teebone

I havent been on the forum for some considerable time and only by accident came across this disgraceful issue regarding the SCT Xcal 1 support. I bought an Xcal 1 new a couple of years ago but decided not to use until warranty expired on my BFII F6, so no tunes were ever loaded into the box (generic or otherwise)- it is therfore the most I have ever paid for something that has had no value to me and has no value into the future. Now trying to decide wether to cut my losses or get the $200 cashback and "invest" (and I use that word in jest) in the XCAL 3 - A difficult decision. Does anyone know any Melbourne tuners that may still have the ability to load tunes onto the XCAL 1?

Do the spark plugs need to be gapped down (or replaced) when running a Cappa box with custom tune on a BF2 F6? This rarely seems to be mentioned for budgeting the cost of a tune.

one of the funniest things I have seen!

Did mine a few weeks back - it is an excellent experience, particularly if you havent done any circuit stuff before. The morning is defensive driving type training but a bit more racy than what I have done before and then the afternoon is split between a gymkana and circuit laps. Be prepared to take a few K's off your tyre life, particularly on the gymkana which is done on a rough surface at sandown away from the circuit, so my advice would be to not thrash around to avoid cutting up the tyres - you shouldnt need to anyway to get a good time (as I learnt later). The circuit laps are speed restricted on the longer straights by putting in chicanes with plastic bollards and you have to go thru the pits each lap so things dont get out of control, so if you have done circuit racing before it might be a bit restrictive. However, for the rest of us its fantastic and I didnt realise just how hard these cars can accelerate, brake and corner. I was bit apprehensive before going but always felt safe on the day by a combination of the car itself and following the instructors advice. Get one of the instructors to take you around the circuit - I thought I was going hard after a few laps but was probably only doing 6/10ths! Enjoy!

A rattly rumble from the front end - some people who dont know their cars might not notice it. Mine started towards the end of a melb-coffs harbour-mel trip at around 80k from memory on a BA T. The only thing replaced under a very expensive extended warranty.

Thanks for the feedback - looking forward to a week on thursday

I will be there as well on the 15th - other than what was emailed out, not sure what to expect but should be a good day.

Can an F6 be tuned using a CAPA box to get a safe but worthwhile power increase using 95 ron premium fuel

My T didnt use a litre for top-ups in 105k kms and my phoon hasnt needed a top up in its last 8K kms - these engines dont use oil. The only difference between the T and the Phoon in this regard would be the semi-synthetic vs synthetic oil

Thanks for the feedback - your XR6T service costs sound the same as mine previously and I was also told that the F6 wouldnt cost much different until pads and disks needed changing - presales Salesmanship and reality are often unfortunately 2 different things

I am being quoted between $365 and $390 from a couple of dealers for the first 15k km service. Can any F6 auto owners confirm that this is the right sort of price (one of the differences is the tyre off rim rotation) - thanks

What are phoon owners paying for your 15k, 30k and 45k ford dealer services. My 15k km service is near and the quote I was given was around 75% more than for my XR6T 15k service from the same place, which was a few years ago now but I was given all sorts of crap about the F6 being a different engine etc, etc

My long term Ave is 13.5 but a tank fill check the other day was less at 12.8 with occasional squirts. The ZF seems to lower the instantaneous read out when cruising at 60 to 80kph quite noticeably (7.2 to 7. compared to my standard 4sp BA turbo. Long term consumption appears to be the same with my driving style and commute

Gulp! - $1000 for front pads (bits of metal with a dollop of stuff on top). Is this for the standard 4 pot brembos or the 6 pot? (mine will be the std 4 pots) There seems to be a wide range in prices being quoted by dealers. Thanks for the feedback everyone

I am soon to pick up my new phoon (stock BFII) but wanted to get some feedback on how many kilometres to expect from the brake pads, front rotors and tyres under normal (read relatively sedate) driving conditions and what I should budget for replacement? Also for the pads and rotors are there aftermarket alternatives available?

I had rear end vibs after each of my 3 diff changes but this was at around 80kmph - initially because they neglected to balance the the prop/tail shafts (which I understand has to be done on the vehicle and is a mandatory part of the diff replacement proc). Finally, much better now after 3 years and the last diff change where I made sure that a prop/tailshaft balance and rear end alignment had been undertaken. I also think that the OEM tyres can contribute to this even when apparently balanced. For one of the earlier vibrations the dealer thought it was loose baffals in the rear exhaust box. Replacement did make a difference but the underlying vibration was still there

Sounds great but I am going to the games that Sunday - so we will be cheering for you Dave.

Part No. BAF 9C676 B works perfectly with Kaine's measurements as well - Thanks Kaine The parts guy was a bit confused over the various similar part numbers and parts pics available on the Ford system but this intake was $55 + GST and therefore about $30 cheaper than the phoon intake - not sure why, as the only difference I could make out from the various pics on this site (not seen one in the flesh) and the part I got was a slight profile change on the end that fits behind the head light. As said by others, re-fitting the front bolt is a problem and I was originally going to leave it out but didnt want the risk of a "knocking noise" that in 6 months time I would forget where it might be coming from - persevere and it can be re-fitted but only by part seperating the new CAI snorkel from the "new" rectangular hole in your airbox, when in situ, and then using the hole to help fit and tighten the front bolt (8mm head) - a slow process, a turn at a time but fortunately the CAI snorkel is quite pliable for squashing out of the way (or at least the part number I had was) and then easing back into the airbox hole, locating perfectly on the internal ribs It also helps to have a fairly long but thin 8mm spanner and a long screw driver type 8mm socket. Be carful of the wires and connectors behind the head-light - brute force is not needed but rather careful easing and maybe a couple of goes to get it all in the right place behind the head light. I am rapped with the results!

The GT style steering wheels were about $695 when I optioned mine in 2003 and that seemed expensive but I just had to have one. The price now is totally ridiculous

How much are new airbag assemblies - and are they universal for the BA

The gearboxes cant handle the torque if you tow regularly with the BA's. 1600kg pack is the limit. The Transcooler would be good aswell although I dont have one of these. Mick <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The 4 speed auto cant be the issue as the box is basically a strengthened N/A box which is rated to over 2000kg. The issue will be the heat build up in the turbo as it will be on boost at low speeds. The original Saab turbos had a problem with this and used to melt the paint on their bonnets. I occasionaly tow my 1600kg boat and it always sounds as though it's struggling - However, this may well just be the the fact that the exhaust (std) is always "booming" when under the load.

Forgot to mention, the V10 is very mechanically noisy at tickover to the point where it sounds as though something is wrong, although the quad exhausts sound good later on and I loved the way the computer blips the throttle for you on manual downshifting.

Having just returned from a month in the UK where my brother has recently purchased a new M5 (more like 63K pounds) I couldn't help adding my 2cents worth:- what I liked - 1) Awsome acceleration 2) heads up display (originally thought it was a bit of a w*nk but I found it very useful as the horizon hurtles towards you) 3) handling 4)M-power button, and 5) seats that squeeze the love handles when cornering what I didnt like - 1) The manual box that thinks its an auto (no creep) - very lucky I didnt put it through the garage door myself and I couldnt imagine any female (that I know) who wouldnt help redesign the front and rear bumbers when slow speed manouvering. However, I assume that this would be the same on a 320i fitted with the SMG transmission - just might not go through the back wall of the garage as well 2) spending 10 minutes on the drive before each outing with my brother trying to decide whether he wanted 400 or 500BHP and what shift characteristics should be programmed (to be fair it was still a new toy) what I particularly didnt like - 1) being standed on New Years eve, on the M1, 150miles from home on the way to see my first soccer game for 10 years (at 35 pounds a ticket) with a totally DEAD M5 - unbelievable! 2) mortals in escorts and astras pointing and laughing as we were sat in the cab of the recovery truck on the M1 heading back south 3) BMW technical assistance - sucks! 4) missing the match 5) getting a diesel VW golf as a replacement hire car The only consolation was that BMW head office in the UK refunded our 3x 35pound football tickets (at least my team won). Apparently they had to send someone over from Germany to fix it - did someone on the forum mention something about gremlins in 2015! Fortunately it got fixed within a week so I did get to take it for some more blasts before returing to Aus. However, my brother is technically illiterate (which is probably why he can afford one and I can't) and he didnt really get a satisfactory answer as to what went wrong and whether it could let him down again - scarey! For me it is valid to make an M5 vs F6 comparison as at $225k in Aus, I aint never likely to own one and the F6 (stock or otherwise) is the closest I will be to experiencing a vehicle that has that sort of accelaration feel! ...and I still loved the M5 experience

thanks Ben well explained we need to catch up some time as I'm looking forward to being taken out for a spin in your m/c

Had a look around the site but couldnt see anything on the following:- 1)Is there any danger of damaging the PCM or original software if something goes wrong with the edit install/uninstall procedure? 2) Can you back up your original stored program to protect against the edit box being damaged, becoming defective in some way or even being stolen?