JR.

Sorry to drag this up after so long, but I don't have much of a chance to read the forums at present and just saw this thread. The car has done about 3000km since the suspension was fitted and on the whole the experience has been positive. When you look at the ride height of my car, there is still thread left in the height adjustments at both ends. The back can come down another 10-15mm, the front has well over an inch of thread left on the coilover - if anyone would want to go that low on our speed hump infested roads. As for ride quality, it has suffered. Daily driving around town driving has found the back to be quite a bit harsher than standard - the rear shocks need to be softened off a bit more I think - it's still a bit too hard for my own day to day driving tastes. On the other hand, a round trip to Dubbo was a glorious experience with the new settings making country road cornering a test of my own nerve and not the T's handling limits. Also, the car picked up a meaningful time around Wakefield with the new set-up, and launches extremely well the few times we've been out to WSID with it to test some power mods you'll be seeing in future issues of the mag. One thing I noticed at Powercruise last weekend was that while the coil-overs and sway bars help it hold on longer before the back end steps out, when it does it tends to be a bit more sudden than what I was used to prior - It caught me out in Turn 2 the first time I tried to step it out on purpose when it broke loose quite a bit harder than I was expecting - maybe this is just because you're physically going a lot faster. So after a bit of reflection I can stand by what I said in the mag - it's probably a bit too hardcore for a lot of conditions, but if you're prepared for some of the ride quality compromises you get going to a true performace set-up, then it would be money well spent (and I haven't even started fiddling with the shock settings yet). Cheers JR

It's the Roman Autotek Raptor - built by the Hillier brothers - and in reality is powered by a Turbo 6 motor. The stomping great blower was a prop stuck on the bonnet for the Tooheys ads.

Muzzzzza, If you contact Mark at AWC he'll sell you one. The mould has been finished and parts ready for sale for a little while now, the July on sale date was initially mooted merely as we were trying to do a bit of real world durability testing, but the parts are ready to go. My apologies for the info on the website being slightly out of date. There are no screw holes, this version is attached with velcro. We're currently using 4 velcro dots, but velcro strips would do the same thing. I have had a painted one fitted for the past 3 weeks (so any large movement will scratch the surface of the paint) and the velcro seems to be more than up for the job once you seat it properly. I've detected no movement or slippage. The reason there are no holes for screw attachments as per the SSInductions one is that when MArk and I spoke about it, I was leery of the warranty issue in specifically removing the hot leaded bolts that secure the computer - one of the few areas all Ford dealers seem really prickly about. Also, as mentioned higher up in this thread, I thought it would be good to be able to remove the cover when you were about to take the car in for service to avoid stupid dealer comments about heat etc...

Had Hankook tyres on the previous car in a 17" 40 series size. Wear was better (36,000km when sold, still with half tread) and grip seemed as good as the Dunlops. That 36,000km also included 3 track days - 2 at Wakefield, and one at Queensland Raceway. JamieXR6 has the 18" Falkens on his T and hates them with a passion - say's they're the worst tyres he's every owned, but I have no personal experience with the brand. My 18" SP9000's are due for replacement right now afer 43,000km, and best quotes I've gotten in Sydney are in the $550-$560 region. Jax tyres quoted me $256 each for the same size Hankook K104 - the tyre that came equal 1st with the Falken in their performance tyre test last year, the same test that the Dunlop SP9000 came 8th in... The Dunlops are supposed to be the premium tyre in the range, but twice the price for an 8th place finish versus half the price for equal 1st makes you wonder...

Ford seem to have a number of Territory designators registered besides TX, TS & Ghia, but I don't think any of them are for an FPV product, rather just for future variants or special editions or just red herrings. they are; Territory TR Territory MTX Territory R5 Territory R3 that's according to a search of the Australian government trademark site anyway...

Geoff Polites as much as said the 270kw FPV Turbo Territory would happen next year before when he spoke to the car club down in Melbourne for the FPV weekend back in February. But as much as Hurricane sounds like a fantastic name, it's been registered for a limited edition Courier 4x4 ute that was on display at the Brisbane Motor Show (and may be on sale or be sold out already).

Genebaby painted his own as far as I know

Yes, I have a dark metallic grey pinstipe in the car bumpers. Cost $6 a roll from supercheap auto while we were down in Melbourne for the FPV weekend. Came up looking a million bucks considering we were half drunk when I layed it into the bumpers. Also, it matches better with the carbon than a chrome stripe would.

Apologies for the grainy quality of this pic - I'm not really sure why it's gone this way compared to how they normally come out. This is the closest to a full rear view I have. Not sure quite what you mean by "is it too big for the flair kit" - makes me automatically think SLR5000 when I hear the word flare (showing my age there) - but I think it intergrates well with the rest of the XR if that's what you mean. Going back to the Motor Show version of the wing gives it that look the Ford designers originally intended, and has - I feel - made the wing actually look taller. jep - This is NOT an Bogan special product. It's made by AWC (which is basically the carbon fibre division of Fibresports at Taren Point). To each his own, but I wouldn't touch Bogan special with a ten foot pole.

another shot...

Thanks for the referral to the site Miyagi. Much appreciated. I've actually just (yesterday) replaced that wing with a new one that mimics the original SMS display cars - minus the centre leg. AWC can do you the wing either with or without the centre leg - which ever you'd prefer. They're also around $900 cheaper than the genuine FPV wing!