XR6 Turbo Utes

[Driftit 1957]

Hey guys, I know this is a strange place to be talking about Ford Utes. But just wanted to gather some opinions from non ford fanatics.

Been thinking of trading in the E39 540 for an XR6 Turbo ute. Bet a heap of you just thought WTF is this guy on. But my reasons are that I would like something that is better for towing the race car and lugging around all the gear. They have a good towing capacity and are a very quick ute. With a few basic mods and a ecu flash you can get 250rwkw on a lazy 8psi.

But I am just wondering about the rest of the car. Are the comfortable on longish trips. Is the drivetrain as robust as they claim. Do they come in any other color than Baby sh*t Yellow.

Would I expect to get a decent one for under $20K?

So far all the ones on TM at the moment are Baby sh*t Yellow. Would kind of like to avoid this horrid color.

Would I get a good deal going through a ford dealer? Or should I look privately.

[Forrest 35]

Slightly related Dan, but my Dad used to have a XR6 Turbo Sedan which he brought brand new when they first came out and f**k me it flew, had more than enough grunt i.e a good tow car to this day it felt quicker than the FPV GT that replaced it and the Focus XR5/ST Turbo that he has now.

I see what you mean about the abudance of baby sh*t yellow ones about

The sedan did have a few faults from what I remember, tyres falling apart, the usual Ford Electronics working one day then not the next, I would say the best bet would be to try a dealer for a little more security.

Edited February 8, 2010 by Forrest

[Guest Simon*]

My friend just sold his 2005 XR8 FPV ute - fully worked motor, new intake and some wicked headers. Black on black leather 6 speed manual - was fun to drive sideways (esp as it had no traction control) but they eat diffs. He had the FPV LSD and it lasted 60km

Not sure if this is helpful Dan but it's my experience with the Fords. Interior of E39 is a nicer place to be too

[sp8s 1]

Interiors have always let the Ford down.

The most redeeming feature of the Falcon is in that you can take the tray off and put on a flat deck if ya want. Maybe even put the racer up there

[Braeden320 0]

Interior will be far inferior to your E39,But in terms of a being a ute they are good to drive well and have plenty of power.

I can recomend Wanganui Motors (Ford Dealer), Brought my ST220 there and there bloody good to deal with.The man you want to talk to is Steve, Is very helpfull and always happy to give advice on prices etc - give him a call do get a feel for the costs. He can often get cars that arn't for sale on a yard/trademe.He has one hell of a database.

I think you can expect to get an earilier model, 03/04 for around 20k.But yea for whatever reason there isn't many on TM that arn't yellow.

Another option is the VY Commodore ute, 5.7 V8, and most of them are manual.You would get one of them for about the same money as the XR6 Turbo.

[39KiwiTouring 2]

Definately eat diffs, My N/A XR6 has been through 2 and has an XR8 diff in it now and even that is getting noisy.

They rattle and clang have a flimsy interior and the steering racks wear out relatively frequently forever re-booting my bastard.

Lots of fun though and they are noisy if you have the wrong tyres, drony noisy, I ended up putting Kingstars on they seem to be the quietest.

I'm up to 40k in a BA ute now. no I woudn't buy another one if thats what you want to know, I'd do what Bravo is doing and go the diesel ute option.

[kingkarl 136]

Reliability will be a bit questionable in my opinion.

From what I've seen, as soon as Aussie made fords get over 100,000km it's like someone flicks a switch and they start falling apart. My folks old Territory was great, but it started driving (and sounding) like a tractor after a while. The brakes discs warped and the dealer failed to fix them (several attempts later), so there was a pretty awful shimmy under braking. Everything started loosening up quite badly (steering, interior, suspension, gearbox). It was like you could feel it falling apart around you. They flicked it off before anything expensive needed replacing.

I'm sure it's like anything though, there will be good and bad ones out there.

Make sure you get the 6 speed auto, it transforms the whole car. 4 speed is a POS.

[Driftit 1957]

Cheers guys.

Just looking at the prices of the equivalent V8 model and the Holdens the XR6 Turbo seems to be valued quite high.

You can get a 5 year newer NA model for the same price.

But my god do they have horrid colors. Various shades of Baby sh*t.

Will go for a wonder through a dealer and see what they have on offer.

The Diff's are a worry though. Wonder why they wear so badly.

Haha have a read of this Auction.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...n-267237701.htm

Edited February 8, 2010 by driftit

[39KiwiTouring 2]

Funny guy aye, not sure they are that much of a babe magnet, one thing with them though is that Aussie stuff it's fairly recognisable from anyones perspective and car dealers will buy them from you easy to quit if the price is right.

I have a dealer chasing mine as it's got the nice canopy and they are popular to sell, especially utes compare them with car prices.

The VT-VZ utes are harder to come by and desirable as well, and hold their money.

So you are looking in a market that has a people who want them, and have a 540i to sell, on stock the dealer will sell any time.

Might pay to take the BMW out of the equation as they will quit the falcon ute any time soon without having to bend over backward to help you into one.

Over to you man take one for a drive and see what you think.

[39KiwiTouring 2]

Here's a photo of my one, I have purchased from my company and are on the private car scheme.

Yes acid rush is anice colour, 170k and been offered $10k for it from a dealer.

[westy 614]

I used and abused an AUxr6 ute for 190000ks.

Replaced a coil pack at 120000 and a fuel pump at 160000.

It had an ABS problem when I sold it.

I gave it a new battery, changed the oil three times and the spark plugs once and it still had the original air filter!!

As for the diff, I ran it with a full tray at over 2ton and often strapped a big load on it and never heard a peep from it.

The ride was fine with it loaded, a bit rough with it empty. It had an appetite for brake pads but I think the later models are much better.

A damn sight more reliable than any BMW I've ever owned and the interior didn't fall apart like an E36.

Edited February 8, 2010 by westy

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2915]

Haha have a read of this Auction.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...n-267237701.htm

They seem to be quite a strange lot up in Whagarei, it must be something to do with the heat and humidity

Personally I would say look for something diesel and double-cab, but then you don't have ankle biters to worry about although the fuel bill could be a bit scary especially when towing!

Edited February 9, 2010 by E30 325i Rag-Top

[antil33t 90]

My dad bought an BAII XR6 over an M528i

[Driftit 1957]

I think you are right Kieran. There is near none around. Obviously quite popular at the moment. Plenty of Sedans. But I am not interested in a sedan. Would rather just keep the 540.

And I would also rather keep the 540 over driving a diesel workhorse. I have to have a little bit of performance. Sounds like you had a bloody good run with your one Tony.

[deeveus 81]

Maloo or SS-V or S Ute?

Falcon's are alot more common & I suppose the prices sorta reflect that. Bang for buck tho the Ford product does offer good value. I've driven a slightly worked XR6-T BA II and it wen't very well, but just watch the brakes on them as trying to stop something even with 240kw IMO the brakes just don't cut it on them.

[Mikal 4]

They seem to be quite a strane lot up in Whagarei, it must be something to do with the heat and humidity

[Driftit 1957]

Maloo or SS-V or S Ute?

Falcon's are alot more common & I suppose the prices sorta reflect that. Bang for buck tho the Ford product does offer good value. I've driven a slightly worked XR6-T BA II and it wen't very well, but just watch the brakes on them as trying to stop something even with 240kw IMO the brakes just don't cut it on them.

I have very little interest in the Holdens. The Maloo is way overpriced for what you get. The SS is the equvilent to the XR6 turbo, yet is out performed by it but still in the same price bracket. And the S (is this the V6?) is gutless for towing as is the NA XR6.

I see there is many upgrades for the brakes on the falcons. This must be quite a common let down.

[deeveus 81]

Bang for buck the Maloo is amazing in my opinion, it's basically a GTS with the ass end removed. There's not alot else post 300kw factory for 60k 2nd hand ute, come to think of it what is there else? The XR8 would be my pick for towing for reliability & instant torque if your going Ford, also just for the sound!

KG Wise they are very limited per litre. If it's sheer towing capacity you need I'd suggest LandCruiser, firstly because everytime you turn the key it will get there & secondly - resale value!

Edited February 9, 2010 by Clinton

[andrewm 236]

I have the e39 540i and dad has an xr6 turbo sedan and has had it from new, 130,000km no real problems. His is faster than my car by a reasonable amount and is very easy to get an extra 50kw although the 4speed gearbox I believe is not happy at that stage. Between our two cars mine seems to handle a bit better, less roll and mine is much quieter as well as being a more comfortable ride.

Edited February 9, 2010 by andrewm

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2915]

The Maloo is way overpriced for what you get.

Of course it is, the body kit we make for those isn't cheap you know !

Just thinking about it Dan, would the turbo motor give you the right sort of power delivery you need for towing, as opposed to the V8? Low down torque as opposed to mid-to-top end grunt?

[kingkarl 136]

I'm pretty sure the 4.0 straight 6 turbo develops peak torque from about 2000rpm. Where as the v8's peak torque is at 4250rpm.

[deeveus 81]

I'm pretty sure the torque bands are fairly similar between the 6 and 8 (max torque) They are also very close in Torque too but for instant power I'd have the V8 for towing. I know stuff all about this but would the V8 use more or less fuel than a turbo 6 towing 2 ton?

Edited February 9, 2010 by Clinton

[dirtydoogle 383]

Boss had one as a work ute. Crap interior, poor build quality. Shocking brakes and the rotors decided to give up almost instantly. My brothers E36 stopped better.

The boss' current AU 1 XR8 sedan rides, handles and stops better [butt ugly though].

Awesome motor, it's just a shame about the poorly built car. I want to love them, but, I can't

[Driftit 1957]

I am only towing around 1.3 ton max. Thats including all my gear and the trailer.

The Ford towbar is rated to 1900kg. The same as my E39 BMW towbar. (Braked)

The Turbo brings on tourqe sooner than the 8. You have to remember this is a huge 6cyl. 4ltrs. Thats nearly the same capacity as my E39.

They are tuned to be very Lazy as not to out perform the Boss 8. Otherwise nobody would buy the 8. There is one on TM at the moment with 270RWKW (Not Flywheel 300 like the Maloo) on only 8psi. At 10psi it is over 320rwkw. That is a crapton of power for such a little amount of boost. Would give me something to play with too.

I don't really want to pay $10,000 more for a Bodykitted Ute thats 2-3 years older than a $20K XR6 Turbo.

Going to really look into the brakes though. And it sounds like the 4spd is crap.

I wouldn't buy one with all the work done as I never trust other peoples work. But this is an example. http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...n-269380265.htm

This one is kinda growing on me. If it was blue or black or something I would be on it.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...n-267303305.htm

Red one down the line is nice. I am over red cars. But better than baby poo.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...n-222117900.htm

[antil33t 90]

apparently the 4spd will explode if you try tow with it without a cooler.

however if it's got the heavy rated towbar installed, it should have a cooler...

Now they use a 5spd ZF spazmatic.