No Crust Racing

I'm assuming this is in a new model Hilux cruising on the highway? Pretty good I reckon but not quite as good as the Falcon which easily pulls 7.0-7.5 on the highway (6spd) Wasn't it you saying they were on par fuel economy wise? Or do you mean when towing as the Falcodores get thirsty when asked to work.

Harry: What's the fuel econ like in a modern TD these days? When it comes time to part ways with the BF I was toying with the idea of twin cab something (Hilux/Navara) as I've borrowed a ute from work a few times and it's friggen handy to have (dog, tip runs etc).

I'm big on the whole proving a theory thing so I will go pump first, then test results, then decide what to do if anything further is needed (injectors most likely). Forgot to add, R33 ECUs also have a lovely thing called rich and retard - when the AFM/ECU sees too much airflow it will dump fuel in and massivly retard timing, feels like the car massivly backs off by itself. When that starts happening you're at the point of needing a proper tune. CAs aren't smart enough for that

As with any car using an SAFC, you will have to accept that it will be a compromise. It will not drive as well or produce as much power as a fully tuned car. The SAFC is just intercepting the AFM signal and making the ECU put in more fuel which means timing is retarded. In a daily driver that will result in poor fuel economy, not that it was ever good in an import, less power, slightly more lag, and slightly duller response in general (due to retarded timing) - and potentially higher EGTs if the timing is retarded so much that the burn is still going when the exhaust valves open. I am happy to walk this path as the car gets driven 4-6 times a year and in anger everytime. You might want to consider going a Nistune/PFC/Some other fully tunable solution instead if you want the utmost power from the package, the best on road manners, and reliability. If you can live with the above, and in the end we are only talking a 5-10% difference then an SAFC can be an OK work around but I wouldn't be fiddling with one unless you have access to a Dyno or a wideband (like I do).

well best thing for the OP, and anyone else, to do is take their hard earned 5-6k and drive both cars. If it only got used for towing 5% of the time you were behind the wheel I couldn't see myself picking a 5-6k GQ over a BA. From a financial standpoint you'd have to think that the BA would be the cheaper car all round to own. Drive and tow with both though, see which one ticks all your boxes.

I'd agree with that, 4wd ladder chassis will retain more of its original driving characteristics when towing, But a Falcon is heavy enough to withstand the movements of a reasonable load, they are over 1700kg after all, and will be a much nicer daily which is what it will be doing 95% of the time in Jake's case and in Kieran's (OP). I'd hazard a 5K BA would also be a much nicer car to live with than a 5K GQ (can't imagine anyone finding a GU for that money?).

lol no worries, let's not forget. They make a great base for a taxi so you get what you pay for and that's coming from a a two time owner lol

Well It's certainly a start and based on some other CA dyno results, is the missing part from my setup to those making 180-185rwkw on stock injectors (which would be getting replaced anyway as they are getting up into the 90% duty cycle range at that power). Just keen to know if a reg is "needed" or if the pump is enough to deliver more fuel. Seems the pump should at least have "some" affect.

Hi guys, Car is a CA18 S13 and was running T25G 14psi, using SAFC II and stock fuel system - Made 164rwkw (sheets around if needed) at about 12-12.5 AFR. Have recently fitted T28BB and intend on running around the same boost which will obviously be a lot more air flow. I had a quick play last night and couldn't get the AFRs anywhere near safe, at best it was 13.5 and that was only for a short period, it was averaging much higher with SAFC using maxed correction (I'm aware adding fuel retards timing costing response and power so bare with me). This is obviously far too lean. As I have seen plenty of others take stock injectors up to and over 180rwkw, my assumption is that the pump can't keep up and that upgrading to something like a Walbro 255lph would give me a bump in fuel pressure/volume meaning more fuel in for a given Injector Pulse Width. (The item missing from my setup and other CA's using this turbo making more power is the pump for those still using stock injectors). I realise I can upgrade to GT-R injectors also and reduce the duty cycle and this is part of the plan but at the moment I'm more interested in the fuel pump. Will adding the pump alone richen up the mix or will the stock fuel reg cancel out the increased fuel pressure? Do I also need an adjustable reg if adding a pump? FYI I have a wideband in the car so I can see what's happening. I need to get some more fuel in "mechanically" if you get me so I don't need to use as much correction on the SAFC, the correction means more retarded timing which is costing me some response. I know I can go nistune/dr drift etc but atm I am staying with the SAFC. Cheers

For the price and ease of installation trans cooler is a good thing, Jake you're handy with a spanner so you would have no trouble installing one, I did my PWR kit (165 eBay) by myself no hassles and I'm an IT Bum.

This took 45 seconds to find. I imagine eBay and Gumtree would have better deals? http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/ford-falcon-2003-11879821?cr=2&eapi=2&Range=Price:Min,5000~1|Mileage:Min,200000|Year:2002,Max|Seats:Min,Max|EngineSize:Min,Max&silo=Stock&sort=~Price&VNAV=A&__N=1216%201246%201247%201252%201282%204294966463%204294966285%204294966274&vertical=Car&distance=25 Might seem like high ks but I would hazard a guess and say you would not get an early VY/late model VX (same year model as the falcon) with under 200ks for 4k... and that's before bargaining. XR6T has sheeeet loads of torque but you will be paying more than a few grand extra to get it, plus it needs premium fuel, higher service costs etc. Not necessarily what you want in a daily when you already have a turbo car to play with. If 5K is the absolute limit you wont get an xr6t, and if you can stretch another K or so then you will get a much better NA BA and you'd stll be a couple k away from even the oldest clapped out xr6t's.

I found that mine used quite a bit of fuel when towing if I followed the handbook and towed in 3rd, with a trans cooler you can comfortably tow in 4th at 110 and the fuel econ was heaps better then, around 12L/100 on the hume which is nice and flat mostly. (Silvia plus tools, fuel).

Jake: From that list you would be mad to go past a Falcon. The wagon's have a better rear end and don't suffer the same camber issues as commos and the boxes don't suffer from the same heat issues as commos (but they do have issues - read on) A cheap trans cooler is still a good thing as BA/BFs are still known to have issues with coolant and trans fluid mixing and ruining the box A trans cooler allows you to bypass the problem area like I did (PWR kit was 165). In the BA this is because the trans cooler piping runs through the radiator and in the BF they moved that out to a heat exchanger on the side of the block but it still has the potential to leak and mix the fluids. If you wound up with a 6spd BF you would have a hefty repair bill, the rule of thumb seems to be to treat the heat exchanger like a service item and replace it at set intervals, they're only 120 or so. Fords will be cheaper per year model so you will get a newer Falcon vs Commos for the same dollar value, they make a great daily and drive comfortably with plenty of space (I had a BA 4spd, towed the Sil with it, and now have a BF 6spd, yet to tow but much nicer box). Both cars can get good fuel consumption if driven respectfully and the Falcon makes more torque lower in the rev range which is ideal for towing. If you do a lot of towing you might also want to consider better pads as the BA/BFs can be hard on pads rotors (I have not had this issue as I drive like a Nanna but I've heard about it plenty). I was a Holden man, and still am for V8s, but when it comes to 6cyl cars I am thoroughly converted to Falcons for daily/tow duties.

Greg I'm running your pads again after being happy with the bang for buck the first time around. As it turns out I've rigged up some basic brake ducting into the wheel arch area and am going to use these rotors, I came across a good deal on new slotted anyway and bought those but will keep as spares.

Yeah I'm comfortable enough with it to give them a go, if they suck I have new ones as backups.

By go off without slots I'm more so talking about the pads having nowhere to expel gas and debris, which then builds up and can end up giving a warped feel on the rotor. I've going to use them as is and have got a deal on some new ones too goo to pass up so will keep those for the next set of pads.

Any thoughts on how much quicker they will go off? I am going to install so brake ducts this time around.

It's been suggested that it might be better to just use them as they are and not decrease the strength of the rotor any more by slotting it again, any ideas on what performance loss I might see from running non slotted rotors? I am planning on running brake ducts from the front of the car.

Hi guys, Car is S13 with S15 slotted vented rotors and S15 calipers + R32 GT-R master cylinder - car is track oriented. Used up the last set of pads so got some new ones and dropped rotors off to be machined. They were heavily grooved but the brake shop said no worries as they were still above minimum thickness, he did mention I might need to have an engineering place touch up one or two slots as the driver side inner was a bit wiped. The below pic is what I ended up with. As you can see there's still a very notable groove on the outer edge and the slots are baically gone, this is the "good" one in that it still has "some" slots visible. He didn't charge me but said to go deep enough to get the groove out would have gone below minimum thickness and that at the moment I can just re-slot them and get another few thousand k's out of them. He didn't seem concerned about the groove and said they end up with that sort of thing on street cars all the times. What are your thoughts Brake Gurus? Excuse photo, only have iPhone 3Gs on me at the moment. Cheers

Confirmed they are getting through.

You know it!

I've resorted to harassing some poor guy in the for sale section who has a car sales ad up, followed up with a nice PM and a free bump for his ad lol

Great looking car mate, looks to be in great condition and well priced. Free Bump

It says this car is no longer available for sale =\

Just link me to the ad Terry and I'll inquire using the sidebar, then let me know if the email turns up on your end.