AWD Falcon Turbo

[Sumo]

I hate terrorists.

[pentae]

I hate haters

[slow13dude]

First of all, XR6T's are great because they are built by an Australian car company. I have a new opinion of Ford since they brought out this car. Someone in Ford was thinking.

However I've read many articles from journalists saying the manual gearboxes are crap, and i've heard a lot more people complaining about problems their brand new XR6T have given them.. and the cars are barely a few years old!

I've read quite a few threads even on this board about owners having major problems with cars still under Warranty.

Second of all, leather is terrible up here in QLD and electric seats are for softies

Of course 15 year old GTR's will have problems.. but I can tell you that most of them are still running on the original gearbox and engine.

My car is stock standard.. still running on the same engine, clutch and gearbox as it was 16 years ago, my mechanic says its going great and if I leave it unmodified theres still heaps of life left in her.  

It's tight and has no rattles and has driven a whopping 179,000kms. I drive it (read: Really drive it hard) a couple of times a week up Mt Nebo and it is a very healthy, happy car.

I'm not being a smart ass, its a geniune question.. How many 12 second cars have Ford made out of the box that can stand the test of time?

All true, but my hope is that Ford persists and further develops their turbo cars. This is their first generation of turbo cars people! (Sierra notwithstanding). Think about Nissan --> The golden age hit full swing with the R32 GTS-T and kept going until the R34 GTR. So while the old DR30 and R31 turbo cars are "OK" they are not fan-bloody-tastic simply because they are the early generation.

[Mr 350Z]

i just hate what the v8's (supercars) have done to the racing scene here in australia.

therefor i hate holden and i hate ford..

Dont hate the player baby, hate the game

Its not the cars the stuffed up the supercars, its what the people/puplic/crowd wanted....not all of us, id like to see some jap cars in there with the V8's, but the majority of people watching the V8's want to see Holdens win....not fords, not jap cars.

[Guest Mashrock]

yeah tho its the actual v8 teams sucking all the money out of the sport.

being from the sponsors etc..

because its more in the public eye..

no point throwing up sponsor ship on a formula V or ford, whatever they are these days as its not even seen on tv, or really advertised.. the same goes for the rest of it..

its a tough game, but hopefully it will come good in the not too distant future.

either that or i will move to new zealand! haha

[Beer Baron]

i just hate what the v8's (supercars) have done to the racing scene here in australia.

therefor i hate holden and i hate ford..

I don't see anything wrong with the 'racing scence' in australia. I don't like V8 supercars but there is plenty of other stuff to watch.

I go to some kind of race meet probably twice a month. I see skyline GTRs racing against all types of other jap cars, and yes holdens too. I see older touring cars like the HR31s racing with sierras and BMWs. I see formula ford too (and yes it is on television). I see plenty of porsches racing with cobras, and supras. I see corrolas racing against civics who are racing against mirages. all great, close racing. I don't know what 'racing scene' you are talking about mate, but it's certainly not ruined in my eyes. It's alive and well.

[lwells]

Yeah, it might be a Ford, but it is also brand new and has a factory warranty.

While it is no GTR or Skyline, you guys are gonna want something that is a six cyl turbo in the near future and I bet a XR6T will be the top of the shopping list, I was so impressed I bought one.

$1500 in mods and I have a 12sec car that can carry 5 adults and their luggage:whatsthat

Then I'll buy a Stagea If not that, I would look maybe at a Subaru liberty or something from Europe. Call me biased, but the durability and fit and finish of Australian products doesn't impress me. They look fine on the showroom floor, but start to shake, rattle and roll after a couple of years.

I think Rezz hit the nail on the head: the Falcon is already a heavy car and adding 4WD to it will make it a bit of pig in performance applications. Whoopie if they can make it go fast in a straight line: I don't really find that impressive these days.

Talking of taxis, why do you think all the taxis are Ford Falcons not Holden Commodores? Falcons are much more reliable.

Rubbish. Falcons are so common because Ford offered (until very recently) a stripped out taxi pack whilst Holden et al didn't. Amazingly as soon as the Taxi pack ended, new taxis are increasingly Avalons because Toyota is doing them a special deal.

Moreover, whilst the crappy resale of the Falcon (particularly AU) has been bad for private/fleet owners, its been great for Taxi drivers who can buy cheaply in the second hand market.

Yes the fact that the Holden (buick-sourced) 6 was a hunk of junk no doubt encouraged discerning (ha!) taxi drivers to choose a Falcon. However, its only one small aspect of the picture.

Lucien.

[Guest Mashrock]

I don't see anything wrong with the 'racing scence' in australia. I don't like V8 supercars but there is plenty of other stuff to watch.

I go to some kind of race meet probably twice a month. I see skyline GTRs racing against all types of other jap cars, and yes holdens too. I see older touring cars like the HR31s racing with sierras and BMWs. I see formula ford too (and yes it is on television). I see plenty of porsches racing with cobras, and supras. I see corrolas racing against civics who are racing against mirages. all great, close racing. I don't know what 'racing scene' you are talking about mate, but it's certainly not ruined in my eyes. It's alive and well.

i'd just be watching whats going to happen to the v8's soon. they are running out of money.

and yes there is pretty limited coverage on tv, but i was more talking along the lines of sponsors etc.. its mainly the teams sponsioring them selves in some way or another.

[Freak_418]

A twin Turbo AWD Falcon was already done... as a protoype almost 18 years ago.

Check out the pic I attached of an Article a little while back.

There were 3 prototype's built with one being written of in Oz, one written off in England, and one being rebuilt in Melbourne, of which the owner has a spare AWD running gear from one of the wrecked proto's.

This is what Ford needed to challenge the VL Turbo's and the Skyline's, but it's wierd how the Aussie car market works...

[Roy]

First, i love my Nissans, have since back to when i was real young watching farmer Fury:)...but the only thing worst then a one eyes Holden/Ford fan is a one eyed Skyline owner:(

HSV have a track pack for the Clubsport...off the showroom floor performance that will rip most Skylines new arseholes:) ...try 48.1 around Oran Park Short track...SAUs quickest GTR with close ratio box, bigger turbs (340awkws), big brakes, cage and semi-slicks does 47.5sec

...and when a Skyline owners say "but yeh what about on the track"...lol, yeh but sadly whenever i go to the track to participate or spectate they are nowhere to be seen. So that arguments holds even less water on the street where all that top ned power and jap suspension makes the car fun but painful.

Anyway, if Ford make an AWD Falcon i will be amazed. I think the AWD Monaro has taught everyone a lesson with its poor sales. When you are throwing around that sort of weight you want RWD to keep interest level up and provide some entertainment.

[usuckpoo]

Im a skyline fan, but i think those of you who believe your 15 yr old gtrs will run forever on its original engine/gearbox etc are just ridiculous and living in denial. The car is mechanical device and no matter how well made it is, things wear, and eventually tear. To say that your 200000km skyline is still running ok is fine, but how long more will it last? do u actually believe it can do another 200000km?

Your GTRS are prob now worth 15-20k Factor in an engine/gearbox/diff/turbo rebuild including every single wear and tear part and that prob works out to be another 15k.

Have you taken it round a track and gun it for 20 laps at a go? Watch your engine blow smoke, your clutch and gearbox and diff leak, and everything creaking and cracking.

[hungry6]

 

Have you taken it round a track and gun it for 20 laps at a go? Watch your engine blow smoke, your clutch and gearbox and diff leak, and everything creaking and cracking.

I drive a skyline, but not blindly following the force. Funny about what you said above, because we bought 4 xr6 turbos as company cars, and I took one to a private track day, 7 laps later there is a very healthy knock in the bottom end, time for a warranty I guess, so much for a new car. To put things into perspective I have myself canned the living daylight out of an integra type R with over 100 000 kays on the clock and I drove the thing home afterward after a 2 hour stint.

Oh btw the falcon came out of the factory with more creaks and groan than my 3 year old WRX which is canned (boosted) from the day I got it delivered. It's just plain simple FORD and HOLDEN and Germans donot R&D their car like the Japanese do, and probably wont into the forseable future.

[usuckpoo]

Thats true, i've never stated for the record that fords and holdens are great either.

All im saying is that you cannot expect a 15 yr old car to run forever without considering some sort of overhaul in the near future. And once you factor that in, the economic sense of owning such an old car comes into question.

Perhaps there are one or 2 15 yr old GTRs in mint condition but honestly in greater generalisation, If you had 100 1989 GTRS and 100 2005 ford XR6 turbos, which group is likely to have more problems?

I drive a skyline too.

[racsov500]

Just remeber that the Xr6Ts are new.. and the r32 GTR is 15 y/o..

Ford has been my pet hate for years, especially the au, but the BA line has got me quite impressed. I think its great that Ford are using turbos, same thing can't be said about holden

In my eyes FPVs look pretty good too.

[Roy]

And everyone commenting on what they weigh...just consider what a 2005 4 door Skyline weighs, or even 350Z. They arent light.

Commodores and Fords weigh a fair bit, but when you consider all their features, safety aspects of the cars and their need to comply with crash test requirements its no wonder they weigh what they do.

Then you have to consider they are built essentially for a small Aus market so doesnt justify the expense of engineering dozens of 20kg components so they weigh 15kgs:(

I watch with interest what the new GTR weighs. I will be surprised if its less then 1700kgs.

Does anyone with an XR6 Turbo think they really need AWD???? I think it will be more a marketing strategy then performance...safety for the family saloon car etc etc...forget the fact that the weight itself will help kill dynamics, engine performance and fuel economy:(

Dont do it Ford...strip all the crap out of the XR6, get rid of the air bags, climate control, electric everything, throw some nice andlight wheels and seats in it, hopefully saving 100kgs and then watch them run out the door:)

[predator]

Oh btw the falcon came out of the factory with more creaks and groan than my 3 year old WRX which is canned (boosted) from the day I got it delivered.

What you reckon the WRX will be doing by the time its 15 years old?

[racsov500]

Kicking ass in the hands of young drivers

[**JaR**]

Falcons are much more reliable.

pffft im not a huge fan of commondores but i will say they are much more reliable than any falcon, we used to have a 98 falcon..... pos, now we have 2 holdens ( vt wagon, vy ss ute ), there shitloads more reliable than any bloody ford ever was.....

still not my R33 but

[Guest Mashrock]

What you reckon the WRX will be doing by the time its 15 years old?

yeah his point is brand new.. the falcon is shit.. wrx even thrashed is still a good little tiger.

[Dim1]

although off topic to the current topic it is on topic to the original topic...

but i dont know if most of you relise but holden has already brought out(or just about to) a awd performance car the coupe4. yeh its not turbo but i thought it might be good to point out.