Au Xr8

[ItsBoostin]

Hey guys

Im currently looking at a AU XR8 manual as a tow car for my 32 and for the misses to drive during the week.

I was just wondering if any one up there has owned one and had any problems?

Or if theres any comman faults i should be on the lookout for?

I test drove it today and for a car thats done 210,000kms i was pretty impressed with the feel of the engine and driveline.

Any input would be much appreciated.

Thanks

[Birds]

www.fordforums.com.au

[R TUNE]

Why not get a BA

[ItsBoostin]

Why not get a BA

This has been offered to me at a pretty good price

[R TUNE]

fair engough. best get it checked my a mech before u buy it.

[Ten Four]

They use lots of fuel....

You want one of these (at a really good price too...)

http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/dealer/details.aspx?R=9509282&__Qpb=true&Cr=1&__Ns=pCar_RankSort_Int32|1||pCar_PriceSort_Decimal|1||pCar_Make_String|0||pCar_Model_String|0&keywords=&__N=1216%201247%201252%201282%204294967079%20903%20408%204294966839&SearchAction=N&silo=1011&PriceTo=408&seot=1&__Nne=15&trecs=7&__sid=12CB54BF3AF7

Not bias or anything......

I LOVE BMWs! FWIW, my mum has a 528i E39 and I've managed 6.2L/100km out of it ^V8 so good for towing I guess lol.

Edited March 13, 2011 by Ten Four

[GTR-N1]

^ ^ ^ So long as that 535i has had all its services done properly, it's a bargain.

I'd check fault codes and fluid leaks re side tanks, water pump, oil. Electronic digital cluster can degrade over time.

Even as a V8, the beemer uses much less fuel than the XR8 and the E39 cornering ability is renowned

[NYTSKY]

If you are going to use it for towing, get an auto.

Braked tow capacity for a manual is nearly half of what an auto is rated for.

And yes they are thirsty, it cost me $140 in fuel to go from Sydney with the trailer to Newcastle then back with the car on.

On average about $120 a week in fuel to run. We use premium though.

[Cowboy1600]

Mmmmm......yeah get a beemer, casue like, it'll be super cheap to fix when things start wearing out prematurely because you've been using it as a tow vehicle.

Hell, the extra $12 million dollars it will cost to maintain a beemer will be more than offset by the $15 per week saving in petrol you are bound to make.

Wait, I've just re-read you OP and realised you didn't ask for an alternative to an AU XR8. Silly me.

The AUs are bullet proof and pretty much perfect for what you want. Any vehicle capable of towing another vehicle frequently without collapsing in a heap is going to use a bit more juice than the rest as it's A) Heavier - to deal with the extra stress of towing and B) going to have a bigger motor.

As long as the AU has been looked after you shouldn't have any issues.

[blk94r33]

Mmmmm......yeah get a beemer, casue like, it'll be super cheap to fix when things start wearing out prematurely because you've been using it as a tow vehicle.

Hell, the extra $12 million dollars it will cost to maintain a beemer will be more than offset by the $15 per week saving in petrol you are bound to make.

Wait, I've just re-read you OP and realised you didn't ask for an alternative to an AU XR8. Silly me.

The AUs are bullet proof and pretty much perfect for what you want. Any vehicle capable of towing another vehicle frequently without collapsing in a heap is going to use a bit more juice than the rest as it's A) Heavier - to deal with the extra stress of towing and B) going to have a bigger motor.

As long as the AU has been looked after you shouldn't have any issues.

Lol.

[StealthX]

Mmmmm......yeah get a beemer, casue like, it'll be super cheap to fix when things start wearing out prematurely because you've been using it as a tow vehicle.

Hell, the extra $12 million dollars it will cost to maintain a beemer will be more than offset by the $15 per week saving in petrol you are bound to make.

Wait, I've just re-read you OP and realised you didn't ask for an alternative to an AU XR8. Silly me.

The AUs are bullet proof and pretty much perfect for what you want. Any vehicle capable of towing another vehicle frequently without collapsing in a heap is going to use a bit more juice than the rest as it's A) Heavier - to deal with the extra stress of towing and B) going to have a bigger motor.

As long as the AU has been looked after you shouldn't have any issues.

Win!

[ras1983]

Which series is it? Is it a series 1 XR8? If you can, try to go for a later model with the 220KW engine.

The mechanicals of the AUs are pretty reliable, but the interior quality can degrade quite heavily over time. Also, some of the smaller things like the electriconics can be unreliable. I've known of several AU owners (including my dad) who had constant problems with the radio, electric windows and mirrors and some of the engine management electronics. But I guess any used car would have these problems.

[TTT]

AU Auto Falcon on Gas is the only way

[Galois]

My dad had similar issues to those on his au.

I was looking at them a while ago. The basic 5.0 L engine isn't much more powerful (13kW) or torquey (32Nm) than the xr6 at the time. And, worst of all, made at about the same rpm. It certainly felt pretty slow and heavy, despite extractors and twin 3" exhausts (well, felt and WAS slow and heavy). Getting out of the r34 and straight into it didn't help though.

(Source: http://www.trueblueford.com/AU_XR_Specifications.html )

When I was looking at them the problem that kept coming up was a whining diff, which needed some pin replaced, can't remember how much it was. Certainly wasn't cheap. I also found the pedals sticky and numb, not smooth like in almost every japanese car I've driven.

All that said though, it's a lot of car for the dough and the noise was fantastic!!! Also cheap to fix and your average mechanic is capable of working on it.

[Cowboy1600]

Bit of a tangent here, but on the question of what feels faster, a torquey, low revving V8 will often feel slower than a high revving turbo 6 as it makes power everywhere which means no "coming on boost" which can often give the false impression of speed.

My mate has an SII BA XR8 and it's almost neck and neck between it and my R33 GTST (mine is ever so fractionally faster in a straight line) however the R33 feels much faster. I remember the first time I took him for a spin in it his head nearly exploded as he thought it was so damn fast. Fact is, it's not much different to his car, and he flogs his thing everywhere. It's just his thing makes pwer from idle so lacks that kick in the pants feel that pretty much everyone on here is likely addicted to.

So while something like an XR8 may feel a lot slower than something like a turbo skyline, fact is there's probably a lot less between them than you think. And when it comes to corners, it's about 70% driver 30% car so a good steerer in an XR8 will likely spank a nubcake in a skyline.

[Galois]

I agree with the cowboy above, but I was also watching the speedo and there was a big difference between it and the r34 (running on 12-13 psi with exhaust, nothing too fancy). In terms of feel it felt slower than my current magna, but i don't think that was the case.

Also, unless I'm mistaken, the ba v8 was a crapload better than the au. The numbers on the au xr8 over the xr6 arent great for the au:

xr6

172 kW @ 5000 rpm

370 Nm @ 3500 rpm

xr8

185 kW @ 4600 rpm

412 Nm @ 3500 rpm

I'd go the xr6. Actually I would and did go magna. Not sure how it'd go towing a car though. There was a towcar thread on here a little while ago that in a nutshell strongly recommended people buy big 4wds so that the 2 tonnes of gear following can be kept under control.

[warps]

I recall the time that the AU XR8's were running out, Ford were doing some interesting stuff with them. One of the car magazines put one on the dyno and it nearly made the flywheel ppower figure at the wheels. Apparently they were using roller rockers and other goodies in these engines to try and catch the 5.7 Holdens, even though the marketing department never made a lot of noise about it.

As others have said, they are pretty rugged, no nonsense cars that are generally good value for money. They'll never impress euro or jap import snobs, but you do get a fair bit of car for the money.

The unreliable electrics seems to be common in Falcons. Mine had to have the following replaced under warranty: ECU, Central locking computer, power mirrors and power door lock actuators (twice). Each time I took it in for a complaint, the response was "yeh, they all do that"

[EeLeYe]

Au Fords were actually very mechanically sound. You shouldn't have many problems with it, mechanically that is - It had the lowest warranty issues of all family sedans during it's time (even less than the Toyota Camry and unlike the VT, which had the highest warranty issues.)

Their manual gearbox is also unbreakable. Power-wise the au S1 and 2 left much to be desired. at ~175kw The s3 on the other hand was 220kw. Torque was awesome though so for towing you shouldn't have a problem.

If it's for a good price as you say, then go for it.

[adamskill]

are you sure a falcon is wise idea for a tow car?

[GTR-N1]

are you sure a falcon is wise idea for a tow car?

better with jockey springs attached?