xlnt6

Looks like you won't have it long ..... better load it on a flatbed and ship it down. Simon will send it back with with more ponies than a John Wayne western !! Cheers Robin.

It should pack a punch with the gear from your old car fitted !!! What options did you go for ? And what did you end up doing with the old car ? Atleast you can sell the original BF Brembos and re-coupe some $$. Good luck with it all, Cheers Robin.

Yes, it was true, as part of development for the Orion drivetrain, they did think about smaller turbo configuration, because they were already significantly re-engineering the induction of the I6. They actually did this as part of the development of the Territory T, as the original spec for the TT was at a reduced power output. But this is one point up for the bean counters.... it was decided that it would cost more to re-engineer it, so that ended sticking with what they have already !! So given there are several Orion drivetrain configured test mules already going around using the same turbo (but with a different inlet and manifold piping configuration), then it is unlikely they would change such a significant component this late in the game. Also given the new F6 has to make the target power of 300-310 fwkW @ 580 NM and then leave room for future upgrades, it wouldn't make much sense to downsize. Cheers Robin.

Dave, I don't even want to go there !!! But I figure, the house is paid off, have no kids and earn a good wage. WTF. Got to keep the Aussie economy ticking over. Cheers Robin.

Hey Gary, Thanks for organising another great cruise, a bit of a pity about the weather in the arvo, but like george says.... summer is coming. Thanks Daniel, I picked up a few stone chips, but you get that. A bit of touch up is expected, after all it's my daily driver ! Cheers Robin.

The guys are simply too lazy to take them off, as they are interested in the test they are doing, not what the car overall looks like. That is so the brake load test tailor can be fitted. Robin.

May have been one of the car fitted with the updated Orion drivetrain and underpinnings, there are a few kicking around. Apparently the pre-production bodied cars will be around late in the year / early next year, so keep an eye out for those !! I saw some info saying styling cues have been taken from the Mondeo in the UK. If that's the case the new Falcon is going to look hot !! Robin.

Certainly looks great !!! Just a query, how much does it weight compared to your 11 inch option 3 package ?? I noticed it has twin 9.5 solid centres, are they full face organic, cerametallic or button style ? Just wondering how suitable it would be for "normal" street applications, as I'm guessing with that much power handling capability it's obviously orientated for road race applications. BTW I took my car around Sandown for about 40 laps and the the Option 3 held up without a fuss. Great clutch. Cheers Robin.

I like the front bar, I wondered what it would look like in Blueprint .... now I know. The CF is a nice touch as well. All up looks good. Is that stone chips already in the front bar, or just the way the light is reflecting ? That's the one think I don't like about fibreglass bars. Cheers, Robin.

Did you go for a bigger compressor wheel, so the same as stock just with a 0.7 AR compressor cover ? I fitted a bigger 66mm comp wheel (vs stock 61 mm), and while it produces more kW it results in about 500rpm in additional lag. Cheers Robin.

I have run Optimax Extreme 100 (5% ethanol) for about 6 months. No problems. Car is more responsive with 100 than 98, but my tune is optimised for the 100. No difference in economy. Robin.

Put me down for this one too Gary. Cheers Robin.

Hi Gary, Sounds great, count me in. Cheers Robin.

I am certainly not questioning your construction and professionalism as the manufacturing looks excellent. When testing a plenum you need to consider three factors which directly influence structural rigidity and possible future failure. They are: (a) maximum pressure wrt atomsphere (everyone seems to understand this one). (b) dynamic loading. ie cycle between vacuum and max pressure which is repeated over a cycle time. ie. equivalent to banging thru the gears while the accelerator is nailed. ie boost, vacuum, boost, vacuum, etc. © Helmholtz resonance effect. This is a phenomena which occurs when tuned length runners are used to increase the volumetric efficiency of the engine under NA conditions to over 100%. This produces a very strong pulsing effect within the plenum. The only way you can really test (b) and © are with engine dyno tests or real world testing. Now given your design uses very short runners at normal engine RPM below 7500 RPM the impact due to Helmholtz resonance will be neglible. So what I am getting at, is that an overall pressure test isn't really going to give you the full picture. But certainly if there is wall deflection when tested under static loads of say 30 psi, then you know your in trouble. If all is well, then the best test will be the "suck it and see test", so best of luck with it all. BTW certainly the last time I looked at Rob's plenum it looked like brushed S.S, but I will check with him to confirm, I could be wrong with my previous statement wrt s.s vs Al. Cheers Robin.

I don't want to be critical of anyone's endevaours, on the contrary I always encourage it. But I read on the other post about this same plenum that it is made from 3 mm Al plate. Given the large surface area and the load characteristics of a turbo engine, ie up to say 30 psi boost one minute and -30in Hg next the dynamic loading can play havoc with sheet metal manifolds. If you watch one on a dyno you can see the deflection in the walls of the manifold. That is why OEM manifolds have thick cast walls as a minimum 6-8mm thick. Therefore I would ask what internal ribbing has been used to strength this manifold. Rob's (Mr Turbo) manifold is made from S.S so it is mechanically more rigid. The reasons I ask is I have seen a number of similar manifolds that fail, either with stress cracks (most minor) or major blow-ups (at the drags), and I wouldn't want someone who obviously cares a lot about their car have to experience that situation. Cheers Robin.

I can get the 6 pot Brembo pads, genuine Brembo AMG pads. These are the same pads as used by AMG Mercedes in their top end cars, and are a composite sintered metal pad which are superior in braking performance to the stock pad. The only downside is brake dust, minor squeel under very light braking and added rotor wear. The advantage is neck snapping braking performance and suitability for club type track work. I used them at a recent Sandown track day, and a friend of mine is also used them on the day, no problems. Another car with some "so called track pads" melted his and wrecked the rotors as well. If you are interested PM me and I can find out prices, but expect around $500 a pair. I can probably get the genuine (Ford/Brembo) four spots as well for around $400 a set. Cheers Robin.

Rob, There goes the budget for an engine upgrade !!! Sorry to hear about your misfortune. At least you don't seem put off with the whole thing .... it will come back better..... stronger..... that it was before, oh ..... until it breaks again that is. Cheers Robin.

MG, Congratulations on an awesome result. I know what you mean, you start one thing and it leads to another and before you know it you have one fantastic looking car and a hole in your back pocket the size of a bus !!! Looking forward to seeing what you have planned next.... Cheers Robin.

I don't believe FPV plan on any upgrade to engine output, etc on BF Mk2 variants. All effort from FPV is now on Orion. Trial engines are currently in testing in BF mules. Target figures are Typhoon I6 spec 300 kW @ 600 NM, GT Boss spec 320 kW @ 600 NM. Also FPV are tossing up on a Territory Turbo variant, which will use a Typhoon spec engine, with possibly a different diff ratio, brake upgrade + minor cosmetic changes. If this happens it will probably occur before Orion becomes a physical reality. That's what I've heard on the grapevine..... Robin.

The answer is not as simple as it seems. You need to consider that the factory turbo is rated at 600HP (450kW). What that means is that at 300 rwkW the turbo is operating well within it's efficient operating zone (look at a Garrett site and check out the compressor efficiency lands). When you push the turbo in an effort to gain HP, you need to look at what impact this has on the efficiency and how close you are to the maximum flow capability of the turbo. What you'll find as the demand for HP increases the turbo falls outside the efficient zone and as a result: (a) you need to increase boost pressure (but you don't realise an equivalent increase in flow rate) (b) outlet temps increase © engine timing needs to be removed to compensate. At that point it's time to change the turbo spec so you are back in the efficient operating zone. The result is, less boost pressure, reduced outlet temps and ability to support more timing advance. So, if you want to cap power at say 310 rwkW (say about 380 fwkW), then you can safely do so with the stock turbo. The stock turbo will be efficient at this point, and so the benefit of the larger turbo is not substanial. Only once you want to go beyond the rating of the turbo will you see the upgraded turbo realise all the benefits I have discussed above. If you want to improve the boost vs kW ratio then your better off at looking at where you are loosing efficiency (ie pressure drops thru the inlet/manifold piping, etc). So if the turbo is pumping out 16psi and you lose 2 psi thru the inlet/intercooler, etc, then the engine actually only gets 14psi. So if you can improve the turbo to inlet restriction by say 2 psi (down), then the turbo actually only needs to produce 14psi to get 14 psi to the engine. As boost is proportional to outlet temp, the resultant reduction in inlet temp will realise other gains. This is why in general the Nizpro/aftermarket plenum/piping cars tend to make more power at lower boost levels than stock inlet/manifold cars. Hope that helps. Cheers Robin.

Onya Jack, glad everything is going well !!!! All I can say it that a big fat set of six pot Brembos looking thru those 20s would be hot !!! May I suggest visiting you local bank ..... while wearing a ski mask !!! Cheers Robin.

See this post, it answers your questions. http://www.fordxr6turbo.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=27138

Gee well done. If you are so kind, are you able to give a "quickish" run down on all the parts required and what was needed to be done. I'm sure many guys would be interested in understanding what was involved, including myself. I've thought about getting a dual zone climate control ICC, but wasn't sure on "what else" is needed. Cheers Robin.

Hey Ninka, How did it all turn out. Were you able to get the climate control upgrade all working ? Robin.

Hi Peter, Thanks for the info. I have ended up getting hold of the FPV cooler, etc, and went that way due to ease of fittment. I think your system will be more efficient as it will have a much larger temperature differential, where as the water cooled system has an ambient of 80 degrees or so. I look forward to see the pics when your done. Cheers Robin