Phooned

Hey mate...I can confirm my setup is still going strong. I have the occasional ZF clunk when cold (did the same with the heat exchanger previously as well). However, once warmed up, I havent had any drama so far. My turbo is driven fairly hard as well.

If your car has a 6 speed auto transmission or has DSC...forget about it. It will NOT work. The transmission control module (TCM) in a XR6 turbo is different to a TCM in a FPV. By loading a FPV tune, the transmission will go into limp-home-mode -- indicated by the flashing "D" on the cluster. If your car has DSC, your cluster will stay lit up like a christmas tree. Since none of the BA/BF FPVs came with DSC, by flashing a FPV tune into a car with DSC, the software on the ABS module, will no longer communicate with the PCM. It will disable traction control and DSC. Also, like others have already said, the oil light on the cluster will stay lit up (unless you install an oil pressure transducer in place of the standard oil pressure switch).

Yes, the TCMs are programmed from factory. There is no way to re-flash the TCM to suit the car at this stage unfortunately. I had this issue when I went with a ZF box from a FPV tornado. I had to get the PCM loaded with the exact same software version that it left the factory with. The easiest way out if you have already got the ZF from a XR8 is to recondition and swap the TCM+valve body from your current ZF box. If you haven't purchased the box yet, simply look for a box from your model (I.e. a ZF from a XR6 turbo around the same year).

trancemaasta, any updates on this yet?

Affirmative mate.

Hey Guys, Apologies for the late reply. I just finished 1000Kms roughly 2 weeks ago after installing this kit on my BF Mk II Ghia (as you can tell I hardly drive the thing). The external cooler is great. I have had no dramas with it at all apart from leaking factory o-rings that needed replacing to prevent oil leaks. I drove my car just as I used to in the past (took it easy till the engine water temp was just past the 1/4 mark -- mine usually does this in the first 2kms or so) and it hasn't thrown up any error codes. I did come across some real warm 35*C+ days where I was in the city start-stop cycle and also a few cooler 6*C days and am glad to report that the ZF did not struggle at all. In my opinion, it is a mod worth every penny and for a few $$ outlay, it is cheap insurance. I haven't taken the car to a track, so this area is still untested. But, in saying that I did do some 'spirited' driving (about an hours worth in 28*C weather) on a private road in a mate's farm and everything worked like it should. My turbo is still being tuned with the new mods and I have done roughly 550Kms with it with the same kit installed and with the same result (although I did not push it as hard as the NA -- since I did not have a retune). I will update this post once I get my turbo back and get a chance to push it a bit. Cheers, AJ

That's great to know ScatterBrain! ..I was thinking of mounting mine in exactly the same location!...will keep you all posted..

Hey mate, Not sure if I am allowed to post up ebay links. But HERE it is. AJ

Hi guys, Just a quick one. I have recently purchased an external transmission cooler for my ZF in order to bypass the head exchanger on the side of the engine block. I have had issues with the fluids mixing in the heat exchanger in the past on my old BF Ghia and really don't trust it anymore. The transmission cooler kit was purchased from eBay and seems to be a fairly complete kit. I will get some pictures up shortly with the kit installed on my car and I will also provide my opinion once I have put about 1000 Kms of mixed driving on it. Oh, also I am aware of the potential dramas that might come up after bypassing the heat exchanger...in the mean time attached below are a few pictures from the seller's ebay page. Cheers, AJ