Timeslips are attached. I am car 631. Car 646 was a 455 HP Camaro that had traction issues. The driver didn't get all out of it that it was capable of either. Car 662 was a 392 Hemi Challenger scat pack with slicks. He had awesome traction but if he had been running stock tires, I could have run with him. I did find what could be a flaw with the Continental, though. If I launched the car over 1500 RPM, I would get nasty wheel hop. I am not sure if it was due to track prep or just the soft suspension of the Continental. You guys with Z's have a bit stiffer suspension so you may not have that issue.

Thanks for the follow-up and I am glad you got it to an acceptable level. Lower profile tires are used on most cars today, including luxury models. While inherently a bit firmer than the older style tires, there should never be vibration. Large wheels equipped with pressure sensors may be more difficult to balance. Road force balancing and indexing the tires to the wheels is almost a necessity it seems.

I look forward to hearing how it does. Weather conditions are not good this time of year. I am running again this week in spite of the heat and humidity. My Conti weighs 4600 pounds but I am hoping for high 12s.

Airflow, any plans to run your Z down the quarter mile to see what it will do? I would love to see someone with a tuned Z do it. I ran a 13.0 with my Continental in about the worst conditions imaginable. That was with a very mild tune. We have tweaked on it a bit more since then. It ran 13.56 when stock. Livernois has no tune for the Conti so I am working with someone else. It is too bad Livernois doesn't get more 3.0 MKZs in their shop so they can refine their tune a bit more. That was a huge advantage with the 3.5 ecoboost. They have continually refined their tunes for it.

I have only experienced this one time - with the loaner last week. I drove it over the exact same roads where I have driven other MKZs as well as many other vehicles. The loaner I had suffered from significantly more vibration than the others. I suspect a tire defect although I was unable to pinpoint whether it was front or back. The steering wheel had vibration but so did the seats. No way would it meet Lincoln's or anyone else's specifications! You really should drive another Z over the same roads so you can compare them. That is the only way you will really know if yours has an issue.

I don't really have a dog in this fight since I don't own an MKZ but my preference would be that the Z grill be the 2017 version but laid back at a sportier and more aerodynamic slant. I like the 2017 version but I don't think it goes well with the rear of the Z. The front is too formal in my opinion. It looks OK on the Continental and upcoming Navigator since those models are rather formal looking, anyway.

I am sure it is not a normal characteristic of the MKZ. Please keep us posted.

I am interested in the outcome of this. Prior to purchasing my Continental, I test drove a couple of MKZs and neither exhibited the vibration you are speaking of. However, I currently have a 2017 MKZ loaner from my dealer while my Continental is getting some warranty work. The Z that I have has a significant vibration at freeway speeds. The vibration is there whether in Comfort, Normal or Sport modes. The one I have is a 2.0 FWD model.

So if I understand correctly, 2.2 still displays the artist name and song title correctly but the album art is incorrect?

Only got in one run due to a thunderstorm that shut us down. Ran a 13.56 @ 103. It was the first time I had this car at the strip so I launched it very gently. I am going back on Wednesday this week and really get after it. The car is 100% stock. No tunes available for it. :( Don't want to hijack Brentonm's thread. I am very impressed with how his Z sounded on the road course.

Love it! Seeing an MKZ on a road course is even more unusual than seeing my Continental at a drag strip!!

Enjoy it Zalvern. I am beginning to see why you caught some flack in the other forums and chose to no longer participate there. :) By the way, and I mean this constructively, when we speak with "Livernois," we should be aware of exactly who you are speaking with, their reputation and their motives. Like you, I am a fan and customer. However, like many companies, not all of their team members know what they are talking about and not all will provide the same answer to an identical question. If you are satisfied with your enhancements, far be it from me to challenge them.

Livernois has made it abundantly clear that this device does not improve WOT acceleration or quarter mile times. All it does is open the throttle butterfly further with less movement of the accelerator pedal. This sort of thing will make the car feel more responsive with less throttle input. No one should think that this device is a substitute for a performance tune.

Apparently not. If you read the marketing description of both, the wording is the same. These things make the throttle more sensitive or "jumpy" but do nothing for WOT performance. I prefer a smoother more progressive throttle mapping.

I look forward to your feedback on this.

It seems to me that the grill shutters would be a drawback. I wish they were completely open at WOT.

Just curious....why the battery charging? I realize it gets cold in your part of the world but does the car sit for long periods of time?

I have the base Revel (not the Ultima) in my Continental and I am a little disappointed in it, too. I find it lacking in bass and I think it sounds a bit "tinny" compared with the THX system in my old MKS. The music source does make a difference. Music that I have on a flashdrive is better than Sirius. I also find the adjustments to be lacking. For me, sound level 6 is not quite loud enough but 7 is too much. Same with the speed compensated volume. Level 1 is not enough but level 2 is too much. Apparently the volumes are different between the Continental and the MKZ. I have never had the volume over 9. Even that is almost painfully loud.

Wow...Never heard of this. I haven't even heard the term "chip" used in years to describe a performance upgrade. I am highly skeptical but I wish someone would try it and report back! EDIT: I just did a google search of this company. I wouldn't touch them with a 10 foot pole.

What are the issues with K & N? The only cases of oil contamination that I know of are due to owners OVER oiling them.

I am still waiting on Livernois. They need to actually get a Continental in the shop to build the tune. They told me that they could borrow one from a local dealer but that hasn't happened yet. In the meantime, they have offered to provide me with a transmission tune. They can create that based on all of their experience with the 6F55 transmission. I don't necessarily want that without the engine tune as well. I suggested that if they couldn't get a Conti in their shop from a local source, I could probably take mine to them in late March or April. For whatever reason, they didn't even respond to that suggestion. I have also reached out to SCT about tuning support but they do not have anything yet. I will be very disappointed if I can't get a tune from someone before the tracks open in May.

The K & N part number is 33-5000. Livernois has a tune: http://www.livernoismotorsports.com/product/LPP631146

I don't know about a complete cold air intake system but there is K & N drop in that fits. AFE makes one, too. Livernois has a tune for the MKZ 3.0 but I don't think SCT supports that engine yet. I have been in touch with several tuners about a tune for my Continental. Congratulations on your upcoming MKZ. That 3.0 engine is a jewel!

I am happy to report that with additional miles and the adaptive learning that is normal in the 6F55 transmission, my car is shifting much better now than when it had so few miles on it. The torque management is still there, of course, but it no longer feels like an invisible hand is shutting off the engine between shifts. It now shifts as quickly and firmly as my MKS did when it was stock. Livernois is working on a tune for me and I will be anxious to see how that improves things even further. I use an Aeroforce gauge to monitor several engine parameters and it has also proven to be very accurate at measuring 0-60 and quarter mile performance. I timed my 3.0 Continental 0-60 yesterday and got 4.86 seconds. That is a bit quicker than my MKS was when it was stock. Hopefully, when I get the Livernois tune and summer fuel, I will see a 4 second flat time. I will be going to the track in May and I would really like to see times similar to my tuned MKS - in the mid-high 12s.