replicant

Just a thought but isn't the Bosch DSC calibrated for rotor friction? And a non genuine part may have a different rotor friction affecting the algorithm for the activation thereof...

Of all the ornery and thankless tasks... is spending the early evening underneath your front bumper removing the wind deflector, reaching inside and wrestling to get the @#$%& of a thing (fog lamp assembly) out without removing all of the skin off your knuckles, breathing as you grimace from the road dust falling off the underside of the front cross member into your eyes, detaching the deutsche clip, cursing the fiendish sadism of the Ford engineers who put the things on as afterthoughts as you disassemble the lamp assembly with a screwdriver on the retaining clip, remove the rear boot with a screwdriver... swearing as your realise the screwdriver head has scratched the reflective paint on the back of the bulb, dropping the fiddly screw clip onto the floor of the workshop, scrabbling around on the floor looking for the blasted thing... trying to open the blister pack without touching the glass surface of the new bulb, fitting the first spade fitting, reassembling the assembly with the boot, threading the little cable through the rubber sleeve and reattaching the other spade fitting, and the lamp assembly holder and then shoving the thing back into the dark crevices of the bumper and grinding more road dust into your raw knuckles... attaching the deutsche fitting, testing the unit and then reassembling the wind deflector... and then after all the effort and smiling at the triumph of guile and bloodymindness wriggling around underneath the front bar so not to pay some half baked ford techo $$$s to replace it - the missus asks why have you taken so long to change over a simple light bulb. I love her dearly... the girl not the car (at least not today anyhow...)

Nope that's the new Ford Mondeo which should arrive in Australia some time this year... it's powered by the 2.0 litre Duratec HE 4 pot out of the Focus, a 2.5 litre version of the Duratec VE V6 which was in the Cougar (and the Mazda Tribute/Ford Escape have a 3.0 litre version of the engine). There's a bunch of turbo diesels and the prospect of the 2.5 litre in line 5 cylinder engine from the XR5 Turbo also being available (the engine is from the Volvo Cross Country)

Though I still prefer the XR6T for practicality and fun - although I'm wondering what the boss is going to think about the tyre wear one day.

The Mazda 3 MPS is indeed a hatch and FWD - the Mazda 6 MPS is a sedan and AWD. Also you don't get 190kW and full boost in first and second gear in the 3 - the ECM scrubs off some of the torque to help the drivetrain cope although it does have a trick LSD up front. However, short shift in third gear and give it WOT and the front wheels will scrabble, it will torque steer although the ESP tries to mask it - does a reasonable job. Fine on dry tarmac but in slippery conditions you'd want to exercise some finesse with the right foot toe curl. Personally, I prefer the XR5T - it doesn't have the trick LSD or as much power but it was more fun. The MPS seems very similar to the SP23 and looks it too. The Recaro seats, different handling package and looks of the XR5T make it feel different from a standard Zetec. No question that the Mazda felt quicker in a straight line but I'd prefer the Ford on a windy road. There's something about the Ford that was well more chuckable and the pedals seemed to suit heel and toeing better (although like most Fords there's no left footrest). The Ford has adjustable power steering assist too which I played around with for about five minutes before leaving it in standard. One thing, I'd go for an AWD Mazda 6 if it was raining but given the days that it rains in NSW these days it's not that relevant... ;-)

Great Ocean Road... gogo gave a good summary - drove it two years ago before the F1 AGP. Went and did the Yarra Valley last year (ate a lot of cheese and tasted wine for a change) and avoided GP this year due to the bad timing of event. Watch for the odd radar equipped police car... Vic Police don't seem to have much of a sense of humour. The Treetops Walk is worth it. If it's wet/misty... watch those gum tree leaves on the blacktop thru Otway National Park - they can get really slippery...esp with a high powered RWD with early throttle out of corners (ie a T)... alternatively it's not fun to find out with a rental car that you assumed would have had ABS and hasn't... (maybe they should have warning stickers on the dash for cars WITHOUT it because you assume nearly every new car does). No harm done in my case but not a good thing to find out when you have planted the middle pedal and then have to react as the bows are understeering off the roads into the mulga. Been to Cape Otway - it's nice interlude and a place to have a quick break from driving and a good breeze to refresh straight off Bass Strait. Twelve Apostles is a highlight scenic wise. Worth a trip in the whirly-gig and a few snapshots. I went early in the morning before the tourist buses as they are a pain to be behind. OTOH they do stop and pull over regularly - the real pains in the arse are the folk who don't drive quick enough thru the twisty bits and then floor WOT on any straight. It's probably easier as gogo suggests as a there and back with an overnighter somewhere. Meant I had the dawnbreaker run back - prefer that to driving back in the evening and night to Melbourne.

To be fair the 380 isn't a ground up design - they got stuck with the US developed platform and had some styling and engineering input - US folk don't care about handling and prefer FWD because on their roads it doesn't matter which end is driven esp if you end up on an interstate for 4 hours without a corner or commuting in heavy Californian traffic. Anyone driven a caddy or a buick lately? In terms of subsidies, SA could do with not only the factory but also the related employment with suppliers and logistics. None of the car companies, even Toyota could survive in Australia, without tariffs or subsidies for what is a tiny market by world standards. The fact that we have cars largely designed and built on fairly unique platforms by Ford and Expensive Daewoo for our own tastes reflects this... otherwise we'll get stuck with 380s, Camrys, Aurions and Nissan Maximas because that's what they make everywhere else... instead of Falcons, Commodores, Territory and others...

Great another behemoth to be driven by another bunch of folk who believe that have 'god syndrome' ie they own the road, you should make way and indicators and courtesy are for mere plebs... generally having a bad attitude and expectations of their own skills far beyond their actual ability... I was at a venue watching drivers of a certain related marque on a track day and one of the 'heads went to light up the rears in pit lane and nose to tailed the car waiting for the green flag at the pit exit. The H3 Hummer is based on a US Chevy Blazer platform and has very little to do with the humvees that the US armed forces drive around in. It just looks like a humvee and you be sure that with its superior aerodynamics it will have the fuel consumption rivalling that of a 'Cruiser or a Dunnydore towing a box caravan... Next someone will decide to pimp one out and then there will be a vehicle that will have even less offroad ability and be essentially a fashion statement - a bit like a mini convertible.... neither would I touch with a barge pole...

Samples can be done with a radar equipped marked police car, traffic counters (those hoses run across the road) or even a hidden camera and a radar gun.

My little brother borrowed the Territory AWD for a trip to the ski fields with a bunch of his mates... he rang me up on the way complaining about the chime and the S symbol flashing - he said it was going on and off all the time on the trip and was getting really annoying. When he asked me how to turn it off, I told him it was the 'overspeed' warning and I'd set it about 10 km/h above the legal limit... and asked why was he driving it so fast? For some reason the call abruptly was disconnected... damn hills and pesky reception...

I think the ad is supposed to show women are more intelligent to get around the exploitation thing... several recent ad campaigns portray men as dumb or easily lead by more intelligent and attractive women - which apparently makes an ad with eye candy less likely to offend women if it suggests that they are superior (or so I'm told). Me I'm just enjoying the creativity... and the fact she's hot...

This one's from Argentina - so it's a little risque so don't go crying to your Mum if you are a little offended... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0mUTdOH06Y She's definitely hot...

The DSC setup in the BF is a Bosch 8 unit. The circumference of the wheel and tyre combo is one of the variables for the DSC... why because the DSC uses the ABS sensors in each wheel to determine the rotation speed and based on the circumference knows the wheel speed as a variable to determining whether to intervene, it will also affect the duration and severity of the intervention... The DSC will initially brake individual wheels to correct the yaw (under/oversteer) movement past what it considers appropriate and may intervene at the engine ECU level by retarding ignition to reduce power (generally it won't change the throttle position or injector duty as this will alter the response once the yaw is corrected). The DSC is pretty sensitive to calibration - brake pad friction is one of the factors in the DSC programming to assist in deciding how long and how hard to apply the brakes to a wheel and it isn't a simple backyard operation to calibrate either. The calibration for most of the BF DSC equipped Fords relies on having the 'premium' brake system out of the V8 equipped and Barra 245T cars, the 17 inch wheel/tyre combo, ZF six speed auto as well as the 'sports suspension' package (which is the ESP option in the BF2 for Barra N/A cars). There is a separate DSC calibration for the Ghia with Barra N/A and 230kW SOHC V8 Ghias in BF although I'm wondering if this has been changed for BF2 as my drive impression was that it intervened way too early for most enthusiast drivers in BF (actually given who orders a Ghia vs an I-Design Luxury pack in a XR6T or an XR8 maybe the DSC calibration should stay as is!). The intervention in the Barra 245T and Boss 270 engine XR cars is very different in calibration to the Ghia calibration. I'm wondering if the ESP cars get the Ghia Calibration or one based on the XR series... Anyway, the DSC operates in split seconds - if you change the wheel/tyre combo, the brake pads or rotors, potentially the engine tune, it won't work in the way it was intended to do by the folk who calibrated the software. However, if the variables don't change significantly then remember this is a Ford Falcon not an F1 car then the change should not affect the car too much. However, just remember if you have a plus 2 wheel fitment then it's likely that it will have more mechanical grip from a larger contact pad. So it's entirely possible that when the unwanted yaw movement occurs then you are going to be going faster than in regularly shod car and that the intervention of the DSC is going to have be faster and more decisive than was originally intended with the original fitment. In other words, with better wheels and rubber hoops when the moment comes, the DSC is going to have make it's mind up a lot faster and work harder to correct things and you going to be going faster and therefore more inertia and energy is involved... and as one of my colleagues who worked in road safety once told me, more energy means harder impacts and importantly greater deceleration on the relatively brittle parts of the human body. Maybe some exploration in a controlled environment say a track day in wet conditions may yield some clues about the limits and behaviour of your car and the DSC with the different wheel/tyre that would be useful long term, perhaps?

Firstly, definitions the 85th percentile is a statistical term and it represents in this case the speed that 85% of the sample were under - it other words only 15% of drivers observed in the sample exceeded the 85th percentile speed. There are few important things to note the first is the veracity of the sample to the population - the 85th percentile applies to all vehicles and it is a sample at a certain place, certain time and with certain factors present. If you took the sample during peak hour during a long weekend on the Spit Bridge with a number of marked police cars present on the side of the road, then you are likely to get a different result than at say 2am on a Tuesday morning with a hidden camera. Secondly, this assumes that road users are rational folk who take into account all factors such as the speed limit, traffic, surface conditions, weather, visibility and are a homogenous bunch in terms of skills, vehicles and concentration levels. Generally, they aren't and as noted in earlier posts, you have to take into account the lowest common denominator in terms of driver and vehicle. Most folk consider the speeds noted in an advisory sign as being way too low, but if you have a fully laden truck these speeds are fairly reasonable. Likewise, if the current variety of road users including trucks, towing vehicles, learners, cyclists, P-Platers, SUV drivers and pedestrians are all going to share the road then something sensible has to be in place. Speed differentials are really important. Following distances are generally poor in Australia and unless folk really have Schuey-esque reaction times (and judging by the number of accidents every morning they don't) then really everyone ought to slow down. I've driven in unrestricted speed limit highways in Europe and you need to have concentration, skill at all times due to the mixture of vehicles including car carriers loping along at 160km/h in the middle lane... but you have the ability to cover 400km in little more than a couple of hours. Generally, the driving skills are superior but you have to be aware that a campervan pulling out of a slip road which is doing about 80km/h in the right lane is closing at over 30 metres per second if you are doing 200km/h in the middle lane - and you'll be upon it and past it like it was chained to a post and you were driving down the M7 in Western Sydney. Also lane discipline is much better in Europe too... As for the auto/manual conundrum... I'm actually an advocate of teaching folk to drive in an automatic first... get them understanding and concentrating on the road, potential hazards and traffic rather than car handling initially. Then teach them in a controlled environment, correct braking and vehicle handling techniques to avoid accidents. Then teach them to drive a manual... I spent a lot of time in my early years driving in a Torana, with the permission of the landowners, in wet grass paddocks or gravel car parks learning the limits and beyond of adhesion of cross-ply tyres on a low grip surface, recovery techiques, cadence braking and the use of opposite lock where necessary. I learnt about weight transfer under acceleration, braking and cornering - and that you can control a car thru both hands and feet as well as the seat of your pants. I've been fortunate to be able to fund cars that handle a lot better than the LC Torana and have better safety features but I still think that apprenticeship (as well as karting) meant I've been fortunate to possess certain skills that have proved useful. I also think I'm a pretty crap driver too - I often drive in the 15th percentile above the 85th, at times I am overly aggressive, corner too hard on public roads for the sheer enjoyment (Mr Plod would be unhappy at the four wheel drift I do a couple of occasions in my daily commute) and probably one of those folk that holiday drivers curse as I'll ignore a freight train of cars, pick them off and get to the front of the queue and then disappear into thin air. I regularly drive recreationally and enjoy putting my car at its limits but I choose an appropriate venue and situation...

P Zero's prefer to run without any camber (which is why the EB GT had some geometry tweaks to accomodate them) and take a while to warm up. They are also relatively expensive and the P Zero Nero is classified in Europe as a 'Summer' Tyre and is not intended for use at very cold temperatures or on snow or ice. DOT Ratings for this tyre are Treadwear in 245 35 YR19 is 220 with AA for Traction and A for Temperature with a 91 Load Factor. The Dunlop Sport Maxx in 245 35 19 is a Y Rated Tyre with 240 treadwear, and the same AA for traction and A for temperature and has a 93 Load Factor. Again a Euro Summer tyre - which should be okay unless you are up in the mountains a lot. I don't have specs for the Toyos or that particular Goodyear tyre. I confess that I have a preference for Yokos and Bridgestones generally and Continental or Michelin depending on the car... However, this is one of those purchases that you have to rely on trust... and I know happy Toyo shod owners, Pirelli owners and Bridgestone owners... look for someone who pedals similar to you and ask them I guess.

The Pulsar and the Pintara had viscous LSDs in the fronts I think they called them Vectors and they have not been offered again! I think because the average pedaller did not appreciate any of the benefits and it's arguable that a viscous LSD in a podgy underpowered Pintara isn't really going to light the world... in fact the average pedaller isn't going to notice the 8 inch LSD in the back of a V8 Fairmont Ghia... until of course, he/she starts to lose control and has no idea what to do next! The old Focus RS which was not sold here had a mechanical LSD that was interesting in terms of feedback to the driver when it was engaging and disengaging... the Prelude with the electronic front diff tried to get around the problem but the one I drove on a drive day ended up with a christmas tree light arrangement on the dash when something went wrong (apparently I was accused of breaking it!)... On that note, the Territory using electronics in the AWD system but used the brakes rather than a planetary gear set so I'm wondering what will happen if I ever take the new Legend out on a drive day - maybe I'll confuse the rear diff with the outside wheel acceleration gearset into going twisto-snappo - either that or some circle work should see how durable it really is! The XR5T doesn't have a LSD but due to the chassis from my seat of the pants was more chuckable than the MPS... with the 3 that I pedalled you had this impression that there was this caged beast and the electronics was the ringmaster trying to keep it control... I have to confess that I didn't like it but that's me.

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleD...leID=21193&vf=2 Hmmm.... 230kW and 442Nm out of a 3.8 supercharged engine... running thru the front tyres (seeing how the 380 is not current AWD)... how long before Toyota lets out a TRD supercharged Aurion? I have this embedded belief that despite special tyres, ESP, Traction Control and whatever you do with the electronics that about 170 kW is about all you should really try to send to the wheels that do the bulk of the steering, braking... (unless of course you have AWD in a Veyron) lest the thing be a tyre scrabbling, wheel wrenching, understeering pig of a car... especially in a car of the 380 size and fairly ordinary dynamics... Yes I know that the Mazda 3 MPS has more... but it doesn't... well certainly not in 1st or 2nd gear as the torque is restricted... try short shifting to third and applying wide open throttle on a slippery surface and you'll understand what I mean. I'm not a FWD snob - I actually like hot hatches a lot - they are great fun and some of the Alfas are pretty fun and in fact the Turbo TT FWD is in some respects more fun that the V6 AWD version... apart from the fact you need to drive it at night with tinted windows in case anyone sees you. But I prefer AWD or RWD... especially in an enthusiast's car. If you want to go A->B then an auto FWD car for someone who wants transport and isn't really interested in driving then go for it... but I prefer to coat the folk behind me with the stuff being spun off my driving wheels rather than my own undercarriage... Not to say all AWD cars or RWD cars are fun either... I'd rather drive an Focus XR5T than a new Super Handling Honda Legend...

Well actually here's the other thing... the delivery of the torque matters too. In a BF XR6T, you are essentially getting close to 90% of maximum torque from about 1350 rpm all the way to about 5000 odd - which gives it a very linear power curve. The fact that the turbo allows those characteristics means that it's really useable all the time, especially if you tow something like a boat or you suddenly go from 10-15% TPS to 100% when you need to accelerate... in the old days of highly tuned NA engines and Weber dual throats, we'd have said it's always on the cam... Now the Boss 290 in the GT has a higher overall power number 290kW vs 245kW (and I think it's got a better overall torque number) but it doesn't get to about 90% of its torque until you have dialled up about 3750rpm and the torque band is from about 4 grand to 5 and one half grand... outside of the that, the breathing characteristics of the twin cam heads means that it ain't particularly torquey... which means that you have to rev the thing all the time and row the 'box to get the best performance. Ironically, in the days of the EB - the pushrod Windsor 5.0 litre HO which made 164kW had low down torque and was easy to drive and the XR6 motor which had the split exhaust and the interesting heads made 161kW and you had to keep it stirred... On the other hand, you can get some astronomical torque numbers out of a common rail turbo diesel and they usually have a torque curve that you could use as a straight edge - trouble is that they sound awful and the thing is asthmatic past four grand despite more optimistic rev limits... The other point to note is that electric engines have close to maximum torque at 0 rpm (so keep that in mind when you think of hybrids) and are only surpassed by steam engines... now you may think of steam technology as ancient but they still rely on steam power to get planes off aircraft carriers using the catapults and... nuclear energy is essentially steam power... albeit with a fission powered heat source...

That's why I actually prefer to drive a car off the lot or better still a rental as a more representative example than a press car (and yes I have driven press cars but not in Australia). It's also interesting that Wheels could not match the fuel economy nor the performance in their recent test of the Omega vs XT compared to cars supplied at the Lang Lang launch... coincidental... ahhh I couldn't possibly say. It's also interesting that when I was involved in Formula Ford in kiwiland that the engines are very controlled but despite the fact that you had to use inlet manifolds as cast (no machining) that a particular manifold would have a measureable effect on the dyno... and not necessarily always the same effect with different heads... which is why we have 'blueprinted' engines or those donks that just seem to be more powerful... even had it between two apparently identical cars in the 80s - mine was red and one of my skiing buddies had a blue one... the red one went notably faster even with drivers swapped for no tangible reason... other than the fact I drove mine a lot harder most of the time...

My 2 cents worth... Cooling the intake charge will improve its density which means more oxygen crammed into each combustion chamber... so long as the ECU recognises this and the injector duration and flow is sufficient then you should be able to have more fuel in each charge. In terms of torque, this means an increase in comparison to a non-intercooled charge... in terms of a large intercooler, ceterius paribus, you are likely to have better power particularly on hot days, repeated standing starts etc due to more consistent boost and intake charge Note that this assumes the following: - the plumbing for the larger intercooler doesn't introduce any additional restrictions - the air flow through the larger intercooler is as good as the original - the mounting position suits the larger intercooler - that the ECU is able to compensate with additional fuel for the improvement Intercoolers may also benefit from a water spray too for more consistent performance...

Ideally, you'll want to change up from peak horsepower to the peak torque point... at peak torque there will be the maximum pressure and temperatures generated in the combustion chamber... biasing the cam to the maximum RPM for max torque in a N/A engine may actually drop the rpm below the torque band in the next gear... eg if you had a peaky twin cam engine (like a 80s hot hatch motor or for that matter a Boss 290) with a three speed auto you could change up and end up in limbo land below the band in the next gear up...

Nope pretty unlikely... as they are naturally aspirated and most have reasonably wild cams compared to a road car, short intake tracts... then they will be biased to the higher end of the rev range. The torque is probably going to be fairly peaky and this will suit the fact they have a Hollinger six speed 'box too and a 7200 rev limiter - this is usually to extract maximum power... no use having a Nullabor torque curve if someone goes past you down Conrod in fifth doing 6600 rpm with 20 extra horses...

Personally, I think 0-100 is an indicator of performance but not a particularly good one to the real world. To get a really good time in a manual, you have to basically sidestep the clutch, light up the rears a bit to stop the revs dying on you and do a flat change to second... if second isn't quite high enough... you risk the stutters on the limiter or have to snatch third... and have no mechanical sympathy for the clutch, diff, tyres or for the gears in the 'box. In the real world, I usually don't do that every time I launch off the traffic lights - mainly because it's gratuitous, attracts Mr Plod and it's expensive in the long run. Same for the standing quarter - after 400 metres, my licence would be toast in most modern cars... When I actually need performance is when I have to pull out from behind a box caravan at 80 km/h and get past in a safe overtaking move... no wheelspin or graunching of the gears... and importantly when I take an uphill tightening radius left hand hairpin with fading camber with rain streaming across the chip seal surface at double the advisory... and stuffing up means either understeering across the centre line or getting loose and arriving on the outside of the corner going backwards... ...but that's just me... so I get to write my opinions here, free from having to worry where the next ad placement campaign comes from or circulation figures because I've alienated a pile of brand loyal readers... By the way, how did the BFII Fairmont Ghia suddenly become so European? Did they stick the indicator on the left side of the column or remove a whole pile of gear so that there are empty switch covers all over the dash.... or is it that they tightened the travel of the suspension so much that it's fine on asphalt but crashes to the bump stops on anything less than autobahn smooth...

Oh I dunno invented gunpowder, seismographs, porcelain, vaccination for smallpox, writing (although a fiendishly difficult version of it) standardised across a country with different spoken versions of language, standardised weights and measures, a single currency, discovered the compass, invented pasta (Marco Polo brought it back to Italy)... were boiling their drinking water and adding these leaves called tea and avoiding typhoid, giardia and cholera for centuries, using paper when they went to the loo and washing daily while Europe went thru the black plague and the dark ages... and were using chopsticks when Europe was still using their hands to eat- fortunately they weren't using toilet paper by that time... Personally, when I eat fettucine pollo I prefer a fork and a spoon... and a knife and fork isn't particularly handy when you eating sushi either.

Well the first recall for the VE has hit dealers with fuel hose issue on the V8 Commodores and Statesman/Caprice (doesn't affect V6 models) with about 1800 vehicles involved. There are also reports of issues with the HVAC fans which reportedly stop working on some of the early cars. On the other hand, production volumes are being reduced over at Broadmeadows due to falling demand. The word though is that the Orion is being engineered for LHD with a view to looking at the export market. I figure that this may have some hope for the long wheelbase versions as Expensive Daewoo has been sending a lot of these to the middle east - otherwise the business case for continuing this line at current Australian volumes just doesn't stack up. The other piece of supposition is that this means its also likely that the next generation Territory will be considered for LHD. There's probably a market for the Territory in Europe to fill a spot that Ford itself doesn't participate in Europe (other than in Land Rover) provided that there's a oil burner to complement the petrol lineup. Sales in this area would help cover the costs of the TDi development too.