bcl

Last week I was told October, and possibly September, so I think you'd be optimistic to expect it in August. brian

Up to about 1985 most car turbos were oiled cooled, and seals would blow or bearing go. I had a number of turbos that needed repair back then. After that turbos were water cooled and far more reliable. The last turbo that I had a problem with was about 10 years ago, and it was on a car running almost double the standard boost. ... I left a trail of white smoke all the way from Yass to Sydney. On a standard low boost car such as the Ford I would not expect any problems with the turbo whatsoever provided it is properly serviced, and nothing gets into the inlet that could damage the compressor blades. Overall I've probably driven over 300,000 kms with turbo cars. Brian

Saleen1, good choice. What width are the wheels, and what profile are the tyres? Hopefully there is enough guard clearance now that it's lowered. I've also chosen blueprint, and chose 17" wheels so I have the option of 19" later, so I'm happy to see that they look great. In time height adjustable struts should come onto the market. :D brian

Thanks Mondie, This will be my 8th Ford, first was an XY that I bought off my father when I was just 19, 3 XB V8's, '85, '96, '99 and now '03. So the Ford wins by numbers. Hopefully a much much better drive than the AU. Also future resale values should be much higher than in the past, based on current demand and a much better product. regards, Brian :D

thanks turbo dave, you only have 1 life so live in the fast lane, and turbos are the way to go; sigma turbo;pulsar ET, calais turbo, 180sx, 2 wrx, STi.... none left stock for long. As for lotto, we all wish.... you'll know it's true if I buy a Porsche turbo! Brian

Today I decided I'm ready to order a new manual blueprint with premium audio and leather. I have 2 Ford dealers that I have bought 2 new Fords in the last 7 years. Dealer 1 I have been speaking to for quite a while tells me if I order today delivery will be in OCTOBER, plus I can't get a trade-in price now because it would be different in 5 months time. Unbelievably dealer 2 has a turbo available, EXACTLY what I want,as someone has just cancelled their order. A deal was done immediately. The car will be ready in a week after sunroof and other bits and pieces are installed..... so I'm happy. With a choice between 5 months and 1 week it wasn't too hard.... pretty much a no-brainer. Just to keep my wife happy she gets a new wrx next week. That'll be our 8th turbo in 20 years! brian :D :D :D p.s I had a look inside a GT-P ... those seats are just fantastic .... though I can't justify an extra 30 grand. :D

Ris, It all comes down to mods and weight. The VL is sub 1400kg so there's a big advantage there. I had a VL CALAIS for 8 years, and with a special T04 turbo and 12lb boost it put out 180kw at the wheels, which is basically the same as the new Ford turbo. My bet is that in that spec it would comfortably outrun a new Ford. Given some mods and time the new Ford will be very hard to beat. Brian

It's a sellers market. I was offered $17k trade-in yesterday on my wifes 97 rex, where redbook trade-in value is 18-20k. Car is in excellent condition with sunroof and 17' wheeels and only 74000km travelled. I asked for $20k minimum and was ready to place an order on a new Ford turbo there and then ($57 on road cost). No deal. I don't want the hassle of a private sale, but may have to. I think Ford at the moment have such a backlog that they don't really care, and they're trying to maximise profit margins. I've bought 8 brand new cars over the last 20 years, and can't recall this situation. I was told delivery in August for an order now. If there are any other dealers out there who want to do a deal please let me know. I'm in Sydney. (City Ford don't bother emailing me unless you really want my business). Brian

People, Don't get too carried away with this graph. It does not reveal if the boost has been changed, or the extent to which it has changed; the APS web page says that the "boost maps" have been optimized, whatever that means. If boost has not been altered at all, then the result is pretty good .... it may be mainly a result of leaning out the mixtures if the factory program runs on the rich side. The main problem I have with the Unichip is where all the wires to your ecu get cut, then resoldered to form the connection to the Unichip unit. I was horrified when I pulled a Unichip out of one of my cars. I would be very reluctant to touch the Unichip if this practice is continued. Also, be wary of any published graphs where the y axis does not start at zero. The resulting graph does make results look much better than they actually are. Brian

Compression of 8.7:1 is not low for a turbo car, and given that there is variable valve timing, there should be good low down torque. I think the problem is more the extra weight the car is carrying that causes any sluggishness. I guess that sub 2500 revs is where the V8 may be better. In regards to be last post, running more boost will not impact lag. I always add more boost, subject to compatability in other areas. Brian

Given the relatively low max rev limit of around 6k, I'd like to make the point that any mods made to the car that introduce lag, such as larger turbo or intercooler, will reduce the USABLE revs that you have to play with, and whilst you may get more power, you may find the car less enjoyable. STI's and GTR's have 8k revs to play with, so it's very different. Given the Ford has a 92/99 bore/stroke configuration it looks like it's set up more for torque rather than high revs..... and good low down torque makes for more effortless driving, rather than boy racer style driving. Brian

Lisa, Sorry to hear about that. Same thing happened to my wife several years ago in her wrx. She was booked and had no idea how to turn them off.... they had been on for about 3 years whenever the headlights were on whilst I was driving, and I was never caught, but she was. Brian

Who said the BA turbo had forged pistons? I can't remember reading that in any specs. If it does then it makes a HUGE difference to mod potential. I doubt it, but I hope you're right. Normally if forgies are used then it is well and truely advertised.... just be careful about spreading information that is potentially misleading. Brian

Surely Ford could supply us with some times. They must have done some testing. There are many people in the same situation who'd like an answer to this.

Yes, it is illegal, and my wife was booked by Castle Hill police several years ago when driving her WRX. When questioned about it,she was not aware that they were on, nor how to turn them off. They had been on for several years whenever the headlights were turned on. No warning, just a straight booking. At the time I rang Castle Hill police, and they said they were targeting people driving with fog lights on when conditions didn't warrant it. It was the subject of a lot of debate on a WRX Club forum with varying opinions. The police view is that they can be a distraction to oncoming traffic. It is the law, and or course there are many laws we don't agree with. If you disobey eventually you'll get booked. Brian

Goose, Probably. Can't really say. You could isolate the problem by jamming closed the wastegate for a very QUICK test (I've done this before), but this is very risky, you must have a boost gauge, have good throttle control and take extreme care. I doubt you'd do this on a new car (I wouldn't on a new car). As I said, if in doubt, take it back to the dealer. You could contact someone in Ford technical support for advice. Or you can take it to an aftermarket turbo place (e.g NRG or MRT say) and get another opinion, or ask them to pressure test the wastegate actuator for you. Best advice, under warranty (at least for 6 months), don't fiddle; if you have any queries or concerns go back to the dealer and ensure all communication is documented. That is what warranty is for. bcl

Goose, I don't quite know what you're talking about when you refer to the sound of the external wastegate. If set up correctly (legally) it should not be loud at all. Exhaust gas is dumped with more control and a much larger valve than standard, and it's easier to install different springs to suit your requirement. Done legally the exhaust is re-routed back to the main exhaust, and it should be no noisier than standard. It is VERY noisy if you (illegally) dump the wastegate gas to atmosphere unmuffled (that pipe is called a grenade ... you'll know why when you hear it). ... especially when you run in excess of 1.5 bar! Similarly, not sure why you’d get wastegate chatter in this situation. If you are accelerating hard on full boost, and the wastegate is fully open, then change gear (in a manual) the wastegate should close instantaneously, then open back up again when you step back on the gas. I have (many years ago) experienced some chatter when running a Calais turbo with around 12lb boost, and the spring tension was too tight such it forced the wastegate closed when pressure was trying to open it, doing this several times giving a shuddering effect…. But this was on acceleration, not gear change. Actually, one of the reasons why you’d chose an auto over a manual is to keep the boost level up in the turbo during gear change, since the change occurs much faster in an auto. With low boost levels chatter and other problems should not occur. If so, I’d take the car back. You never know, the turbo wastegate actuator could be faulty, but I doubt it. bcl

I wouldn't go near an external wastegate unless you plan to increase your power by at least 50% over standard. Generally internal wastegates work fine and there's no need to change it. If you want to add an external wastegate you will require a custom built exhaust manifold, plus either weld your internal wastegate shut or replace the turbo exhaust housing. Plus some mechanism to control it. Not cheap... probably around $2,000. For general road use not really required. Brian

Sure, currently all responses are qualified with the word “may”, and it’s not currently suggested that anyone goes out right now and starts making changes without more information. We know what works with other cars, but not with the Ford, especially because we don’t know what features are incorporated into the ecu. The best and most successful aftermarket mods incorporate ecu adjustments, as it’s the only way to tune the car. Just because an LS1 has some ecu features, it does not mean that it’s in the Ford program. Brian

Thanks Turbo6man, one of the more sensible responses for a while in this thread. To your response I would add the alternative of a stroker kit to add cubic displacement, which is an expensive option, and possibly not available for a while on the Ford. The main aim for major drivability (as opposed to maximizing power) is faster turbo spool-up. At the moment there are too many unknowns with regard to what Ford has built. With REXs, GTRs, 200sx etc there are many years of experience to know what works and what doesn’t. To your response I’d add that gas temperature (which impacts exhaust gas flow) is an important factor in turbo spool up. Generally this can also be changed by modifying timing and fuel mixtures. An EGT gauge helps here. The exhaust manifold design looks a bit crude and no doubt will be redesigned by aftermarket people, and a split pulse turbo (which I’m not aware is currently used). The dump pipe design also helps, and we’ll find out soon if the dump pipe design uses the split gas flow technique commonly used by aftermarket systems. (I doubt it does) The size/restriction of the exhaust system will also help spool-up. I’ve had many 3” low restriction systems, but my favourite is 4” with dual straight-thru mufflers for less drone and better low-end response. No doubt others will play with different compressor designs. I’m sure there are many things that will improve turbo spool up, and give a good increase in torque between say 1800 and 3000 revs. It’s quite amazing how often with factory version can be substantially improved. Someone also mentioned wastegate creep. I doubt that it will be a factor with only 6 pound…. This is more a problem with 1 bar or more. People that have not had turbos before, but only V8’s, will find that this a totally new ballgame, and a lot more fun. Also there are quite a few relatively inexpensive things that can be done for improved performance. Don’t worry too much about lack of grunt, just drop a gear; the V8’s will wonder what hit ‘em. Brian

Loved it! OK on Win 2K.

Thanks to City Ford I test drove both. I currently have 3 modified turbo manual cars (far quicker than the Ford), but was really interested in trying the auto. I found the manual fairly easy to drive, the clutch no where near as heavy as the press have made out. My initial impression was that the gearbox was very notchy, but after a longish test drive I got used to it. My wife also drives a manual turbo, and I don't think she'd have a problem with it. I could live with it without a problem. The good torque of the 4 litre does make it easier to drive than say a 2 litre turbo. As for the auto, I found it a novelty, and did like the way it holds gear. After a while I got a bit sick of it, and just left it in drive. But I knew that I could always go back to manual mode if I felt like it. I'd go for the auto if I was driving mostly in traffic or pulling a boat. I have not seen fuel consumption figures for both options, but maybe some members can reply.... and consumption normally does vary greatly depending on driving style and traffic conditions. 0 to 100kph times are good in the manual for a stock car, at around 6 secs, but this a bit flattering as this is still just in second gear just before the change to 3rd. I've not seen back to back performance tests between the manual and auto, and would like to see figures. Maybe Ford or someone can supply something. As for modifications, it currently is an unknown how the manual gearbox will handle mods, but generally most gearbox failures occur after some abuse, rather than ultimate power. It may eventuate that the auto may be a better choice with a modified car, where power is upped to over 300kw. For many buyers the Ford will be their first turbo car, and they will probably chose an auto. The real enthusiest will almost always chose a manual. In a stock car my preference is to chose the manual, but it not an easy decision, nor as clear cut as I would have expected.