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AU2 Tickford I6 motor upgrades question

4K views 22 replies 7 participants last post by  Casper 
#1 ·
Hello everyone,

My AU2 Fairlane has the Tickford inline six motor in it. I'd like to do something with it that will provide better response and power output, while being reliable, generally smooth and won't bust the bank. I've replaced the paper air filter with a K&E unit. Any suggestions on the current trends?

Also, is the snorkel to the air filter box to the front grill the XR6 snorkel?

And this might sound silly, but can I improve the fuel economy by any of these upgrades?

Thank you,

Andrew.
 
#2 ·
lumpier cam and computer mods would be the next thing and also a high flow exhaust. these are all pretty easy to do and is about the only things you can do to the motor without ripping it out for a full in houe rebuild to get more power. but you may need stiffer springs for the cam. they can be changed without pulling the head off but you need the right equiptment.
 
#4 ·
Exhaust, and then possibly chip it would probably be the go.
Both would potentially yield economy improvements, although with extra go, people usually use it :)

A Cam will make the car a little rougher, or a lot, depending on how wild you go. Depending on your outlook (hoon looking to drag, or just want a little more go while cruising to the country club), the cam might not be the best option in terms of smoothness...
 
#5 ·
ok, the engine is an XR6 VCT engine and is identical in every way except the exhaust which I believe is slightly changed (sodium filled or something) to reduce noise what reduced power by about 4kw.
Now as it is a VCT engine your options are almost nothing. Forget extractors or cat backs etc, they have proven on every VCT owner I have asked who has them to be a waste of money for performance increase.
As for a cam, also another dead end. JMM hs some upgrades that are grossly overpriced and have little increase for the price. I have even spoken directly to Crow Cams and they quoted $400 for a cam, that will also need a puggy back chip, fitting and a dyno tune (at least $1000 if not more all up) and they could not guarentee and increase in power.
Filters will do something but it will be minimal and you can get yourself an XR8 snorkle which once again will be minimal.
Unfortunatly the VCT motor is a difficult one to gain any major increase out off short of forced induction. I have given up on all the other options and deceided to go the turbo route, seems to be the only way to get significantly more power.

Sorry for the bad news!
 
#7 ·
Casper said:
ok, the engine is an XR6 VCT engine and is identical in every way except the exhaust which I believe is slightly changed (sodium filled or something) to reduce noise what reduced power by about 4kw.
Now as it is a VCT engine your options are almost nothing. Forget extractors or cat backs etc, they have proven on every VCT owner I have asked who has them to be a waste of money for performance increase.
As for a cam, also another dead end. JMM hs some upgrades that are grossly overpriced and have little increase for the price. I have even spoken directly to Crow Cams and they quoted $400 for a cam, that will also need a puggy back chip, fitting and a dyno tune (at least $1000 if not more all up) and they could not guarentee and increase in power.
Filters will do something but it will be minimal and you can get yourself an XR8 snorkle which once again will be minimal.
Unfortunatly the VCT motor is a difficult one to gain any major increase out off short of forced induction. I have given up on all the other options and deceided to go the turbo route, seems to be the only way to get significantly more power.

Sorry for the bad news!
Wow, OK! That's surprising news. I like the car as it is, and I'm a lazy auto trans driver too, so anything major I do to it I guess I won't be using to its potential anyway.

This forum web site is a great way to get help. I must make a donation. I've been reading it for about a year before finally getting my first Ford. Thanks everyone for the help! :)

So what kinda prices we talking about when it comes to forced induction turbo for this type of motor? This is a turbocharger, yes?

My understanding of turbos years ago was that they require the engine to get to a certain speed before they have any effect (even tho it may be mere seconds in reality). Is this still the case? And do they feed off air from outside the engine bay, and so will require extra snorkels?

Regards,

Andrew.
 
#8 ·
Dauphin said:
Wow, OK! That's surprising news. I like the car as it is, and I'm a lazy auto trans driver too, so anything major I do to it I guess I won't be using to its potential anyway.

This forum web site is a great way to get help. I must make a donation. I've been reading it for about a year before finally getting my first Ford. Thanks everyone for the help! :)

So what kinda prices we talking about when it comes to forced induction turbo for this type of motor? This is a turbocharger, yes?

My understanding of turbos years ago was that they require the engine to get to a certain speed before they have any effect (even tho it may be mere seconds in reality). Is this still the case? And do they feed off air from outside the engine bay, and so will require extra snorkels?

Regards,

Andrew.
Basically Forced induction is either Turbo or Supercharger.
I have been looking in great detail at both option and basically either will give a very good performaince gain.
It appears to me that the Turbo option is the way to go (this is my opinion, please feel free to look into it) for a number of reasons.
My 2 biggest concerns were of course lag and heat issues however both og these have long since been sorted. Yes a turbo does take time to spool up (as do superchargers) however this can be from as low as 2000rpm or even lower. Considereing that the auto & VCT I6 can quiet easily be stalled up to 2000rpm in stock form this would mean that it would be quite easy to take off from a standing start already on boost.....the goal I am after.

As for prices? Well, basically it depends on who is installing it, is it a new or used system and what extras you get such as intercoolers etc. I am personally looking at a TSA turbo kit system fully installed with intercooler for my XR6 VCT which will not give any change from $8000. But for close to 200rwkw it's a bargin! With weight and handeling charactureistis it would basically be an XR8 killer in that setup and certainly give both the BA XR8, XR6T and even the GTP's a serious run for their money. :wnc:
 
#9 ·
Casper said:
ok, the engine is an XR6 VCT engine and is identical in every way except the exhaust which I believe is slightly changed (sodium filled or something) to reduce noise what reduced power by about 4kw.
Now as it is a VCT engine your options are almost nothing. Forget extractors or cat backs etc, they have proven on every VCT owner I have asked who has them to be a waste of money for performance increase.
As for a cam, also another dead end. JMM hs some upgrades that are grossly overpriced and have little increase for the price. I have even spoken directly to Crow Cams and they quoted $400 for a cam, that will also need a puggy back chip, fitting and a dyno tune (at least $1000 if not more all up) and they could not guarentee and increase in power.
Filters will do something but it will be minimal and you can get yourself an XR8 snorkle which once again will be minimal.
Unfortunatly the VCT motor is a difficult one to gain any major increase out off short of forced induction. I have given up on all the other options and deceided to go the turbo route, seems to be the only way to get significantly more power.

Sorry for the bad news!

Casper, where did you hear that the VCT is difficult to gain major increase out of?


I have an AUIII Fairmont Ghia (auto) with the I6 VCT motor. I added cold air induction, extractors, cat back, Chiptorque chip tuned at at Silverwater Auto, and it dynoed at 145rwkw, and it runs like a rat. The difference between new and now is absolutely remarkable.

the black pig
 
#11 ·
Casper said:
I think that the chiptorque may be the big difference. Seems that without a chip of some kind they just dont want to know about mods. 145rwkw is impressive I must say.
Can I ask what sore of CAI you fitted? Do you have any pics?

Hi Casper, we did it in 3 stages:

1. Genie extractors, hi flow cat, 2.5" SS cat-back, K&N filter, SS Inductions
(yeah, I know, I should have read the forums first) cold air intake.
The result was great. A nice lift in power right through the rev range.

2. Stainless induction pipe from filter box to throttle body, and Chiptorque chip with standard factory program. This was a disappointing addition. It felt
like it actually lost power below 3,500 rpm, with a slight gain above.

3. Dyno tune of chip. This lifted the power nicely, restored it below 3,500rpm
and lifted it right through the rev range. It dynoed at 144.1 rwkw and then
got progressively faster over the next week.

Step one was worth about 50% of the increased fun, and steps 2 and 3 together were worth another 50%.

It's got Tickford suspension as well as the VCT motor, so it handles
nicely, with just a bit too much body roll. I'm looking at a Whiteline
suspension kit and fatter BA Ghia wheels & tyres - the Dunlop 9000s are
supposed to stick good. Then I'll be happy enough to wait a couple of
years for an XR6T.

I've got some under bonnet pics but don't know how to post 'em. I'll have
a play round and see how it goes.

kind regards

porcus noir
 
#12 ·
just PM me and I'll host and post the pics for you.
Strange but everyone I've talked to about extractors/exhaust on the VCT has said dont bother. The SS induction and chip has got me thinking though. They may be well worth it. I would love 145rwkw, thats close to AUII XR8 figures.

Thanks for the info. Oh, by the way, avoid the 9000's, they are good for 20000kms if your lucky.
 
#18 ·
Casper, One other thing. Don't make the mistake I did. I think I wasted a lot of money on the SS Inductions cold air plastic scoop when I could have got a standard Ford part for a sixth of the price. I found some good information on it in these forums AFTER I'd fitted the SS Inductions part.

kind regards

blackpig
 
#20 ·
Casper said:
Yeah, I've already fitted the XR8 snorkle.

I'm thinking I might go with a chiptorque chip now. What sort of cost is that?

BTW, LOVE The blue extractors, look fantastic!
Genie make nice xtractors. Wish they stayed blue. But they heat to a pale grey. The Ford manifolds are disgusting. You should look at freeing up the gasflow on both sides of the motor - so go the cold air, but also extractors, and 2 1/2" cat-back. It'll breath better and give you more power right away. Then when you've finished playing with the hardware, get the chip installed and tuned on a dyno. That bit will cost you up to $800 for the chip and $4-500 for the dyno tune. Expensive, but at least you're then confident that you're getting the max. juice out of your engine and hardware mods.

take care - I'm crashing now.

pig
 
#22 ·
Boys
Im in the same boat with my ute.Ive done Intake tube, straight flow mufflers/resonators in replacement of the orignals using the factory 2.5" tube(cheaper),I will replace the filter with a BMC unit.
After this I'll either go turbo or sell it and go AU III XR8 ute(start again)
I was at Repco parramatta the other day I found an aunger CAI unit ,the inlet was nearly twice the size of the xr8 unit I fitted to my car.I thought I was seeing things when I saw the price $308------.
I didnt relise this mob did these CAIs ,whos going to buy 1 and tell us how it go's.
 
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