Australian Car Ads

[fpv_gtho]

could those high 5.7's possibly have come from a performance ford magazine? i saw an article in there where they test drove the pursuit and xr8 ute and at best got 5.7 each and got an average 5.9 each, easily the best results ive seen for the boss 260 and 290 providing they didnt have to resort to such measures as bleeding the tank to 2L, removing the spare wheel and jack, heating up the tires to 50 degrees etc

[Nildo]

Performance is more than simply straight line anyway....most opinions I've read claim the Ford is MUCH nicer to drive, except for the XR6 turbo gearbox. The Ford's weight counts against it, but you would be grateful for that in an accident!

BTW, my wife scored 135 on the IQ test, and she got a very similar result last year...she got 64 right this time. High IQ claims aren't always bull. The reason older people and younger people have a different rating is due to the fact that the brain begins to deteriorate at around age 35 (in men 3 times faster than women after about age 40...boo hoo) so the scores are adjusted to make it comparable with others in each age group. Basically, a very sharp 90 year old may not be any brighter than an average 20 year old, but for a 90 year old that's pretty bloody brainy.

It actually isn't the best test out there (though it was way better than last years), as it doesn't factor in overall speed, or test other certain brain functions.

[fpv_gtho]

well i heard them saying that at about 20-30 the brain deteriorates causing them to give older age groups a slight advantage for memory questions. 135 is a really good score though, something i could only dream about.

With the T5 in the XR6T though, I think Ford will put the Tremec in the turbo for BA2 alonside the ZF. If theyre still planning on weight reduction, they wont get under 1600kg as the AU was about 1550kg with a live axle, and the IRS unit adds over 50kg

[Falcon500]

Also dont forget that extra cogs mean more weight (gearbox) Yeah i heard the same thing about the tremec box too the only problems with that box is magazines complain about a noisy shifts. In the V8 models they will save extra weight by using an alloy block but that might compramise reliabilty some what. And dont forget that was a fully loaded AU too an XR8 which fora modern car is really quite light its only 150 kilos heavier then my XY.

[fpv_gtho]

well the 2 cogs wouldnt add all that much weight, but extra weight would definately go into the packaging of the 6 total. apparently ford america have been having some reall issues with the alloy block V8's and when they try and squeeze every last rev out of the engine so GP wouldnt be blamed for taking it carefully

[Nildo]

Honestly, I don't mind that the BA is heavy. It does affect the performance to a degree, but as I said, the trade off is comfort and rigidity. I do prefer lighter cars, but the Falcon doesn't need to be the worlds fastest sedan to be a worthy set of wheels. I would have it over any Commodore, period. At least bits wont fall off after a few months!

Yes, my wife is very bright, which makes arguments difficult. She has two degrees (and she is only 24!). It's a shame I'm just a silly supermarket manager, and therefore brainless!

[Falcon500]

I wouldent exactly call you brainless anyone in a managerial postitionne eds to be some what smart and youll be raking in a few dollers in that position too.
And my poitnabout the gear box is it all adds up they could pull lotus's trick and really resherch acsessorys on the car like air con lotus made theirs weigh somthing like 15 kilos! not saying ford should do it to that extent but if they take a little weight off here and there you might find they could easily save 50 kilos+ of course its all cubic dollers.

[fpv_gtho]

well alot of people have said that its so heavy cause half the equipment needed for an AWD drivetrain is sitting there as dead weightso if and when ford bring out a production AWD sedan, they might have the advantage there

[crisis]

Originally posted by Nildo
The Ford's weight counts against it, but you would be grateful for that in an accident!

Thats an interesting comment. Actually weight counts against everythng in an accident. Firstly the more mass you have the harder to is to pull up. Secondly the more mass you have the harder the impact.

[fpv_gtho]

he might mean the extra weight in a BA over an AU going towards its extra safety

[Falcon500]

I see exactly where crisis is comming from more weight=momentum more momentum=greater stopping distance/greater impact! and some of the weight gains in the car have been attributed to stiffness (chassis mostly) which is the devil in a crash and as we have said on occasion crash tests (which the BAscores well in) dont tell thw whole story.

[fpv_gtho]

well all that extra work into the chassis i think only got it a 1 star rating for pedestrian collisions which i think was down on the AU

[Falcon500]

Is that so? oh well as ive said before better them then me.

[fpv_gtho]

well compare the front ends of an AU and a BA, and you'll see, the AU slopes down to the ground, better for pedestrians as it guides them easier onto the bonnet where the BA is alot squarer at the front and is more of a front on impact that would push someone forward more than an AU

[Falcon500]

ok then well the danger is if you hit a person at 60 km/h in a car with a good perdestrian rating it makes it very likely theyll come in trhough the wind shieldwhich not only puts them at risk but yourself as well!