Australia’s Best Driver’s Car Comp BUT the FGX XR8 blower failed

[Sorted]

Remember the guy who had his warranty denied due to Blower Failure....

Well it happened again but whilst in the competition for Australia's Best Driver's Car

[IMG]general/editorial/ge5554460313116967819.jpg[/IMG]

http://www.motoring.com.au/reviews/2...ampaign=buffer

Bang for your buck, Ford’s force-fed V8 sedan is hard to beat, but how does it stack up as a driving machine on twisty Tassie tarmac?

Australia's Best Driver's Car
Ford Falcon XR8

You can’t have a competition called Australia’s Best Driver’s Car (ABDC) without two of the hottest homegrown sedans available Down Under. One for the Blue Bloods, the Falcon XR8 lacks the refinement and dynamics of more fancied Euro contenders, but makes up for it with the type of thrills only a 335kW/530Nm supercharged 5.0-litre V8 outputting through the rear tyres can deliver. But could it be tamed on Tassie’s serpentine roads?

“Screeeccchhhhhh, screeechhhh, schreeechhhh…”

It’s day three of motoring.com.au’s inaugural Australia’s Best Driver’s Car (ABDC) awards and a disturbing, screeching sound is coming from somewhere inside the Ford Falcon XR8, not long after passing through the tiny town of Bothwell in central Tasmania.

Pulling over, we pop the bonnet to locate the source of the problem. What sounds like a box of nails rattling inside the 5.0-litre Miami V8 engine, turns out later to be the effects of a broken supercharger.

Not long after the XR8 is unceremoniously loaded on to the back of a flatbed and the job of operating on the big, wounded bird goes to a local Ford dealer.

It’s game over for the Blue Oval bruiser, and we’re now down to just one homegrown muscle car (the HSV GTS) in this now 14-car battle of sporty steerers.

Until this point, the brutal, if somewhat agricultural, rear-drive Falcon had provided at very least a refreshing contrast to the European and Asian front and all-wheel drive hot hatches and coupes, budget and not so budget sports cars and odd, all-paw pseudo rally car that made up the rest of the ABDC field.

So would the fast, four-door sedan have been a genuine contender if it had got to the finish? Probably not, going by judges’ comments and ratings after the first two days on road and track (it ranked last). If there had been a category called ‘old school muscle car thrills’ then it might have been a different story…

One glaring flaw is that, in contrast to many of the others, the Falcon doesn’t leave a good first, behind-the-wheel impression. While boasting the requisite figure-hugging sports seats, getting that all-important, low-set, relaxed driving position proved impossible for all drivers, tall or short.

It’s a common criticism of any sporty Falcon, and in stark contrast to the superb driver set-ups in the BMW M4 or Lexus RCF, for example.

“Bloody seat too high, steering wheel too low,” was the terse summation of one frustrated judge, while another bluntly concluded, “driver ergonomics is a killer for me”.

Awkward seating position aside, there’s little argument about the intoxicating, shove-in-the-back rush delivered by the 335kW/530Nm supercharged 5.0-litre V8, delivered through the rev range and accompanied by ever-present V8 soundtrack.

However, one judge wasn’t entirely convinced: “Engine sounds great but would expect more pulling power lower in the rev range.”

Another was in two minds about the incessant, high-pitched supercharger whine. But it’s hard to argue against the description it’s a “noisy beast”.

While it could be argued any proper muscle car should be a bit rough around the edges, in the company of more polished performers it was just another reason to mark the XR8 down as ‘old school’.

Debate also raged about the six-speed manual transmission, with opinions ranging from “bloody heavy old school” to “works better as a manual (as the) throttle can be metered out more effectively”, from some-one who’d previously driven the auto XR8 (sans paddle shifters).

Either way, like the GTS the biggest challenge was feeding the copious power and torque through the rear tyres, and dealing with the almost two tonne bulk of the car through mostly wet, slippery corners encountered in Tasmania.

It might have been a different story in the dry, where the car’s otherwise impressive chassis grip, stiff suspension set-up, strong brakes and wider tyres at least give it a fighting chance. But on damp roads it wasn’t hard to overwhelm the “loose” rear end, and bring into play the stability control system.

If it was all about entertainment, the XR8’s appeal was perhaps best appreciated power sliding around Baskerville race circuit rather than finding its limits on serpentine, often treacherous blacktop encountered in Tasmania’s wild west, with the constant threat of black ice and little margin for error.

While undoubtedly one of the best sorted Falcons of all time, the fast four-door felt clumsier and less polished alongside more agile, purpose-built contenders like the Toyota 86. The jiggly ride also disappointed in comparison to the smoother GTS.

With a previously recorded five second 0-100km/h time, it probably would have been among the top-five fastest in performance testing. But ultimately, the constant changes in surface grip, elevation, and direction on the Tassie tarmac were the big Falcon’s undoing.

As one judge surmised: “Push harder and it falls away; it’s a GT rather than a sports car.” While doing “everything you would need from a road car on the road at Aussie speed limits,” that wasn’t going to cut it in this company.

But perhaps most damning was this finding: “It’s distinctly hard to really connect with the car.” In a field where even a humble $25,000 hot hatch impressed with its ability to communicate with and regularly reward the driver, that’s hard to forgive.

2015 Ford Falcon XR8 pricing and specifications:
Price: $52,490 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 5.0-litre eight-cylinder supercharged petrol
Output: 335kW/570Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 13.7L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 325g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP

What we liked:
Straight-line grunt
V8 soundtrack >>
Entertainment value >>

Not so much:
High set seating position
Fidgety ride
Handful in wet

ABDC ranking: 15th (DNF)

ABDC Scorecard

Handling 3.7
Ride 3.3
Engine
4.0
Transmission 3.0
Steering 3.3
Braking 3.0
NVH 2.7
Ergos 1.7
Overall score 3.08

[geobar]

It was filmed at the track.... No warranty

[dimka100]

That's very unusual for an engine that's been manufactured by Ford for a number of years now, and I can't seem to remember FPV owners reporting supercharger failures in new stock & unmodified cars.

Maybe there is some cost cutting going on within the assembly process, or maybe whatever changes Ford introduced to increase production output have resulted in the reduction of quality control.

[Wretched]

Damn journos and their inability to drive......oh wait
Cost cutting to get it to the price it's at? Or just QC failure?

[Trump]

Another snout coupling bites the dust?
Who builds the superchargers for Ford?

[cheap]

What is going on? A performance engine is given a dose of positive throttle and things go bang. Clearly someone needs to do some urgent remedial action.

[XG_Falcon]

It's a shame they tested the car in the wet against cars that are obviously much better suited to slippery road surface conditions but let's be honest, the owner of a German sports sedan wouldn't have to experience this kind of embarrassing failure.

That being said, Australian sedans have never been in real competition with the likes of BMW, Mercedes Benz and Audi so it's getting a bit ridiculous that journos continue to compare them.

The Falcon is a muscle car, the muscle cars of old were never great in the wet... but isn't that kind of the point of owning one? (loss of traction).

[ST]

After looking at their comments having the supercharger fail was probably the best result, they REALLY didn't like the XR8.

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by XG_Falcon

It's a shame they tested the car in the wet against cars that are obviously much better suited to slippery road surface conditions but let's be honest, the owner of a German sports sedan wouldn't have to experience this kind of embarrassing failure.

That being said, Australian sedans have never been in real competition with the likes of BMW, Mercedes Benz and Audi so it's getting a bit ridiculous that journos continue to compare them.

The Falcon is a muscle car, the muscle cars of old were never great in the wet... but isn't that kind of the point of owning one? (loss of traction).

Who's fault is it that the XR8 cannot be driven in the wet? The tests need to be centered around the Falcon? Please.

Herein lies the problem, every other car grew up but was still able to maintain some aggression/muscle, the Falcon stayed behind. The engine may be a gem (if the s/c can stay working) but the rest of the package appears to lag behind.

[SensationFG8]

Personally I'm finding all these super charger failures quite interesting. I wonder if they got a bad batch of the things? Maybe some of them weren't quite up to spec and got through QC.

[XG_Falcon]

Originally Posted by Wretched

Who's fault is it that the XR8 cannot be driven in the wet? The tests need to be centered around the Falcon? Please.

Herein lies the problem, every other car grew up but was still able to maintain some aggression/muscle, the Falcon stayed behind. The engine may be a gem (if the s/c can stay working) but the rest of the package appears to lag behind.

I wholeheartedly agree.

[FPV8U]

Are Harrop still supplying the supercharger components as per when the engine was launched with FPV, seems strange to start having failures 5 years later.

[kypez]

It's interesting to see what's changed in the manufacture. Maybe Harrop are cost cutting (dont think they would do that) or maybe they had some metallurgy issues (more probable). Either way, I'm in wait and see mode with the XR8's.

[nadojay]

Originally Posted by XG_Falcon

It's a shame they tested the car in the wet against cars that are obviously much better suited to slippery road surface conditions but let's be honest, the owner of a German sports sedan wouldn't have to experience this kind of embarrassing failure.

That being said, Australian sedans have never been in real competition with the likes of BMW, Mercedes Benz and Audi so it's getting a bit ridiculous that journos continue to compare them.

The Falcon is a muscle car, the muscle cars of old were never great in the wet... but isn't that kind of the point of owning one? (loss of traction).

These comment are getting ridiculous, anything wrong with the Falcon is because its a muscle car lol interior not up to scratch, muscle car. Cant handle the wet, muscle car. Sways like a boat, muscle car. This is a different era lots of cars have proved you can have a poweful car, great interior and a chassis and suspension setup to actual be able to use the power.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Loud_Noises

Another snout coupling bites the dust?
Who builds the superchargers for Ford?

Stevie Wonder builds them and Ray Charles is QC.

[XG_Falcon]

Originally Posted by nadojay

These comment are getting ridiculous, anything wrong with the Falcon is because its a muscle car lol interior not up to scratch, muscle car. Cant handle the wet, muscle car. Sways like a boat, muscle car. This is a different era lots of cars have proved you can have a poweful car, great interior and a chassis and suspension setup to actual be able to use the power.

I also stated the owner of a German sedan wouldn't have to suffer these embarrassing failures. Maybe read my entire comments instead of zooming in on three or four words.

[Falcon Coupe]

Parts failure aside, they sound like a bunch of latte sipping whiners.

driver ergonomics is a killer for me

Anyone would think they were driving a T-Bucket with the ridiculous over the top comments.

Engine sounds great but would expect more pulling power lower in the rev range

Of course because driving from near idle through a roundabout in 4th gear and pulling cleanly in the process shows lack of power down low.
Perhaps it was the traction control light dancing like a strobe light when dropping back to overtake from third gear at 80 to 100kph....

[raised by monkeys]

I like the part where they said compared to the agile yota 86 it felt clumbsy.
I wonder if compared to the powerful falcon the 86 felt like a wet towel?

It can be argued that fords 8" wide wheels has been a silly decision since the first F6.

[nstg8a]

Didn't the ecoboost fg hand the ft86 it's *** at a track compare? So with 200kw more, more grip,,better handling all of a sudden it's a dud?

[AUS GRUNT]

That's interesting about the supercharger failure...first i've ever heard of one failing on a 335 miami...whats changed from when they were in FPVs, some of which have handled 500kw+ without touching the supercharger unit itself

[BIONIC MAN]

More than likely is not the blower itself, but the drive coupling.
Plenty have failed, made worse when pullied up and more boost is generated, but at least a few stock xr8 ones have failed recently.

[kempy311]

Haha and they said mine was caused from misuse. Think they might have to rethink the warranty claims they deny.

[geobar]

Whats happened with your kempy?? Are they coming to the party?

George

[zilo]

Originally Posted by kempy311

Haha and they said mine was caused from misuse. Think they might have to rethink the warranty claims they deny.

Looks like you have been exonerated mate....

[MITCHAY]

Originally Posted by kempy311

Haha and they said mine was caused from misuse. Think they might have to rethink the warranty claims they deny.

Good thing you didn't fold so easily because now there is a very public example of it. How embarrassing

[zipping]

Not sure what tyres the FGX comes with but if it had those factory Dunlops that the FG had well yeh no wonder it didn't handle great. Around Winton those Dunlops are 4 secs slower than a decent set.

[2242100]

Originally Posted by Falcon Coupe

Parts failure aside, they sound like a bunch of latte sipping whiners.



Anyone would think they were driving a T-Bucket with the ridiculous over the top comments.



Of course because driving from near idle through a roundabout in 4th gear and pulling cleanly in the process shows lack of power down low.
Perhaps it was the traction control light dancing like a strobe light when dropping back to overtake from third gear at 80 to 100kph....

From the road test comments on the FPV Rspec and XR8's I've seen, I'm wondering if they've got the worst of both worlds with the suspension. Is it too firm for comfort, yet somehow not suitable for the track. My XR6 T seems to be a suitable compromise between ride and handling.

Not saying I'm definitely right, but perhaps Ford could consider that with the (apparently) upcoming hot XR6 T.

I think being too firm in the back won't help power down ability. Also careful consideration of what tyres are used might be a good idea. I think a very fast car will look pretty ordinary to most people if it can't get off the line quickly. A lot of people take more notice of 0-100 km/h and 400 metre times rather than looking at rolling acceleration.

I'd certainly expect it to at least have the power for low 4 second 0-100 times.

[335JET]

Originally Posted by zipping

Not sure what tyres the FGX comes with but if it had those factory Dunlops that the FG had well yeh no wonder it didn't handle great. Around Winton those Dunlops are 4 secs slower than a decent set.

Yea I rekon the best thing for an xr8 is too replace the rubber with something decent, I cant understand why Ford continue with Dunlop, there must be a long term contract.

[kempy311]

Originally Posted by geobar

Whats happened with your kempy?? Are they coming to the party?

George

Yes spring coupling broke in mine. All fixed now.

[chrisandsharon]

Originally Posted by zipping

Not sure what tyres the FGX comes with but if it had those factory Dunlops that the FG had well yeh no wonder it didn't handle great. Around Winton those Dunlops are 4 secs slower than a decent set.

They come with the Dunlop SP Maxx tyre I believe ....... I wouldn't put them on a vintage Toyota Corona - I'm running Michelin super sports now after the SP Maxx - absolute night and day difference and am not surprised what you said about being 4 seconds slower around Winton.

Edit......in saying that Dunlop do have a good line up of tyres - the SP Maxx imo isn't one of them.