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What Car To Get, Commonwhore Or Falcadore

The Bogan
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The Bogan Grand Master

The Bogan

Posted
Posted

Looking at getting a car to tow the boat (R33 GTS-T) and drive the whole family around in, must have 5 seats minimum,(the boat only has 2 now) not a 4WD, not over $15,000, been looking at commonwhores and falcadores, both in the V8 auto option.

If you own one can you post up pro,s and cons for them like fuel economy, servicing, Im not expecting miricales in fuel economy but they cannot be any worse than my 33.

Im leaning towards something like this

http://www.carpoint.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?R=10002464&ref=RecentItem&__Ns=pCar_RankSort_Int32%7C1%7C%7CpCar_Price_Decimal%7C1%7C%7CpCar_Make_String%7C0%7C%7CpCar_Model_String%7C0&__N=834%201216%201246%201247%201252%201282&__Nne=15

Please dont make this a "I hate anything that isnt a Skyline" thread, if you want to stir go to the wasteland.

Thanks, Mark

bluey33 Experienced

bluey33

Posted
Posted

I reckon just get a commodore 8 if you WILL NOT think about getting a 4wd.

Commodores are reliable enough and cheap to fix.

Even then don't know what you will legally be allowed to tow with.

But whatever you choose don't forget to install Auto trans cooler.

kawasakirider Grand Master

kawasakirider

Posted
Posted (edited)

I've used my falcon as a tow car a lot, and I will say it handles it without missing a beat, but something like a land cruiser will shit all over it. I've used my dads land cruiser to tow things, and it was much better.

Edited by kawasakirider
mad082 Grand Master

mad082

Posted
Posted

they are both good. it really comes down to finding one that hasn't been thrashed and your personal preference of ford vs holden. there are probably less ford v8's out there, but they are more likely to be owned by older guys. there are more holden v8's out there, but also more chance of it having had a hard life.

that said, i'm a ford man, but for my daily i got a VT commodore (v6 wagon, which i'm really happy with. can fit so much stuff in there. i put our old 520L fridge in it to take it to the dump and it fit no worries with the seats folded down. and i can fit 4 bales of hay in the boot with the seats up, LOL) because in the later model stuff i prefer the interior of the commodores. both have comfy seats though. the ford v8 sounds better IMHO.

zebra Grand Master

zebra

Posted
Posted

Mark - Both the LSx and the 4 cam Ford v8s are dissapoint down low as standard (LS1 is better than the Ford but only just)

The commodore 4 speed autos like to blow up behind the v8s, so the BTR in the Ford is tougher for towing

The power steering pumps in the commodores are rubbish and WILL fail at some point.

The AU2 or AU3 Falcons with the last of the 302 Windsor V8s would be my pick, but they are f**k ugly, if you can live with that they are good cars and have good bottom end and mid range grunt.

What about a BA XR6 Turbo? Way more grunt than either the Chev or Ford V8s but sound shit house and may have to pay turbo tax on insurance.

The Bogan Grand Master

The Bogan

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  • Author
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Again another good idea, yeah the XR6T could also be a winner, plus with a little tickle they tend to go like a cut snake.

Thinking...............................................

kawasakirider Grand Master

kawasakirider

Posted
Posted

Was going to mention the XR6T. As stated, it will rape any V8 falcadore. They don't go that well anyway compared to the 6's in stock form, although for towing the torque will obviously be beneficial. The XR6T will have plenty, though.

ARTZ Grand Master

ARTZ

Posted
Posted

The power steering pumps in the commodores are rubbish and WILL fail at some point.

fuggin ay, i was looking at getting a V8 stato before the honda but everyone i looked at had had the steering replaced and didnt have 100k on the clock yet.

I figured it was mostly because of stupid drivers trying to park in tight shopping centres and cranking the wheel whilst car was staionary, but have also heard it was a design fault made y the company the job was outsourced to

djr81 Grand Master

djr81

Posted
Posted

For my 10 cents worth dont bother with a V8. Really the current Foulcan 6 runs to 195kW and doesnt struggle for torque either. The old windsors had less power & the 5.4 litre motor wasnt much chop. Plus they were only 4 speed autos.

They arent yet down to $15k but go have a look at a FG XR6 instead of an older AU or BA XR8. There are heaps of them about and they are cheap. Insurance is cheap, they use less fuel & if you have an R33 who really cares how many horsepower the daily has. Failing the there are a bazillion BA/BF's about. AU's can now be had for loose change.

gregor Rising Star

gregor

Posted
Posted

Again another good idea, yeah the XR6T could also be a winner, plus with a little tickle they tend to go like a cut snake.

Thinking...............................................

With a BA XR6T just do your reading on how much power the 4 speed can take, its been a while since ive been on the xr6turbo forums but i think its mid 300s. I still want to get my bf2 retuned with a few minor mods - for around 2-3k you are looking at a safe 300 rwkw. 300rwkw daily/tow car ftw.

mad082 Grand Master

mad082

Posted
Posted

Mark - Both the LSx and the 4 cam Ford v8s are dissapoint down low as standard (LS1 is better than the Ford but only just)

The commodore 4 speed autos like to blow up behind the v8s, so the BTR in the Ford is tougher for towing

The power steering pumps in the commodores are rubbish and WILL fail at some point.

The AU2 or AU3 Falcons with the last of the 302 Windsor V8s would be my pick, but they are f**k ugly, if you can live with that they are good cars and have good bottom end and mid range grunt.

What about a BA XR6 Turbo? Way more grunt than either the Chev or Ford V8s but sound shit house and may have to pay turbo tax on insurance.

they sound awesome. i'd say they sound better than most skylines. they have a similar sound to a RB but with a deeper, meaner sound, especially with more boost.

For my 10 cents worth dont bother with a V8. Really the current Foulcan 6 runs to 195kW and doesnt struggle for torque either. The old windsors had less power & the 5.4 litre motor wasnt much chop. Plus they were only 4 speed autos.

They arent yet down to $15k but go have a look at a FG XR6 instead of an older AU or BA XR8. There are heaps of them about and they are cheap. Insurance is cheap, they use less fuel & if you have an R33 who really cares how many horsepower the daily has. Failing the there are a bazillion BA/BF's about. AU's can now be had for loose change.

this is true, however they are rather talled geared which does affect how well they tow. the 5 speed ones gearing handle it better though. if you look at torque ratings on paper then no-one would buy 4wd's to tow with because a v8 family car and even the modern 6's put out similar torque (the 8's and turbo 6 often put out more), but because they are geared so tall they don't tow quite as well.

  • 2 weeks later...
Kolossus Proficient

Kolossus

Posted
Posted

Also just like to mention that I had a 2001 AU Falcon up until recently, and it was rubbish, terribly unreliable there was always something wrong with it, but in saying that it could have just been a lemon.

Captain Kermit Contributor

Captain Kermit

Posted
Posted

If it must be a V8, I'd go the Commodore, but if you're willing to drop that requirement, the Ford. The LSx engines shit all over any ford V8 under $15,000, but the Fords are better in every other way. Auto trans cooler is a must on any tow car, but especially a BA Falcon, they're known to shit themselves without doing any towing.

I'd be trying for a wagon too if you're after versatility. I owned a VH wagon (1982) and in between selling it and being able to drive my current car (1998 Caprice, 5.0L) I drove my mums VT wagon. If you're gonna have a Commonwhore/Foulcan get a wagon, it is 1,000 times better than a sedan as far as practicality goes. It's one of the reasons I'm selling the Caprice in favour of a Stagea, that and I'm sick of driving auto's and Commonwhores (owned 3 Commodores over the last 4 years, and helped various mates with all of their Commodore related issues.)

PS pump is a known issue on 3rd gen Commodores, but it's not a huge deal. Mum's got replaced around the 180,000K mark, up to 220,000k's now and the new one has started leaking. It'll go another 100,000k's with regular topping up :)

Most Commodores tend to leak a bit of oil too, so if you get one keep an eye on all fluids, although that's a given on all cars.

SoFreshSoClean Proficient

SoFreshSoClean

Posted
Posted

+1 for BA XR6T or XR8

Better chassis, nicer interior, better handling, but keep it fairly standard or you'll blow the BTR to smithereens.

Unless your budget can stretch to one with a ZF 6-speed auto, those are bulletproof.

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