Cashie

I purchased an ex-police XR8 today, 2004 XR8 with all the usual police options (premium brakes, side airbags and reverse sensors). I pick it up Friday, looking forward to the BA driving experience again! Thanks for the feedback guys and I will let you all know how it goes. Here it is:

Thanks for your excellent reply. I was meaning that I would buy an aftermarket subwoofer speaker and amp (due to the cost and quality) but I was keen to fit it in the factory location in the parcel shelf. Is this possible? I have currently got a new Jaycar 8" subbie that I am keen to use if possible... Also, is the wiring in place for the tweeters in the A Pillars for the cars without them? Can I easily fit a set in the factory location?

I would say it would be due to the drivetrain line being changed, ie. the driveshaft is now at a slightly different angle to the diff.

Test drove an ex-police car 2004 XR8 MkI Sedan yesterday and was surprised how well it went. Seemed to go harder than my ute ever did. This was probably more to do with the "police endorsed" run-in procedure (drive it like you stole it) than any different engine software settings/programs. The interior lights did not turn on when opening the doors, but the dash had been returned to non-police mode. Overall, I was impressed with the quality/condition of the vehicle, having done 60,000 kms it still felt tight and the interior was even in good condition. The warranty service book didn't have one stamp in it for scheduled services, the windscreen had a service sticker on it saying it was due a service at 70,000 kms, I wonder were the new owner would stand with a warranty claim?? Not sure what pads were fitted to the premium brakes, but they performed excellently and with not a hint of squeal or noise at all. Winter White does look good, a set of royal blues stripes would really set it off!!

Is it possible to install a sub in the standard location in a sedan that was not fitted with premium sound (and a subwoofer) from factory? Is it just a matter of getting an 8" subbie, an amplifier and the premium sound parcel shelf trim/speaker grill? Has anyone successfully done this?

Sh$t that was cheap, what bendix pads were they (metal kings)? Were these for the premium brakes?

That's the one I was looking at! I am going down to eyeball it tomorrow to check out it's condition etc.

On the MKII XR8 Sedans I think that the 18s were standard...

I am in the market for a used BA XR8 Sedan, how do I spot an ex-police car? What extras/differences did these have? Also, if a car is an ex-police vehicle, should I steer clear of it?

My XR6 Sedan My XR8 Ute Miss them both and am in the market for a replacement!!!

Demand that they fit the subwoofer that you paid for! The car was meant to have one and ensure that they fit it, if you want to replace it later you still can. Cars have come down the line missing items in the past, ie. tweaters, etc

PM sent..

Here is a topic I started on removing the hooks. Hook Thread

Great job Ken, do you have any photos of it in your car? I'm interested in the mounting arrangement.

The "new-improved" calipers have the problem of increased pedal travel, at least that's what I noticed in my 2nd BA with the "new-improved" calipers. I had little confidence in the braking of my XR8 Ute, there was minimal brake pedal feel and at times I had to pump the pads back out.... Ford have almost no idea what good braking is, the standard brakes on the BA are a joke. I just purchased a Mazda3, the brakes on that are like chalk and cheese conpared to the BA's, they provide feedback and instill confidence in all situtations, they have BA, EBD and ABS, not bad for a $23k car.

You need to get a sharp edge in between the spat and the "christmas tree" lug to get them a bit out, then use a screwdriver or similar to get them out. They do need to go back in to hold the liner up. I agree with LC, why do you want to remove them, I think they are excellent and have put them on both my BAs.

Well if this is the case the Doc is still being fed BS by FPV - because Ford destroy all prototypes and they DO NOT go to any public auction .. Here is the response from FPV in writing Quote: Good Morning I have done some investigstion and we have built several vehicles before production that are numbered. They are however numbered with a "P' in front of the builld number. (I.e. P00013) The sido of the press (pre-production vehicle is 893084). The sido of the vehicle you have purchased is (645116) Any questions please do not hesitate to contact me. Thanks. Kind Regards, Stefanija Tkatchenko Ford Performance Vehicles FPV Operations Manager Southern, Central & Western Regions Now at least I will sleep tonight and have a good weekend. 0013 is already booked in Monday for a decent cat back system and a BMC panel filter. Then Thurs for a decent suspension setup. Roll on 3000klm so I can find some real potential from this machine Rick, I saw your car's sister, number 0014, at Lane Ford Mandurah yesterday, I am still drooling! Cheers Brett

These two screws were driving me crazy, I just went out and ripped my console apart and sure enough I don't have them, neither of my BAs has had them. This may be one of those Ford QA things, maybe some cars get tham and others don't! I had trouble getting mine free, in the end I think I actually broke the mounting lug off to get it free.

Don't you hate getting old? In both of my BAs, on both side of the holder are just clips that you pull forward as shown in your picture. Talking of picture, how do I go about getting a copy of that manual??

OK easy thing to explain right here. Use hand pressure to lift up the plastic surround around the shifter. LIft the drink holder lid to allow hand in. Remove the screw on either side of shift to remove the two side panels. Two screws hold the tissue box holder in. that's it. Wayne Good write-up Wayne, only thing I don't agree with is the part about two screws holding the tissue box holder in, I don't remember there being any screws, maybe I am getting old and my memory has gone!

There's a blast from the past, where are CPC??

Try and turn the STB off and then back on, mine did that as well.

How'd you manage to get that? I just asked my unfriendly Ford "service" place to turn on the Police pack. They had never heard of this option, but I said its on the WDS and just turn it on. The only bummer is I cannot see any Trip distances, and I can only see the ODO when the car is off. Its good to measure your km/h accuratly. Doing 110km/h on the police pack is about 115km/h on the speedo. I wanna make sure I know exactly my speed. Speking of WDS, is their a setting for 17 inch or 18 inch wheels to compensate for OD and make the speedo read correctly? Are the 17s and 18s different OD sizes? Reason I ask is my car has always read fairly high (higher than my old BA XR6), I have just found out my car was built with 18s (dealer must have sold them whilst it was in the showroom before I purchased it ) and now has the 17s....

I know a few have mounted their's where the passenger airbag normally goes, but I would like mine more central. I saw a car a while back that had his screen where the tissue holder is, has anyone done this? Is it too low to use effectively? Would the Lilliput fit there?

No. Listen carefully! ALL BA XR Falcons have the SAME instrument dials and the SAME LCD screens! Exactly the same as the pic you posted. Like I am trying to say, there is NO difference in the instrument clusters REGARDLESS if you have a Lux equipped XR or not! So, have we determined that the Luxury Pack XRs get the Fairmont Ghia Dash with blue lighting and XR logos as per the media release? Therefore: the dash is different?