plonky

I think the operative word was "current technology" That is what I mean by the SMG 'box. That technology will filter down to volume production cars eventually. This will be the end of the manual as we know it! BTW the Alfa Romeo Selespeed is available widely and it is an 'auto' in the sense of the word (even though it is a robotic manual. I have driven it extensively and it is a bloody good 'box.

Auto is the way to go.....just ask any of the F1 drivers and they'll tell you what they prefer. Current technology makes the auto a damn sight better than it ever was. Having driven an M3 with SMG I would never go back to a manual if it was available!

If straight line performance was the only criteria, then cars would be built in the fashion that Americans prefer. You cannot denigrate another countries preference and apply it to Australian conditions.....the premium we have on stopping and handling is due to the type of motor racing which most popular and the type of roads we drive upon.

The black plastic cover is the water tray. Anything which makes the bonnet less of a sealed space will vent it. Have another look at the vents, you will see that the air gap creates a vent.

There would be no problem pasing ADR with bonnet vents, as long as they have no sharp edges, don't extend to a certain height and have no entry point that a pedestrian can place his hand into the engine bay. The bonnet vents on the WRX had a water tray underneath. This allowed the hot air to escape, trap water and prevent someone putting their hand into the engine bay. The WRX bonnet scoop also had a number of supporting arms preventing foreign objects into the engine bay.....and the fact the intercooler was there also helped! The bonnet vents are almost mandatory for the XR6T. I just don't know why they weren't put on from the factory.

I do know from experience that the XR6T should have bonnet vents as the amount of heat buildup is extraordinary. The car was back at the dealer two days ago as the rocker cover gasket is leaking down onto the heat shiled and the smoke was incredible. Some of the turbo hoses are also having trouble in the heat (this is Western NSW mind you) As far as stripes go, I love them. However there is no way I would put that poxy pretend stripe package that FPV have ruined the GT with. I would much prefer to see the GT have a stripe kit that is the same as the classic sill stripe on the XRGT and the early Mustang. It is two thin stripes bordering a thicker stripe and they only run between wheel arches. The stripe continuing onto the front bar and to the rear bar looks crap. FPV/Ford, right idea, wrong execution!

My understanding is that the BA chassis has already been engineered for constant AWD therefore the reason why they weigh so much. The Late model camira is yet to be engineered for AWD and will suffer a weight penalty when it happens. I think the new V6 will do wonders for GM however, Ford has an opportunity to build on it's fightback by releasing a Series 2 Falcon prior to release of the new Late model camira with reduced weight/increased engine power (XR6T with a substantial increase in power guaranteed) and option of constant AWD to go hand in hand with the Territory. Ford Australia management has finally got some big ones to stand up to their own bean counters, the biased media, the doubting franchisees, General Motors and all of the other companies that threaten their market share. They have even been humble enough to accept detailed criticism and feedback from the consumer (both fleet and private) and do something about it. The amount of effort they have put into attacking the Police fleet share has been outstanding and has not been seen since the 351 days! They have listened, acted and been rewarded by sales. As a matter of fact, NSW Police Fleet have been inundated with orders for the XR8 and XR6T and I know that Falcons will only be ordered for the next two months to satisfy the HWP Police fleet orders. You can't get much better than that, congrats Geoff and the team!!!!!

As I have stated a number of times, the GT is and should remain the pinnacle of performance of the FPV range. The GT-HO should only be a limited edition designed to be over and above the GT. All the luxury crap in the GT-P should be available as options on the GT and the GT-P should be canned. Therefore the GT-HO would be the type of car like the M3R or the 911RSCS - all the go, stop and handling without the soft touches like radio, climate control etc etc. As far as stripes, colours etc, the GT is the Australian icon borne from American muscle cars. The GT evolved from classic sill stripes to awesome Super Roo graphics, Shakers and Go Wings. The GT was not nor ever will be a Euro Bahn Blaster! If Ford Australia want to revive and use the GT brand (as it has done) it also is obliged to offer proper GT striping and blackouts as options (as per the original cars). The GT is an AUSTRALIAN icon....not a pretend Euro or an American muscle car. The design, engineering and historical status of the GT is something that Australians created and we shouldn't be embarrased to retain that heritage.

Ken you would be shocked to know that when I was 14, I read the Lord of the Rings trilogy 37 times. I think I read the Silmarillion almost 40 times. I just have a good memory and some things fascinate me!

I wish I was only driving a VY SS for three days!! My new car is a VY SS and I'm stuck with it until next May. That's when the XR8 returns to roost!

I rate myself good enough to do what I have to do everyday without getting flustered, lose concentration, remain kind to the car and avoid being involved in or creating accidents. Remaining smooth and calm is my overriding doctrine. I am also skilled and experienced enough to know that I am not 10 out of 10 nor will I drive above 80% of my skill and experience. Suffice to say no one has EVER gotten away from me in a pursuit in either the city or country. A sensible head that doesn't have tunnel vision will be the safest driver around.

Bullit is the car chase that others should be judged by. Nothing comes close (not even a modified 390 Mustang to try and keep up with the Charger R/T with a 440 Magnum) Bullit is the closest thing to a real car chase (and I've been in plenty) - the way the sequence is almost unrehearsed makes it more realistic. The first chase ("March Hare to Big Bopper" etc )in Mad Max has to be second, followed by The Italian Job and then the original Gone in Sixty Seconds. Vanishing Point (the original) didn;t star Elliot Gould, it had an actor whose name escapes me but he was the lead in a detective series in the '70's called 'Petrocelli' The remake starred Viggo Mortensen @ Aragorn. The real star was a Dodge Challenger and a 440 Magnum (recurring theme?) Other very worthy mentions include the chase in the original Terminator, The French Connection, Ronin, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry and any of the driving in The Dukes of Hazzard! The original Gone in Sixty Seconds is absolutely awesome. The director is also the lead actor and he almost kills himself when the Mach 1 Mustang he is driving hits a pole on a freeway. By the way, if you watch the movie you will notice that all the Highway Patrol cars are Dodge/Plymouth Police Packs with the mighty 440 Magnum, and the Mustang is in REAL trouble trying to accelerate away from the HWP cars. The California Highway Patrol had a long running deal with Dodge, and Dodge was the weapon of choice after they proved that the 1969 Plymouth Fury/Dodge Coronet could sustain 150MPH for a period of half an hour at wide open throttle. The competition couldn;t compete (GM, AMC, Ford) The CHP stayed with Dodge for over 25 years!

I believe that the GT-P is totally irrelevant and should be shelved!! The GT brand IS and SHOULD BE the pinnacle of FPV 'Total Performance'. If you want all the fruit on the car then it should be available as options not as seperate model. The solution should be; Resurrection of the GS brand as the base FPV performance car and GT as the pinnacle of the FPV performance car. This then leaves room for the GT-HO to be produced in 'Limited Phases' to add desirability and collectability in both Total Performance and rarity. The GT-HO could only be introduced 'over and above' the GT, once the GT has been developed for it's purpose as the best Grand Tourer in that market. As long as the GT is second fiddle to the GT-P, the GT brand will continue to be trivialised. The sentiment is right at FPV but the execution is wrong. For God's sake, they can't even get a set of stripes right for the car: the Stripe package is a rip off of the old Monaro design (and stripes didn;t extend onto the front bar or rear guard). Ford GT stripes are the classic sill stripe (two thin stripes bordering a thicker stripe) in between the front and rear wheels. As I said, the sentiment is right but the execution is wrong. There is no room for the GT-P because it gives the impression that it is the pinnacle of FPV development but in reality it is just a fatter, heavier, more luxurious GT. The GT is at the top........Keep it there, kill the GT-P and reintroduce the GS as the entry level FPV car!!! Of course this is all just my opinion.

I can only gloat when I say that I drive both the BA XR6T and the BAXR8 regularly!!!!!! The Performance brake package is well worth it, the sound of the Boss should be sold on CD. The good news is that the XR8 is really changing the opinion of the HWP guys (who haven't had a serious contender for a HWP car since the XD/XE days) and there have been plenty of phone calls and files to Fleet to change the order from a VY Magna to a BA Ford Falcon XR 8. Long live the KING!!!!!!

There is not much that can beat the fun of a cam with lots of lift and duration, big ported heads, carburretors and good old fashioned exhaust noise!!!!! Big cubes = big torque, big HP and lots of fuel!

There should be a link within the EPA site that takes you to the specific Act. It is the Protection of the Environment (Motor Vehicle Accessories) Act. There is a paragraph that states that the exhaust system must have the same amount of mufflers that is on the standard (complianced) system. The centre muffler may only have been put there by Ford to ensure that it passed the drive by noise test when the car was complianced. The drive by noise test includes the noise from the exhaust, induction, wind noise and tyre noise as well as mechanical noise. A new car must meet the 91 dB limit. Believe me this is extremely hard with a standard unmodified car and as soon as you change anything the noise increases as per the test. I don't agree with the legislation as cars now sound like a vacuum cleaner (except the XR8) and sensible modifications that increase economy or performance are prohibited because of the increase in noise. However, the Green movement has a lot of political power in this country and as such the EPA legislation is very powerful and expensive.

The EPA legislation doesn't apply to blue slip inspectors. It applies to the EPA and the Police. Just don't get caught .

If the centre muffler is removed is it replaced with another style of muffler? I know some people hate to hear this but there is an Act called the Protection of the Environment (Motor Vehicle Accessories) Act, and in Section 18 of that Act, it stipulates the noise control equipment of a motor vehicle. The Noise control equipment covers induction and exhaust and generally relates to things such as the standard airbox, blow off valves that vent into the atmosphere and make noise and the exhaust system. With the exhaust system, it must RETAIN the same amount of mufflers/silencers that the car was originally complianced with. Therefore if the modification such as the removal of the centre muffler without it being replaced by anything other than a piece of pipe, the modification is illegal. The repairer/mechanic that did the mod get's fines as well as the owner of the car. The thing that stings is that any modification to the noise control equipment only needs to be louder than standard 'in the opinion of the authorised officer'. An authorised officer includes the Police, and they can issue a ticket on the spot as well as defect the car and demand that it be presented to the EPA for a drive by noise test (at the owners expense) Fortunately thise legislation is not too well known (except for some clued up bastards like me) and it is used on the criminal element who drive late model Jap imports. In saying that though, if you bring yourself under notice you can guarantee that a switched on HWP guy will have a look. Fortunately XR6T's are not driven by riff raff so a sensible head should prevail. I'm neither for or against the legislation (my car is 1969, pre ADR and I'm allowed a 98dB limit) but be aware that the penalities exist and make your modifications using your head not your ego. I think a 17kW gain is excellent!

Exactly!!!! Now of I can only find a way to get good mileage out of the big block and still run good times................

Whatever form Ken takes (be it Maiar or Astari) I don't care as long as he stays on this Forum. Everyone needs a dose of sarcasm as sharp as Glamdring's edge! Just don't turn into a horse!

And who ever said that blokes with old V8's with carbies don;t know what they're talking about LOL I did the the same modification on my WRX as what I suggested earlier taking particular attention to build a 'pool' of cool slow moving air in the wheel well. That mod alone gave me about .5 sec in performance without upsetting the MAF sensor or tricking the computer to run lean/rich.

I like Blueprint but it has had it's day. Virtually every car on the road is Blueprint (an exaggeration but it highlights the point) I would really like to see some colours such as Brambles Red, Surfer Orange, Blaze Yellow, Calypso Green, Thar She Blue (Chrysler colour) Vitamin C/Hemi Orange (Chrysler Colour) Limelight (Chrysler Colour) A real hero colour for a prospective GTHO would have to be Brambles Red (just like Moffat's car)

Hmmm. $120 for the K&N Filter, $200 ticket for having defective noise control equipment, more hot unstable air into the inlet manifold.... Hardly seems worth it. A better option would be to keep the standard airbox, replace the paper filter with a K&N flat fllter, run internally smooth piping from the standard airbox out to the area inside the wheel well (so that you are taking cold still air, not hot fast moving air) or plumb the piping down to an area behind the front bar. This gives you colder stable air as opposed to incerase the density of the charge. Removal of the standard airbox to replace it with a rampod style filter is uneconomical, both in financial and performance terms.

I recommend Carpoint with a digital photo and Auto Trader with a photo. Auto Trader is national and is linked to Trading Post therefore your ad appears in both. Carpoint is probably the biggest and a lot of dealers look at it. Of course you will get the best price for your car privately however the Ford dealer that you buy your GT from may be able to offer you a really good changeover. After all it is a competitive market and if you buy in Sydney most of the dealers are part of the RJV (Retail Joint Venture) and have a common owner. My local Ford dealer principal is a very close friend and his son is my best friend and they have a very tasty Blood Orange GT in the lot at the moment. Mmmmm GT

Mate do yourself a favour, save some money and go and do a defensive driving course. It will be the best money you ever spent and you will then see how badly everyone drives on the road. It might even save your life one day!