[XRchic]

Hi Jac,

Delighted to hear you haven't been completely swayed by the recent bad press. I think all the new owners are more than happy with the car itself (even Doc after getting some of his probs sorted :wnc: ) just some obvious disapointment at what happened at Motor. I believe that both cars sent to PCOTY were promo vehicles and may not representative of production cars....

But FPV does need to let us know what happened!

....Like Matt, I've driven a number of cars over the years (from a racing T/C Escort, Porsche 944 turbo, BM's, XJ Jag, and a VY Clubsport) and the F6 is simply one of the best I've ever driven in so many ways. Out of the box it PULLS....can't imagine what 250 Pursuits thing must be like....but I think Peter from aps summed it up in a post after he'd dynoed the stock car. Tho rwkw were only about 200, he believed a run-in car would push 210 and with the torque curve (or lack of!) the car would pull 1/4's in mid to high 13's. I think we can trust his judgement, so we're now talking times quicker than a stock GT and line ball with a Clubbie. I have no figures to prove it but my car certainly FEELS that quick.

I drove a couple of Mk1 XR6-T's a few months back and loved the silky 6 cylinder. With the extra power and amazing torque, the 6sp (which I'm getting to really like), the great clutch feel (don't laff!), all the nice FPV bells and whistles and still that sensational silky 6 (tho now with some meaningful mechanical noises) at 60k the car is a bargain!

Get your rear-end into a drivers seat asap!!!

Cheers,
Ian

Actually Ian, now that youve had it a bit, how ARE you finding the clutch and the 6 speed? Ive been wondering what people's impressions are.... Oh there's no danger Ill buy the auto if it ever comes out... but I was just curious how its going....

I agree, for the price, its a bargain. And with a few mods (God knows what at this stage though), it will be an HSV destroyer Im sure. I wonder if I CAN wait as long as I should for one... My kids are pestering me for one at the moment more than they are pestering me for the Xbox! They have been waiting to see one on the road and havent yet... They have even gone off GT spotting! Oh dear.....

 

[fpv f6t]

Actually Ian, now that youve had it a bit, how ARE you finding the clutch and the 6 speed? Ive been wondering what people's impressions are.... Oh there's no danger Ill buy the auto if it ever comes out... but I was just curious how its going....

I agree, for the price, its a bargain. And with a few mods (God knows what at this stage though), it will be an HSV destroyer Im sure. I wonder if I CAN wait as long as I should for one... My kids are pestering me for one at the moment more than they are pestering me for the Xbox! They have been waiting to see one on the road and havent yet... They have even gone off GT spotting! Oh dear.....

I was following a silver xr-6 2 days ago with a young family in it. The Dad (driver) saw the Typhoon is his mirror, gave me a wave, and then immediately I saw 2 little blonde heads bob up from the back seat. The kids were obviously full of questions because they kept turning around, asking something and looking back again. Must have been on the family's chrissie list! I've had heaps of waves, looks and questions from all sorts of people over the past week.
Jac, clutch and gearbox fantastic. Nothing like the promo-hack at all. Particularly the clutch....its sweeeet. The Tremec is briefly harsh from low revs (Matt, MYF6, Mark, Doc....you guys too???) but it's not as bad as a clubbie I drove some time back. I'ts really only in the 1500-1900rpm range. Yeah, I also have some shunt, but its minor; you hear a feint clunk rather than feel it. If it doesn't get any worse, it's not noticeable enough to worry about and it's only in low gears. There is no diff whine at all. I have no paint blemishes (I've crawled all over it !), no issues with anything electrical, trim and fit is excellent and panel fit is as good as any car I've seen baring exotics. So am I happy??? :wnc: :wnc: :wnc:

 

[fpv f6t]

I meant to add about the gearbox.......

This box is clearly meant to be used. When your punting the car its crisp and sure, the gate takes a little getting used to in the 4,5,6 area but it feels really solid and precise. ( To be honest some times it's really easy to forget which gear your in , cause the thing pulls like a train from 1500rpm to sunset). When driving sedately which I do most of the time (*cough*) I've found I've gone back to throttle blipping for the sweetest changes, (particularly down gears) as, like I said, the box is happier when the car is being pushed a little. The ratios particularly 3,4,5 for open road are soooo perfect with the torque spread.....take one up into the Adelaide hill and make your smile muscles hurt.....

 

[Guest]

My F6 has a slight bearing 'growl' transmitted through the gear stick just under 2000rpm. Reported it to the dealer and they say its 'normal' - Anyone else have a 'normal' noise like this???

Only other issue with the box/clutch is it sometimes seems to stick in gear and takes a fair effort on the stick to get it out of one gear and into another. When it does come out of gear there is sometime a clunk like there was pressure on the drive line - perhaps the clutch was not completely disengaged, even when the pedal was pushed through the firewall.

Again, any other F6 owner having this issue??

She's in for the 3000Km service next Wednesday and I've pre-warned them of these issues. Like to know from other F6 owners if these are 'normal' - doubt it but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt till I see a few posts on these issues. If not 'normal' (as I suspect) the dealer will start to think my boot up his ass is 'normal'. :angel:

 

[Tornado]

My F6 has a slight bearing 'growl' transmitted through the gear stick just under 2000rpm. Reported it to the dealer and they say its 'normal' - Anyone else have a 'normal' noise like this???

Only other issue with the box/clutch is it sometimes seems to stick in gear and takes a fair effort on the stick to get it out of one gear and into another. When it does come out of gear there is sometime a clunk like there was pressure on the drive line - perhaps the clutch was not completely disengaged, even when the pedal was pushed through the firewall.

Again, any other F6 owner having this issue??

She's in for the 3000Km service next Wednesday and I've pre-warned them of these issues. Like to know from other F6 owners if these are 'normal' - doubt it but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt till I see a few posts on these issues. If not 'normal' (as I suspect) the dealer will start to think my boot up his ass is 'normal'. :angel:

Tell them you want "Transmax Z" put in the gearbox>>>> should be a better beast then.

 

[Mattm]

My F6 has a slight bearing 'growl' transmitted through the gear stick just under 2000rpm. Reported it to the dealer and they say its 'normal' - Anyone else have a 'normal' noise like this???

Only other issue with the box/clutch is it sometimes seems to stick in gear and takes a fair effort on the stick to get it out of one gear and into another. When it does come out of gear there is sometime a clunk like there was pressure on the drive line - perhaps the clutch was not completely disengaged, even when the pedal was pushed through the firewall.

Again, any other F6 owner having this issue??

She's in for the 3000Km service next Wednesday and I've pre-warned them of these issues. Like to know from other F6 owners if these are 'normal' - doubt it but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt till I see a few posts on these issues. If not 'normal' (as I suspect) the dealer will start to think my boot up his ass is 'normal'. :angel:

I can't say I get a growl..... I do get a bit of driveline shunt, at first I thought it was just me being a manual spaz but then read some other threads and spoke to Mondie and yep it is driveline shunt. In saying that as I get better and smoother at changing it is getting less and less. Almost non existent now. I find that my box has loosened right up (yeah that does sound sus) and I find changes at any speed quick and accurate. I had my 3000km's service today with no probs at all. Also had the new plates fitted, pics tomorrow. The guys didn't know about the circlip fix so I will wait until it is common knowledge.

Just for interest my loaner was a MkII Pursuit today and I must say I really enjoyed it. I do miss the sound of a V8 but I still have the TS50 if I get really blue. You really notice the extra weight in the front too after driving the six for a while. Didn't feel as quick as the F6 but it was fast. If I was in the market for a ute I would buy one (or a tornado).

Later.

Matt

 

[Guest]

Thanks Matt.

My car has shunt also - think its a no cost option in many of them.

Cheers
Craig

 

[fpv f6t]

Only up to 700k's here, but there is some minor shunt which I can eliminate with a slight change in driving style. Definitely no "stick-in-gear" probs though, and I'd be definitely getting that noted for now and looked at if it continues. The "growl" I believe is pretty typical for the T56.

Ian

 

[Mattm]

Oh yeah the gear sticking thing, I was gettting that alot when I first got the car. Haven't had it for ages though. I thought it was just a new thing. Getting stuck in reverse and 1st was common.

Matt

 

[george]

:AAHHH: Every ones whing,whing,whing.Drive a car hard with a heap of power and absulutly thrash the living shit out of it,things start going wrong.

Hearing a lot of break shudder lately.Two options.
1/ get your self upgraded brake discs after all have to pull up from high speed
fast.
2/ stop heat spotting your brake discs after a caining the beast.

To cut a long story short.
You can thrash a car & make it last,
or thrash it and kill it.

My brother is living proof & the SO CALLED TESTERS.

 

[laminge]

If you carnt drive these cars hard, then may I suggest a corona!

Seriously!

I have driven everyone of my cars hard from day one, and loved every second of it!

 

[redhotxr8]

How many gearboxs now is it........

 

[250 PURSUIT]

today i did the clutch test in my typhoon.

Hard launch 1 1500rpm and drop the clutch all ok

Hard launch 2 1800rpm all ok

Hard launch 3 2200 rpm all ok

No clutch slip at all it took off like a rocket.

my input anyway.

Cheers
Brute

 

[Tornado]

today i did the clutch test in my typhoon.

Hard launch 1 1500rpm and drop the clutch all ok

Hard launch 2 1800rpm all ok

Hard launch 3 2200 rpm all ok

No clutch slip at all it took off like a rocket.

my input anyway.

Cheers
Brute

how about a report on the 300rwkw's ?
how does she handle and perform now campared to before?

 

[David Flint]

Hi Guys,
I haven't read all of the posts but enough to know that, as ever, there is a lot of advice out there.
There are a couple of things that need to get said before the 'chinese whispers' destroys all of our Christmases.
Firstly , 'the flat change... not flat change' debate between FPV and Motor. Michael is quite correct in that FPV communications staff could not be contacted at the time that the car(s) failed. We were however represented very well by Ford. This had been prearranged. As a result of that weekend's problems, FPV's policy in future will be to ensure that its own personnel are at all times available Not to say that Andrew and Eddie did a poor job. Far from it. They were excellent but FPV must be accountable.

After the failure, having spoken to Motor, Ford reported at the debrief at FPV on the Monday that Motor said they had been "fast shifting at high revs". They didn't say "flatshifting".

Our guys, after some debate, concluded that Motor meant "flatshifting". They did fail to confirm that with the staff at Motor. They are now fully aware that they are to make and maintain media contact if any problems arise in the future

Secondly; the validation testing that the clutch was subjected to was extreme and yet did not show the mode of failure induced by Motor. There was no evidence of unusual or extreme wear on the drive or driven plates. The failure of the small rings that enable the driven plates to centralise is not a function of torque.
At Eastern Creek, I was asked by James Stanford if there was any truth in the rumour that Motor had pulled F6 from PCOTY after clutch failure.

Despite reports to the contrary, we do tell the truth and I gave him pretty well what he wrote. Motor was never criticised, there was no intention to and I told James that we would change our future test procedures to cover off the risk of similar failures on future product. I also told him that we would invite welcome Motor coming down and replicating the practices their driver had used since we could not repeat the failure using our own drivers.

Michael Taylor called me to complain about James' article. I apologised for any embarrassement he felt and tried to reassure him that we were not criticising Motor's behaviour. Indeed, in a perverse way, I was grateful that Motor had found an issue although I would much prefer that we had found it. Michael agreed to have the driver come to us but we have since found out that they are all 'too busy'. That is a shame they would have been a great help.

F6 is a fantastic car. Its a joy to drive. Please do not speculate. There is no conspiracy. Ford are completely harmless in all this. It is for FPV to reslove and resolve it we will.

For those out there who are offering encouragement, I thank you on behalf of my staff. For those not so kind, I hope we can impress you next year but you can rest assured that I will not be hanging from a tree!

To all of you, have a Great Christmas, a prosperous 2005 to you and yours. Please take care on the roads; whinges or not, you are all Ford fans and we want to keep everyone of you.
Have fun!

 

[XRFPV8]

To all of you, have a Great Christmas, a prosperous 2005 to you and yours. Please take care on the roads; whinges or not, you are all Ford fans and we want to keep everyone of you.
Have fun!

Hi David, thanks for your post, if you get any spare time we would love some more of your input on the FF...

Merry Christmas to you and all your staff also, and look forward to seeing Ford and FPV kick some Holden but in 2005 again..

:hy:

 

[Phoon]

David,
I'm surprised that you have time to post us a message.
Thank you for your post and it is great to hear your feed back. It would be a good idea to get one of your staff to post on this site regularly to clarify things for us.

 

[redhotxr8]

I'll still be placing my order next year, (just have to unload the Merc) thanks for your responce David, hope you and Sandy have a great holiday season.

ps Laminge...how many gearboxs is it now? that you have destroyed through vibrant driving?

 

[Jabba]

And thats the truth. XR6T is great but is the F6 that much better? Is it worth the extra funds? Unlikely. Get a 6T and send it to APS for better performance.

I'm frustrated that FPV didn't take a leaf out of Nissan's book with the infamous R34 GT-R, or Toyota with the Supra and overengineer the HELL out of it. Sure it might have cost $1000 more but care - people would still buy it. Damn you could probably generate more sales on this fact. But for two clutches to die so easily - you have to wonder.

*sigh* another car to cross off my list.

Ian you are dead on the money with your comment.
I rebuilt a Nissan GTR 33 and I can speak with confidence that the GTR drive train is built to handle 600hp might need to upgrade the clutch,Thats all.
and same goes for the GTS version.

Those nissan GTS & GTR's have some of the toughest componets I have seen on a stock motor car. Built bullet proof.
and just on this reliability issue who in Australia sells the most cars per year answer is Toyota. why reliabilty. Then there is Holden who is number 2 in the sales but the have shit reliabity but go the fastest if you belive the jornnos. Then Ford is placed 3rd. you all should be able to work out why. Not as reliable as Toyota, not as fast as Holden HSV

It seem that reliabilty is the number 1 factor in buying a car, and why would'nt it be. and power and performance is number 2

It is just a thought so please dont abuse me if you think Iam wrong

 

[XRQTOR]

Great to see Mr Flint posting in here, its a shame about the subject in question but still great to see they actually read what we write. Even tho their only a 6 they are certainally fantastic cars but i'd never own one.


P.s i love my new MKII xr8 mate its a ripper.