xr6_prod

I have raced an XR6 Turbo in production cars for 3 years. We also run data logging systems that records all tempratures. The car runs factory radiator and intercooler and no oil coller - as is standard. I have removed the A/C system entirely from under the bonnet. We have no additional bonnet venting. We run Mobil 1 15W40 oil and in the radiator I run water with only a small amount of inhibitor (not ethol glycol coolant). We have removed the internals on the thermastat. At Queensland Raceway this year we had 2 20 lap races in approx 35 degree heat. Peak water temp is 110 degC Peak Oil temp is 140 degC Peak air temp 120 degC In comparison at Symonds Plains in Tas (winter) the temp was 10 deg. Typically we see: Water 95 degC Oil 135 degC Air 90 degC Our engines last more than a season (probably go for 2 or 3) - and happily live at these temps. In my opinion the standard cooling system, as long as it is in good condition, is sufficient (and safe) in all cases except very exceptional circumstances - mega modification and/or endurance racing I.e > 1 hour. If engine temps are getting hotter than these there may be other issues. We have had problems with thermastats getting lazy and/or sticking (this is why we removed the internals of the thermastat), I would look for clutch slip (I.e. "blueing" on the flywheel), pull the radiator out and straighten all the fins so air can pass thru as it is intended, pay careful attention to fluid levels, type and condition. Make sure the top radiator has preasure and is firm when temps are hot. And all of the other common causes of overheating. The last thing to be aware of is tuning. When my car goes to the dyno - Ric Shaw makes sure the engine is "roasting hot" before he starts his tuning work - this is because these are the tempratures the the car spends most of its life at - it could cause issues tuning a car for a more road based temp and then expecting it to be ok on the track for continuos hot use. Whilst there are temprature compensations for most variables - the tune should still be verified at the extreme end of the range.

Just an update to all those interested in curcuit racing. Round 5 of the Australian Production Car championship from Phillip Island will be on SBS speed week this weekend - midday sunday september 27. For production car racing fans this is a must see as many people on the sidelines said this was the most spectacular production car race for many years - I only hope the TV coverage will do it justice. You will see 3 Xr6 turbo's, 3 XR8's, 2 SSZ commodores and a BMW 130 do battle in class A, along with a wide range of smaller B & C class cars. The next round of the championship will be at Queensland raceway on September 2 & 3. If anybody from the forum is out there please feel free to drop into the pits and say hi. Also many of you may be interested - the Bathurst 12 hour race (as it was in the early mid 90's) is offcially resurected for the Easter Long weekend in 2007. There will be a strict price limit ($125K) on vehicles entered so exotic cars will not be eligable. This will be a great feature race for production cars and it will be ideally suited to the XR6 turbo !!!!

Shazzy thanks for the support. As you indicate the Australian Production car championship goes to Queensland the weekend after next (2/3 of September) the Ontrack motorsport XR6 turbo will be there. I would look forward from any body from the forum dropping in to say gooday and have a chat about the car and what we have done to it and what our experiences have been. Also fo all those cuircuit racing fans - watch SBS speed week this weekend - Sunday 27 at midday. The coverage of the Australian Production cars should be spectacular with a great deal of very close racing and a fair bit of door rubbing. The telecast will be replayed on Inside Speed - Fox sports - 8pm Wednesday. Thanks Nick Dunkley #12 XR6 Turbo

September 2/3

This is just a short note to let you know that the 2nd round of the Australian Production Car Championship is on this weekend at Symonds Plains in Tasmania. The series is televised on SBS speed week and foxsports - next weekend I believe. I drive the number 12 Ontrack Motorsport XR6 Falcon Turbo. If any people from the forum that make there way out to the track on the weeked - be sure to come over and say gooday. Nick

I used to race in IPRANSW in a series 1 RX7. I won the NSW series in 2002. Now I race an XR6 Turbo in Australian Production Cars. If you want to be competitive in Improved Production then an RX7 is the only way to go. The good thing about Improved Production is these cars are the fastest sedans for the dollar of any motorsport category in the contry, and you can have fun and run mid field quite cheaply. HOWEVER To run at the front of the field you do need the sort of money that Russ "thebrunks" is talking about. You are far better buying an established car than building one. Generally speaking buying an established car is 1/3rd the price of that to build. I sold my ex-championship RX7 for $27K, I had spent at least 3 times that amount building and developing it. Driving a well sort out 900kg, 330+ HP RX7 with an ultra close dog box is a real buzz. You can find a copy of the rules on the South Australian site http://www.iprasa.mx.com.au/rules.htm The best way to get into it - is to go to a meeting and introduce yourself - even voulanteer to help some one out for a few race meetings.

Forever if the names anything to go by Dazza. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> They end after 3 race meetings (despite the name) !!

We currently use an Endless brake pad MA45 compound (I think) they cost $2500+ a set - you can get them from Competition Friction in the ACT. We have also used Scandinavian Braking System (SBS) dual carbon pad ~$800 to $1000 a set - available from Ric Shaw performance in Five Dock, Sydney. We have also tried Carbon Metalic PFC01 and Ferodo DS3000 and DS2500 compunds. The Endless pad has the best wear rate - and OK feel, the SBS has best feel (and OK wear rate), the PFC01 & Ferodo brake pads are not as good in both feel and wear as the SBS. For a good overall pad I would recomend the SBS. SBS make a dual carbon (race only) and a carbon ceramic (road & race). I hope that helps.

Sorry for taking a while to get back to people with a race report. For those interested please see the attached newsletter. All the action will be on SBS SPEEDWEEK THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON !!!! To summarise: Qualify 3rd; Race 1 finish 3rd; Race 2 spin (driver error) finish 11th Race 3 clutch failure finish 12th We next race at Symonds Plains in Tasmania - April 8/9 Ontrack_Motorsport_2006_Round_1___Wakefield_Park.PDF

We are at Willowbank aka Queensland Raceway September 2/3

We are not allowed to modify the lower control arms. The shockaborbers are effectively grafted onto a standard strut with a coil over kit. We replace the top shock absorber mounts.

Absolutely - they are a big step forward - unfortunately our opposition the SSZ also gets bigger brakes.

Please God...Oh please, please, please! I will do anything to get such a series going again! ... That's it...I'm off to find some kittens to sacrifice! Anybody know the Dark God of MotorRacing? Lumpy <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Lumpy - If you want to help get a viable series - then spread the word about the Australian Production Car Championship - or better still make it out to some the the rounds.

Tom, The cars are standard, except springs, shock absorbers and brake pads. The cars run Yokohama A048R control tyres. The engine mods are nil except from the ECU and exhaust as previously discussed. We have some slight freedoms in terms of getting additional negative camber. Absolutely no other mods are allowed - and the cars are scrutinised very closely - it is not uncommon for heads to be pulled off at the conclusion of race meetings. We must run a standard paper air filter. We run only the standard ford base model brake package. No intercooler / oil cooler changes are permitted. Nil inlet track changes. The cars on the most part a very reliable. However we have had some engine drama's over the last few years - most of the failures however are for different reasons. However a few items giving us grief - standard LSD (absolutely useless), you need to be gentle on the gearbox (regaudless of T56 or T5), the standard brake calipers warp / bend / crack after a meeting or two. The remaining driveline components are supprisingly resiliant - as long as they are not abused. Nick

Jeff, I have not heard anything about the Bob Jane / Lindsay Fox thing - do you ahve any more details ? Nick

We use Motec because it is the best on the market. It is capable of running cam shafts independantly, is far easier to tune and has data logging. Motec also has advanced functions like a "useful" traction control system, anti lag, clutch detect (flat shifting), pit lane speed limiting etc... just to name a brief few. (Not that we actually use all of these or have them enabled - they are there if we want) The capabilities far exceed what edit and the ford unit can do. That being said I have not back to back tested edit v's Motec. However I would be *very* supriesed if there was any material difference between the power outputs of the best edit tune and the best Motec tune. The best Motec tune can be arrived at very quickly (far faster than edit). The boost limit is set by the officials - and we would always like more boost. The Typhoon is not eligable in the class - the class is structured around the "base" performance model for each manufacturer - not the top of the range. I hope this answers your questions.

We are only permitted .6 bar (~8psi) of boost. This is monitored by a CAMS approved and controlled on board logging system. The modifications to engine performance are only - ecu, and the removal of mufflers only. We run Motec ecu and replace mufflers with straight pipe. This does yeild a substantial improvement over standard - in both out right HP, mid-range torque and throttle response.

For all those interested in curcuit racing and in particular XR6 Turbo's racing. The first round of the Australian Production Car Championship kicks off at Goulburns Wakefield Park on March 3/4/5. In what will be a bumper year for the Australian Production Car Championship 21 cars have entered the first round. With around half a dozen more expected to make round 2 - the prospects for the series is looking very rosie. The series is televised on SBS speed week and foxsports. I drive the number 12 Ontrack Motorsport XR6 Falcon Turbo. Attached is the Ontrack Motorsports 2006 preview. If any people from the forum that make there way out to the track next weeked - be sure to come over and say gooday. Ontrack motorsport T-Shirts will be available for sale at the track. Yours in Motorsport Nick Dunkley Ontrack Motorsport BF XR6 Turbo The entry list for round 1 is: 1 John Houlder 2A Falcon BF XR8 Blue 5400 In-Tune Motorsport 2 David Mertens 7A VZ Late model camira SSZ Blue 5700 RHM Group P/L 3 Steve Briffa 8A VZ Late model camira SSZ Silver/ Blue 5700 Time Mutual Finance 4 Nick Dunkley 12A Falcon BF XR6 Turbo Red 6779 Dayco/ Wesfil Cooper 5 Chris Delfsma 21A Falcon BA XR8 Blue/black 5780 Century 21 Hazelbrook 6 Wayne Russell 28A Honda S2000 Orange 2000 Go - Karts - Go 7 David Ryan 30A Falcon BF XR6 Turbo Blue 6779 Shell/ Joe Armour Auto 8 Colin Osborne 1B Toyota Celica Blue 1796 Osborne Motorsport 9 Kosi Kalaitzidis 6B Volkswagen Golf Gti White 3400 Barloworld Volkswagen 10 Allan Shephard 27B Toyota Celica Think Blue 1796 Thrifty Car Rentals 11 Colin Osborne 35B Toyota Celica Blue 1796 Osborne Motorsport 12 Brendon Cook 29C Citroen Xsara VTS Red/ Blue 1998 13 Brett McAlister 3C Proton Satria GTi Silver 1834 Proton Australia 14 Lauren Gray 15C Toyota Echo Sportivo Silver 1497 Carfesh/ Kingsville Accident Repair 15 Darren Best 76C Ford Focus Imperial Blue 1988 Best Racing 16 Darren Harris 93C Proton Satria GTi White 1834 DJ Embroidery and Promotional 17 Colin Osborne 50B(trophy) Toyota MR2 White /Red 1798 Midwest Miltimedia 18 Trevor Keene 5B(trophy) Toyota MR2 Black 1998 Midwest Miltimedia 19 Garry Mennell 9B(trophy) BMW Blue 2490 On Track Motorsport 20 Craig Bradshaw 35A (trophy) Falcon AU XR8 Blue/white 4985 Coastal Flooring & Constructions 21 Adam Beechey 60B (trophy) Honda Integra Pink 1797 Donut King Ontrack_Motorsport_2006_preview.PDF

Hi - I race an XR6 turbo in Australain Production cars. The XR6 factory seatas are very heavy - they have an electric motor and a substantial steel frame - they would be at least 15kg's each - maybe 20. If you are really serious about weight saving then the places to look are - number 1 is the exhaust - it weighs over 45 kg's alone - a titanium exhaust would save heaps. The metal reinforcing bracket and frame that goes behind the rear seats (between the rear seats and the boot) - it is zipped into the uphostery weighs ~ 12 kg's a sheet of carbon fibre may surfice - as long as you did not want to fold down the seats. An Odyssey dry cell battery can save half the weight of the battery ~8 kg's. Under the carpet of the drivers and passangers floor well is a large thick rubber insulating mat - it would weigh 15kg's and is easy to remove as it is just sandwiched between the carpet and the underbody deadning / sealer. The wheels are always a place to look. All of the seatbelt equipment and bolts (all 5 belts with bolts may be ~10kg's) Scrape off all under body deadning (maybe 20kg's) - this is supprisingly heavy From there on it is starting to get harder - one place you could look at (however this is a big job) is the wiring harness - I have not had mine out in totality - however I would not be supprised if there was 60-80 kg's of wiring running around the car - I am sure you could remove many unused wires - in my car there are many dozens of factory plugs that are not used (I.e. go no where) - you can even buy multiplexing equipment to run multiple devices on one wire strand - however this is probably going too far for the average enthusiest. Things that are already light and would provide marginal weight savings are: speakers (supprisingly light), electric window wipers, air bags, stereo, heater and most of the dash assembly - if you replace or remove all of these with lighter items you may save only a few kg's. I hope this helps.

I have 2 (both front seats) cloth BA XR6 Mark 1 seats brand new for sale for $600 a pair should bolt straing into any other BA. The drivers seats has electric adjust. The seats have come out of a car converted for race. PM me if you are interested.

Thanks for that info xr6_prod. That is what I have experienced in a track situation. So what is it that you have done in your car for racing or do you have to run the ABS? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> We don't run the ABS. We hydralically bypass the control actuator I.e. we use a T piece junction fitting on the hydrallic lines and route hydrallic preasure around the ABS block. I have an inline adjustable preasure reducer under bonnet. And we carefully select pad material combinations.

I race an XR6 turbo in Australian Production cars. A couple of points to make about Ford ABS. 1) it is not really suitable for a track and or racing situations, a human can vastly out perform it. 2) Ford use the ABS to balance the brake bias (I.e. front to rear). The rears have far too much brake preasure and will lock first. If you bypass the ABS you must do one of the following to restore a more natural brake balance. 1) fit a non abs master cyl, 2) put an inline brake preasure reducer in the rear line or 3) use vastly different pad material front to rear. 3) Simply disconnecting the existing control unit, either electronically (fuse etc) or by bypassing hydraulically will lead to worse braking performance and increased stopping distances, due to prematurely locked rear brakes.

There is an eccentric rose joint on the outer end of the top arm that allows camber to be varied, it has around 2 degrees adjustment. The lower arm has an adjustment for toe in the inner end I.e. near the diff centre - it is accessable from the rear.

Sorry for taking a while to get back to you 4runner (and others). David Ryan got excluded for running too much boost. We have a set limit of .6 bar. CAMS make us fit a data logger that records boost for the duration of the race and it was inspected after the last race. He had it set too high. No wonder he was so fast ! The mods we are allowed to make are, engine management, remove the mufflers - however the remaining exhaust must be standard. We are allowed to change springs & shocks, we run more suitable brake pads. Apart from that the cars are 100% standard. The XR6 turbo has a minimum weight of 1735kg. The remaining rounds are: Phillip Island 20/21 Aug Oran Park 17/18 Sept E Creek 3/4 Dec

For those that are interested the Ontrack Motorsport XR6 Turbo finished 3rd in the 22 car field at Eastern Creek last weekend. Our official race report is attached. The race meeting will televised this Sunday 31/7/05 on SBS speed week at 12 noon. A replay can be seen on Foxsports Thursday 4/8/05 at 8pm. Thanks Nick Ontrack_Motorsport_Round_4___Eastern_Creek.PDF