Cougar to Eibach

[REDDYZ]

Its been a while I own a 2000 Cougar Eibach (Manual). 116000km on odo, with still old sparkies, every time I drive.. its more exciting. When am on road I always stick to the speed limits and keep my self cool. But whenever I drive my Cougar it just drives me crazy... Its hard to be in control as it just wants to fly. It tempts you to push it. As you revv it.. it wants to rev more. I have driven one of my mate's normal Cougar and felt like am driving a normal front wheel drive(never got a chance to look under bonnet though). But,driving Eibach version is a total different experience, the handling is awesome. To my knowledge its just the suspension and the wheels that keep Eibach aside in terms of handling. And, the body kit which includes bonnet scoop, front and rear spoiler and side skirts in terms of appearance. Performance wise normal cougar engine speed is electronically limited by engine management, but not the Eibach versions. However, right from the revving sound to the way it accelerate and handles is totally different. As far I know both cougars share the same engine. Eibach is fitted with Eibach suspension which infact is Saachs suspension custom tuned by Eibach pro racing division. All Cougars have sweet revving chain driven V6 engines runs on fully synthetic 5W-30 engine oil with dual stage induction system, means two different intake manifolds per cylinder. These engines are very reliable. Same engines are used in some AWD Jaguars. Its just the engine size and intake manifold that is different. My cougar has 116000km on odo and doesnt burn a drop of oil. 5 speed gear box is the perfect match for these engines. The gear ratio is excellent. You will never search for gears no matter what speed you are on. You can hit topgear under 45km/hr and the engine feels like you are driving at 60km/hr, all the credit goes to the dual stage induction system. You can push this gear box to 7500 rpm in second gear with out any dramas. The rear suspension is designed in such a way that it works as passive four wheel steering. Thats why you hear lot of cougar owners talking about better handling. So, for those who own normal cougars, here are mods to get most out of them with out spending much and still keeping the car to the factory standards.

STRUTS- I bought Eibach struts (both springs and shocks) for $750 online from Eibach store. These are the original struts that are fitted in Eibach versions. I had fitted them today and I felt like am driving a new car again. When you change the rear struts, lube the top bushing with high temperature grease which helps passive four wheel steer work better.

WHEELS- Upgrade to 17" low profile wheels with a decent performance tyres.

EXHAUST-My car has Australian made super cat mufflers. From factory you only get one muffler with 2 outlets. I have put twin mufflers one on each side with 4 outlets. Two on each mufflers. These mufflers sound awsome and still roadworthy. If possible I will upload a vid with the sound. You can check the exhaust in one of the pics in my gallery.

These things will turn a normal cougar to an Eibach. I mean handling wise. If you can get hold of the body kit which includes front and rear spoiler, side skirts and bonnet scoop then you are driving an Eibach Cougar. Check my gallery to see the difference between the normal cougar and Eibach. I have uploaded couple of pics of my Cougar in my gallery. Will upload more tomorrow as the limit of upload is 2 per day.

If you have any issues or questions, feel free to share.

cheers

Yogi

[FumDuk]

nice colour mate !

[thearrow]

Good to see another happy convert.

Post some pics so that we can check out your ride.

[Dshibi]

Welcome to the club and thanks for the write up. I'm not sure the Eibach struts will fit an 01 model though as the rears were changed with the facelift.

Still, there's no question the Cougar's a great car to drive and be seen in regardless of the model

Dan

[thearrow]

Yoga if you want to know how well an Eibach Cougar handles read my thread "My Brush with Death" and it will confirm everything for you.

[REDDYZ]

Guys, mine is not a conversion, its original Eibach Cougar. The valves in the rear struts were worn and leaking. So I bought the same set from Eibach coz I wanted to keep everything original in the car. While I was searching for the original struts, I found few other things that can convert a normal Cougar to Eibach and thats why I have posted the conversion tips. Am pretty sure that Eibach struts suit from 99 till 2002 models. You can email eibach Australia team to confirm this. I bought both springs and shockies. So, I now have old set of springs spare which are in good condition. If anyone interested, let me know. Am happy to sell them for cheap. They are original factory fitted Eibach springs. The car will be lowered when you fit them on a normal cougar, because from factory the Eibach Cougars are lowered. The spoiler on Eibach cougar is not just big, it is heavy too... very heavy. I think they designed it to balance the weight of the car front to rear.
If someone is gonna upgrade the suspension from normal to stiffer or sports, try to increase the weight at the back of the car to suit the upgrade. Otherwise, the upgrade result will be disappointed.
I have posted some pics in my gallery. I dont know how to post pics in this thread. Can someone help?