mickq

SP9000's. Unfortunately I get unlimited free tyres and fuel....

Ok, picture this.....guy is at a driving skills competitive event, and once he is done he ends up doing some circle work at the end in front of the crowd. Being a genius, he decides his burnouts are extra cool with him standing outside the car while the wheels are spinning. Accelerator must have been pegged to the floored position or similar. Then it all kind of goes a wee bit wrong... Whilst this video is not graphic, I do warn people that the whole concept of what you see happen in the distance is a little disturbing! Bet you its the first time you have seen a guy do a burnout from underneath his car... Ok, after a minor technical glitch, here is a link: Click here to watch baddrift Size about 3MB

If your paint is any good, you shouldnt get rust. The rust requires the metal to be exposed to the air....so if you quickly deal with nicks that go through to the metal, you should prevent 90% of rust forming, particularly that rust which forms on otherwise flat parts of panels.

No, but Im trying! After having my faulty center muffler replaced under warrantee, the car is going much harder. Interestingly, fuel consumption instantly increased from a steady 24 to just over 28L/100km using Mobil8000. My Mk2 used more than my Mk1 used to (which was around 23.5L/100km) right from the start. Im still trying for that 30 though...I reckon it can be done...maybe when my motor loosens up a little more over the next 5000km.

Only took 8100km. I was quite impressed with myself My Mk1 manual which had 17" SP3000A's lasted 9000km, each and every time. My Mk2 manual which has 18" SP9000's lasted only 8100 for the first set of rears. And not a single burnout - just hard city driving. Got to love it ! And that's on a standard T....anyone want to lend me their edited one for some tyre testing??

Strapp Ford in Kew. They are great. Have been using them on 2 different T's for the last 2.5-3 years. Have fixed a ton of issues for me. They also offer something pretty cool - overnight servicing. Drop your car off in the evening, and pick it up early morning on the way to work. If it will require any unusual parts, be sure they know beforehand so can get them in.

I partly disagree. There is NO WAY all parts of an engine reach operating temperature in 3-5 minutes, unless the ambient temperature is very hot (say 40 degrees) or the car is being thrashed over that 3-5 minutes. Even modern engines contain a variety of different metals, and they take differeing times to reach operating temperature. Its not all about oil - its also about allowing time for expansion to occur. If you dont let it occur and hammer, you have a much higher chance of both wear and failure, because the tolerances engineered in the engine can be out of whack when they involve two very different materials in very close proximity - especially if you start it cold and simply floor it. Even if the car happened to be all lubed up somehow, you are still at a much higher risk of engine damage because metal things dont generally like belting against other metal things they arent meant to touch. This can occur when one part is already warm and the other is not at all...and thus one part has expanded and the other has not...and you then throw a ton of load into the picture. People often say many cars have modern all-alloy engines mean this isnt an issue. It is...because an engine will contain a dozen+ different types of metal...for example your rings. Also, oil circulation is, in general, highly dependent on oil temperature. And guess what....oil temp is highly dependent on engine temp. And guess what happens if you drive a car really hard when the oil is cool...even if it is already circulating everywhere? You can easily get inadequate oil movement because it is more viscous, which can lead to oil starvation which can lead to both wear and if you are unlucky, component failure. Your advice does not take that into account, especially with heavier mineral oils that can markedly change thickness as they warm up. (Some synthetics like Mobil1 dont normally have that problem as their viscosity doesnt change much over the normal operating range). Now factor in a turbo, which has a much closer tolerance than any other part of a car, and think about how the bearings will react if they get a 2 second oil starvation event when the impeller is spinning at 100,000rpm.... As you said, idle it for a minute or so. Keep revs lowish, but most importantly dont load the engine up (regardless of revs) for the first 500m or so. Then you can start adding more revs and load for a few minutes....but Id allow a good 10 mins+ of normal driving before thrashing it, to allow everything from engine, oil, coolant, gearbox and diff to warm up near operating termperature. Max driving before then WILL increase wear AND while you do it you will be at an increased chance of a component failing. The engine will continue to warm up even after that, depending on how you are driving and the ambient temperature, and things like whether you are spending a lot of time idling in stop start traffic. As probably everyone knows, when you engine is guaranteed to be 100% operating temperature, for example after a long drive, they tend to run much better and rev more freely, and not all of it is related to blowing the crud out of your cylinders. It also has to do with tolerances being exactly as they should be because eveything has reached the right temp, and from excellent oil circulation because the oil is at the right viscosity.

What a load of crap. I would firstly write a letter of complaint to the EPA. The rules for measuring noise levels are *very* specific, as they dictate that a sound meter must be set up a certain distance and direction from the exhaust tip, and the engine must be revved at a certain amount of RPM, and the reading is taken and this is the noise of your car. Point out that you have a standard exchaust and there is no way this "expert" could have accurately determined that your car was too loud given he has no idea how many revs you were at, not an accurate idea of the amount of sound reduction caused by the car he was in, with his radio at a very vague "low" level, and that if the notice is not immediately withdrawn then you will take the matter to court and seek costs to be awarded to you. It is one thing if he is standing right next to your car - where he may be able to argue his years of experience allow him to make a reasonably accurate estimate that its too loud. Its quite another if he admits he was in an unusual environment, and being realistic has no idea of how that environment impacted on the noise he heard. Then get your car tested or as a free alternative find an exhaust expert (or Ford dealer) who is nice enough to write down that they have examined your system and believe the exhaust system to be 100% stock standard, functioning normally, and compliant with all laws, and send in photo copies of that documents to the EPA with your complaint. They know their complaint will not hold up in court - especially as he was in a car with another noise source close to him, and will withdraw the fine. Rather than waste their time - and worse yet incur costs, they will withdraw the notice. Also, from memory, arent the cars noise levels written on a sticker somewhere - either under the bonnet or inside one of the door frames? What a crock of sh1t. Dont take it sitting down, and only do the proper test as a last resort. Hell, to call their bluff I woudl tell them you will come down to where he is, and let him AND his colleagues listen to it under more normal conditions and THEN if they still conclude its too loud, will happily agree to have it tested. Otherwise, tell them you will see them in court. (You can always just get it tested later and not go to court....but you get the satisfaction of telling them you cant wait until you see him in court and watching their reaction as they calculate the odds of them winning) I hate crap like that. Total abuse of power. I never take it sitting down. None of them have taken me up on my offer to go to court yet

300km to a tank...oh how I wish! 220 here...absolute maximum. But its a turbo. Im pleased to say my average has now increased to just over 28L/100km. I am aiming for the big 30...it will take some effort as I dont exactly drive like a wuss at the moment! Have you taken your NA back to Ford for a look-see? Probably not hard for them to work out.

Stuff all that, I want more power if I am to look at a new T in a year or so. If Ford dont pick up their act soon, we will all be totally wiped out by 6 litre LS2 SS's, which are expected on our roadsOct-Nov this year. At that time, we can all expect to be whipped by every single new SS we come up against....NOT GOOD!

Note sure if its been posted here yet, but Nizpro just did something very cool: Any car fitted with their Stage 1 Cobra 315kw kit (edit, injectors) is provided with a 12 month 20,000km warrantee on engine and turbo AND a 30 day money back guarantee on the edit and tune part of it. that's unreal - a definite good thing for all of us, as others will have to start competing with that offer soon. From their site: Kit: NizEdit and custom tune, modified 400kW injectors, heavy duty Cobra valve springs, servicing including Mobil 1 oil, genuine oil filter and full check over. Price: $3550 - Drive in, Drive out – In a day! This Kit includes our 20,000km / 12 month Guarantee on engine and turbo failure.

Id recommend against using WD40 anywhere near high voltage. You will get arcing between where the boot meets the very top part of the plug and the engine or spark plug metal base bit if you are unlucky. WD40 conducts electricity. I found this out the hard way with one of my past cars, when I sprayed it inside a distributor cap to get rid of any moisture. Had quite a lightning show

Hey all, Im on my second T (a Mk1 5 spd and now a Mk2 6 speed) and my Mk2 seemed definitely down on power. Its done around 7000km and I am expecting the engine to be relatively loose now and functioning pretty well. It lacked that real pulling power that came in hard and fast when you floor it. It still went OK mind you, but was missing that "edge" my last one had. Given this one has a different gearbox, I couldnt tell if it was due to slightly taller gears. I also noted the moment I got my Mk2 that the exhaust note was VERY different. Louder, throatier. Everyone noticed the difference. One annoying trait I had, was that 3500-3600rpm, especially when you were decellerating from higher revs (which I do all the time) there was this terrible drone sound...like a cheap a$$ exhaust on an Excel. Ford said it was normal, and I put up with it...until about a week ago. So there I am, stopped at the lights. A guy pulls up behind me in what I think was a Mercedes Turbo Deisel delivery van - looked similar to a Ford Transit van. So as he pulls in closer, he moves into the lane next to me. I thought "this guy is game...van vs XR6Turbo, and about 30m across the lights there is a parked car in his lane". So lights are about to turn green, I see him edging forward. Im not the least bit concerned, ane ease off at 1000rpm and as soon as the clutch is out, I floor it. Now I know what turbo-deisels are like with huge torque, but I expected to just take off and keep going well ahead of him without question. Well off he shot, and I was matching him but my driver window was about 3ft behind his as he started earlier. I slowly started to catch up and he indicated to pull int my line just as my car serisouly hit powerband (3000rpm in 1st) and I took off and shot off past him... But boy was it embarrassing. If I was about 1m behind where I was at, I would have really had to let him in...as it was I was a bit of a *beep* and insisted he follow the law and give way to me in the right hand lane...but it was by no means a good feeling! So I thought that's IT! Sick of this. So went to my service place, told them the car is defintely down on power and slow to respond, and the exchaust sounds like a Hyundai Excel, and I dont care what they told me at my last service, there is something wrong. Took one of their guys around the block and they agreed the exhuast noise wasnt right. They called me and said the centre muffler needed replacing and was causing the noise, but power seemed normal and no fault codes anywhere. So I picked up the car and it is much quieter now - same as my old one. But holy sh*t does it go a lot stronger! Not only does it respond to the throttle about 2x quicker, but the power comes on much faster and harder, and TC spends twice as much time trying to cope. Its a completely different car. I imagine the muffler was stuffed. It made it seem louder (I posted about this when I first got the car in April) and whatever part was out of place probably had so much exhaust hitting it at 3500rpm it was vibrating making the droning sound. On top of this it wouold have partially blocked the exhaust which woudl not only reduce power, but would also slow how quickly the turbo can spool up as less exhaust was getting through. So replacing the centre muffler fixed everything at once. Even explains why my tyres arent that worn yet. (The 17's on the Mk1 only lasted 9k). So Im pleased as punch, and maybe even now can pull up next to a transit van with a little confidence...

Defintely real guys. I have seen enough cars wrapped around trees to know a real one when I see it. Some people at certain sites love to try to prove something was faked - anyone who thinks that is a fake doesnt have real experience with car crashes. And often the bark damage is minor. For example in one instance I reached the scene of a fatality in Grange Rd Toorak about 15 seconds after he hit, where a guy slightly drunk lost it on semi-wet roads and ploughed into a tree side on at least 100kmh, and there was some but not tons of bark damage. The trees remain largely unmoved - the car is rooted. Its much safer to hit a brick wall than a tree or light pole. The walls look scarier as you lose control towards one...and people might try to steer away from one, and end up hitting a tree instead!

Excellent! Another proper driver. It appears we are a rare breed here. I get 210-230km per tank of premium around town. My guage hits the half way mark at around 100-110km. My 80km to go warning sound hits when Im a few mm about 1/4 tank. I get worried when people tell me that they get 350+km per tank, and in the same sentence try to say they drive hard around town....it doesnt add up! And this is my second T too so its not a car problem...both were 23.5-24.5km/100km according to the readout. But there is an upside - if I cruise on the freeway economically (rare...but occasionally!) I get in the order of 7-7.5L/100km at 110kmh. Now that's a flexible car. Not many sports cars can perform well but when you drive lightly use as little fuel as a toy car.

Reminds me of a Cylon from Battlestar Galactica.....

Yes I watch it. I saw the Monaro episode about 3 or 4 months ago. Its very funny. They actually like the car, find it a sideways demon, and very easy to keep on the edge (like powersliding around a corner). I would love them to check out the XR6T as I value their opinion. Unfortunately whilst Ford took a T throughout Europe, as far as I know they didnt give it to Top Gear in the UK.

Thanks for the video. that's just like my car....only five times more powerful....

An excellent example of touch parking, if I ever did see on. Was this taken at an elderly persons home?

Possibly torana? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> There is another Torana or two at Fishermans bend at this very moment...and not in pink!

Yeah, those newspapers wrapped in delivery bags are a dead giveaway. Druggo's!! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Im wif you exarsix if theres a bag of weed on that table ill agree with everything geeseman says for the rest of eternity. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Who said there is a big bag of weed on the table in the photos? I havent seen that mentioned in this thread. If you read the original post properly, you will understand the big bag of weed mentioned is the one she was caught with in her boogieboard bag. The reason this photo is significant is that Schapelle has clearly stated she has never done drugs nor had anything to do with drugs or drug users. And lo and behold, in the photo are some baggies, usually used to hold 1-2 grams of dope or speed (and not much else) and some papers used to roll joints. But then again, just like being caught with 4kg of dope on you, I guess it shouldnt mean anything eh? I am not that naieve. Derryn Hinch I think summed the whole thing up the best (albeit crudely): The only reason people give a damn about her and get all emotional is because she has big t1ts, big blue eyes, and looks like the girl next door everyone grew up with.

Ymmm...your picture of Onofre's outlaw.....what the hell is that turbo? It looks totally and utterly insane!

Aaaarrgh! What a waste. And in the perfect colour too! There is nothing I would rather drive right now than a black M3 or M5.

I disagree with this only because although marijuana isn't seen as a hard drug here, and had she been busted in Aus, she would've got off probably with a suspended sentence at worst, but different countries have dfferent laws and different cultures and these should be respected. She knew the risk when taking the drugs into Indo. She's damn lucky she didn't cop the firing squad. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I completely agree. Most people unfortunately dont respect the laws of other countries, and assume only Australia is correct in its laws and penalties. Comes from lack of a world wide perspective. For example, there are a bunch of countries that execute drink drivers. is that wrong? I think its a bit tough, but perhaps ask the family of the latest kids to get killed by a drink driver. Amsterdam has tolerant laws on drug use. Is that right? By our standards its terrible, but by theirs they have managed to get a better idea of the drug problem, provide some assurance of what people are injecting into themselves, provide safe areas to shoot up where doctors can check on you etc etc Im not saying either is right or wrong....just different. Same applies to the drug laws in indonesia. There are a bunch of countries just like that, and anyone who has been through customs there would have seen the dozens of scary signs about what they do to drug importers.

Its not always that simple. The bag must be checked in at one of the front counters, and must have tags denoting the flight, barcodes put on it etc. They cant do that from the baggage handling areas. (They would need someone to fake things from the front counter, then pass them the fake tags, then apply them to their own bags, then put them on the plane). Without those things, the fake bag would be picked up on several different occasions: likely by the guys loading and unloading the plane and by the baggage counting system that counts bags as they go on and come off.