AU series 1, 2, or 3?

[Polyal]

Hmm ok...I think you have been given a bit of a story, what's the part number on the ECU? Also it would have been slightly cheaper to offer a wheel without the buttons new so I'm not sure of the logic there?

There must be a list of what the engine got? It will be a 185kw version so unless it got some T series parts I'm not sure what else would have been done during the time.

If it did it might have a t series ecu which explains why it was perhaps not a stock 185 ecu....cosworth is a stretch even with Tickfords UK links.

[The_Interceptor]

Originally Posted by Polyal

Hmm ok...I think you have been given a bit of a story, what's the part number on the ECU? Also it would have been slightly cheaper to offer a wheel without the buttons new so I'm not sure of the logic there?

There must be a list of what the engine got? It will be a 185kw version so unless it got some T series parts I'm not sure what else would have been done during the time.

If it did it might have a t series ecu which explains why it was perhaps not a stock 185 ecu....cosworth is a stretch even with Tickfords UK links.

Hey Polyal, you don't have to believe me, all I written here is what I know, except that the only time I put it on a dyno back in about 2002, the engine was putting out 234Kw. There is a handmade by someone sticker on the engine, it runs a little lumpy but please don't keep saying that it is a dealer option. There was one for sale on eBay a few months back with the red leather seats. I don't like leather seats. The car was built at Ford, sent on a truck to Tickford, Tickford did whatever, then the car was transported back to Ford to go through their pre delivery section. Then it was trucked up to the dealer near where I live, it sat in the showroom with my permission whilst I had to rearrange leasing because I had changed banks. If you don't wish to believe me, then that is OK, but please keep it to yourself.

[Clintobear]

FYI...just to help stop the argument I asked a mate who works for Ford about it....


Sent from my Nokia 5110

[Clintobear]

I have asked him to see if he can find out what performance mods were done.


Sent from my Nokia 5110

[Polyal]

Guys....would Tickford make a xr8 outgun a t series?

It's a cool car no doubt, I'm not knocking it, but let's try and work off logic. It's much the same as a enforcer or devil r xr8

[Clintobear]

My mate says that as far as he remembers it didn't get any performance mods from Tickford....just visuals. So it should have the regular 185kw engine.
So not sure why your dyno was so high. Was the 230ish you mentioned extrapolated from wheel reading to flywheel reading? E.g. My XR8 220 pulled 157 at the wheels, adding in the 30% loss typical means it would be 224kw at the fly.
May have been a generous dyno or may have factory freak engine...they sometimes slip through slightly better. Or maybe both.
Not sure.
I have asked him to look into it further.


Sent from my Nokia 5110

[The_Interceptor]

Originally Posted by Clintobear

My mate says that as far as he remembers it didn't get any performance mods from Tickford....just visuals. So it should have the regular 185kw engine.
So not sure why your dyno was so high. Was the 230ish you mentioned extrapolated from wheel reading to flywheel reading? E.g. My XR8 220 pulled 157 at the wheels, adding in the 30% loss typical means it would be 224kw at the fly.
May have been a generous dyno or may have factory freak engine...they sometimes slip through slightly better. Or maybe both.
Not sure.
I have asked him to look into it further.


Sent from my Nokia 5110

Hi Clintobear,
I only put the pictures on at the request of OffRoadFalcon, as he didn't believe I had a car that had done such low kilometers. The rest of the car is as I have said, to the best of my knowledge. The dyno reading was at the flywheel. I have no idea what other cars had as the interiors, however I do know that it was supposed to come with red leather inserts in the seats which I did not want. As far as the module in the bonnet coming from Cosworth, well yes it did, but it was a replacement module. Tickford closed when the BA Falcon came out. And finding another module was not easy either, but whilst it was not identical to what was on the car when new, it did the same job if not just a bit better. When I spoke of changing to racing mode, the change was purely pushing the accelerator pedal harder. There was no switch, except in excitement, but also one could watch the fuel gauge move, or it appeared that way. The car does not have all the plastic hanging off the sides, it has nice sideskirts plus a twin wing on the boot. As far as the decals, they came on the car, but I have noticed one thing, that being that the Falcon badge on the boot is not chrome but is the same red as the rest.
I did not put the pictures on to start any arguments, perhaps I should have only put the one on with the Kms reading.
But the biggest thing that disappoints me is that I got stung by the Howard Government back dating GST on leased vehicles, so I was making payments on the original 22% sales tax plus the joy of paying 10% per payment on top. By the time the 5 year lease was up, I went to sell the car, but the dealer offered me $24,000 for it. At that stage it had done 14,000kms. Having spent $81,000 by then, I took the car in disgust and it sits there. I know the car has almost no backpressure because it has different mufflers on it to a normal XR8.
For all I know it way have been something that either Ford or Tickford were experimenting with, but it looked impressive when it arrived on the truck and it is a very quick car.
That's about all I can tell you, but I did have a similar experience with a Nissan Pintara TR-X when the car that arrived was different to the one I ordered. It came directly from Nissan as well, but had some engine performance changes.
My thoughts are that it is probably best to buy off the showroom floor, that way there are no surprises. Yes, I like the the Redback but I can't answer all the questions about the engine and the rest, except it cost over $8500.00 than a normal black XR8, so I must have paid for a few things extra.
To all who reads this, I don't bull**** people, and whilst the car is in the shed and not for sale, I honestly can't see why it has caused as much commotion as it did when Howard made me pay !0% on top of the salestax I had already paid.
Sincerely Yours Guys.

[OffRoadFalcon]

Originally Posted by The_Interceptor

Hi Clintobear,
I only put the pictures on at the request of OffRoadFalcon, as he didn't believe I had a car that had done such low kilometers.

My comment was more of a tongue in cheek to get some pics from you mate, that's all! I wasn't directly saying I didn't believe it. It's one thing to hear about such a unique car, and once you have, all you want is to see it too!

So thanks for posting the pictures and sharing your knowledge and understanding of the car, I for one appreciate it! Love it!

[The_Interceptor]

Originally Posted by OffRoadFalcon

My comment was more of a tongue in cheek to get some pics from you mate, that's all! I wasn't directly saying I didn't believe it. It's one thing to hear about such a unique car, and once you have, all you want is to see it too!

So thanks for posting the pictures and sharing your knowledge and understanding of the car, I for one appreciate it! Love it!

Hi OffRoadFalcon.
It was a complete pleasure in showing you the photos of the car. I know you were partly joking about the photos, but then if I heard about a mint icon with next to no kms, I think I would want to see it to.
I'm not good on these forums, whilst I know the performance of the car, I didn't expect some of the others on this forum to try and disprove what I had in the shed.
Supplying the photos for you was not a problem at all, because I knew you were genuinely interested. Plus I am proud of the car except I paid too much for it, and I can't afford to sell it. Is there a forum that talks about the add on J3 S2 chips?
Anyway it has been a pleasure my friend.

[SSD-85]

Done a bit of a reversal on my opinion here.

The AU1 is definitely the best of the series. For reasons I shall outline;

- Originality. Without a doubt the biggest scorer. Unique bodykits, MAP sensors, model differentiation, wheels, etc.
- 2nd hand market value. AU1's are the modern bargain of the century.
- Greater diversity in options available. Such as OPT20, V8 in base models, no ABS, manuals & column shift are more common, etc.
- Less likely for theft. I know this is purely circumstantial, but lets face it. Thieves are either after a VT commodore, or a T3. Depending on their demographic.

The only strike that goes against the AU1 for me is the lack of dedicated LPG. So yes, I even find its single piston front brakes quite satisfactory in public road applications....

[red_hotxr6]

Originally Posted by SSD-85

Done a bit of a reversal on my opinion here.

The AU1 is definitely the best of the series. For reasons I shall outline;

- Originality. Without a doubt the biggest scorer. Unique bodykits, MAP sensors, model differentiation, wheels, etc.
- 2nd hand market value. AU1's are the modern bargain of the century.
- Greater diversity in options available. Such as OPT20, V8 in base models, no ABS, manuals & column shift are more common, etc.
- Less likely for theft. I know this is purely circumstantial, but lets face it. Thieves are either after a VT commodore, or a T3. Depending on their demographic.

The only strike that goes against the AU1 for me is the lack of dedicated LPG. So yes, I even find its single piston front brakes quite satisfactory in public road applications....

Sorry, i can still buy 2 AU 1,s for the price of an EL.....Series 3 or the best, GHIA...xr-6 or xr-8...for starters....Oh and i love my C2R bodykitt on my xr6 series 3....

[FTE]

I'd like an AU series 2 XR8 Rebel or a series 3 with the same body kit.
I've got a series 1 XR8 ute that I love, I'd just prefer the sedan with the 220 engine. The 185 manual is surprisingly good though.

[Edxr6]

The Interceptor,

I had a friend who had a Redback XC sedan falcon back in the mid 80's. It was Black with a 302 motor, two Red pin strips down the side of the vehicle with a Redback decal spider at the rear quarter panels. The vehicle was purchased from Peter Warren at Liverpool N.S.W at the time. It was a great looking car, maybe the concept came from that era.

Regards

[GJM85]

08/02 AU3 XR6 VCT auto in liquid silver. 140,000km with full service history. Had it 5 days and the only problem is the passenger side power windows. It's pretty ******* mint.

[EVL-04D]

So long as it's an AU, what difference does it make! LOL

Yes, I love my AUs. Had a AUII Forte fully optioned that I had to sell due to harassment by NSW Police, and currently have an AUI Forte wagon that I am in the process of getting back on the road with a few upgrades along the way including S1 XR front bar (trying to find head lights atm), picking up XR 16" rims today and got a glass bonnet with bulge coming. Just fitted a factory perspex cargo barrier and a cargo screen. Trying to find a rear spoiler is almost at the stage where I give up. The wagon was gifted to me by a friend complete with the PP option from factory, PP being Poverty Pack, so nothing. Ha Ha

I did like the brakes and suspension on the 2 though, but still upgraded them anyway and will do the same on 1.