If you thought Ford Australia's heyday was back in the era of Phase III
Falcon GTHOs, boy, are you living in a different world! So you reckon a true
Aussie performance car should be able to swallow a family? Something with a bit
of visual impact and definitely the ability to reel off 14-second quarters?
Well, go down to your local Ford dealer today with about $45k in your back pocket
and you'll come away the very satisfied owner of a Falcon XR6 Turbo. Even in
standard form, the XR6T cranks out 240kW and can run in the 'supercar' 14s. Not
hanging around by any standard.
But what if that 14-second ET performance loses its eye-widening excitement
after a few months of ownership? Well, this XR6 Turbo ute - owned by Sydney's
Croydon Racing Developments - is a good example of the modification direction
you can take.
Jim Souvas of Croydon Racing Developments recognises the significance of the
big turbocharged Ford. "There's no question it's the next cult car here in
Australia," he says. As such, it makes sense for a performance workshop to
splash into the XR6T modification scene as early as possible. Croydon Racing
Developments purchased this Citric Acid 5-speed manual XR6 Turbo ute in 2003.
Jim explains: "We specifically bought the ute to develop using the APS range of
products that we are official agents for."
While the APS Phase I upgrade for the XR6T shoves peak power to 280kW using a
UniChip interceptor, Jim opted for the more overt Phase II kit. Certainly, the
Phase II's purposeful sounding exhaust is great for heightening customer
interest.
The Phase II kit is claimed to give you a stonking 330kW together with
optimal reliability, ADR 79/00 emission compliance, tailpipe SPL compliance and
particular attention paid to NVH. APS have adopted the motto "mean and green"
for their XR6T Phase II kit.
Let's start by looking at the full-length replacement exhaust system that
comes as part of the Phase II kit. A 3 ½-inch pipe connects to the back of the
factory Garrett turbocharger, leading into a German-sourced cat converter. From
the cat, there's more 3 ½-inch pipework until you reach a mid-mounted muffler.
This centre muffler divides exhaust gas into two 2 ½-inch pipes, which pass over
the rear axle into a twin 2 ½-inch rear resonator. APS states: "Careful
attention to tube diameter, smooth radius mandrel bends and muffler design is
essential for high performance." Excellent durability is also assured by the
high-grade 304 stainless construction.
And in case you're wondering - a 3½-inch exhaust system is not overkill on the 4.0-litre DOHC turbomotor. This system is reputedly
appropriate for applications well in excess of 400kW.
Fitment of a genuine high-flow exhaust to a XR6T will inevitably cause the
ECU-controlled boost pressure to rise. The standard management system recognises
this overboost and hits a fuel-cut - you can say "bye-bye" to any decent power
gain! Because of this situation, APS does not sell their upgrade exhaust
separately - it must be purchased as part of a kit that includes a UniChip. The
UniChip gets around the fuel-cut issue and allows optimal tuning of air-fuel
ratios, ignition timing and boost pressure. Note that - for the Phase II kit -
the UniChip is set to increase boost to only 9.5 psi. Very
conservative.
In addition to throwing a fuel-cut at you, Ford Australia has configured the
standard XR6T fuel system with relatively little scope for extra power. The APS
Phase II addresses this with a high-performance replacement fuel pump and
upgrade injectors. APS elected not to simply raise the fuel pressure to the
standard injectors due to concerns over the fuel spray pattern and atomisation.
Take a quick peek under the bonnet of the Croydon Racing Developments XR6T
ute and you probably won't notice any modification to the air intake arrangement
- but look closer! APS's manometer testing revealed that the factory Ford air
cleaner element (which offers quite a large surface area) poses relatively
little flow restriction at and around the factory power output. On the other
hand, the inlet to the airbox does cause considerable restriction so APS
fabricated their own cold air snorkel. This intricately shaped snorkel is cast
in aluminium to provide extremely smooth internal surfaces.
The factory spec XR6T engine (otherwise known as the Barra 240T) pushes 240kW
of power at 5250 rpm with peak torque handily spread over a 2500 rpm range. From
2000 to 4500 rpm there's a full 450Nm on tap. With the APS Phase II kit fitted,
however, there's a huge 283kW at the back wheels as measured in fourth gear and
running 98RON Shell Optimax. This equates to around 330kW at the flywheel. Note
that this at the wheels figure is achieved on a Dyno Dynamics chassis dyno set
in shoot-out mode. This graph also illustrates the Phase II kit's very strong,
flat torque between 3000 and 5600 rpm - there is no torque spike anywhere in the
rev range, which is good news for the driveline.
Straight-line performance? Well, at more than 1750kg the XR ute is
handicapped by a slight weight penalty over the sedan but all indications are
that this truckster can crack the quarter mile in the high 12s. This seems
reasonable given the same Phase II kit has previously been applied to an
automatic XR6T sedan to achieve a stunning 12.8-second ET at 111 mph. We're told
that traction will be a key determinant to the ute's on-track performance -
without the factory option for traction control, judicious use of the clutch and
throttle are essential for an effective getaway.
One thing is for certain, though - if you can nail the launch, there are
extremely few other everyday cars on the road that can keep up. And, yes, even a
warmed-over lumpy'n'grumpy 1960s GTHO Phase III would be nothing more than
mincemeat for a new-school Phase II enhanced XR6 Turbo...
Contacts:
Croydon Racing Developments
+61 2 9648 4264
www.croydonautosports.com.au/
APS (Air Power Systems)
+61 3 9761 7244
www.airpowersystems.com.au/
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