benjam

Yep currently having the same problem, though at first it would make some boost, slowly up to 6psi at max rpm. Car is tuned to 12psi with standard actuator. I checked manifold bolts, all hoses and clamps and even replaced the wastegate control solenoid. Then by coincidence the dump pipe to turbo bolts came loose so tightened them. Now no boost at all. I had my local Ford service take a look because I spotted a turbo housing bolt loose on the exhaust side, which I couldn't get to. They tightend that and also found a turbo mounting bolt missing. But still no boost, so they took the dump pipe off and found the wastegate stuck open. Will be taking somewhere else to fix that as all they could offer is send the turbo away for a rebuild. So a few issues all at once, but main one is the wastegate stuck open for me. Cheers. Ben

Depends what you want to do with your car. Under half a tank doing circuit racing you'd be running the risk of fuel starvation, which can lean out your air fuel ratio briefly and lead to detonation. Even more serious drag racing or spirited twisty driving around 1/4 of a tank could cause probs. Inside the fuel tank, the fuel gets pushed to one side, away from the pickup due to the G forces. For me I have one just for track days as otherwise I don't push my car hard enough to worry. It means I don't have to refuel after only a couple of ciruit runs. After experiencing the difference I can say it definitely works a treat. Cheers. Ben

Here you go, some info I saved a while ago before I bought one myself. Cheers. "The correct T-Piece to use is a VDO 230.032. The standard thread in the oil sender is 1/4 NPT. (the autometer is 1/8 NPT)." The above t-piece will make it look the opposite of the pic Dwayne posted, ie Autometer sender on top (1/8 fitting) and original on the end (1/4 fitting). Ben

Geez a whole year went by huh? I bought the fan and put together the electronics, though I found the circuit not as reliable as I thought it would be when bench testing it. Seemed to work better when triggered on rising voltage, however for my signal wire, I want it triggered on falling voltage (rising temp). Still a job to do though. Will also not bother about the shroud as there's not enough space for it with larger intercooler plumbing in the way. I've seen on ebay a few times, fans selling with shrouds built in, which may be worth investigating for anyone thinking of doing this too. Cheers. Ben

Yeah true enough, whether suspension in a vehicle is rasied or lowered, as long as it's done safetly and doesn't adversly affect the normal road handling, that's the main point. I'm sure many 4WD owners will want to go higher than 50mm and if so they only can get conditional registration with restricted road access, which I'm sure will be a pain. I was thinking of things approaching monster truck status. Ben

Ooops instead of 3/4, I meant 3/4's of half if you know what I mean, so equally between 1/4 and half. Drove to work (13kms) this morning and temps were back to normal again between 1/4 and half. After 7kms water temp reached this normal level after lesuirely driving. Ben

I pulled my original 92deg thermostat out of my T a while ago and it's the same with the 2nd hole etc too. I replaced it with a highflow 82deg one, which only has 1 smaller hole with the float. Since I changed it, I was actually seeing slightly higher coolant temps on the ford gauge, just below half instead of 3/4. So this weekend I've drilled a couple of holes to see if that brings the temp down. The coolant mix make a difference too, and I dilluted it with distilled water as I think I put too much concentrate in when I last changed. I'm more interested in making things cooler, more so with oil temp, and water temp will affect that. Obviously I don't want it too cool, so I'll see how it goes for now. Ben

The VSI says you can be defected basically for going outside the manufacturer's vehicle specs, so more trouble if you need to clear it. The rule is good overall for all those sky high 4WDs up in the clouds and also people who cut their springs, both stupid and dangerous IMO. Ben

Hey all, I just read the brand new VSI50 for this on the RTA website. Download and have a look... http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/registration/dow...7-july-2009.pdf At the bottom is says... Date of commencement This VSI applies to vehicles modified or presented to an AUVIS (going for a blue slip) after 31 July 2009. I'm sure there will be the usual sh*tfights with enthusiastc police and probably insurance companies too. Though at least I have receipts of when all my work was done. Ben

I had an old Alfa with the battery in the boot from factory and the earth was wired just next to the battery. Your battery earth should be as short as practically possible since any cable length will have some inherrent resistance. Having more resistance in the earth cable, will therefore have a higher voltage drop across it and rob power from the rest of your car, put simply. An earth problem becomes more so also with high amp accessories like extra lights and big stereos. Make sure the earth cable is not some thin crappy cable either. :-) Ben

Hey you may find this useful though I haven't tried it myself. Apparantly you can adjust the speedo in a special calibration mode via the dash! It would be better to just go for a tyre size and profile that has the same overall diameter as what is standard. Cheers. Ben. http://www.fordxr6turbo.com/forum/index.ph...ic=1335&hl=

Hey thorxr6t, Great to see mate, I fell off the fence in similar fashion when I bought my Ba Mk1 XR6T which I still have. Just wait until you start to mod! And you will haha. Though I've got a mate with a BMW 135i, very nice machine that, can't fault it. But for the bucks, Ford still make a top factory performance package and there's so much in the way of after market mods and advice such as through this site. Enjoy! Cheers. Ben

Hey guys, Check out my post in the thread below. XRSics, sounds like your left side pad has more initial tension, so when you pull the lever up, it is the first side to bite. Was the same case with me too and led to swooshing noise as described by many. http://www.fordxr6turbo.com/forum/index.ph...mp;hl=handbrake Can still download a Ford TSB showing some pics and instructions. It's a crappy design, but by playing around adjusting everything myself, I've been able to live without the swoosh noise for many many months now. :-) Pulling up your handbrake anytime while moving just ruins it. Those of you technically minded, just take one of the rear wheels and hubs off and look how it works. You can adjust the initial tension of each drum pad. I take the circular pad off and just turn the adjustment wheel at the bottom to the minimum ie least tension setting. Also by bending the retaining spring to give more tension, this stops the pad moving around within the drum which is main cause of swoosh IMO. the pad is hugged against the black metal backing plate. Should use hi temp grease also on contact points between side of pad and backing plate. If your handbrake lever is up real high, attend to this first by getting under the car saftely and tightening the cable at the Y split point. It's up against the body just in front of the rear axle from memory, slightly on driver's side. Cheers. Ben

Mate I'd get it in writing from the boss of that place what has happened and perhaps a statement saying they will warrant any fuel system/engine related problems for a fixed period. You don't want to find out in a couple of years time it caused a problem. I don't know myself if E10 can cause damage to a T, but I'm pretty sure it is not listed as a recommended fuel to use in the owners manual. Also ring 13FORD and ask them if E10 is usable in the T. If they say do not use it, then definitely get the letter from the boss. If the guy baulks then just do an online complaint to Fair Trading, works wonders believe me. Ben

I went to a taping of Ep5 last week, will be on TV next week. All the in studio banter between presenters is scripted (with only a little ad lib) and is rehearsed before shooting with the audience. Kinda funny when they do retakes and ask you to laugh just as much at the jokes 2nd/3rd/4th time round. It just means they think and plan alot in advance, more efficient really. I would imagine UK TG is similar. Another thing about Charlie, they have a makup woman onsite and he definitely got the most attention between takes adjusting hair etc. The ear piece he wears is linked to the guy in charge of the production, who incidently they lovingly call Satan. Basically he gives the ok or not about each take and I guess directs the guys and what's happening next. Ben

I reckon the show is pretty good for what it is. Ford should follow the marketing ploys of the opposition, but apart from the XR6T and F6 what do they have? Maybe a local Focus RS would be good. Also HRT make a supercharged R8 for 100k which would be much better performance value for money, but they are right showing the W427 the way they did, will probably become another collectable. Did you ever see series 1 of the UK top gear? Compared to the current polished version it wasn't that great until James May came on board. I think they got the Aussie presenters right first go and it will just be a matter of time before they are more widely accepted. At the end of the day it's great to have a quality production TV show about performance cars home grown, all with the Top Gear name. Get into the Aussie spirit! The only thing they need to improve is the test track, either it's not that great or they need better camera angles to show it off. Maybe a few overahead panning shots to show the layout which is not very clear. Ben

If you haven't already you should think about a trans cooler to extend the life of your auto whether you upgrade trans or not. Also you are probably not far away from the limit of your injectors and springs. Doing them will enable your tuner to take full advantage of your current and any future mods. I was in a similar situation and went from ~270 to 296kw @12psi in my BA manual. Having done the valve springs and injectors at least I know that part of the engine is relatively safe. Ben

Hey all, I've worked out a plan for a temp controlled thermo fan for my oil cooler. Will take a bit of work and I'm not in a hurry at the moment, but here's the plan. 1. Buy 7" thermo fan, heaps on eBay. My cooler is 220mm x 330mm x 55mm. 2. Make a shroud out of alluminum sheet - intructions here. 3. Make an electonic fan switch kit available from Jaycar, Autospeed story here. The fan will be a puller and mounted with shroud on cooler side facing rear of the car. The setup will be adjustable for fan turn on and fan turn off at seperate temps/voltages. I'll take the temp sensor voltage from my oil temp guage sender wire. Just need to check if voltage rises or falls with temp increase before assembling the switch. Here's a diagram of the electronic switch. Anyway when I get round to doing it, I'll take some pics and let you all know how it works. :-) Ben

Cheers, thanks for the Natsoft link. The vid looks good too, nice slide coming back down. :-) My mate was in 16th on the time sheet and he's on street tyres too, RE55 Bridgestones. Actually they are street legal semislicks so not sure if that is really classed as a street tyre. hehe What tyres were you on? How are the autosports days run? Is that the supersprint for the WRX/Holden/Alfa guys? Cheers. Ben

Haha my memory is shocking, I couldn't remember actually. lol I'm trying to think of what my mate did in his Alfa 75 twinspark, maybe 54 or 1:04, bugger. After owning an Alfa, I really like Italian cars and their often style over function design. Lancia's are great, never seen a Stratos in the flesh though! I remember there was always a little rivalary between the hardcore Alfa and Fiat owners and they all bowed down to the Ferarri guys. lol. I went to the annual Concorso d'Eleganza at Gough Whitlam Park a few times, so many beautiful machines. Wow the GT40 driver does sounds lucky considering!

Yeah I saw a few pics from a photographer working the day and it look pretty flat which surprised me actually. Last year people behind me said it leaned alot. I originally had King springs and Whiteline bars. Now I have added a Nolathane evolution camber kit, lower control arm bushes and the new Monroe GT Sport shocks. I did the shocks last and couldn't really tell much diff to my originals for street driving, but on the track the car felt much more controlable and I can definitly tell it's not as bouncy. I really love my tyres. First track day I did in the T was on Nangkangs at Eastern Creek and they just let the car down big time. I've had Yoko Advan v103's for about 20000kms and 2 WP track days and they are as good now as when new. I estimate they have about 30% left too, so are great value for this reason alone. Haha not quite, he was a nice guy really and let me pass a couple of times. It goes pretty good I reckon and I have 290kwatw so it wasn't like passing Mirages. We were parked next to each other in the garages too. He had massive brakes with giant calipers off a higher model, had also some engine tuning, the T5 engine is seen here also in the Ford XR5T. Was talking to him for a bit, he came from a Supra RZ and did the family car compromise shuffle. :-) For WP I can see how it is possible to hit the wall coming onto the straight, but you would really have to panic and try and unsuccessfully correct a big oversteer. Much better to follow the rule, 'if you spin, both feet in" :-) I saw an Evo make a big splash in the sand trap at turn 1 after it rained. Looked cool and it still managed to power out of it! My first time on a track was Oran Park south, but in my old 85 Alfa GTV6. I did a driver training day run by the Alfa club and there was a half day doing laps with the instructor as well. But never done it in the T. That dogleg you really have to line it up right even at Alfa speeds, let alone a T. lol. I'd be slow around OP south as well! From memory a good driver in an average car can do something like 34 secs. How does that compare? Ben

Yep sure was, just posted up some vids here . Ben

Hey all, Here are some vids on my track day yesterday (NSW Labour Day) at Wakefield Park. I had heaps of fun and improved my lap time from last year by about half a second (1:17.640). The vids were limited to 1 min by my digicam, pretty much same as any others you may have seen posted, but was first time I had the camera on board myself. :-) The weather was good overall, though only got 3 sessions on complete dry track and only one of them timed. It poured down rain and a little hail in the middle of the day, then cleared quickly too. Though there were a few rivers running in places for the rest of the day. I didn't bother going out when it was coming down, but plenty did. I was the only T there and the only other Ford was a little Escort mk2 with a 2ltr cosworth engine. One of my mates drove as well in his MY04 WRX so we rode as passengers in each other's cars during the passenger sessions. He did a 1:14.254. Great day, just need to do more of them! I need to work on carrying speed through the last corner and turn 1. Enjoy. Rounding up a slower car and brake into last turn Hunting down a Volvo Estate with a FWD T5 engine Rounding up another slower car and getting better through the top section Passing a Mirage getting on to the straight Catching a R32 GTR through the twisty bits Aggressive through the twisty bits and letting an EVO9 pass Bit of last session silly fun at turn 1 Ben

I did my track day today at Wakefield Park which is pretty tight and twisty. I started with 34 cold, and all 4 ended at 38 hot. So I after they cooled down, I put them up to 36 cold. After the next session they ended up 40 hot. Interestingly I just found my max pressure rating for my tyres is 50psi (Yokohama Advan Sport V103), so I could have tried a little more, maybe next time. Ben