Superoo

Driving yesterday with the AC on, had to brake a little (and I mean very little) harder than normal as the car in front made a last minute decision to turn right and after 16,000 kays I joined the "auto that stalls" club. Started her again and off she went. I'll ask about any S/W update when I take the T back for the 5-6 minor but getting very annoying noises/rattles it's developed.

My mum received her first speeding fine in 30 years of driving. Bloody deserved it too - 54 in a 50 zone. I kid you not when I say the road she was caught on performing this hideous crime is wide enough for 4 lanes and on a slight downhill. Not sure what she was thinking - a rush of blood obviously. She said something about an insect in the car - maybe it landed on the accelerator? Still, no excuse. If she can't get off this fine with that record then how the hell can Bracksy sell his "It's not revenue raising" speech. Where's the reward for a good record? As futile as it appears to be, I've told her to contest it. See you at the next election Steve.

Shudder aside, does anyone have any real test figures for how the standard and premium brakes differ in a one-off emergency stop? I was led to believe that in a one-off situation, there was no difference between the two in terms of stopping distance. Pg52 of Wheels' March '03 issue states that testing done by FPV showed that after 10 stops from 100km/h, the difference between stopping distance between standard and premiums brakes was 0.8 metres. When you buy premiums, aren't you buying resistance to fade rather than shorter braking distances in emergency situations? I feel the standard brakes are much improved over those offered by Expensive Daewoo in SV8/SS form but after reading the caning they have got on these forums, anyone would think they were trailer brakes. How do the standards compare performance wise with AU series 1 brakes? Am I risking lives by driving a T with standard brakes? :hiwelcome: If I thought so, I can tell you I'd have done something about it by now.

For double the price, you'd hope they were better. I have heard that the SP9000's on the 18's wear relatively quickly. Anyone with the 18's care to comment?

If the weather in Adelaide has been similar to Melbourne the last 2 weeks, then you may be noticing how the T loves the hot weather...not. I have been a little disappointed with the power hit my T seems to take in the heat. Just doesn't rev anywhere near as easily as in cooler temps. To be expected I suppose. I'll have mine checked over at the 15K mark to be sure.

I must be in the other 10%. I have had the brake shudder problem and it has since had the "permanent" fix applied. 4K later and still OK but I ain't holding my breath. Personally, there is no way I could justify 3G's to simply avoid a problem that is the manufacturers issue. If you feel you want the premiums for their resistance to fade, then fine. Sure, it can get annoying, but absolute worse case I'll spend half the 3G's on aftermarkets and end up with a better solution again. I'll put up one hell of a fight with the dealer before forking out more money to sort out this issue. As far as I'm concerned, it has become a big enough issue for us to take a stand. I'm still totally confused as to how this got through testing. It rears its ugly head far too quickly in too many cases for it to have not been noticed.

Sorry about that cutsnake.

oh, I thought that was my kids trying to get out... This noise totally annoyed me when I had a VT - Expensive Daewoo were never able to rectify it. Now I'll see how Ford go about it as the T has also intermittently developed the dreaded rear scraping sound. It's no comfort either that I've heard the same thing on countless other Falcons and Commodores (including HSV's). Is this noise a no cost option or something?

I think you are describing the optional sports steering wheel. Do a search and you should find a pic of it on here. I have never heard of it being called the FPV wheel??

I was about to start a very similar post - obviously it's not just my imagination then. The most frustrating thing I find is that people seem to be less willing to make things easy (like merging, letting you in etc). I'm currently writing a letter to Mr. Bracks. He wants revenue? I have a toy that seems to MAKE people speed. Just fit my T with one of your "safety cameras" and I'll have half the state catching a bus by the end of the year Bracksy. Just once I'd love to see how important being in front really is to these clowns. I mean, if I did 80 in a 60 zone, would these clowns do 90 and risk their licence all for the glory of being that all conquering car length in front? It gets even better when you approach a set of lights with these idiots. You'd be amazed how many have run reds to avoid coming to a stop next to me. I used to think people sped to get somewhere quick. They don't. People speed because being in front or having the quickest car is a form of status. Interesting thing is, if it wasn't for this culture, HSV & FPV would be hard pressed to sell anything. I like powerful cars - I have one. In 10 years of driving, I'm yet (touch wood) to get a speeding fine. You don't think I'm tempted to leave these people in my dust at every traffic light? I can feel the urge building but I guess my license and other people's safety comes first. At the end of the day, what is happening on our roads is a direct example of what is wrong with society these days - the maturity level of people is bottoming out. Gross generalisation? Possibly. But at 29 and knowing full well that I still have a lot to learn, that is my opinion. Oh and do me a favour. If you see me driving my T and want to show me how fast your Sirion is, please don't. I promise I'll take your word for it that your cars is better if it will avoid you acting the fool. :hiwelcome: I think this has been my official first "rant".

Some people have said that the current leather has a tendency to allow the driver to slip in the seat when cornering - looks like they've tried to do something about it but not sure they got it quite right in terms of appearance. I'll wait till I see it in the flesh but personally, I'm very happy with mine.

This annoys me more than anything to be honest. Dealer told me to make sure the handbrake was on before putting it in Park to avoid this but it doesn't prevent it. He believed it was the car moving back/forward after Park was engaged. What concerns me is that sometimes I can actually feel a fair bit of resistance when I shift from Park to Reverse, followed by the accompanying thump. Other times, it's as smooth as silk. On one occasion it was so bad, my passengers even commented on it. Any other takers on the "reverse thump"?

I have had a clunk when manually making the 2-3 shift since new. After a few dealer visits, they finally changed the S5 solenoid in the tranny which was a recommendation from a BTR representative. It has made an improvement but I can still make it clunk (surprisingly, seems to happen more often if you accelerate in 2nd, take your foot off the accelerator and then shift to 3rd). I have also noticed the clunk when 4-3 changing on the highway and agree that shifting into perf mode to perform the same gear change is much smoother. Will mention it again at the 15K service (4K to go) but no issues when in auto mode.

Geeseman, I think you will find that Ford also had the reliability/longevity issue high on their agenda when developing the 6T. The last thing they want is their reputation for building strong engines ruined. To quote a Ford employee who was interviewed recently about the 6T development: "Whatever we came out with had to be a durable package - we set our own standards and said we weren't going to compromise any of Ford's durability, so the turbo engine did all the same testing that the naturally aspirated engine did." The truth is only time will tell but there are no guarantees whatever your choice so I wouldn't let these doubts sway you away from the T.

The issue with the brake shudder is totally annoying but it does not have an adverse affect on the brakes actually working. If it did, you can bet anything we'd all have recall notices. I've driven a VT, 2 VT II's and a VX and all had differing levels of the same issue. Personally, I've had the coolant leak and found that more of an issue - potential overheating, possible damage to the engine and for some reason no one stocked the Ford approved coolant so ran a day on mostly water! My advice would be if you really want the car, don't cancel the order simply because of the brake shudder issues.

Had the "permanent" fix applied yesterday at 9400 kms. Brakes feel good but obviously only time will tell. Never had the discs machined before this (waited for some sort of fix from Ford) so hopefully no more machining for a long time. Was told the same story regarding the shims as the fix.

Sorry to hear mate. Really makes you wonder about people who do such a thing. Hopefully they've just taken her for a bit of a spin, run her dry and left her somewhere to be found in the same condition. Think of it this way mate, worst case you'll end up with a new one (the wait may sting a little) but they'll still be useless drains on society. Hope it works out.

Second hand prices are certainly nosediving. At this stage I'm planning to sell the T at the end of my lease so resale is certainly an issue. I know a guy who tried to offload his 3 year old VT II SS with only 60K on the clock. It was in good condition and after many attempts to shift it by lowering the asking price, he ended up trading it in for 23.5K. I was hoping to get high 20's after 3 years so here's hoping the "cult" status really kicks in. After all, It's not JUST another falcon is it?

I guess I haven't had such a bad run considering some of the things I've heard on here - shudder has become evident on my T in the last 1000 kays. Currently have done 8200 kms and it is getting worse with light braking from 80km/h. For what it's worth, I consider my use of the brakes as fairly light - often downshift to knock off a lot of speed before applying them. I'll be taking mine back at 9000 for an oil change/ tyre rotation/ solenoid replacement so I'm hoping they will have some resemblance of an idea as to what to do for the shudder on a permanent basis . The blank look does little for the confidence.

Personally, if I had to choose only one factory option, it would be the premium sound. It really makes a difference to the centre console.

Rock stuck in the lower skirt? My money's on the rock/stone in the side skirt.

As someone who as of 30 minutes ago just placed a rather nice gash on my front spoiler on yet another uneven driveway, it's probably not a good time for me to comment. :cussing: I've caught mine on a few things but this latest one looks the worst. I'll have a better look in the daylight but I have a feeling you may be able to see it from certain angles. To be honest, I'm getting fed up with worrying about it - just gonna touch it up as best I can and considering where it is, hopefully you won't see it. Not a good car to own if things like this bother you. It does piss me off though considering how careful I am. I guess it makes up for it in other areas.

Excellent advice. If you have nothing in writing then safely assume any mod can be seen as voiding your warranty.

I scraped the underside of mine after about 3 days. I know how you feel but to be honest, it ain't worth forking out the dollars to re-spray something you can't see unless you're underneath the car. I'm (very) fussy when it comes to my T and have had to come to terms with a) the fact that gutters are not going to be its friend and B) that I'm getting handy with the touch up paint. Damn stones! In the least, wait until you get the inevitable paint chips.

To be honest, I'm a bit sus on it as well. They got a rep from BTR to look at it and he recommended that it be changed. A little searching led me to find that EA falcons had solenoid issues that resulted in rough or harsh gear changes. Sounds similar so I'll let them do it and see how it goes. Only happens on the 2-3 shift.