bugster70

As a father of two little girls (aged 2 and 4) myself, and knowing how much room baby seats and the like take up, I can definitely confirm that you've made the right choice. It might 'only' be a Ford, but if you're after a large family sedan that can still pack a punch, handle half decently and is easily modified to go even harder for relatively little money, I don't think these cars can be topped. Some good advice has already been given, and you can add me to the list of those who only use 98RON fuel in their cars. As others have mentioned, to gain a (very) respectable power increase you'll need to buy yourself a Ford flasher unit and get a custom tune. If you're just after a 'mild' power increase, this will more than satisfy you (the difference from stock is almost unbelievable, just wait till you experience it). The problem is that most people then end up wanting more, because for relatively little money you can turn the car into an absolute weapon and still maintain stock (in fact, better than stock) driveability and fuel economy. But (again, as has already been suggested) then you should seriously look at upgrading brakes to match the newfound power (you may even think about doing this as your first mod) and suspension if you intend to drive the thing hard. Hope that's of some consolation for giving up your WRX (you'll never look back, trust me) and welcome to the forum!

From what I've heard about these cars, you'd be mad NOT to opt for the DSG 'box, they're meant to be simply awesome. But I've got no real experience with these myself I'm afraid, however, a previous member (dingah2) sold his 300+rwkw Nizpro-tuned XR6T and bought a Golf GTi instead and he loves it. Mind you, he's optioned it up to the hilt and had it tuned/reflashed for considerably more power than stock, but he reckons it's a great little car. Shoot him a PM if you like, I'm sure he'd be more than happy to share his thoughts/comparisons with you.

Dunno if you've sorted this out already (and I assume you're talking flywheel rather than rearwheel power), but a basic conversion is to mulitply HP by 0.75 to get kW. In other words, 400-500HP would be about 300-375kW. This level of power is EASILY achievable with these engines, even on stock internals on BA motors (even I'm running high 300's - flywheel - on basic mods). Some of the pioneers on this site have achieved pretty much double the power you are talking about. Gotta love this engine!

Can't remember the total, but I paid the prices advertised on his website (which is listed above, but you can click here to have a look).

I stand corrected, thanks for the clarification senna. Someone ought to alert King Springs to this oversight in their catalogue then!

Not necessarily. Can't speak 100% for any differences between an XR6T and an F6, but according to the King Springs catalogue, spring applications are the same for both BA and BF vehicles. I would imagine they would be the same for FPV equivalents too?

I got all my stuff through Adam, who could get me pretty much anything I wanted in any combo. Plus he's super helpful and gives members good prices to boot. I ended up getting just the front PBR performance calipers off him, some DBA 4000 series slotted rotors as well as braided lines for front and rear.

No worries mate, that would be my inclination too. Remember also that it'll take a while for the springs to settle - I was initially happy with the ride height of the SSLs, but after they settled it was too low for me. Anyway, good luck and let me know how you go!

The F6 above looked low enough to my eye, but I guess we all have different tastes (or it could have been the angle of the photo). Like most others here, I went for the 'level sill' effect by using KFFL-57 and KFRL-68SSL King Springs front and rear respectively. The front looks good, but the rear has settled too much for my liking (the top of the tyre is just beginning to disappear under the guard - and I'm not a fan of the 'dumped' look). This spring combo is what King Springs recommended in their catalogue for XR series cars (the current catalogue has changed part number names a little). They also recommended using KFRL-68SL springs on the rear of non-XRs, and in hindsight I think this would have been the best option for me. The SSLs meant I had to cut off some of my bump stop, which indicates to me that it's too low. I may well remove my SSLs and replace them with SLs in the near future - this will still be lower than normal XR height with a firmer spring rate to boot, but not as low as it currently is.

Sounds like a good upgrade for the BFs, where it's probably not really worth the extra $$ to change the calipers to the 'premium' ones that suit the 325mm rotors. I've got a BA and it used to have terrible brake shudder. But, as my rotors were only 298mm, I opted for the PBR premium upgrade package with the larger calipers and 325mm DBA 4000 series slotted rotors. The improvement over stock is huge, absolute chalk and cheese. I also went for braided lines, which has firmed up the pedal feel a lot too - another worthwhile upgrade IMHO if you're considering brake system improvements.

Yup. 18% is illegal - I THINK the darkest legal tint is 25%? I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong...

I'm with Buffy on this one. I'm with AAMI and they have listed all my mods at no additional cost to me. Mods include edit, injectors, I/c, cat, etc, etc. But I suspect this also has something to do with our age!!!

I'm open to debate, as always, but I don't think you're entirely correct on this one. First, from 'normal' driving speeds, I still don't think your APs would shorten the stopping distance from the stock setup in a single application. The story is quite different if you're doing 200kph+ because, at those speeds, the stock setup isn't capable of activating ABS. Your high performance tyres will indeed be making a difference to your stopping distance, but I very much doubt they'd be grippy enough to be able stop the stock brakes from being able to activate ABS (continuously) from normal driving speeds. The stopping experience may FEEL very different to stock with your AP setup, but I maintain that, in a single application, using the same tyre, suspension, etc, setup, they will not pull up quicker than the stock system. Check out what Brembo has to say on the matter here. I've done a fair bit of research into this as it was something that really interested and intrigued me (I too couldn't believe that the crappy stock brakes would pull up as quickly as a set of Brembos!) and I'm pretty confident I'm right on this one. I do, however, totally agree that the factory brakes are abominable and desperately need upgrading. Your AP setup is a far, far superior system that should never ever show signs of brake fade and you've done the right thing by complementing them with some good tyres.

They're not too bad to a point (the 6 speeds are a different story, awesome 'boxes). Just have a look around the forum and see how many 4 speeds have died with a few engine mods - around 300rwkw seems to be their upper limit, a lot of guys have killed theirs with far less than that. If you start modding your car and continue to treat your auto like that, I'll guarantee it'll break. My T's pushing out about 310rwkw and I'm careful with throttle application in 1st - once boost comes on, traction becomes an issue.

Ouch, I don't fancy your poor gearbox's chances of surviving for too long being treated like that...

No worries. $2K is about on the money for the PBR kit. I didn't realise you could get 4 pot APs for just over $3K fitted, so that may be an option too, but it's still 50% more plus the ongoing costs. I've had the argument before about whether big brakes will pull you up quicker or not and I'm still of the opinion that, in a single application, they generally won't. Even the Brembo website confirms this, on the proviso that the lesser brakes are still strong enough to activate the ABS (and what brakes aren't these days?). The better braking systems are more about repeatability without fade and pedal feel, which can give the impression that they are stopping you faster (less pedal input required for the same braking force). Tyres and suspension would play a far bigger role in a single emergnecy stop situation.

Although, having said that, I can't remember reading that it was either one or the other? I always thought it was legal to have both low beam and fog lights on at the same time in inclement weather, so this is good to know. The fog would have to be VERY bad to warrant using the fog lights only instead of the normal low beam (in fact, I don't think I've never seen fog that bad in Australia).

Mate, I was in exactly the same place you are now ie. wanting a decent upgrade to my brakes, mainly for increased safety for the family (I have a 2 and 4 year old). I agree with the others in that you need to specify some sort of price range. I mean, everyone has a limit, otherwise I assume you'd be driving something like an M5 rather than an XR6T. I opted for the PBR 'premium' brake upgrade (I think these are the C6 calipers everyone is talking about), with DBA 4000 series slotted rotors (don't get the cross drilled ones) and braided lines, and the difference is enormous. I think this would more than suffice for any sort of street driving and, as others have said, even some light track work. Remember, in a single emergency stop application, it is your tyres that will make more of a difference than anything else. Repeated hard stops is where the bigger brakes really come into their own, and this situation sounds unlikely in your case. Another thing to bear in mind is ongoing costs, just check out the prices of rotors and pads to suit some of the Brembo applications. Sure, if money REALLY is no object, the bigger the better I suppose (although the hard core performance brakes tend to squeal more too), but they're literally up to 5 times the cost (to buy) than the PBR upgrade, with subsequent increased maintenance costs. I can highly recommend the PBR setup for the prupose you are describing. Hope that was of some help and good luck.

You can check out the latest catalogue for yourself here or, if you're still worried, just shoot King Springs an email with your concerns and requirements - I've found them to be ultra helpful in the past.

Sway bars can be had for something like $160 each from memory and are apparently ultra easy to fit yourself. Otherwise, a workshop shouldn't charge much at all to do it for you, it's a very simple, quick job. As Senna-T suggested, replacement of springs alone will probably do little for your body roll, the swaybars will have a far greater impact. One word of warning on the King Springs though. Most guys here go for the KFFL-57 (front) and KFRL-68SSL (rear) combo for what is called the 'level sill' effect. I think the latest catalogue has changed the part numbers (something like KFFL-57/520 for the front, to represent the firmer spring rate?). The KFFL-57 is what King Springs recommended for the front for low (and even superlow I believe) applications - there is actually a KFFL-57SL spring set, but I think was meant for AU Falcons only. However, for low applications, King Springs suggested the KFRL-68SL, or KFRL-68SSL for superlow. I, like many others, went for the latter option. In hindsight, after the springs have settled, I find the SSLs too low for my liking. I dislike the 'dumped' look and the tops of my rear tyres are now just under the bottom of the guards. The SSLs also necessitated the trimming of my bump stops to ensure sufficient travel. If I had my time over again, I'd still go for the KFFL-57s up front, but would definitely only go as low as the KFRL-68SL for the rear. In fact, I'm seriously considering changing my rear springs over as I'm not happy with the way it currently looks. Hope this helps.

I'm no expert, but from what JTXR6T is saying, I'd put money on it being a leaning out backfire issue. The car is making around 300rwkw, so it accelerates like a mad thing, he's low on fuel (80kms DTE), giving it WOT and going uphill. All of which, to me anyway, adds up to a leaning out/fuel starvation issue.

No, I can only hope DRTYBOOST was joking. As Fatsex has said, lean out backfire is never a good thing. It's happened to me a couple of times before too and I am now seriously considering having a surge tank fitted. In a worst case scenario, a bad lean out backfire could result in you blowing your engine. So to say that it's "nothing to worry about" is being a little blase about it IMHO. Either refrain from giving it WOT with less than 1/2 tank or get a surge tank.

Max, you could try shooting Adam (bcr01) a PM and see what he can do for you. He's helped many a forum member out in the past with some good prices, mainly for the (inferior to your mighty Brembos!) PBR 'premium' brake kits. In fact, I've just ordered PBR calipers/braided lines and DBA 4000 series rotors from him and they turned up within days of placing my order - very helpful fella and highly efficient to boot! I don't think it's a breach of forum rules to post up Adam's website pricing (apparently set up just for us forum people), but if it is I'm sure one of the mods will set me straight/modify my post. The prices are for non-Brembo applications, but at least give you some idea of how competitive he is. I'm sure he'd be able to source 5000 series rotors to suit your application as well. Be quick though, I understand he's off overseas at the end of this week! BCR's website

Nothing's gonna substitute for that V8 sound mate, but if it's plenty of power at relatively affordable prices that you're after, then the turbos are the way to go. Getting 300+rwkw is commonplace these days and pretty cheap to do. But if you're super keen on that magic BOSS note and still want serious power, a few of the guys here are getting incredible results out of supercharging their V8s - saleen and DBOSS are two guys that spring to mind. I think saleen's pushing out around 365rwkw and DBOSS is (well over?) the 400rwkw mark! Mind you, he's had a full engine rebuild and spent big $$, but what a result!

Yeah, they can quite happily handle around 300rwkw (with slight modifications), but I'm not sure about 350. I've had my cat replaced with a 3.5" MetalCat and had the centre muffler replaced with twin hot dogs, so it still looks stock but handles 309rwkw nicely. Unless you've got the 6 speed or a strengthened 4 speed, your 'box may have issues with 350rwkw. But we're getting off topic here...