mickq

Have you seen the BMW adds that are made and are about 20 minutes long. If your running Kazaa type in BMW films and watch them, it is excellent display of driving and the car. My favourites is the HOSTAGE, FILM STAR and TICKER. Sure have! You can download them even faster from the official site: http://intl.bmwfilms.com/clap.asp?template...a&film=&start=Y The one I like best is the one with Madonna in it, ending up on her a$$. Very funny!

I think you have an excellent cause for filing a complaint about false advertising. Read the brochures etc...do any mention the leather option isnt all-leather? Do they call the option something like Leather Seats or similar that clearly indicates you can expect leather? If not, it is definitely at a minimum misleading advertising. A person could reasonably expect that the leather seat option entailed all major surfaces that are visible/reachable to be leather. Id check it with the relevant authorities, and if they agree, make a claim with ford demanding a full refund on monies paid for the leather option.

Good for you....seems like we have another true Driver here! I hope you put in a little more effort with the second set.....and join me at the 10,000 km limit!

No idea. The TC sensors are tied in with the ABS. Unless the sensors thought the wheels were locking or spinning, then they would not have engaged the TC. That weird. Perhaps the smaller than standard rims (16" vs 17") interfered with the ABS sensor causing it to produce inaccurate readings....leading to TC bring triggered off when it should not have been. ...or perhaps the car thought it was now an XT, and applied the same rules as would apply to an XT, so anything more than half throttle made the car think it was out of control and better slow down!

I had no issues for a while. Then it stalled once. Then I notice under some slowing-down type conditions (and when I put the car into neutral) the car almost stalls. Mentioned it to the service people, and they re-flashed my ECU with the latest software. Ive noticed it doesnt come as close to stalling, but you can REALLY see where they put in the line: If RPM=500 then spurt accelerator until RPM=1300 then slow down slowly to idle speed. Its a bit of a primitive fix in my opinion. I expect when I put my foot on the clutch as Im almost stopped that the revs should quickly drop down and settle at idle...and not come close to stalling nor involve extended periods (a second) at higher revs in an attempt to prevent a stall. Its a little bit worse with Air-con on which is not suprising. Also, with the new software I notice a definite bit of a surge when using cruise control at about 80kmh. The cruise control was 100% perfect before then. Now the surging at that speed is not only notieable and a bit annoying, but with our anal speed laws, puts me at risk of going 3kmh over the limit and having a finger chopped off by Mr Bracks for doing so.

Sounds great, but 4.31 secs 0-100 is more than a little optimistic. Not possible given the power output you posted, and the weight of the car.

Yep, did the same and thought "oh dear, Ive stuffed it already". Would have sworn from where it came from and the smell that it was an electrical thing I fried. The problem is a simple one. Despite what ford say, dont be worried about driving it even in this state over limited distances. When you call them they will want to pick it up immediately and say dont use it. (I still picked up my pizza, and did a few other bits and pieces - a little weird to drive but worked fine and still went well and sounded quite tough! I then lost a whole long weekend of driving it waiting for them to pick it up when they were back on duty - I called Friday arvo and they could only come Tuesday - as that's when dealers opened despite it being a huge driving weekend Australia wide - poor service.). It will do some weird things with idle speed and the turbo noises will be louder (especially the popoff sound) but it wont do damage as all that's happening is the turbo blown aiur is blowing into the atmpsphere, and the engine is instead mostly just sucking in air it needs like a normal car. The car will simply be running in or nearly in naturally aspirated form. Bit of a drop in power, obviously, but they still tend to go quite well (remember the NA version is 182kw) The pipe at the front of the turbo...where air is blown out at pressure has popped off. It probably popped off an oil rebreather tube as well, causing a little splash of oil onto the turbo. that's where the smoke came from. (I was sure I had fried something electrical and expensive, but not so). The smoke wont likely re-occur. And the car should be booked in ASAP to have the pipe put back on (you should be able to look at the left hand sife of the engine, see the turbo, and see the largish pipe that's popped off the front of it...and probably see the spinning turbine blades as well. Turn off the car after a fast drive and open the bonnet...the tubine blades will be obvious as they keep spinning for a min or two as they slow down). Some people have done the fix themselves as you could just buy a worm screw clamp thingie (cant remember their name!) and re-attach the pipe(s) and tighten it up. Mine happened due to spirited driving not long after I got it. The next morning when I started it....pop.....fizz....smoke from just in front of me... sh*t. The fix has been perect, and I havent had an issue since, regarldless of what torture I put the car through. There is no shortage of torture for my car! So dont stress. Its likely the same issue. Not uncommon. And nothing to worry about. WOnt effect anything long term, including the turbo. This is because its only the outlet pipe that pops off....things are blwon out and no contination is likely to hit the exposed turbo blades at 90,000 rpm as they would be if it was the intake tube that popped off.

I really couldnt be bothered spending time joining up, even though I do want to see the photos. Cant you save them, and post them in your message? Just be sure to put a link to the website and acknowledge where it came from.

This thread sounds familiar! I asked a similar question about 2 weeks ago, and there is lots of info in that thread if you go search for it. I got 10,000 out of my rears. Front tyres have about 25% left or so. No burnouts etc. Just quick driving. Standard factory fitted 3000A's.

I like the idea of the BMW M-series copy. Not just a T at the front, but a T with "something" just like the BMW M. I reckon the BMW M is the best performance branding there is. Subtle. Not over the top. Yet every single person that knows much about anything more than Aussie cars has great respect for them. (Assuming its not a wa*ker with a 318i who stuck a badge on it). Id trade my 6T for a new M3 or M5 any day! Some people probably arent familiar with the M-series BMW's. To give you some idea, the 1985 BMW M5 is hand built, each is tested on the track by BMW test drivers, and has 214kw and 340Nm from a 3.4 litre naturally aspirated engine. (Imagine it with a turbo on it!) And that's nowhere near what they are like in the newer models! Amazing, considering it was almost 20 years ago, there is no turbo, and the XR6T is 4 litres with a turbo and puts out 240kW and 450Nm! 1985 and it did 0-100 in 6.1 seconds. And they are reliable. Yours for about $15,000 if you can find one for sale. Just unreal. And that's their "cruiser"! The M3 is the real sports car. For those who havent seen them, check out this doc I made up a while ago when I was thinking of buying an old M5. (See below) This is what BMW were doing almost 20 years ago! Tell me that engine doesnt look sexual! They are all just as good, and the current one is 252kW from just 3.2 litres and does 0-100 in 5.2 seconds. Or the even better CSL version which is 260kW and 0-100 in 4.9 seconds. Wickedly fast, and the braking and handling are just as scary as it is when you plant your right foot. Look just to the left of the Right Hand Side headlights on the first photo in the attached doc and you will see the subtle yet powerful M badge. A similar thing (not just a plain T - add something to it) would work wonders on an XR6T if well done and placed properly. You could do similar for the rear. A cool pix of and old M series BMW's in action: https://www.m-series.com/photos/images/830cool_7.jpg M5_Series.doc

Nah, at that slow speed its probably being towed behind a commodore...

From memory I had 19, but could be wrong. I would assume that its possible it does a couple at the plant, and then a couple just prior to delivery. Now that the cars are common, the chances of mechanics jumping in to take it for a hoon are much lower as they will have all done it before. (THey will move on to the GT-P's!)

I havent had a problem with de-badgeing on my T, and I is parkred on quit a busy corner, every night. Its not as exciting for them to steal the turbo bit...all the letters are separate and agter stealing each letter, if they wanted to display it somewhere, they would need to mount each letter. Not as easy to do as a single solid Expensive Daewoo badge or similar. I wouldnt de-badge it. Every Turbo owner out there will think you are an a NA XR6 and too embarrased to let anyone know it. I look at the back of every XR6 that drives by to see if its NA or Turbo. Definitely look at them different when I see those little red letters. If it were a BMW M3 or M5 or something recogniseable by people in the know as an awesome car, then you could consider it, but since there is a big difference between an NA and a turbo, I say wear the turbo badge with pride.

Its doesnt really mean much, except that those with higher averages do a lot of highway driving. In general the higher the average (once above a certain level) you can be pretty sure the car is leading quite an easy life for the number of k's its done as highway driving is much easier on cars than city driving. I drive on highways very rarely, and my average is 31kmh which is extremely high for city driving. (Mostly 50,60 and the odd 80 zones, but mostly 60 zones). Other people I know who drive hard get mid 20's. Anyone claiming to be much higher than 30 or so and only doing hard city driving is either totally insane or a liar (most likely a liar...Im half insane and at 31kmh). To give you some idea, first set of rear tyres needed replacing at 10,000km without a single burnout having been done. Fuel consumption is ~22-24L/100km. (Drops to 7-9L/100km at 100kmh on freeways which is outstanding for a sports car)

World Trade Centre ya reckon!?! Yes, world trade centre. You could see all those comms towers from the top of the tower they used to let you go on the top of. I was lucky enough to get to go up there a few months before 9/11. Just INSANE how high those buildings were. From the top you would actually be looking DOWN on planes flying past. They were amazingly big. 25,000 staff in them. You know something interesting: after the buildings came down, not one single telephone was found in the rubble. WEIRD!

I would like to drive one, not own one. Last time I checked, a genuine AC Cobra in good condition (rare) cost $20,000 per year to register, and that's only if you use it a few times a year on club days etc!

Ive had two instances of not starting properly in the last few weeks. It was after (but might not be related to) they fixed my cam shaft pulley and belt. Im dropping my car in tomorrow to be looked at for this and a couple of things. The signs I had re starting were: took about 10 separate attempts to start it. Either completely dead (crakned over but seemingly no spark) or else one or two cylinders caught for a fraction of a second and then it coughed and died straight away. When I eventually got it started it sounded like it was running on 2 or 3 cylinders. Rough as hell. The ECU struggled to keep it alive but within about 30 seconds idle was normal and the car worked fine from then on. No pattern of when it occurs (once car was hot, the other engine had sat for 7 hours). Hopefully they will find something tomorrow when they look at it. But knowing murphy's law they will take a look and say it all works fine!

There are tons of rumours about the terrible things Optimax supposedly does, but very very little fact. Try finding a mechanic or person with FIRST PERSON experience with a problem caused by optimax and you will find it extremely rare. Ive tried, and all, when questioned closely finally admit it was a firend of a friend or similar. Most people who complain of things fouling up are people who drive/ride in the low rev range. This is a pattern I have found amongst every person (not that many of them) who has said their engine fouled with Optimax. Any engine will eventually foul if only kep in low revs (should be run through the entire rev range relatively frequently). Optimax, it seems, in some vehicles may make this happen more readily. Also, when used in a vehicle that is not new, there is a small chance that the detergents whilst cleaning your engine may loosen deposits that are gunked up somewhere inside your engine. This if you are unlucky can do things like block a fuel injector. (Question: was your bike brand new and did it use Optimax from day one? Or did it use lower quality fuel and then Optimax?). When a vehicle that is gunked up has a problem when Optimax loosens some gunk stuck somewhere, I wouldnt blame Optimax - Id blame the crap fuel that put the deposit there in the first place. Any one of several fuels or aftermarket fuel system cleaners could have loosened that same crap and caused the same problem. I have to say Ive used it in a variety or leaded and unleaded cars and bikes, both standard and performance vehicles, and have never had an issue. Its not always the best fuel for every engine (example: my bike runs a little smoother on Mobil8000 than Optimax....but most of my cars have been the opposite).

Ummm, doubt it! Have you seen the size of the brake pedal on the Auto? It is signifigantly biiger than the average brake pedal. The FPV pedal set is extremely high quality, and legal too. Ive seen and owned aftermarket pedals in tons of different shapes and sizes. Its a bit simple to say "the auto has a big pedal so probably no aftermarket one can be found". And sorry....I drive real cars...ie manuals. Cant for the life of me thing why someone would bother with non-standard pedals on an auto...

Aquaplaning can be effected by the type of tyres, the width of tyres and also the tire pressure. Each of these (and other things) can effect the ability of the tyre to cut through pooled or banked up water. (Wider tyres are worse. Lower tyre pressures are worse. Bad tread patterns on tyres are worse).

Nothing beats reality though. Check out the attached doc I made for some friends a few months back. The pics are taken from a number of rice-enhanced websites. Man, these guys are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sad. I just dont get it. Riceboys_v1.zip

I cant view that photo....blank page appears. Has it been taken down or something? tif files usually are not a problem for me to see.

The graphics on this game are unreal. Ive attached my best Mitsubishi Lancer for you to drool over. It has all the goodies (except the Pokemon toys stuck to the dash....the game doesnt let you do that) Pic quality was squashed a bit to make it smaller. Enjoy. Lancer.doc

Not quite. It says you can use standard unleaded (~91 or 92 RON) but for maximum performance you must use >95 RON. The engine will detect the lower octaine fuel and make changes to its fuel and ignition mapping to suit...which will reuslt in lower power. (But I still convinced my company that Premium was mandatory...so my fuel cards are allowed to have premium on them!)

I have 4 dyno graphs from 4 runs each of which have a different exhaust variation, on an otherwise stock vehicle. I have printouts of the boost for each run. My stock car shows a slight boost spike to 6lb at 90kph, fairly smoothly coming down to 5lb at 110kph, then to 4.5lb at 128kph, then gradually back up to 5.5 lb at 155kph, then down to 4.5lb at 163kph. Just because it is electronically controlled does not mean uniform boost or that there will be no boost spikes. You have a mixture of electronics and mechanical ( a la spring) trying to control boost, as well as the natural exhaust pressure on the wastegate when it is closed. It will not be a perfectly controlled boost, but a variation of 1.5 lbs should not be an issue. With the full exhaust change I’ve done I have a graph that shows consistently 0.5lb extra boost across the whole run. With a partial exhaust change the boost is somewhere in between for the other 2 runs. With the full exhaust the first boost spike hit 5kph earlier. Even an extra 0.5lb boost should result in some extra HP. Faster turbo spool-up IS what brings boost on earlier… that’s exactly what you do want. The faster you hit the peak boost the more likely that you’ll have a boost spike. I know it’s only low boost, but the initial boost spike did increase. And not all boost controllers (EBC’s) are made the same. Not sure what you mean, cars do have valve overlap. On non VVT cars, turbo cars have far less overlap than non-turbo cars, on VVT cars possibly almost no overlap at low rpm. At higher rpm on higher boost I’d be amazed if there was no overlap (unless you really want to keep power down). That means that the exhaust valve will still be open at the start of the intake stroke, and close during the intake stroke. Nevertheless less backpressure on the exhaust side should mean better flow. Actually, when we put on the new cat and bigger front exhaust section, the sound jumped over 10db (center muffler already removed), so we new the change had good potential to flow. Finally, with the factory design the motor looks like a good heater for pre and post intercooled air! Anyone measured it! However, my paint was blistered before any mods. Brian Who said there would be uniform boost? Its rare to see uniform boost on any modern car. Your figures indicate that the turbo with its wastegate and ECU controller only function within a 8.3% tolerance of intended boost. I disagree. The tolerance is lots less than that. As I said, Id certainly expect an earlier boost, but an overall and worse still steady increase in boost acorss the rev range? I doubt it. Mechanical springs may not be as reliable as electronics, but no way a mechanical spring will be equally off across the entire rev and boost range. I would at a minimum expect it to react differently depednign on the situation, for example, is the increase in throttle sudden or gradual. Were you there, and not only there but carefully watching what they were doing on the computer when they did those runs? Its not at all unusual for dyno runs to be "tweaked" to show the benefit of the money you just spent. You can do it very easily in many ways, including setting up a different ambient temperature. Its not at all uncommon, and if you want 3rd party proof, you can see articles on this if you search the net. "The faster you hit the peak boost the more likely that you’ll have a boost spike. " What does that mean? Peak boost is a potential boost spike. Im not sure what you mean by boost spike. Peak boost is peak boost. You cant have peak boost and a boost spike and they not be the same thing. Freer flowing exhuasts are about nothing more than spooling the turbo up faster if possible: they dont effect boost peaks. Modern cars have very little valve overlap. Valve overlap equals lower fuel efficiency and also much higher emmissions output. This is because fresh fuel mix containing unburnt fuel will be shoved out the still-open exhaust valve. (The Catalytic converter will only take care of so much). If you read the pollution info on this car, you will quickly realise there is very little overlap. Less back pressure sometimes means better flow. But it also has a downside. It means less gouging of the cylinder prior to the next intake stroke. So you still have some of last-strokes crap in the cylinder when the new intake occurs. This is why few engines not specifically designed for it work better with no exhuast system. Remember no exhaust system (whether it be straight out of the engine into the air, or a straight through system) is the best example of a free flowing exhuast system that there is. Ive tried everything from normal to free flowing exhuaust through 2 foot straight pipes on a variety of engines. Removing a muffler may improve flow. But dont for a minute think there is a linear relationship between dB increase and exhaust flow. There isnt. By removing a muffler you do usually increase flow a bit, but much of the extra noise is due to other things the muffler usually does to cancel noise, and that includes reflected noise from the resonator cancelling out the next pulse. Noise increase does not map directly to increased flow.