what would u rather for a BAGTHO?

[fpv_gtho]

theres heaps of rumours and opinions of what the next gtho will be, whether ford will strenghen the block to rev harder or strap on a supercharger ala north america. the supercharger has proven itself good for 375kw in the states, but apparently the supercharger restricts how quickly the engine can rev through its rev range. i personally would take the naturally aspirated over the supercharger and maybe do supercharging as aftermarket. what does everyone else think?

[wdb]

More horsepower sounds nice, and I agree naturally aspirated would be more in keeping with the theme. However, HO stood for Handling Option on the originals, so I reckon the BA should have stiffer suspension (The BA GT is a bit of a luxury-performance compromise apparently), lowered suspension, new wheels etc. Then it should be lightened though this is hard for such a low-volume car in such a small market, and considering Ford Australia's probably spent all its dosh on BA and E265.

Maybe new exhaust, and I'd like the engine to be a bit more aggressively tuned, with more revs etc. And some sort of visual distinction would be nice. I'd love to see it with a black carbonfibre hood, with bigger power bulge and/or vents... but that's just me, hehehe...

[fpv_gtho]

HO only stood for handling option to keep the media quiet, it did in reality stand for high output. the only major difference the HO had to the stnadard GT was a carb almost twice the size

[badboybarge]

nice 1

[fpv_gtho]

what size wheels would we want on this thing? theyd have to be bigger than 18's, and ford could probably put 9 inch wide rims of their own design or use spacers between the rims and suspension assembly. that would probably lead to a bodykit including fender flares to comply with ADR which might look awesome if done right

[badboybarge]

they have huge wheel arches so you'd probly want 19's on it, and something that has a wide lip, but not too wide!

[fpv_gtho]

19's would be nice, staying on par with what the hsv gts has, but people may ex[ect more, as the media first though the standard gt would have 20's

[fpv_gtho]

do u reckon they should come out with a falcon gtho and fairmont gtho?

[LowRider]

Nah stick with the GTHO, yeah why shouldnt Ford stick a supercharger on it and put 18 inch wheels on it and a six speed if it does not already get one

[fpv_gtho]

i was thinking more like falcon based gtho and fairmont based gtho, they didnt exactly have to follow the naming i suggested, and theres no doubt the gtho's gunna get the zf 6 speed auto

[LowRider]

yeah so it should, fairmonts more of a LTD type car they shopuld leave it how it is.

[fpv_gtho]

i wouldnt exactly say that, if ur thinking trim levels and such, the ltd is a level above the fairmont ghia and the fairlane ghia is kinda equal, but a bit longer

[crisis]

Ford need to look at a new motor or reviewing the stroke vs bore size of the existing motor. It really should rev harder. I personally would leave supercharging for aftermarket. Other than that it seems pretty good. Loose the stripes. If it is successful there should be no reason why FPV shouldnt do a "HSV" and expand the range with luxury, stripper, spec cars. The GT is well priced so they should have room to move. If HSV can ask 100 large for a GTS, Ford should be able to produce something to match it. It might force HSV to review their prices. Then maybe I can have one!

[fpv_gtho]

if u think 100 large for 300kw was bad, what did u think when it was 70 for 220kw

[crisis]

Its not entirely fair to judge as $ per kw. They are pretty sweet inside and they put a bit of effort into the outward appearance. Theres brakes and suspension as well. They are based on Berlina/Calais's too, but I take your point. The GenIII made the difference for power though at minimal cost.

[fpv_gtho]

the senators are based on the calais and i think everything else is based on the berlina, except the base clubby i think

[fpv_gtho]

i think ford should be able to afford to increase the revs by about 500rpm without any trouble, several people testing the gt and xr8 have had the engine bouncing off the rev limiter and still they said it was as smooth at the topend as at idle, but 1000rpm would be nice, although i heard someone say that the boss290 doing 6000rpm is the equivalent of the 302 doing 8000rpm

[crisis]

Fords need a bigger bore and a shorter stroke.

[fpv_gtho]

yeah, if they made it a square bore/stroke keeping the stroke as it is, it would be like an 8L engine, and with the bore the same it would be about 4L. hopefully the new 5.0L will have a smaller block and stroke, but its still gunna be part of the modular engine family, meaning its probably gunna have the 5.4's bore

[piledriver]

why this ford falcon looks like the holden calais???

[fpv_gtho]

funny, i reckon they look nothin alike

[fpv_gtho]

how far do u reckon holden would have to go before ford thought they really needed to produce a new gtho? the monaro 427 wouldnt have been a worry, since only 50 were being built, but the 320kw vz gts might be enough.

[Nildo]

Geoff Polites has said that it isn't about what Holden is building as such, Ford is not ready to build a $90000 falcon yet. It's all about marketing. I think if ford can win V8s this year and really give itself some race cred then Ford would consider making such a car. He also alluded in that interview that a supercharger is the best option for increased power, but I guess we will just have to wait and see.

[fpv_gtho]

id be interested to see the AEC supercharged version of the BAGT. when they were toying around with the AU, they said the rear subframe wasnt quite strong enough to handle the power, but with the stronger BA chassis, they said they could easily make the car handle 400kw. if ford got to the point where their xr sales are as much as their fpv sales, i think they would seriously consider a near 6 figure car. gettin that much sales for the fpvs is gunna be hard, if not impossible though, earlier this year, ford was selling about 900-1000 xr's a month