SmokinXR6

Hi rockafellqeinstien, That's some serious haulin. ​It has been mentioned many times that the ute makes a better tow vehicle than the sedan (well, when it comes to the FG) Only down side to Hayman Reece kit is the HD tow bar interferes with the reverse park sensors. Fit the HD Tow bar and put the car in reverse and all you get is one loud constant beep. It only happens with the HD tow bar (I.e. 2,300, the 1,600 kg does not interfere.. It is a small nuisance in order to have a better quality towing solution with is easily adjustable. Cheers, Chris

Hi Anthony, Stevebag sums it up quite nicely Every car I have owned needed to use its max revs in order accelerate from a standing start or overtake. The XR6 Turbo has such a massive spread of torque you simply do not need to ring its neck. It is amazing how your perception changes when towing with a vehicle that had massive amounts of power and torque in reserve. If your tow vehicle is doing it easy you feel more at ease. Conversely if your tow vehicle is being called upon to produce 100% of its power and torque on a regular basis you begin worrying if everything will hold together. As for your Haines Traveler (is it a tb170) the XR6 turbo will have no issues. If it is a tb170 your towing weight would be around 1,200 to 1,300 kg, could be as high as 1,400 kg depending on gear installed. Which model XR6 Turbo are you looking to purchase? Cheers, Chris

Hi Samboc, Apologies for the late reply. I hadn't been on the boards in a while and once again I am humbled my post still lives as a sticky after 3 years. I never imagines I would still be contributing to this post after 3 years. Please feel free to quote away! While you are at it give this some thought! Whilst the falcon is rated to tow up to 2,300 kg the closer you get to that limit the more important it becomes to look at upgrading your trailer. By close my general rule of the thumb is; if your trailer is being called upon to lug around 80% of its maximum capacity and you plan to haul long distances then I would consider upgrading your trailer. Ideally you would look to upgrade / up spec your trailer if you were in the market to buy a new a trailer, having said this most trailer manufacturers would be glad to help you with upgrading an existing trailer as well. In my case my trailer is a Mackay and my experience upgrading my trailer and having a new 3,000 kg compliance plate issued was exceptional. The guys at Mackay Trailers went out of their way to help me achieve my gaols and did allot to minimize the cost, can’t ask for more than this. Assuming your trailer is rated to around 1,995 kg I would look at the following upgrades: 1. Weight Distribution Hitches (WDH) 2. Upgrade trailer wheels by 1” 3. Look at going 4 wheel discs and full brake away setp WDH – They are just the ducks guts. I have purchased both the Ford kit (with my BA XR8) and Hayman Reece, hands down the Hayman Reece wins. In fact I would buy the Hayman Reece WDH and keep it, each time I change cars I will order a Hayman Reece setup to match the new car and the WDH. Once you get the hang of the WDH setup they will make a significant difference to stability and make sure everything stays straight and levelUpgrade your wheels by 1”- In my case this means fitting 14" wheels, it’s a no brainier, it improves the ride as well as fuel economy. Make sure you fit light truck tyres and inflate them to the correct pressure; the increase in diameter enables you to run increased tyre pressure.Upgrading Brakes - Next I would look closely at your brakes. I know it is not cheap but what price so you put on your own safety and towing ease. After completing 3 trips with my new braking setup it still blows me away. The first bonus of going with a full breakaway system is “NO MORE THUD THUD THUD” each time you brake. The sliding trailer hitch that operates the old braking system is GONE……………YIPPEEEE But wait!!!! There is more. With the trailer fitted with disc brakes on all 4 wheels and a clever controller in the car I now have unbelievable control over my brakes. In my case I went with a Hydrasater braking system and a Tekonsha P3 controller. I have so much control that I can lock up all 4 trailer wheels and stop my car and trailer with ease. Once I had the setup properly dialled in it was time to see what difference it makes. Now the journey from Melbourne to Adelaide has 2 very hilly sections that are just punishing on any setup; that is the run from Melbourne to just outside of Beaufort and from Tailem Bend to Adelaide. For me it is the second section that really tests your stress levels more than anything. After 8 hours or so behind the wheel you have to keep your wits about you especially the run down the Adelaide Hills. Well, I was massively surprised how easy this section of the journey has become as a result of my new brake setup. When the big hills are a comin I just dial up the brake boost on the controller altering the brake curve so the trailer brakes engage earlier. After that just cruise along, the brake controller does the rest. It is as simple as that. In discussing this with one of my fishing buddies I arrived at this conclusion. Upgrading your trailer brakes falls in the same category as installing an anchor winch in your boat. Both upgrades fall in the “It is an expensive upgrade and you feel you can make do without them, however when you bite the bullet and get them installed you will NEVER go back”, it is as simple as that!!! In closing if you are loading up your trailer consider getting it updated / upgraded as the difference is staggering. Like most people who have commented on this post I do not want a great big oofffyyyy 4x4 or SUV as my daily (no offence to my 4x4 and SUV mates). My car is performing towing duties 15% of the time, therefore the other 85% of the time it is just a daily driver. Getting around town in a sports sedan is just so much more enjoyable and easy to live with. The key to making this marriage work is the trailer, get that right and you will have one super stable towing platform that can will surprise you!!! That’s it for now, please feel free to ask any questions and I will do my best to anwer them. Kindest Regards, Chris

Hi FPV Tranny and all, I can’t believe one of my first posts on this forum is still pinned many years later, this is very humbling, thank you all Interesting feedback FPV Tranny. I am 3 months way from the end of my lease and I am seriously considering an FPV. The only thing I hate is that they are de-rated to 1,600 kg I believe. I never tuned my Navara but after many long trips towing my boat I was glad to see it go. Whilst there is no perfect towing car, they are all about compromises; the Navara certainly commands the boat better due to its physical size and presence. When it comes to power, torque, fuel economy and braking power the XR50 Turbo leaves the Navara for dead. The other thing long distance towing has taught me is that many of the drawbacks of towing with a sedan can be addressed by other means. My boat trailer finally gave up the dust late last year. I had planned to upgrade it this year so I knew what I wanted to do. This time around I have up-specced my trailer, some say it is overkill but the difference was absolutely stunning. Long story short my new trailer is rated to 3,000kg (my old trailer was rated to 2,000kg). Therefore apart from the heavier duty axles and springs it also has 14" mags and electric / hydraulic braking with full break away. Chuck in my Hayman Reece Load Levellers and I now have a super stable towing platform with a braking setup that makes it a joy to tow with, I love being able to adjust my braking from within the cabin. The 14” wheels make a huge difference as well. If you want to improve your trailer going larger diameter wheels makes a huge difference. I would have never believed it myself if I hadn’t done it, but the trailers ability to ride the bumps improves dramatically with just a 1 inch increase in diameter. The only way I will go back to a 4x4 of crew cab is if I need to da allot more towing etc.. Considering that 85% of the time my car is just a daily driver I still feel a well setup sedan and well setup trailer makes a great compromise. Please feel free to ask ma nay questions, happy to help out where I can. All the best. Chris

Hi All, Sorry it’s been a while since I have posted. I can't believe this post is still a sticky. That is very humbling, thank you. Since I wrote this post I have completed two more long distance towing trips and racked up a total of 36,000km +. Thought I would take the time to update my experience towing with my FG XR50 Turbo and at the same time take a closer look at its fuel efficiency whilst towing. My car has performed brilliantly with next to bugger all issues. The only one that comes to mind is my tires. After 36,000 km my rears were well and truly shot (yes I have been gentle on the throttle for most of the time) however after several wheel alignments I have now been informed my fronts have worn abnormally (on the outer side) and will also need to be replaced. Now getting back to my last two big trips. I have been using an iPhone app called "Road Trip". After using "Gas Cubby" for a while I gave Road Trip a go and found its additional features quite handy. September 2011 Took off with the boat in tow heading for Adelaide. On the way over I averaged between 17.9 and 19.58L/100km. A few days later I towed the boat over to Port Vincent achieving a similar economy rate. During this trip I also drove from Adelaide to Whyalla (without my boat). The drive from Adelaide to Whyalla is very mundane, sitting on 110km for most of the trip. I do recall running into loads of traffic including heaps of B Double Semis. Despite having to execute a ton of overtaking manoeuvres (not that I am complaining as the FG Turbo is insanely quick when it comes to overtaking) I still managed a fuel average of 9.2L/100km. Heading home with my boat in tow my fuel burn improved slightly starting out with an average of 18.96L/100km tearing up the Adelaide Hills and rounding out the trip with the final tank hitting 17.05L/100km. Overall another impressive towing performance April 2012 This time we planned to drive from Melbourne to Whyalla, stopping for only a short while in Adelaide to pick up supplies. This trip was also different in that I didn't have my family with me; hence I was not as heavily loaded. The difference weight wise would be approx 300kg (1 adult, 2 kids and the additional luggage / toys to boot). From a fuel consumption point of view the change was noticeable. From Melbourne to Adelaide I averaged 16.11 - 17.84L/100km. Heading out of Adelaide and across to Whyalla my fuel consumption improved further reaching 15.84L/100km. Three days later the weather caved in preventing us from going fishing. So we used the downtime to pop into Port Lincoln (approx 250km away). This cruise saw my FG sip along at 9.65L/100km, not bad given the driving conditions etc... Heading home a week later we encountered strong head winds at the beginning of the drive and a heap of traffic once we crossed the border into Victoria. Having said this, my fuel consumption range was between 17.33 to 18.54L/100km. So after 3 major trips I can now confirm that my beloved FG XR50 Turbo is not only the most powerful towing platform but also the most fuel efficient I have EVER owned (I have averaged two major trips towing my boat interstate over the last 10 years). Whilst big 4WD will always provide a more stable towing platform I have grown to appreciate just how versatile a big sedan like the FG Falcon can be. It has proven itself as a very competent towing platform, performing flawlessly and at the same time it’s one heck of a daily driver. That’s it for now. Please feel free to ask any questions. Cheers, Chris

Hi Jenny, congrats on the new ride and welcome to the 50th Ann Club. I picked up my XR50 Turbo (Silhouette) in November and I am still madly in love. Don't leave it in the garage, get her out and enjoy the mad turbo rush

Hi Snapper, Love the name, caught some thumping big reds in my time Thanks for asking as you have prompted me about something I should have mentioned in my original post. I briefly touched on my tow setup for each car but there is allot more to it. My XR8 and Territory both had the factory HD Tow pack (includes the Weight Distribution Hitch (WDH)) I found the factory kit to be OK however there were several issues, namely: 1. The black paint peels of easily leading to surface rust if you did not repaint them regularly; and 2. The WDH varies between different Ford Cars. As an example the Load levelers on the Territory were longer than the XR8. This gets very annoying each time you change cars having to redo your tow setup. This issue is quite specific to my trailer setup. Due to space issues on the draw bar I have had to weld my "A Frame" adapter to my winch post. Generally speaking its less of an issue when towing "A Frame" trailers (I.e. Caravans or car trailers) as all you have to do is readjust the load leveler mounting points. On the XR50 Turbo I chose to go with the a Hayman Reece HD Tow Pack. Price wise they are pretty much the same. The Hayman Reece setup is heaps better quality wise, the hitch is fully height adjustable (great if you are thinking about lowering your car) and I plan to keep ordering the same kit on future Ford cars negating the need to having to reset your tow setup. Having said that there is ONE issue I came across you need to be aware of (although some might argue its a minute issue). The Hayman Reece WDH (the hitch you fit on when using load levelers) is substantially larger than the standard ford version. As such it interferes with the reverse park sensors. This only occurs when you have the big hitch fitted to your car but you do NOT have a trailer connected. (the reverse park sensors are disabled the second you connect your trailer lights). Having said this the reverse park sensors will go nuts, constantly beeping when you are in reverse. In the end I quickly got in the habit of removing my WDH immediately after a long tow and would fit the small hitch for towing short distances or leave them both of the car. Hope this helps. Chris Crikey!!!It wasn't that long ago you could still get one new. Did a quick search on Car Sales and they were all 2nd hand except for a newy in Sunburst. There was a 2nd hand black XR50 Turbo with a bugger all Km's that might suit. Other than that I would try Strapp Ford on the off chance they may have one in their holding stock. Best of luck, I would keep trying as they represent such awesome value

EvilDaifu. True apps like Trapster are very battery hungry, at very least a car charger is required. In my case I went doen the path of installing a full Car Kit. As for the POI's, the majority of them are fixed. When you download the POI's you vae a choice of selecting POI's based on confidence levels. By setting this reasonbly high you avoid downloading the temporay POI's. Trapster has laso addressed tis as several of their POI's are temporary only (I.e. the road hazard POI's). I have tried other websites like POIDB.com and have found Trapster POI's to be way more acurate. In the end its a far better solution than relying on a super long list that was published months ago.

All, Best advice I can give especially for those that have a smart phone or GPS is to create an account on www.trapster.com. (Not sure if I can mention this here, if not I do apologise, please delete my post) If you have a smart phone they have an app that works on almost all platforms, if you have a GPS you can download all POI's within a given radius which you set. What's soo good about this? Its a community based system with very accurate POI's (I.e. all cameras, school zones, known enforcement points, etc.... It has a huge following with over 11,000,000 users. Even here in Vic it has a good following. So in a nutshell you can quickly report a host of traps including accidents, road hazards, known enforcement points as well as the cameras. The database is very accurate because it is constantly being updated. Each trap carries a rating based on the number of times it has been reported / acknowledged by different users. Updating your GPS is very quick. I have a new Garmin unit. Once I have downloaded the files from their website I use Garmin's POI loader to update my unit Something to think about if you are looking for an easy way to keep track of all fixed cameras as well as the mobile revenue raisers.

ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Could not have said it better myself, and yes I am biased (still with a massive grin )