Lincoln Town Car 4.6Ltr horsepower

jimmcaw

I have a 97 towncar.. I was told that there were three versions of the 4.6. the exec has 190hp.. the signature has 220hp and the cartier 239hp.
Does ANYONE know what the differance is between the three? I have been told it is a chip in the computer? I need more horsepower, Please help!

euphonium

In more recent years the 239hp engine has been available when ordering the "Handling Package" option which includes a dual exhaust, firmer stabilizer bars, larger tires, higher rear end ratio, and firmer shocks.

Without knowing how many miles are on your TC, but guessing over 100,000, you might consider new plugs, plug wires, Mass Air Sensor, air & gas filters, dual exhaust, catalytic converters, and 35 lbs of air in each tire.

What's in your trunk? Unload what you don't need in there.

I share your opinion of needing more horsepower, but installing an 07 Mustang 4.6 in a 10 year old car is not in the cards.

nwraaa

You can replace the standard camshafts in the engine with camshafts that will increase the horsepower of the engine. These camshafts don't require any other modifications to the car. Go to Google, type in camshafts, click on search and a number of camshaft manufactures will appear. Follow the instructions for selecting the cams for your car. If you have any questions about the camshafts call the manufacturer.

euphonium

After installing a Crower "performance" cam. No improvement was evident. After speaking with Crower, we were advised the problem was the on board computer would not allow their cam to do it's grind. :sick:

Crower said we should have contacted them first, but they believe their cam was better than the original.

This all involved an 82 Town Car with the 302 in 1989.

stgcret1

First let me say I have owned 11 Lincolns with 2 of them 1997's. I also sold Lincolns for 6 years. Here is the scoop; The Executive and base Signature came with 190 HP. There was a special Siggie called the "Touring Edition". It was about a $5000 option and if you got the TE then you could get the High Chrome Wheels (very cool)fot $350. The Touring Edition also came with the JBL Stereo and a 10 CD magazine in the trunk.

The "Touring Edition and the Cartier both had 220 HP. That was possible because of the "dual exhaust" and nothing else. It also came with 16" wheels vice 15". Also came with a Handling Package (nicer suspension and Traction Control. I'm afraid that from 1990 through 1997 the Lincoln never was blessed with more than the 220 hp. A chip was available off-market that produced another 30 HP but I never fooled with it.

I have owned a 1968 Continental (suicide doors), 1 1975 MK-IV Lipstick Edition, a 1979 Continental, a 1984 Cartier, a 1986 Town, 2 1987 Towns, 2 1997 Siggies, a 2005 Siggie and presently a 2005 Siggie Limited ( just got my wheel lips today and will install them tomorrow.

Hope this answered your questions. Paul

euphonium

Now we know why Wixom has a street named after you.

eddie35

I have a 96 Signature lincoln Town car. The only major problem that I have is that some time the car will not start in the morning the, fly wheel,starter, will turn,but it will not run, try it later on I will have no problem(about 4hrs later). the car came with a factory alarm

dezso3

Generally, as an engine gets bigger, its horsepower increases. Horsepower doesn't just depend on the size of the engine, but also whether it is turbocharged or supercharged. But are these the only things that horsepower depends on, or are there more variables? For example, the Lincoln Town Car has a 4.6 Liter V8, but it only has 239 horsepower, whereas the Lexus LS 460 also has a 4.6 Liter V8, but has 380 horsepower. The Toyota Camry XLE also has a regular 3.5 Liter V6, and has 268 horsepower, which is still more powerful than the Lincoln Town Car. The Chevy Impala also has a 3.5 Liter V6, but only has 207 horsepower. The Subaru Impreza WRX STi has a 2.5 Liter turbocharged engine with 305 horsepower, which is more powerful than an engine that is almost twice as large, the 4.6 Liter V8. So what exactly accounts for the huge differences in horsepower between engines of the same size that are NOT turbocharged?

karg

I don't have the answer on the question posed above - but I am pretty sure that the equation of TORQUE is much more important in comparing the overall power provided by the Town Car's V8 - compared to the Camry's V6. I'm not sure what those numbers are either, but I would assume that the Town Car V8 is able to churn out a lot more torque - which is what really matters with a large car. Add 6 people and a trunk full of luggage and see what car performs better...

My 2000 Lincoln LS had 215 HP - but the low-end torque was pretty low - when it comes time to ask for it to move off of the line while loaded down - it doesn't do that well.

Horsepower is only one part of the overall equation.

svtclub

theres 99 LTC i was thinking about buying it looks good rides no obvius problems but it has 200k on the miles is it worth the risk at 1500 dollars

ronsaw

Don't try to hot rod a Town Car. The reason the HP is low is because it was designed as a mild, long-lasting, old style engine. Any engine can produce higher HP with cam changes and cylinder head work, and of course, supercharging or turbocharging. This really isn't the platform, though. My 06 TC has 239 HP and while it is adequate, it is not spirited. In a naturally aspirated state, a low compression 4.6l engine is not much. With low displacement, the torque is limited, and low compression and engine speed limits HP. These engines, however, last a long time if treated well. A TC is about just rolling, comfortably, and not worrying about 0-60 or track times.

zandor

jimmcaw said:

I have a 97 towncar.. I was told that there were three versions of the 4.6. the exec has 190hp.. the signature has 220hp and the cartier 239hp.
Does ANYONE know what the differance is between the three? I have been told it is a chip in the computer? I need more horsepower, Please help!

There are a few more versions of the 4.6. The 32V DOHC 4.6L is the "nicest" version. It was used in the Lincoln Continental, Lincoln Mark VIII, Lincoln Aviator, Mercury Marauder, and SVT Mustang. 275hp in the Continental is the low end for it. There was also a more performance tuned SOHC version used in the Mustang GT. IIRC those were around 260hp. Ford also used SOHC 4.6s in F-150s and SUVs. Those are probably the most common version. I'm not sure if or how the F-150 engines differ from the ones used in a Town Car, but their output specs are much closer to each other than to the DOHC or Mustang engines.

bobbybutta

horsepower seems to lean toward how fast the engine turns....small engines can turn fast.but torque is the base power of an engine...at certain rpms, the engine's torque seems to dominate the power, more than the horsepower of the engine...lincoln towncars have always been built for good torque and smooth ride..not a hotrodded speedster. engine companies detune good v8 engines so u can put 160,000 220,000 miles etec...on them...high hp engines wont normally last as long as detuned v8's with good torque. the 4.6ltr ford engine, I imagine couldturn out 400 plus horsepower with intake,cam,lifters,cylinder heads etc....(or with lower compression pistons with super charger or turbo charger....but im 62 years old now...200 plus hp is basically enough for me...id like to have 280-320 hp, but 220 i can live with---265,270,285 lpb ft torque is good....if u want to speed up ur car, cheaply, first thing----swap 3;73 rear gears, cold air induction, catback exhaust or dual exhasust...ur lincoln will be one and half second faster on 1/4 mile....i did that to a 97 base v6 firebird....turned a 16.8 second 1/4 mile car into 14.8 second car with gears/cold air/catback exhaust.

FieroFrank

If you really want to make your tc faster and don't want to spend literally anything to make that happen there is a better way: literally strip the car down to nothing. Remove rear seats full interior, headliner, everything trunk liner included. Leave enough to sit down and buckle in and that's it. You'll strip hella weight off it and it'll be faster. Not the point of the car really but to each their own

The_Buzzin

ronsaw said:

Don't try to hot rod a Town Car. The reason the HP is low is because it was designed as a mild, long-lasting, old style engine. Any engine can produce higher HP with cam changes and cylinder head work, and of course, supercharging or turbocharging. This really isn't the platform, though. My 06 TC has 239 HP and while it is adequate, it is not spirited. In a naturally aspirated state, a low compression 4.6l engine is not much. With low displacement, the torque is limited, and low compression and engine speed limits HP. These engines, however, last a long time if treated well. A TC is about just rolling, comfortably, and not worrying about 0-60 or track times.

My man I totally understand what youre saying but this was 6 years ago you posted this and boy have times changed. I plan to turn my 94 TC into a 600+ BHP comfortabky rolling while not worrying about my 0-60. No track time can alter the smile on ones face blowing out germans and imports on the street in a car as old as I am.