sport

does anyone use shell helix synthetic.I used in BA but have only done 4000 in BF & not fussed if I use Mobil 1 or Shell Helix. What are everyones thoughts.

did two in BA auto early in life but none for two years and new BF too new to know.

I had similar probs with my first BA t, mainly water leaks in turbo plumbing, new radiator, few disc machines, new diff (which I told ford was tyres not a diff but they did the diff anyway - guess what!! still had noise with new diff but not after new tyres) bonnet cable & stiff power window but this was really in line with my expectation for any series I of a new model. My new BF has had no major problems - inside window seal bent and brake noise on rear, but apart from that it's great. This one is Vixen red and the paint on the metal is a different shade to the paint on the plastic parts but I am not going to stess about it as I think trying to fix that sort of thing will drive me insane. I'll just change my car over every 3 years so I am always inside warranty: Sport

At high RPM / boost with stock exhaust, back pressure holds the valves open hence creating extra distance bteween the valve and lifter which then pump up hydraulically and when you come back to idle with a pumped up lifter, the lifter holds the valves open and causes the engine to idle roughly for a short time until the lifters pump down agian and allow the valves to fully close. A higher flow exhaust sytem will reduce the back pressure which will eliminate the problem or you can get someone like Nispro to fit heavier valve springs which will achieve the same result certainly upto a 10psi map but will have the added benifit of allowing you to maintain a stock apperance if you have concerns about your dealer or insurance.

I know my ford dealer well as he was a cutomer of mine for 10 years and now my son has started an apprenticeship there so I hope this will give me the inside info. They have already told me they can't detect an edit which has been removed. To clarify what was said earlier, if you go to your dealer and they install a "newer ford flash" and you go home and "flash in your modded tune" I was under the impression that you would now be dowloading the "new ford flash" to your flash unit prior to uploading your modded tune, hence next time you go for service and flash it back to standard, it would now have the "new ford flash" that was installed at you last service hence not create any suspicion at the dealer. Tell me if I am wrong. Also, I am proposing a Nispro "stage 1" edit which is 10psi tune, valve springs, enlargment of my injectors (so as to appear standard) & standard exhaust which I think they said would give about 25 -260 rwkw. Is anyone familiar with this edit My ute is a 6sp auto BF so I am waiting until Nispro have had a bit of experience with the new trans. Sport.

I traded in November from BA XR6T 4sp auto to BF XR6T 6sp auto. New ute is heaps better: * heaps quicker than 4sp * much smoother * much quieter * economy no different yet * brakes better * Have lowered 20mm front 35mm rear with Bilstiens rear - handles much better (initially lowered 50mm but didn't seem to be as good as 35mm rear) * traction control - so what !!! Done heaps of reading on edits and have worked out there are good tuners & cowboys so think I will do Nizpro 10psi edit with valve springs & enlarged injectors. This will then all appear stock & I guess will do low 13's. Others may care to comment here. As I said on earlier post, I change my utes every 3 years or a bit less and it only cost about $12k change over - much more to change over a sedan but ute suits me. Sport.

Alot of what has been said is true (ie if you have been "pouring the coals on" it does pay to drive it down or you can idle for 30sec ) but remember that the XR6T is water cooled and after the engine is turned off, the water "thermo syphons" through the turbo for a few minutes anyway and given that cooling of anything is as a result of heat transfer between two differing temperatures, the turbo will still cool fairly fast given the massive tempearture difference between the turbo and the cooling system. Remember that back in the "old days" of turbo timers, the turbo had enginge oil being pumped through the turbo bearings and if your turned your engine off you would cut the oil flow immediately but a hot turbo would continue to spin because turbos don't spin from gas flow but rather from gas heat hence the need to cool them by idling with the turbo timer. I really think you could give you turbo an absolute belting and then just drive normally for the last kilometre before you turn it off and that would be fine. Sport

I bought it from Pesident Ford in Melbourne. In my previous business (large tyre service) I dealt with heaps of car dealers over a 12 year period so I learnt how the car industry works and I have no trouble at buying a car at dealer cost. Trust me, the BF 6sp auto is the best Xr I have had by a mile and I think this is the 5th one I have owned. If you read all the articles so far on the new BF you will find that outwardly not much appears to have changed, but there are heaps of small techical changes which make it significantly better. I always buy utes as the cost about $6k less initially and the trade 3 years later for about $3k more than a sedan plus they are exempt from FBT (in the case of a company - not sure about privately owned) so I roll em over every 3 years or less for about $12K - $14K Only dowside with a ute is the rear end can bounce a bit on rough roads particularly if it is lowered as mine is but on this one I added Bilstien shocks to the rear and it drives better than any of my previous utes. You asked what colour - Vixen red. my last two AU XR8 III & BA turbo were Blueprint but I think that colour has now past is "used by'

I bought a BF ute with a 6sp auto and factory 18's for $39800 on the road. I reckon time will prove this to be the best transmission of all. Besides the 6sp auto option, don't forget that as well as traction control, you get a stock 480nm and greater lattitude for the tuners to play with cam timing as that functinality has been improved in the BF engine, and don't forget that the BF Turbo gets bigger brakes as standard (actually 5mm bigger front rotors than the BA upgrade brakes) and as well as that, imho a better looking front bumper. I can tell you for certain, the 6sp auto is a heap quiker car stock than my previous 4 sp auto BA. I reckon, if you are trying to decide BAII or BF if you add up all the little upgrades they are worth the extra spend and don't forget that next time you will be trading the newer model.

Some people will always be manual drivers and that's fine, but for those who move with the times, trannys like the ZF 6 sp are the way of the future. I have driven a manual and owned a 4sp auto BA and now have a 6sp auto BF and this is the best damm thing I have ever driven. One of the motor magazines did a full feature on its functionality which will blow you away and the motoring journos (who I reckon never run a good time anyway) suggest that the very best 6 speed manual driver car for car will never run as quick a time as this auto will. In first and second the auto6 feels like it pulls as hard down low as the APS stage 2 kit does in front of the old 4sp auto. Mind you, its a different story when the APS 2 kit hits 4000 rpm. "if in doupt - check it out" sport:

Although my BF Xr6t 6sp auto is my second turbo, I have not done any mods so far. I see guys talking about edits all the time and I have done some web research on the CAPA flash tune which seems great in concept, but my concern is that if I use the CAPA stage 1 (280 - 310Kw) do you encounter all the problems of injectors too small, back pressure holding valves open (ie bigger exhaust req'd) and other problems people have commented on. Can I use the CAPA flash tune or some other form of reversible edit to give me Typoon type power witout having to do a host of other mods or does the Typhoon already have bigger injectors, exhaust,or heavier valve springs. Any advice is appreciated.

I don't think there will be a real difference between the BA & the BF unless the BF has a 6sp auto. I don't think you can get a 6sp auto in a n/a xr6 only the turbo ??? The difference between 4sp auto BA xr6t & 6sp auto BF xr6t is huge.

I have just traded my BA XR6T ute for a BF 6 speed ute and the difference down low is sensational. I was going to lower it using Pedders "Reverse Eye" springs on the rear but they are out of stock so I have had it lowered using Kings in Reverse Eye. The kings are only a single stage 6 leaf (thinner leaves) unlike the standard XR which are a two stage 4 leaf (thicker leaves). I think the Kings springs seem to bounce around a bit more and I think the finished height is a bit too low ( 350mm centre to gaurd) I think a Tornado is about 360 - 365 centre to gaurd but don't know if 1 or 2 stage set up. Also the Kings don't have rubber or plasic shims between the leaves, so not sure if they will become noisy or more harsh like an old . What experience does everyone have with lowering XR utes without trading off all the comfort.

Everything that has been said about trade-ins lines up with my experience with sedans. For FBT I drive a ute (which may not suit everyone) but you pay about $6000 less to buy & then get abiut $2000 more when you trade. I have just traded my 2003 ute for $28000 and only paid $39500 when I bought it. The new 6 speed auto is sensational.

Welcome aboard. I went for the standard everything in my T as it is my work run-about. given my time again, I would go for thre premiun sound on the assumption that it would have a better head unit (as this part can't be upgraded), I would definitely go prem. brakes as they stop better from higher speeds and the auto is awsome behind the T and a lot of comment suggests that it may be quicker and finally the 18" tyre is a technically superior tyre which will grip better in the wet, is Japanese V aus. for the 17" hence better quality, 18" squeel less and smoke more, 18" will give you less miles and 18" will tram track more and are a bit noisier. (tyre comments are from my 15 yaers as a trye store owner) Hope this helps.

I drove mine auto ute in "granny Mode" for one tank and the best I could get was 14.9 so I just drive normally (giving it a reasonable squirt most of the time) and get about 16.5 which I reckon is OK. I am happy to blow 2 extra l/100k and enjoy having the turbo grunt. I am not ready for "granny mode" yet.

It has all been covered in this post: * No FBT - Do the numbers with your accountant = huge savings * Initial Cost about $10K Less * Resale definately better * Utes are far more "Blokey" Way to go!!

Same as the others - I did mine on day one & I am fussy as well but if I fix it will only happen again. Here is a tip. Ring you local new car dealer and you will find that the used car departments always have one or two contractors that they use just do little spray touch ups for a fraction of the cost of the whole spoiler. I got a scratch fixed for one of my staff last week and it saved him about $650 on the quoted job for the full panel re-paint. Good luck.

I parked my xr6t "ute" next to a n/a xr6 sedan and my ute was about 30 - 40mm lower in the front end, so I wonder if the T is lower than the n/a??

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I agree with NT TURBO. Being an ex mechanic, I have always used the brakes as it is a whole lot easier and cheaper to fix brakes than a trans. Also if you develop this method as a habit, you may end up in the "sh*t" one day particularly in the wet on a windy road as it will only apply braking to the rear wheels with no ABS and if you are going down hill and the weight is over the front wheels it could be a bit dodgey.

want to be there & sould be able to make it as I get on well with the boss (me). Pls post detail asap.

I ownwed a tyre service for a long time so I can tell you that most "directional" tyres will tram track at some stage of thier life (ie 18" tyres on XR's) What varies the most is driver perception and they tram track far less with lower K's but "asymetric" tyres as fitted in most 17" XR applications will tram track less but you can still notice at bit at times as I have with my xrt

My xr6t has been to dealer 5 times for this problem. Various fixes tried including o ring twice, hoses replaced, clamps tighened, and a new water pump and it still leaked until finally the complete turbo / manifold was taken off to replace a hard to get to "coolant pipe" which seems to have fixed it. I would still put up with the inconvenience of a series 1 car if that's what it takes for a while to drive such an awsome car.

I assume that the 16" wheels you are talking about have 225/50x16 tyres in which case the difference is not 2% but 4% to 18" (2% to 17") but in any case you will be travelling slower that you are reading on your speedo hence further inside the law. As for wheelspin, lets not get carried away here - there is a small pedal on the right called an accelarator - try pressing it less, that might work !! Good luck at the snow.